Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with airconditioner

Reasons for car heater to not blow hot air?

Houstonian — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:02:24 -0800

Need help from mechanics! Asking for a friend: On a 2005 Mercury Marquis, the air temperature control does not work. What could be the cause and possible ways to fix it? The air conditioner works fine -- it blows cold air. But, when we adjust the temperature to heat, the temperature stays cold and the heater does not get warm.

This has nothing to do with being in a super-cold environment (today it's in the 80s Fahrenheit).

Wonky Air Conditioner: Any HVAC People Out There?

extraheavymarcellus — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:27:56 -0800

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with LG Multi-zone air conditioners? We have a multi-zone system that has been working fine until recently. Now, when I try to run the AC I get a flashing CH 26 and CH 46 error on the units. They work fine if we just use the fan settings. Do I have a bad compressor/inverter or is it something worse?

My air conditioner causes my room to have brown-outs. Can I fix this?

SuperNova — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:30:07 -0800

When my window-unit air conditioner revs its motor, my overhead light dims... then seriously brightens up when the AC slows down. It's annoying. Is there anything I can do? I just moved into an older (1950s-era, I think) house. My room is cooled by a window-unit AC, which has been running close to full blast all the time lately (it's hot as hell right now). Intermittently, the lights in my room will dim as I hear the AC crank up, only to blink back to full brightness when the AC slows down a few minutes later.

I've thought about replacing the incandescent bulbs with CFLs, which would at least reduce the power load, but since I know CFLs aren't supposed to be great at handling irregular voltage, I'm not sure that wouldn't make things worse. (I did read this potentially-relevant question, but I don't think it helps me in my situation.)

Right now, I think of this mainly as an annoyance... BUT, I'm also worried about other issues down the line. I have my laptop plugged into a power strip ("surge protector" of unknown efficacy) but a desk fan I just plugged into the same strip seemed to slow down when the AC cranked up, which makes me think my computer (and, when I hook it up, my year-old TV) is being subjected to the same kind of local brownout... and that can't be good, right?

Worth noting, perhaps, is that the AC looks pretty old, so maybe I could convince the landlord to replace it with a more efficient (?) modern unit. But the landlord had to be essentially forced into doing basic maintenance, so I don't see him doing anything about the AC unless it dies (and AC murder isn't an option since, again, it's hot).

What can I do?

Please hope me keep cool AND entertained!

Osrinith — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:24:17 -0800

Old building with old wiring + AC compressor = flickering lights. A question about electronics and possibly using an uninterruptible power supply to even out the electricity supplied to sensitive electronics. Details and question inside. I live in an old apartment building in Chicago that doesn't have any kind of AC so window units are the norm. I was given a fairly powerful window unit as a gift (read: so can't exchange) to keep the large living room cool. It works really well and is perfectly sized for the room, but the power draw when the compressor kicks on causes the lights to briefly dim before the power draw stabilizes. The flickering doesn't bother me (but let me know if it's a dangerous sign, please), but I'm a little worried about keeping expensive electronics (like a stereo system and an LCD HDTV) plugged in with those power fluctuations. Unfortunately, fully half of the apartment is on this circuit, so it's not possible to just run a line to a different circuit. All we've got plugged in are 2 lamps, the overhead light, the entertainment center, and the AC. Even if it's just the lamps on, they still flicker when the compressor starts, so it's pretty clear that this AC compressor is just a tad too powerful for the circuit wiring as it stands now.

Which brings us to the meat of the question. The idea I'm toying with right now that might solve the problem is buying a UPS for the entertainment center so that the battery provides the extra power for the electronics when the compressor starts pulling on the room circuit. The only other solution to the problem (as the situation currently stands) that my googling has turned up is installing an AC compressor motor capacitor. That's a little too intense for something that's only going to be a problem for the next month and a half. Can a UPS can react to a power drop fast enough for it to not register on the electronics? Is there something I haven't thought of? Will the power fluctuations even hurt the expensive electronics? Are my only two options either A) sweat and watch TV or B) be cool and read a book to flickering lamp light? Thanks, Hivemind!

