old air conditioner

hamburger wrote:

i've been told that once our unit loses it's freon , the unit will have to be replaced . apparently the service companies are no longer allowed to recharge freon units (perhaps just a ploy to get us to buy a new unit) .

I can't speak for Canada. In the US, we are allowed to run them til they drop, using the R22. In a year or so, the manufacture of units using this gas will be illegal, but we can repare and run the oldies as long as we are able. R22 will become rare, since it will be entirely recycled as time goes on, so it is wise to catch every leak and repair it immediately.

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AND it is 72.00 per lb

gosh..I hope that is not the problem

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shewolfnm wrote:

Our bill.. keeping it at 78/80 can be almost 200.00 for a 600 sq ft apt.

wayyyy too much

That's a lot of expensive pumping, what's the outside ambient and relative humidity?

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Chumly wrote:

edgarblythe wrote:
If the unit has lost approximately half its freon, it will ice very badly.
No so, only if the defrost termination uses a timer, icing from low refrigerant is much less likely if the defrost period is based on temperature.

In my sixteen years experience, when one of the units has a guage reading of 40 (I use the black numbers), they always ice over. Between 65 and 80 is where we often fill them, depending on the heat. The reading of 40 holds winter or summer.

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shewolfnm wrote:

Sadly I can not afford to, nor am I allowed to.. replace the AC unit.
I live in a rented apartment with little say over what happens.

But, when i want something done, I have to do it myself.

Tomorrow, I will spend some time downstairs looking at the outside unit.
Beyond an occasional squirt with the hose, I have not yet looked into how clean it is, or whether or not the air flow is sufficient.

As for the inside coils..

Given the photograph I posted.. if it is of any help..

Do I go in to the BOTTOM to reach them? Or should I remove the entire brown casing?

Do you see what resembles a radiator, behind where you change the filter? That would be the coil.

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Chumly wrote:

That's a lot of expensive pumping, what's the outside ambient and relative humidity?

I am unsure.

On any given day it can be 85 degrees with humidity just as high
Today it is 87 degrees.

Just to keep the apartment cool.. because we are in direct sun and it can quickly climb to 95+ in here..

I have had the air on at 80degrees.

Turning it off every 40 minutes or so for about 20 minutes, it has run for almost 4 hours.

Im buying ceiling fans in about a week or so..

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edgarblythe wrote:

Do you see what resembles a radiator, behind where you change the filter? That would be the coil.

no.

let me take a picture to show you what i see..

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when I remove the panel that allows me access to change the filter this is what I see
( I have removed the filter for the purpose of the photo..)

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5049/dsc5650ql9.jpg

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unless that is what you were referring to?

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Given your apartment is only 600 square feet, and your cooling needs do not sound out-of-this-world, if you cannot get a quick cheap fix for your in-house unit, consider the purchase of an in-window unit. The new ones have much higher efficiency than any older in-house unit.

Personally, I would put any consequential time, effort and funds towards a good brand new in-window unit as opposed to repairing-running the old in-house unit.

The energy savings alone will make the new unit worth it, if you intend to stay in your present abode.

AC units have improved dramatically over the years, and the newest in-window units have the highest efficiency ratings.

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Really??

Can they cool a room/ area well enough?

I may just look into getting one of those anyway..
Im about tired of repairing every little thing in this place Confused

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You can also purchase stand alone air conditioning units that are just plugged in and can be put in any room. They stand on the floor rather than inserted into a window opening.

You could check places like Home Depot or Loews for these items. A google search may also yield some info for you.

Also, I would imagine that the coil is much higher up on your unit than where the filter is located.

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shewolfnm wrote:

Really??

Can they cool a room/ area well enough?

I may just look into getting one of those anyway..
Im about tired of repairing every little thing in this place

Yes absolutely, the good new ones can kick some ass, just get the highest BTU rating and efficiency that you can find, and try and get one with low db (noise) rating.......there is another alternative to the in-window variety, these look like a pregnant vacuum cleaner with some large flexible tubes and can be put anywhere you want.

You are going to trade some efficiency for portability/convenience with these units over the in-window variety.

Make sure you supply them with a dedicated circuit that has full voltage at all times and if you must use an extension cord it must be a heavy duty 12 guage extension cord!

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edgarblythe wrote:

Chumly wrote:
edgarblythe wrote:
If the unit has lost approximately half its freon, it will ice very badly.
No so, only if the defrost termination uses a timer, icing from low refrigerant is much less likely if the defrost period is based on temperature.

In my sixteen years experience, when one of the units has a guage reading of 40 (I use the black numbers), they always ice over. Between 65 and 80 is where we often fill them, depending on the heat. The reading of 40 holds winter or summer.

A lot of the cheaper smaller units do not have good control over the defrost cycle. I have worked extensively with the commercial variety; if the defrost termination uses a timer then yes icing from low refrigerant is more likely, however if the defrost period is based on temperature then icing is less likely regardless of refrigerant level.

Basically.......using a timer for defrost termination sucks, but it's cheap.

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Chumly wrote:

edgarblythe wrote:
Chumly wrote:
edgarblythe wrote:
If the unit has lost approximately half its freon, it will ice very badly.
No so, only if the defrost termination uses a timer, icing from low refrigerant is much less likely if the defrost period is based on temperature.

In my sixteen years experience, when one of the units has a guage reading of 40 (I use the black numbers), they always ice over. Between 65 and 80 is where we often fill them, depending on the heat. The reading of 40 holds winter or summer.
A lot of the cheaper smaller units do not have good control over the defrost cycle. I have worked extensively with the commercial variety; if the defrost termination uses a timer then yes icing from low refrigerant is more likely, however if the defrost period is based on temperature then icing is less likely regardless of refrigerant level.

Basically.......using a timer for defrost termination sucks, but it's cheap.

Hers is more like the ones I work on than those. You would think her landlord would have someone service the A/C at least once a year.

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edgarblythe wrote:

Hers is more like the ones I work on than those. You would think her landlord would have someone service the A/C at least once a year.

Exactly

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This is a landlord who is fully aware of the tub.
Fully aware of my attempts at repairing it..

and fully aware that it is beyond repair..

months ago Confused

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Years ago, I lived in a rental apartment that had central hot water heat.

The ******* cheap landlord had it on a timer so that even though there was water flow controlled by the local thermostat of each unit, the heat would be pretty much gone by about 2:00 a.m. and would not return until about 10:00 a.m.

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i think you should check the air filter. apart from that you should visit Edit [Moderator]: Link removed for more appliances and more options.

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I am paying someone an estimated 78.88 next week to come by and look at all these things and check my freon and clean the coils both inside and out..

lets see if that helps

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old air conditioner

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