Took The Plunge - Ordered A New AC

[launderess]

For those who remember late last summer/early fall our trusty "old" (built in 1989) Friedrich Wallmaster gave up the ghost. Kept tripping circut breakers/blowing fuses and local repair services kept saying the compressor and or motor was shot with replacement quotes for parts/labour well >$600.

Loving old appliances as one does, but not even that fondness was going to get one to spend that kind of money on an old AC when usually another can be found for less.

Throughout the winter kept peeping CL and other classified adverts for used though the wall AC's but nothing really stood out. Many sellers were either too far away to make the drive economical and or in areas one wasn't going to venture into without back-up.

That is where things stood until an unusual spot of hot weather hit us from last weekend until now. Reaching 80 degrees plus during the day and it is only April does not bode well for summer, so decided it was time to do something before summer arrived in earnest.

Long story short purchased the unit seen in the link for about $400 from another online vendor. Shipping will be free so hope it arrives in one piece without damage. Credit card will give extended warranty and assurance in case it does arrive beat up.

This unit was discontinued by Friedrich and the current 10K BTU unit is only about 9700. Not sure how that works but it is Energy Star certified whilst the previous unit was not.

http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/WS10B10.html

 

[iheartmaytag]

But I don't understand, Where's the Royal Dalton?
Surely you would not buy anything for your home without the Royal Dalton.

Just funnin you, your BTU is very negligible in difference it's the SEER that will make the difference. You should be ok, Don't worry about the size.

 

[pdub]

Harley!!!

 

It is "Royal Doulton"

Please get it right next time!  LOL

 

 

Launderess - The new AC unit looks very nice and looks like you got a good price. 

Good luck and can't wait for a review once you receive it.

 

Patrick

 

[tomturbomatic]

Congratulations. Along with that a caveat: Friedrich quality has declined from 30 years ago, no news flash that. I bought 2 of the last model of the 8000 BTU Energy Star units that were made in the USA several years ago. One has died already. The thin metal fins were corroding away, the electronic touch controls on the front of the unit were unresponsive to the point that it would be grounds for divorce so only the remote could be used to control it and finally the fan motor died. When we went to replace it, we saw how terribly the unit had declined or self-destructed or decomposed. I had to put pennies in the pan to keep algae & mold from growing. The original filters were those white rigid things that allow all sorts of crap through them to clog the fins and the fan. Even with the foam filters, the curved fan blades needed a great deal of maintenance. They were not of the quality of the 1980 through the wall behemoth that was in my townhouse. Now, none of the ac units of the 8K BTU size are made in this country. I bought a Sharp at Costco for $189 which seems a bargain since online they go for over $200 + delivery charges. It sounds different than the Friedrich, but does not disturb my sleep. I run it as much for white noise as for cooling and it fulfills both requirements. I bought it realizing it is a cheap disposable unit so I have no illusions about it lasting or being fixable. If it gives two years of service, which is questionable, I will feel I have had a good return on my money. It has the same 10.8 EER as the Friedrichs. One thing about it we noticed when we installed it is that it has a different design for the internal fan. It is more of a paddle type, a modified cage-type blower which should not be so prone to clogging. I hope that does not mean it will throw wet dirt out the grill. I replaced the white rigid filter with a cut to fit foam one. The Friedrichs were $400 each and I feel like the remaining one is a ticking time bomb. It's sorta sad. At least the Friedrichs have a slide out chassis so they are easier to haul out when they need cleaning.

 

[washerboy]

Landress: I know it's sad to part with an old friend; however, summer of 2010 I had a simialar problem..my window unit gave out.probably just needed a 10 dollar part but by the time I paid for parts and labor it was just throwing good money after bad. I replaced the old girl with a 25btu Whirlpool 5 start energy; by the time we were into about the 3rd month of summer the amount of money my electric bill went down..it paid for itself...I'm on levelized billing and at the end of March I still had almost a 300 dollar credit on my bill...the electric company will re-adjust my usage again July 1 of this year. The new unit has a theromostate..I set it to 70 and low speed leave it alone...it cools the entire house pertty good.

 

[iheartmaytag]

It is "Royal Doulton"

Yea, Whatever. ;-)

 

[whirlcool]

You'll definitely save money with this new AC unit. But will 10,000BTU be enough cooling power for your square footage? That's not all that big.

When we lived in Chicago we had a flat that had the through the wall a/c unit in the living room which was at one end of the place. It cooled the living room but by the time the air came down the long hallway to the last bedroom you could hardly feel it. We replaced the unit with one that had more BTU's but all that did was make the rooms closer to the A/C unit colder. Finally we had to set up a fan at the entrance to the hall in the living room to force the air to the back of the flat.

 

[launderess]

Thanks Guys!

For all the good wishes and advice.

Yes, know Friedrich of today isnt' what it once was, but then again what is?

Would have loved to find another knob turning control older unit but nothing was shaking our way. Of course the brief spring heat wave has now subsided but still, didn't want to go too long into the summer without things settled.

Stumbled upon this unit by chance and after spending much of the day pondering decided to pull the trigger. Free shipping and the price surely was less than one would spend for a "used" vintage unit of dubious background.

Our current unit came to us used and got about ten or more years out of it, so cannot complain. On the whole whowever do see many modern "new" AC's going out for the scrappers to hack apart after only several years in service. However methinks also many in NYC abuse their ACs. Cannot tell you how many times one is walking around Manhattan and hear/see ACs running when it is only 70F or even less outdoors. Methinks many people just aren't used to the noise and what not of NYC life (even at night) and prefer to keep their windows shut and run the machine 24/7. Also it appears these people have never heard of a fan to move air around.

Thanks for the warning about the filter. Had read about that also and happily have a stash of TOL allergy/micro filters. Will cut one to fit the new AC and ditch whatever comes with the unit into a closet.