Summer chillin'.

Gordion Knott — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:29:06 -0800

I'd like to install an air-conditioner to cool a 200 sq ft. bedroom. Problem is, the bedroom is fitted with crank-style casement windows, rather than sash windows with an opening for a rectangular air-conditioner. Will I have to endure the summer heat, or do I have options? Like most casement windows, the glass pane opens at an angle, leaving little room for the back portion of the air-conditioner. So I can't conceive of a way to jimmy it into place.

I've looked at other options, including this Delonghi portable. But all are equipped with a section of tubing that exits the window and vents to the outside. Were I to use the Delongi, I'd need to remove--or cut a whole in--the screen that currently covers the window and protects the room from bugs. Also, closing the window during a thunderstorm would entail removing the tube.

I've also heard that portables are noise factories. Is this the case?

Ideally, I'd like an air-con that fits in my casement windows, but I'll stick with a portable if my options run dry. If I go the portable route, how can I handle the tube issue? What brands and models should I point my browser to when searching on the net?

Installing air conditioner in top cage

Awkward Philip — Tue, 05 May 2009 11:19:03 -0800

What do I need to know about buying & installing an air conditioner to go in a cage at the top of a window? I'm just wondering how best to go about this. For one thing, it seems like the air conditioner will have to be an exact fit vertically - unlike with a bottom cage, I won't be able to adjust the window to fit.

Pictures: exterior interior

Help me insulate my air conditioner!

kmtiszen — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:17:38 -0800

lI have a through-the-wal air conditioning unit. How do I stop the cold air outside from coming in through the cracks? I have a Friedrich WallMaster through-the-wall air conditioner that's great during the summer, but leaves my apartment exposed to the elements during the winter months. It's one of those sleeve models, so the back is just a grate that lets the cold air flow in with only the structure of the AC to stop it. The unit came with this foam wadding to help seal the edges, but it just doesn't do the trick. Is there some other insulating practice that I just don't know about?

THANKS!

How much electricity is my AC unit using when it's on "fan"?

amro — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:58:01 -0800

Does my window air conditioner use just as much electricity on the "fan" setting as it does on the "cool" setting? On cooler days this time of year, I often turn my window AC unit to the "fan" setting to pull in some of that cool air from outside. I have always assumed that if the unit is functioning as a fan, it's not using nearly as much electricity as when I've got it set to "cool." Is that an incorrect assumption? And if it does use less power than when it is cooling, how much less? Is it a negligible difference or is it substantial? Would it be better to just stick a box fan in a window?

No air blowing out of the vents in my house! Is my HVAC unit hosed?

pleuroma — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:42:44 -0800

My heat pump / air conditioning unit (HVAC?) is not blowing in my house. I have a programmable thermostat. When I walked past it this morning it said 80 degrees. I bumped it down a couple of degrees and waited to see if it would kick on. No such luck. The unit outside ( the condenser I think.... large box with a fan on top) did turn on but nothing is coming out of the vents. Anyone have any idea what could be wrong? I am getting ready to have to spend some serious money on a replacement? Thanks!

Can I fix my broken car a/c myself?

shinyshiny — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:44:18 -0800

The a/c in my car died about 2 years ago. I'm moving to the desert [SE corner of CA], so now this is a problem. I have no car knowledge, and no money. How can I fix my a/c? 1. How do I find out what's wrong without going to a mechanic [if possible]?
2. Is it worth fixing on a car ['98 Pontiac Grand Prix SE] that hasn't been driven in a year?
3. If I can find out what's wrong, can I fix this myself? Or should I get my fixit brother to do it?

