So I have this vintage AC in my basement...

[somnamblst]

The previous owners left it there. We did pull it out once a couple years ago, and put it in a second floor window during a heat wave, when the central AC was struggling. This house has radiators, so the central AC unit laying on it's side in the pointy sloping area under the roof, with flexible duct work only serving the 2nd and 3rd floors.

By today's standards it looks huge. It is Montgomery Ward, also says High Efficiency, with wood looking panels. The controls are hidden behind the far right panel.

Is there a way to figure out what BTU it is? I saw no other info, but did not look underneath. I ask because it is a behemoth size wise.

 

[turquoisedude]

If you remove the front panel, there may be a tag with model number, voltage, wattage and possibly also the BTU rating for the air-conditioner.  The tag may be where the output air duct is on the upper half of the cabinet.  

 

[petek]

I'm confused in your description of your central air.."radiators, so the central AC unit laying on it's side in the pointy sloping area under the roof, with flexible duct work only serving the 2nd and 3rd floors. ???

Why is a central ac "laying on its side" ? Is it attached to the wall way up there under the eaves of the pointy roof? Where are these flexible ducts? insidethe house, on the outside..

Maybe it's just me but it makes no sense LOL

 

[yogitunes]

Pete...

in some homes, there are a supplemental units, either Air, Heat, or both....

more or less to separate zones, as a main floor, and second or third floor....each on their own thermostat....as you notice outside you may see several condenser units...

I seen many hommes where there is baseboard heat, and these units in place for cooling only.....I rather have the option of both...

whether in an attic, or under a house in a crawl space, there are units designed for horizonal applications...some are even suspended....and of course these spider maze of tubing to supply conditioned air to each location...

there would also be a huge drip pan underneath these units, just in case of a leak...

there are also water heaters available for horizontal installs as well....

 

[somnamblst]

"Why is a central ac "laying on its side" ? Is it attached to the wall way up there under the eaves of the pointy roof? Where are these flexible ducts?"

It looks like a furnace, but that space is so low, a person can't stand up. The whole thing sits above a very large pan that has the floater thingy, that shuts off the unit if it leaks. So yeah, it is against the exterior wall.

The flexible ducts go to vents in the wall, on the third floor and down into holes cut through the subfloor to ceiling vents on the second. The ceiling on the second floor is so smooth it has to be drywall, and appears to have a bit of a drop, because it seems too close to the window woodwork. A previous owner put it in, so I did not see how it was done. It is Bryant.

The drainage hose goes to a third story box gutter, which became clogged one time. That is how I learned about the floater thing that shuts down the unit. It would not come back on until I got rid of about an inch of water in the pan.

And the condenser is outside on the ground. So we do have separate thermostats for the boiler and the AC.

If anyone is into ancient boilers, the coal fired cast iron one is still in our basement. And we have a coal room.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Is your window unit 120 or 240 volts? Does it cool several rooms or just one? Somewhere behind the grill, you should be able to find a tag with the specs on it. Congratulations on having a back up appliance.

 

[somnamblst]

Actually I am just looking for someone who would want it, if it is something vintage AC collectors are into.

It is taking up too much space in my basement, that could be used for stuff I consider cooler, like vintage fans, of which I have quite a few.

Did I mention it looks like 70s era wood paneling?

A girl can only hoard so much stuff