window mounted a/c unit

my 3 year old haier a/c unit stopped working and instead of tossing it i am going to fart around with it to see if i can get it going. when i plug in the power cord i hear an audible beep, the power board (fan speed,timer etc. ) lights up but after a few seconds goes dark and none of the controls work. it was moved last winter whilst in storage and accidentally dropped. thoughts, comments? thanks, cj

Reply to
cj
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You may not want my thoughts and comments on this one....

If you're stumped at this stage of the game, attempting to proceed further will only result in brain damage.

Really you need to know something about air conditioners and electronics to effectively troubleshoot this thing. There's no "learning" to be had there.

Reply to
mkirsch1

Look for loose connectors, a fuse that fell out or a broken part. That is what a drop would do. Try dropping it on the opposite corner ;-)

My guess is after that you will be dropping it on the curb.

Reply to
gfretwell

He is at the 'nothing to lose' stage. Costs nothing but time to pull the guts out of the skin, and look for obvious mechanical damage that even a non-techie can fix. Back when microwaves still cost a couple hundred, I pulled several out of dumpsters, and most came back to life with nothing more than a field-strip and cleaning, including push-on connectors and safety interlocks. Sold a couple in garage sales, gave the rest to relatives or Goodwill.

Reply to
aemeijers

Well, hell, I've put several into dumpsters that were in perfect working order. Maybe you got mine? ;-)

I just gave one (an over-the-stove, w/hood) model to the local Christian recycle place. ...and a couple of days later they came to pick up the stove that was under it. The write-off is even better than paying the garbage man. ;-)

Reply to
krw

You might have cracked/bent and broken the circuit board. I would think it only has copper traces (wire substitutes) on one or two sides, not in the middle. See which traces are broken, even a small crack with no visible light coming through is probably a break) and solder jumper wires from one solder point to another (rather than trying to solder to the trace. Although you can do that too, I think, if you scrape the varnish off the copper, which sometimes is thin.)

Also see which parts are broken, a wire leed pulled out of a small capacitor. That could be a bigger problem but you probably won't find anything like that.

My roommate long ago had a an AM/FM/TV alarm clock. I've never seen another one. His father got mad and threw it at him, he told me. The circuit board was bent and cracked and sepearated, and I had to run 13 jumper wires, but after that it worked fine.

Reply to
mm

I never shit-can working equipment of any sort. Sell, Goodwill, or give away at gunpoint at times. Any time I am tempted to toss something that still works, I see my long-dead Grampa (who I got the trashpicking gene from) shaking his head and scowling at me. Drove my Grandma nuts for 50+ years with all the crap he dragged home from wherever. Took us over a week to empty out his basement when the time came, and we found good homes for almost all of it. I finally put the dregs out by the street, and most was gone by morning. He had a good excuse- having to flee a upper-middle-class professional existence with just the clothes on their backs, and one small suitcase each, and move halfway around the world, does tend to make you paranoid that hard times will come again.

-- aem sends....

Reply to
aemeijers

My father was like that (parents were teens during the depression). I brought several tons of scrap crap out of the attic after he died. He ripped WW-II surplus equipment apart for the screws, though I don't think he ever actually used any of them. ...and then saved everything. I'm not like that at all. With few exceptions, if it doesn't get used in a year or so, it gets trashed. I'm done moving crap around with me. That said, I still have a pretty good pile of Maple (2x10s) and Ash (1 x rough) that's been following me around through three interstate moves in the last 25-30 years. ;-)

Nah, if it's not being used it goes to the dump. The microwave and stove were only three years old (contractor grade stuff) so I decided someone could really use them. Shoulda given the dishwasher and fridge to 'em too.

Reply to
krw

I'd locate the power supply for the control board and display. Find out if you have a normal voltage for a digital board. Voltages of

5V and 12V are typical. Look for any obvious cracks, cold solder joints, or burned components or traces on the board. Given the price of these today, I wouldn't spend too much time and certainly very little on any parts.
Reply to
trader4

Exactly! My father had the trash-picker gene from the Great Depression, which my OCD neat-freak mom hated. She, however, would not waste an iota of food. Milk going bad? Pudding time. Bananas getting mushy? Banana bread day. She did, however, send my off to my SATs after feeding me bacon and eggs and I had the worst stomach cramps ever! When I got home, for some reason I was looking through the garbage and found some very green bacon. She had cut away the parts that looked good and fed them to me, not realizing that when the left side of the bacon is green, the right side is probably almost as bad, but the bacteria had not fully bloomed yet.

There's nothing like having to flee a place where you had a good job, a house and lots of things with only a suitcase to color your life view in serious ways. Those were my grandparents. Couple their pathology to my Mom and Dad having lived through the Great Depression and you get those sorts of hoard/don't waste a single thing behaviors.