I got the car in 2002 used. Also around 2 years ago, there was a serious over heating problem, leading to a new radiator and new hoses. I don't know if that had anything to do with the a/c dying, since I don't know what they took out or messed with. I also have no idea if not using the a/c in so long damaged it.

I just checked the weather, and its over 105 for the rest of the week. I really don't want to melt, and I move in a few weeks. Help!

It's gettin' hot in herre...

odayoday — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:41:19 -0800

Help me keep cool! Ok, I'm a bit OCD about this I realize. I'm wondering if there's some way to test the AC in my apartment to see if it's working properly. Is there a special thermometer to use to test the air temperature coming out of the vents? If so, what should that temperature be? A little background: I live in Austin, TX. It's very hot. We've been on a tear of triple-digit days so naturally ACs will have to work harder to keep up, but even after the sun goes down it seems to take my air conditioner forever to bring the temp down just a little bit. It seems to run all night. When I wake up it is definitely cold in my place but the AC is still running. It might stop for a couple of minutes and then start up again. When it does catch up and stop it only stops for a couple of minutes before going back on. They recently had to rip up my ceilings to get any air flowing out of the vents in my kitchen/dining area b/c the ducts had been crushed or something. Now there's a tiny amount of output in the kitchen/dining area and a disproportionate amount of air output from the vent in my living room. My first bill was 120 bucks… not great but unreasonable unless you consider I spent half of the month (maybe a bit over half) at my girlfriend's apartment with the AC turned off completely. Extrapolating my utility bill rate over the course of an entire month it would have been over 200 bucks. I think over 200 bucks for a utility bill for a one bedroom apartment (under 700 sq. feet) would be absurdly high, right? My concern is that maintenance, which at this new place is notoriously slow and lazy, will just say "it's working" and do nothing even if there's not enough coolant because what do they care what my bills are? Is there any way to prove that it's not working properly? Anything I can do myself to make it run better? Should I call my own AC guy out to check it out? If the vents aren't blowing cold enough would a simple "charge" of the coolant work to fix it? They did clean the coils but I don't think that did much.

Keeping my hot side hot and my cool side crisp

Shepherd — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:19:17 -0800

When is a heat pump worth it? [warning: a bit long] Due to circumstances that are really too long to explain, I need to totally remove my oil heating system and replace it with an electric system. Quotes to tear out the old furnace, upgrade my ductwork and put in an electric furnace come in at about $4K. That's pretty much a given. Adding a heat pump, however, would cost about $5K to $6K. I currently have no air conditioning in my very old house with very old windows, and while I don't mind suffering a bit to save a few bucks, my fiancée is very much of the opposite opinion... but she currently lives in the southern States, and isn't really familiar with Canadian summers (it only gets stinkin' hot from about mid-July to mid-August where I live).
The pluses of getting the heat pump are essentially that I'm getting everything torn up to put the new furnace in and wired up right now, and installing something like a heat pump later would be much less convenient than getting it done now. It's also a "fire and forget" kind of solution for the next era of home ownership: get it done and it'll never have to be done again.
It's a two-story house built into a hill, so the upper floor is at street level and is entirely aboveground; the lower floor is below street level but is 90% aboveground thanks to the slope of the hill. About 80% of my time is spent on the upper floor -- the lower floor is my workshop, workout room, guest room, furnace room, storage space and a second bathroom. Total square footage is about 1800 sq.ft. divided evenly between the floors.
Since I've never had electric heat OR air conditioning, I'm in no position to compare expenditures vs. projected savings to cost out whether it's worthwhile. I'm tempted to put the $6K towards new windows, but that'd just be a drop in the bucket as far as window-replacement costs. The windows I have now are entirely unsuitable for window-mount air conditioners, and I'm not convinced those are a good idea at the best of times.
Most of the resources I've found re. heat pumps need you to figure out what you've been spending on heating/cooling for the past X years, but I don't have any such data. Previous threads like the one for Atlanta thread is interesting but not especially relevant for my situation. The Arkansas AskMe was a bit more helpful, but I'm more interested in its cooling properties than the heating ones.
I can't think of any other relevant information, but feel free to post more questions if that'll help me puzzle out whether or not this is a good move.
The environment is also a concern: while I know a standard air conditioner would be cheaper, is there one option that is much more green than the other? I'm already happy to be switching from oil to electric, as Quebec power is relatively green (mostly hydroelectric from northern dams).

