air conditioner: waste of money?

[nosredna]

Does anyone here have a Sharp AF-06ERL 6200BTU air conditioner? I bought one tonight ($114) based on a favorable epinions review*, but I'm wondering whether I need to take it back (to Lowe's). I've been running it for an hour and it still doesn't feel very cool in the (13'x12') room (door is closed). It's not even very hot outside tonight (75), though humidity is 71. The default temperature on the Sharp is 74. I reduced it to 68, then 64, and it doesn't feel any different. My husband said it feels cool when he walks in after being in an non-airconditioned room, so maybe it's just my imagination, but with my old, noisy, 5200BTU one I had to turn it down, it got so cold.

*

[I-zheet M'drurz]

That could be a big room for a 6200 BTU, depending on what kind of insulation and windows you have, and what's above it? If it's a flat roof, the heat is hard to get rid of.

Turning the thermostat down doesn't make it get colder any faster. It makes it run longer, because it's trying to reach that lower temperature, but you get no increase in cooling speed.

could be...

So get it back and pick up a set of earplugs?

[Tom]

Mrs. Anderson wrote>Does anyone here have a Sharp AF-06ERL 6200BTU air conditioner? I bought

Do you have the back of it sticking out the well-sealed window? Sorry, of course you do. If the emitted air is not as cold as you'd like, take it back for a replacement. Tom Work at your leisure!

[TURTLE]

Run the unit for about 15 minutes on high fan with thermostat turn low as it will go. Then take a good thermometer and take the temp. of the air coming out for 5 minutes and then lay the thermometer on the other side of the room out of the air flow of the discharge of the window unit for about 5 minute. Take the temperatures and it should be 15ºF to 25ºF colder air coming out than the temperature of the reading of the other side of the room. This is Called the TD or Temperature differencial. You should have a TD of '' atleast '' 12ºF bring it back. If you can get a 15ºF or + TD -- Keep it.

Simple

TURTLE

[Curmudgeon]

You spent the money on the AC, now spend $2.00 on a THERMOMETER! "Feels cool"???? What's that supposed to mean?

[zxcvbob]

If there's a lot of humidity in the house, the A/C has to remove the moisture before the temperature can drop much. It's called the "latent heat of vaporization."

You might get a better temperature differential if you turn the fan speed down (the air will spend more time going over the evaporator coils.) Turning the thermostat down won't do anything; the compressor is either running or it's not.

Bob

[nosredna]

I'm curious about rain and window air conditioners. How come they don't get wrecked by rain? It seems like the unit would get water-logged in a hard rain and short out....???? I'm talking mainly about the modern units with the unexposed coils, with large vents on top and sides.

[AC/DCdude17]

X-No-Archive: Yes

Just like cars. It can withstand some water when it comes in within designed parameter by having water proofing on the top side of parts, but it will not withstand submersion.

nosredna wrote:

[Dan O.]

If you look inside a correctly working a/c, the base pan will have or have had water in it. The base pan is no more than an inch high. Nothing with exposed electrical connections is mounted that low in an air conditioner and if the water ever got any deeper, it would just leak out the side louvers or through the condenser (rear) coil.

Also, the electrics which are in an air conditioner are reasonably water resistant as they are designed to have some water in them even when running normally.

JFYI.

Dan O.

- Appliance411.com

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[nosredna]

(OP) Thanks--nicely worded explanation!

[nosredna]

Dan O: I meant to ask you: How come the new window air conditioners are so much quieter than the ones of yesteryear?

[Dan O.]

You might get some disagreement on that.

*If* quieter, it likely has to do with the design of the a/c (using Styrofoam insulation internally as the compartment divider, compressor design, etc.) or just sh*t luck. I've seen 2 of the very some a/c models side by side and one was noticeably noisier than the other. Replacing the compressor (which was causing the major sound difference) didn't help make then sound exactly same. :(

I have also seen 30-40 year old window/wall air conditioners which were virtually silent. Many people regret replacing them when they do even if new ones save considerable energy.

Dan O.

- Appliance411.com

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[Edwin Pawlowski]

Gave a 40 year old away last year, but I have no regrets. I could no longer lift it into the window without help as it was at least twice the weight of the replacement unit. Yes, it sure was quit. Still have a 25 year old. Heavy, but I can handle it. Ed

[Trent©]

I once had a Sears window a/c, Ed, that was almost like a 2-piece unit. Only the fan was inside the house...and it was very quiet. The compressor was completely outside the house...and everything was isolated by the window. It was extremely quiet...like running a small fan.

I wonder if they still make 'em.

Have a nice week...

Trent©

What do you call a smart blonde? A golden retriever.