I just got a very large Maytag window unit from my grandmother after she went to a retirement home. Its relatively new looking but I'm not sure about the age. It had a 30amp plug so I ran a new 220 line from our panel to the window we were putting it in. When I turn the unit on the compressor kicks on and there is very cold air for about 5-10 minutes.The compressor turns off and blows room temperature air until you turn it off. If you turn it back on immediately it will still continue to blow room temp air but if you turn it off and let it sit for about 30 minutes you'll get another 5-10 minutes of cold air.

I called the local appliance shop and he told me based on what I told him that the internal overload in the compressor was turning it off which meant that the compressor was going bad and that it would be cheaper for me to buy a new unit instead of having it fixed.

Should I try to add more refrigerant to it? Any suggestions?

 

Sounds plausible...but first...are you getting any icing on the coils? Is the filter clean? Does it do it at all fan speeds? 30A is pretty large for a window unit...most are 20A.

I don't think window units have the ports for checking charge and refilling? Maybe older ones did...

 

this sticker on the side of the unit said it would run at 14.2 amps, similar to the the unit we have in the back of the house ( which is on a 30 amp breaker and pulls 13.9 amps) so I assumed it would be safe. could this be the cause?

i haven't checked for icing but i'm going to pull it out tonight when i get home and make sure everything is clean. it does do it at all speeds.

 

Oversized circuit is not an issue...I just found it odd.

Icing should be readily visible on the coils and would indicate low airflow, dirty filter (causing low air flow), or low charge.

 

Generally a machine that draws 14 amperes (more or less) would be on a 20 ampere circuit but as Gunguy states that is not the problem. Oversize unit for the size of the room may very well be the problem as could an evaporator coil that is very dirty. You really need to pull the unit from the cabinet and blow air through the evaporator in the reverse direction from its normal flow. Don't use real high pressure air but about 30 psi as higher pressure could deform the fins on the coil.

While you have it out of the cabinet also clean the condenser coil the same way. Make sure the room air filter is clean and then reinstall it. Test it out and see if it works any better. Also, look for a sensor bulb fastened to the front of the room air intake (evaporator) coil. If you find such a bulb try holding it tightly with your fingers when the compressor stops and if the compressor restarts after a few minutes then you know it is either an airflow problem or just too large a machine for the space.