endothermic or exothermic?

phritosan — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:19:35 -0800

Apartment filter: I need my apartment to be cool inside! We moved into a very nice 3rd (top) floor, west facing apartment... in March... came home in June and no exaggeration, it was 94 degrees in my living room. The AC has a 20 degree difference and runs nonstop from 4pm to 11pm and its 84 degrees in the bed room till 11pm. We’ve had the maintenance people out three times. There’s a 20 degree difference between intake and output. The filters are new. Everything on the roof looks fine. But more than 2 feet from the vent and you can’t feel it anymore.

All the ceiling fans are going 24/7. The floor fan is on whenever we're home and not asleep. The sliding glass door is covered by UV/light blocking tinting designed for RVs, venetian blinds, and a blanket. The office window has venetian blinds and a blanket. The bedroom window has venetian blinds and very thick light blocking curtains. The AC is always set on 78. We cannot make any modifications that are visible from the outside.

Do you think it’s worth another $100 to tint the other two windows? The heat has to be coming through the walls, right?

I live in the Phoenix area, opening the windows after dark will not help. Moving is not an option till March and we still like everything else about the apartment.

What else can we do?! I’m not looking for stop-gap solutions like a bucket of ice water in front of a fan. I want my apartment enjoyable. There is no reason I should have a $230 electric bill for a 980 sq ft apartment when my parents have a $380 bill for a 5 bedroom house! Our electric bill in April was $76!

Help us mefi, you're our only hope!

How can we use our ACs most efficiently?

LolaGeek — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:28:19 -0800

We have two (okay, four) window air conditioners. How can we best use them to cool our house? We live in a two-story, 1400 square foot house. It was built in 1895, and obviously they didn't have central air back then, so we use window air conditioner units. We have four of them, but two are kind of old/junky/possibly broken, so we're really only using two.

We've already taken other steps to keep the house cool such as adding extra insulation and vents in the attic, keeping the windows covered during the day, using ceiling fans, and running appliances like the washer/dryer and dishwasher early in the morning or at night.

The first couple years we lived here, we set up one AC upstairs and one downstairs (at opposite ends of the house), and only turned them on when we were in the room. Those were terrible summers.

Last year and this year, we've been setting up both ACs upstairs (at opposite ends of the house), and leaving them on at a low setting all the time. The cool air sinks to the downstairs, and its generally tolerable in the house, as long as you're not doing anything too active (like, say, vacuuming).

Are we using our ACs as efficiently as possible? Is there a different arrangement that could keep our house cooler and/or use less energy?

(For reference, here is a general floorplan - the ACs are currently in the front and back bedrooms upstairs.)

PS: We have three cats, so they need to be comfy all day, too.

Central air conditioner issues on a rental house in Texas.

Ufez Jones — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:45:38 -0800

Air conditioner puts out more water than cool air. Ideas on what two renters can do? The Texas summer is obviously too much for our new rent house to handle. With the thermostat at 78 degrees, it puts out at least 28 quarts of water per day (14 gallon bucket emptied twice, sometimes three times each day). While that's good for the herbs in the front, it's not so good for the internal temp of the house - the cooling cycles are long and do little to bring down our 80+ degree house to the thermostat setting. It also makes a loud noise when starting, almost like someone is kicking the housing unit. This is a central air-unit, not a window-based.

Being renters, there's not much else for us to do other than replace the filter (done when we moved in) and call the landlord to send someone out to inspect it, which we have already. The technicians said the Freon level was fine and cleaned debris out of the unit and while that helped somewhat, it obviously wasn't sufficient, as our most recent electricity bill was $lots.