Good for you re: finding homes for things and repairing simple-to-fix items that would have added to our overflowing trash dumps. Our current society is geared exactly opposite. Only the latest is good enough, everything else gets trashed. As our automakers discovered, when push comes to shove people can keep those hoopties running long enough in a pinch to nearly collapse the industry, which *depends* on people wanting the latest and greatest, damn the rest. The problem is that manufacturers now build on this principle and less and less stuff is repairable without replacing entire assemblies that often cost more than the original item!

-- Bobby G.

Reply to
Robert Green

I'm beginning to understand your gene pool.

Reply to
trader4

ut the fly screen have a piece of plexiglass made to fit and cut out for th= e a/c?

That could work. When I was in college I used a piece of plywood in a similar fashion. Have you tried googling? Might find some ready made solution.

Reply to
trader4

ut the fly screen have a piece of plexiglass made to fit and cut out for th= e a/c?

Is the unit made for a casement window? Casement window units are usually taller and narrower than units for double hung windows. It might need more support than available. I've seen these...

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Does the window open wide enough for it to fit width wise?

I've only had one casement window (it's been replaced with a slider) and I don't think it opened wide enough for an AC to fit. It sure didn't open 90 degrees.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Casement AC are made. I've got one on my side porch, been trying for years to sell it.

Normal AC will not run, if put in sideways.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

On Jul 16, 9:10=A0pm, "Stormin Mormon"

How do you know that? LOL

Sonny

Reply to
Sonny

It's "common knowledge". The compressor lubricating oil needs to be kept in one direction, or the piston and valve are damaged.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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How do you know that? LOL

Sonny

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

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Can't I just turn a window air conditioner on its side to fit my slider window? No. Turning an air conditioner on its side and running it is a very good way to quickly break it.

(Thanks, Sonny. It's always good to check on folk wisdom. Which can be wrong. Also occurs to me, the condensate would not run out, properly.)

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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How do you know that? LOL

Sonny

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I was ribbing You!.... aka - (How do you know that?) Redneck's (yourself, LOL) hit-or-miss approach to home repairs?

I didn't doubt your correct knowledge. Sonny

Reply to
Sonny

out the fly screen have a piece of plexiglass made to fit and cut out for = the a/c?

with lexan to allow for the hoses. One question though, wondering why the u= nit comes with a hose for air inlet? Why would I want to haul in hot air?

Stolen without permission from:

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Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner

Dual hose portable air conditioners function similar to single hose units, but dual hose portable air conditioners have implemented a system to correct some of the inefficiency inherent in a single hose portable air conditioner's design.

A single hose portable air conditioner uses a compressor to power a cooling system to remove heat from the room's air. This heat is then expelled out the exhaust hose. However, the compressor itself creates heat and must be cooled off - and air must be passed over the condenser coil to remove heat from the room. Since a single hose portable air conditioner's only source of air is the room that it is in, air from the room is used to cool off the compressor. This air is then expelled out the exhaust hose.

This system is inefficient for two reasons:

1.Already-cooled air from the room is being heated up and expelled from the room. This is wasteful, as the portable air conditioner had to expend energy to cool this air. 2.As air from the room is expelled, other air must take its place in the room. This is what is called "Negative air pressure." Air then seeps in around doorways, and through small cracks and holes in the ceiling, floor, and walls. This air must then be cooled - and it may also bring allergens and impurities with it into the room.

A dual hose portable air conditioner solves this problem by adding an extra hose, which pulls air into the portable air conditioner from the outside to cool off the compressor and condenser coil. The air is then expelled out the exhaust hose.

Operationally, a dual hose portable air conditioner has two main advantages over a single hose unit. A dual hose portable air conditioner will cool a room faster and it will not create a negative air pressure situation in the room. Of course, if you have a dual hose portable air conditioner, you can remove the intake hose and it will function like a single hose unit.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

out the fly screen have a piece of plexiglass made to fit and cut out for = the a/c?

with lexan to allow for the hoses. One question though, wondering why the u= nit comes with a hose for air inlet? Why would I want to haul in hot air?

As a follow up to my previous post, this is described in the graphic at the website:

(Paraphrased)

With a single hose unit, the unit draws air from the room to cool the the compressor and condenser coil. It then expels this hot air through the exhaust. Since this will create negative air pressure in the room, the room will suck air into the room from any source that it can get it from, most likely that leaky window where the hose goes out.

Now you've got outside air, at say 80 - 90 degrees, inside the room that you have to cool off.

If you suck the exterior air in through the intake hose and exhaust it right back out via the exhaust hose, there is no negative pressure and the unit doesn't have to try and cool off any sucked in air.

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Reply to
DerbyDad03

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