The antique AC saves the day!!!!

[toploader55]

Fedders and Chrysler Airtemp

My Parents had a 1 ton Fedders from around 1958. It had the "Weather Wheel" Air diffuser. That had to be R-12. I still have the 1971 HO7-91 6,000 BTU Chrysler Airtemp I bought when I was a Freshman in Highschool. Where I live now the Casement windows cannot accomodate the beast. It uses R-22. I fired it up about 2-3 years ago and it still worked.

For a 6,000 BTU, it must weigh just over 100 lbs. It's all steel.

 

[toploader55]

1971 Airtemp Model Guide

Forgot I had this.

These are the different series Airtemp had to offer in 1971

 

[toploader55]

Custom Series was

A heat Pump

 

[toploader55]

Sliding and

Casement Windows. For the "Garden Apartments"

 

[toploader55]

The Chart...

For sizing out the Unit you need

 

[whirlcool]

One thing I remember about my parents Frigidaire was the paint on the unit. It was not normal appliance paint but more like a heavy duty automotive finish on it. When we first got the unit I remember my dad put some auto wax on it to protect it from rusting.
I know it lasted as long as we lived in that house (8 years) it was left behind when we moved into a house with central a/c.

 

[norgeway]

Well...Believe it or not!

I closed off the bathroom and the spare bedroom, set a 1955 Westinghouse fan in the hall, and...the living room is 68 degrees and the other end of the house is about 72, not too bad for 6000 btu!

 

[petek]

See that one in the ad above "Freeway Series" for side sliding windows. I had one very similar back in the 70's. It was made by a company called Heat Controller in Jackson Mich. I wonder if that one is a rebadged one. Anyways, it was great, so quiet because the window slid between the inside and the outside parts. I'd love to have another one.

 

[112561]

Wish I could talk you out of that sweet little Frigidaire

There is an antique mall in Fort Pierce that used to be a veterinarian office and residence. Two different rooms each had a grand looking Coldspot air conditioner through a wall or a window. They're gone now, I don't know if they gave up the ghost or the owner thought they were too old. They had to have dated to the early '60s, the building is from around the late '50s.

 

Over in Okeechobee, there is a building that was briefly used for a thrift store, it was a car showroom with an upstairs. Upstairs, there was a vintage sticker saying "Air Conditioned by Frigidaire", and not too far from that, was the ancient but nice window unit Frigidaire. I think the building is the Chevy dealer now, and I imagine those goodies are long gone now.

 

[toploader55]

Heat Controller...

Heat Controler was the company that made "Comfort Aire".

Another Great A/C from the 60's and 70's.

But wait... there's more... OMG !!! they're still in business

MARS

MARS

www.heatcontroller.com

 

[firedome]

Old A/Cs...

some of the old Friedrich's were real workhorses, my wife's German aunt (Viola Volkert) in Baltimore had a big ol' Friedrich built-in window unit they bought in the late '50s that was still cranking out freezing cold air and cooling off the whole bottom floor of a big 4-square well into the mid '80s when she died. Wish I'd yanked that thing out and taken it home when they sold that house.

 

[volvoguy87]

Heat Controler.

My appliance parts company (employer) has an account with Heat Controller and can get Comfort Air products. Their residential split-system (full size, not mini-splits) I believe are made by Rheem. Unfortunately, Rheem doesn't have a great reputation in the AC biz these days.

Dave

 

[philr]

I have to resurrect this old thread...

Petek, 

 

Apparently Frigidaire Canada also had it's a/c units made by Heat Controller from 1964 to 1970. They even had the same "split" model as the Chrysler Airtemp "Freeway Series" from 1965 to 1970.

 

I wish I could find some Canadian Frigidaire a/c units... I currently have two that I really like but they are both US models! I've been actively searching for a while and still haven't found one!

 

Here's a few pics of Canadian models. 

 

1970 R models



 

1969 P models



 

1968 N models



 

1967 L models



 

1966 K models



 



 

1965 J models



 

1964 H models



 

1963 and 1961 models which were made by Frigidaire.

 



 



 

 

 

[danemodsandy]

I Like....

....The flexibility and replace-ability of window units so much I'm not sure I want to go back to central.

If one breaks, you've got others, and you can shut off units in rooms you're not using. Seems like a better way of doing things to me - though the "invisibility" of central is nice from the decorating standpoint.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Curently running

A 25000 BTU Kenmore unit.  Keeps up on even the hottest days and still cycles off regularly.   I believe it was built by LG.   Nonetheless a great unit.  The cooling power and noise level are very good. 

WK78

 

[petek]

Yep, those are the ones Phil.  Eatons sold them as well as Vikings I believe.. maybe in some of the old catalogs. They were so quiet, almost silent and could fit just about any style of window. 

 

[ovrphil]

Sandy - I was JUST thinking the same thing, for certain sq.footage homes. Then again, it never hurts to have a few on hand, in case central fails.

Some people in the East and up to Michigan are going to find out if their central air or heat pumps will give them trouble-free service this week, with this heat wave pressing down on them.

Great thread with AC heads. Only at aw.org!

 

[dustin92]

We have central A/C in our house, which was built in 1950, and was never designed for it. The A/C was installed in about 1990, but the house only has 8 heat/ A/C vents, in a total of 2600 sq. ft. We use two window units, one in a back bedroom, which tends to stay hot even with the central on, and another in an enclosed porch area that is not connected to the heating or cooling system. They are both 5000 btu units, one is a Perfect Aire from 2011, and works ok after I adjusted the thermostat, and the other one is a very well used Haier from 2005, which I think works the best of the two. We could actually use another one in the master bedroom, but I think we could cool the whole house with 3 of them, so the central would be useless.

 

[hydralique]

Dustin . . .

I wouldn't worry about three 5000 btu units obviating the need for your central system - there is no way 15,000 btus will cool 2600 sq. ft. A unit in the master bedroom might allow you to turn the central system off at night if there is nobody in the bedrooms that rely exclusively on the central system, but you're going to need it in the daytime when you have solar heat gain on the roof.

 

[dustin92]

Well, 1300 sq. ft. of it is a finished basement, walk out on one side and built into a hill so the walls are naturally cool, the 5000 btu Haier is keeping te lower level comfortable, and if the house starts the day cool, the other one will keep things comfortable upstairs until late afternoon if it is in the north side living room window. That's why I think we could get along fine with 3 of them. The house has thick plaster walls and ceilings, that once cool, will keep the house cooler all summer. If the plaster gets hot, it takes about 3 days to get the house cooled off to a comfortable temperature with just the central. When we moved in last summer, the A/C had not been run at all until mid July, and it took a good 36 hours to make the house bearable with the central and one window unit. Once the temperature is regulated, the units can cycle on and off even in the 96 degrees we had today. I just think three window units at about 4.5 amps each cycling on and off individually would be more efficient than the central unit, which is set at 71 ish, comes on at 73, and turns off somewhere between 66 and 68. The central unit is also about 20-22 years old, so is probably less than efficient.