To hone it down to something specific, we'd like to look for terms/questions to pinpoint to our (granted, a bit batty) landlord. The leakage is a major concern, as is the cost of the electric bill.

Getting the fuck out of Dallas isn't an immediate solution.

My outside air conditioning unit needs a Karen Silkwood shower

Unicorn on the cob — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:56:31 -0800

Help me de-gunk my outside air conditioner. Last year, I had a great guy replace my air conditioning unit in my five-year-old house. Being not the best homeowner in the world, I had no idea there was a vast series of weekly and monthly steps to be done to keep things nice (with the house in general), which led to me spending three grand putting in a whole new unit.

The guy told me that my outside air unit needs to be cleaned regularly to keep debris (leaves, bug bodies, crap in general) out of the blades surrounding the fan. He said the occasional high-pressure spray down with an outside garden hose would do, and that's what I've been doing. But he also mentioned that every 5 years or so, the blades in the vents would get so clogged I should do an "enzyme clean." He specifically said it was for the blades on the outside unit, NOT a duct cleaning or coil cleaning. Well, I tried calling the guy this summer and his number is disconnected, and googled "enzyme clean" and all I get is services for cleaning air ducts.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I looked at my unit yesterday and it looks pretty gunked up and I would love for it to be running as efficiently, cleanly and coolly as possible now that the 100+ degree days have started. Ideally, I would love to just do it myself, if that were possible, and he mentioned you could buy the product yourself and do it without professional help or hire an HVAC person to come and do the cleaning for you... but now I don't know who to call or what to ask for. If it helps, I'm in Dallas.

Does a shallow air conditioner exist?

logovisual — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:49:00 -0800

Can anybody suggest an extremely shallow in-window air conditioner, that I could possibly install in a window that has bars across it just a couple inches outside the screen? And don't waste your time suggesting a portable unit, as I'll describe inside. I'm DQing a portable unit because I just got one this weekend, and frankly, whatever gets suggested here would replace it because it just plain doesn't work. My room is only 140 sq ft and it barely drops the temperature by more than four degrees. Plus it fills up with water every three hours and has to be emptied. It's completely untenable.

In any event, I'm not sure the perfect unit exists, since only about three inches of the bulk could stick out the window, and in my experience most A/Cs need much more projection than that to vent properly. But maybe somebody knows of something I don't? I've seen past AskMeFi questions in which people claim to be running their A/C units almost completely inside the window; does anybody have any specific tips on how to make that work?

All around, people looking half dead/Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

SassHat — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:40:35 -0800

Yet another air conditioner question...please hope me. So I buckled today and bought a window air conditioner after a week straight of near-sleepless nights in my second floor apartment. Bought a 5000 BTU window unit, the kind meant for a window to shut down on top of it. My neighbor (in my building) has the same windows, same window a/c unit, and said it didn't cause him any problems. So I lugged the stupid thing home, nearly got heat stroke installing it, then hit a brick wall. Well two.

The first (and most important) thing is that the outlet nearest the two windows which would fit it (incidentally, in the kitchen) does not seem to have sufficient power to make it work. To test it, I set it on the edge of the counter and stretched the plug across to the outlet the fridge is plugged into...worked. This was fine to make sure the unit itself worked but there is no way the cord will reach that far, and if it did it would span the length of my kitchen.

So now I'm stuck with a unit that I can't power. I live in a bachelor apt and vaguely remember my landlord explaining to me that there wasn't an oven because there wasn't an outlet to plug it into and that she was going to have an electrician in some day (this was last sept). So now what? I put in a peeved voicemail with the landlady, she will likely take her sweet time on this, to the tune of me getting air conditioning some time next fall. My neighbor suggested an extension cord but that seems like a sketchy proposition at best. I've read the previous air conditioning askmes, but they were mostly about playing with wiring (something I will not and am not allowed to do). Any other workarounds you can suggest?

