I took out my 14,000 BTU Kenmore window AC unit and cleaned it. When I put it back in it moved air better than before and the cooling was fine. BUT......when the compressor cycles off and the air is being recyled the humidity rises very fast. Much faster than before. I closed the outside vent. I am pretty sure it was closed before the cleaning.
Hi, Maybe water is not draining from the pan.
I just checked. Water is draining but it is also pooling somewhat around the drain hole. (A pool about 6" by 6") I could drill a second hole, but would that be necessary?
Hi, Maybe the hose is plugged up. Poke it with coat hanger or something.
How are you measuring humidity?
A lower duty cycle will raise humidity. Too much cooling capacity for the room means the temperature is lowered before the humidity is condensed out. You get cool clammy air instead of cool dry air. This is why a lot of buildings feel "cold", because excess humidity makes the usual comfort temperature feel too warm, so you lower the temperature to compensate, and wind up with a "clammy" feel.
I'm using the same hydrometer I have had for the past few years to measure humidity. The unit has increased it's efficiency since being cleaned though. (slightly greater airflow) I also use a 14" floor fan to circulate air to the back of the house the same way I always have. Outside temps and humidity have remained more or less constant.
Remember that it can not add humidity. It can only fail to remove as much as before. I suspect that is the situation and the short cycle is a likely reason.
A hydrometer measures liquid density, not humidity.
You want a wet-bulb/dry-bulb sling psychrometer. Anything else inexpensive is inaccurate and unreliable, especially the department store wall-hangers "weather stations".
Time for some duct tape over the cool outlet?
Nick
Okay, I admit it. I have a battery powered temp/humidity monitor. But it's the same AC unit I have always had only now it is CLEAN! I would just like my lower humidity readings back.
Then you need a properly sized AC. It is not possible for an AC to add humidity, but it is very possible for it to not remove enough for comfort. In very humid weather the difference is more pronounced. No knowing the present conditions you have of outside temperature, outside humidity, area you are trying to cook construction and insulation, no one can give a definitive answer on the proper sized unit. At 14,000 Btu, you can do a typical entire floor of an average size home. If, however, it is 76 degrees outside, very humid, and you want to cook down to 72 degrees, you will probably be left felling damp.
Run the fan on a lower speed.
Use lower fan speeds if available, this will normally get a lower E-Coil temp & longer runtime. Many room A/C's have a power saving setting that cuts the fan off with the TH, use it!
I cool over 900 sq. ft. first floor with a 6,000-BTUH half ton room A/C . Read how it is done:
- udarrell
Where do you find as a good place to buy one?
Edmund Scientific used to sell them, but no more.
David
PS: maybe you could just go to hardware store, buy two cheap thermometers, attach what?, wadded piece of paper towell, to bulb of one, glue them together back to back, securely tie some chalk-line to the top of it (them) -- and (maybe) you have one?
Problem: where to get that nifty chart for figuring out the humidity, given the temp and the temp-diff?
David (again)
"Johnstone Supply" has sling psychrometers.
- udarrell
Trivial to make your own. Scrap of T-shirt fabric and string.
Routinely sold on eBay:
Make the sock removable and you only need one thermometer.
Gobs on the Web:
David
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