Air conditioner can't take the heat.


  #1  
Old 08-01-06, 01:23 PM
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Air conditioner can't take the heat.

I have a Fedders 5000 BTU air conditioner installed in the wall of my bed room. It was installed about 4 years ago and has worked fine but now on really hot days the compressor will quit regardless of what the thermostat is set on. It will stop for 10-20 minutes and then start and run for 20-45 minutes before shutting down again or if it cools down outside it will keep running. It also seems that if it's started in the morning before it gets hot that it is less likely to shutdown. It sounds like it is going into thermal shutdown. It also has seemed less efficient over the past 2 years. I am vary good a fixing electronics and if it was in a window I would take the cover off to check it out. What makes me worry is that about a year after it was installed I was in Bargain Outlet and saw a bunch of these units for sale as "refurbished". Currently I can't seem to find another unit the same size to fit in the hole. I was just wondering how long this one will last given what its doing. Whats your advice?
 

Last edited by madmatt2024; 08-01-06 at 01:53 PM.
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Old 08-01-06, 03:58 PM
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I have never seen a 5000 BTU wall-mount air conditioner. Is this a window ac mounted in a wall sleeve? If so, your ac is not getting sufficient air. Either mount the window ac in a window, or get a thru-the-wall ac and slide it into the sleeve. If it is truly a through the wall ac, then unplug it, and slide it out and clean the coils.
 
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Old 08-01-06, 04:03 PM
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If this is a wall unit just pull the unit out of the cabinet and take it outside. Hose the coils out really good avoiding the electronics and fan motor

But like Andrew said if it's a window unit installed in a wall sleeve you may not be getting proper airflow.
 
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Old 08-01-06, 07:29 PM
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Actually, this is a window unit that has the cover screwed to the wall and then the insides shoved in and the cover screwed back on. The house has only crank out and sliding windows and they are to small to fit and air conditioner in and the room is to small to justify a large in-wall unit. I also thought all units could be installed in a wall. All the vents outside are visible. Later today I cleaned it as best as I could given its on the second floor, in short, I blasted it with the hose. Then on the inside I sprayed some cleaner on the evaporator and scrubbed it with a brush (going with the fins) then rinsed it with a squirt bottle of water. I seems to work better now. Tomorrow is supposed to be almost as hot as today so I will see how it holds up then. Thanks for the help.
 
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Old 08-02-06, 05:02 AM
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Originally Posted by madmatt2024
given its on the second floor, in short, I blasted it with the hose.

You are a Madman Matt.

Hopefully it gets you through the rest of the summer. Next spring before it gets warm it would be a good idea to pull that thing and give it a real good cleaning.
 
 

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