Secondly, should I ever get the power source issue taken care of - the window is a slide-sideways kind of window, the panes of which pop right out for easy cleaning. So while the unit fits in there, it's got about five or six inches of "head room" which covered up with cardboard for the time being. What's the best way of permanently (or at least seasonally) blocking off this area? And how to seal it up so cold air stays in and warm air/hornets/squirrels stay out?

Thanks in advance!

A 120V air conditioner with a 240V outlet

sbutler — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:12:23 -0800

Given constraints, how can I make a 120V window air conditioner work on a 240V outlet? I'm breaking down and getting a window air conditioner for my apartment this year. It's ~500 sq. ft., so I'm thinking ~10,000BTU should be good. All fine and dandy; I can get a Frigidaire at the local Lowes for $200 and some change.

The problem comes with power. The only 120V outlet by the window is not grounded, and is on the same circuit as the fridge and microwave. Bad situation! But I also have a 240V outlet for the baseboard heater (NEMA 6-15R or 6-30R plug). Perfect... now how do I make this work?

I looked at a couple 240V air conditioners and they're all either (a) too powerful or (b) too expensive. I even had a co-worker who's also a landlord help me search, and we came up with bupkis. Plus, a 120V unit would be more flexible for future living situations. So getting a 240V unit is out of the question, unless I can find one relatively cheap.

Changing the outlet wiring is also not feasible. I'm moving in 2 months, and frankly my landlord is very slow getting around to requests. I just want to be comfortable for 2 months without a ton of hassle.

So, I've been looking at step down transformers. A 3,000 watt one should easily do the trick. The air conditioner is around a 1,000 IIRC, so this gives it some wiggle room for when the fan or compressor motors start. But this introduces a problem with plug types! Every one I found seems to assume I'm plugging into European outlets, or it doesn't have an option for the 6-30R american outlet.

Any advice? Do I really have to create my own custom patch cable from european to american?

How to deal with automatic heater in apartment?

shivohum — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:45:57 -0800

My landlord in NY claims that our heater must turn on when the temperature drops. If we wanted to prevent this, a technician would have to "turn the valves off" -- a cumbersome process that risks the valves later freezing and "popping" and steam destroying our apartment. True? Is this common? And if so, how can we deal with a too-hot room, other than by opening the window?

How do you deal with an overflowing air conditioner?

dkg — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 13:42:59 -0800

The portable air conditioner (an AMCOR PLM 12000EH) in my server room keeps filling up with water. It used to operate without my ever needing to drain the reservoir. What changed? How do i fix this? The server room doubles as a storage room, and is about 3m x 3m. It has a half-dozen running computers in it and other storage up on shelves. It's relatively well-sealed, and the A/C vents via a short hose into the neighboring room (a large auditorium). When the reservoir in the A/C fills up, the A/C turns off and must be drained. While the A/C is off, the room heats back up again, which is not so good for the machines. i've had heat-related hardware failures on machines in that room in the past (before the A/C was installed).

This particular A/C ran fine for 3 months without ever filling the reservoir. But two weeks ago, the reservoir filled for the first time. Since then, it's a non-stop chore to keep the A/C running. The ~1 liter reservoir fills in an hour or two.

I've gone back over the room and sealed what leaks i could find with duct tape. But i have to open the door to go into the room to drain the reservoir, so it's not like it's permanently sealed.

And unfortunately, i don't think there's a drain nearby that i can easily run a hose to, though i'm happy to explore other options.

What's causing this? How do i put a stop to it? Help me get back to doing the work i'm supposed to be doing!

How to install an air conditioner in a window with jalousies.

Joey Michaels — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 23:52:21 -0800

How do I install an air conditioner unit into a window with jalousies? Well, after a particularly hot August, my wife and I finally decided to break down and buy and air conditioner for our apartment, specifically for the bed room. We measured the room to calculate the correct BTUs, measured the window, and found an air conditioner that was correct for us at Costco. Good price, too.

We get it home today, I break out the instructions and discover that the instructions are exclusively for wooden sill double or single hung sash-type windows.

I had a similar air conditioner unit in this apartment six or seven years ago (installed by a previous renter). When I removed it (it died a rather unpleasant death), I discovered that the previous owner had created a rather extensive (and by now termite ridden) balance system using loose pieces of wood and a towel. So, while I have no idea how to replicate this system, I know that there must be ways to do it.

So any ideas? Obviously, I need to take some of the jalousies out, but beyond that, I'm rather at a loss. Thank you!

Automatic climate control?

jal0021 — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 07:25:20 -0800

First car with automatic climate control. How does it work? About a month ago, I bought a 2008 Subaru Forester. It's the first car I've owned that includes automatic climate control, and the owner's manual isn't particularly clear on how it works. I've been running it in "semi-automatic" mode, giving me greater control over settings, and since it's been hot lately and most of my driving is done during the day, I've almost always kept the temperature at its lowest setting (65F). However, now that's it's starting to cool down outside (I live in Colorado), I've been setting the temperature a bit higher (~70F) and have noticed that, when I do, the air flowing from the vents is much warmer than I'd expect.

While driving to work this morning, however, things got more complicated. I set the temperature to 70F only to have the heat itself kick in. The outside temperature at the time was 62F, but I was driving into direct morning sun, so it was warm enough inside the car that I wanted at least some cooling - not heat. Out of curiosity, I set the temperature even higher (~85F), and the air coming from the vents continued to increase in temperature. So, it wasn't like I was getting full heat at 70F. I continued to drive for awhile with the temperature set at 70F, and while the temperature of the air seemed to fluctuate some (there was a hint of cooling every so often), it remained warm until I got to the office.

So, my question... is this how automatic climate control systems work? Since the outside temperature at the time was 62F and the car had been sitting outside all night, I can only assume the ambient temperature of the cabin was no higher than 70F. By setting the temperature of the climate control to 75F, would it compensate by blowing hot air in order to bring the temperature up as quickly as possible?

For what it's worth, the owner's manual seemed to indicate that keeping the temperature at its lowest setting (65F) would result in maximum cooling, no matter what, and since that's where I've been keeping it until now, that would explain why I'm just now noticing this quirk... assuming it is a quirk, that is, and not a problem that needs servicing.

Replace HVAC now or later?

commander_cool — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 11:24:47 -0800

Ten-year old air conditioner, busted compressor. Get a new compressor, or replace the whole thing? Replacing the compressor will cost $1400; replacing the total HVAC will cost $3500. Allegedly, the compressor will get me five years more life before the whole thing goes out, while a new HVAC will last fifteen. If those numbers are accurate, and I'm not getting wildly overcharged (I'm in the DC area of the US), then I'm inclined to get the compressor, since my discount rate is greater than 11% (I'd rather spend $3500 in 2012 than $2100 now), but I'd like the collective wisdom of MeFi to let me know if those numbers are accurate. Also, whether those prices are reasonable enough that I shouldn't risk my girlfriend leaving me for someone with a working AC while I hunt around for a lower price.

My AC is making me sick.

fogster — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:55:38 -0800

My air conditioner is making me sick. How do I clean it? My allergies were bugging me, so I started running my air conditioner 24/7. They got exponentially worse, and, after a few days of downing allergy medicine left and right, it finally dawned on me that the air conditioner was making me far, far worse.

I'm pretty certain that we need to go far beyond cleaning the filter, though. All I can find on Google is how to maintain one of those big outdoor AC units. This one is an in-window unit. I have a hunch that it's got mold growing inside. How can I clean this? (I assume spraying Lysol liberally into it is only going to compound my problems.)