Hi all,

We had a bad rainy day one day this last winter, and our ac / heating unit is outside. It tripped the switch at the fuse box. We turned it back on and went about our business. A couple days later my husband noticed that the air coming from the vents did not feel warm - it felt more like room temperature.

We continued to use it for the rest of the winter, and imo it heated the condo just fine.

Ok, now it's warming up, and he won't let me even turn on the ac - he thinks we have to run it on fan only. He thinks turning on the ac will further damage it.

I've turned it on for short periods when he's not there, and it does not seem to be having serious problems. I'm not sure either that it cools enough, but it seems to operate ok to me. It does seem to cool down a little more than just running the fan. I'm getting a digital room thermometer soon.

Does it sound like it's safe to at least run it? Neither of us know that much about air conditioning.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Is this a mobile home? If not what you probably have is the condenser outside and an air handler in the attic. Is this a heat pump or do you have a furnace in the attic? Please provide the make and model number of your equipment.

 

It sounds like since the heat and A/C is outside that it's a packaged unit..... and most likely on the roof.

 

It's not a mobile home, we have a condo. We don't have an attic.
I'll go get the model info.

 

So a package unit as guessed by Pete? Do you own the condo or do you rent?

 

yes, that is what I said, a package unit, and it is outside!

We own it, why do you ask? What does that have to do with
my repair question? really.....

 

Didn't see that. So not on the roof but on the ground where it is easily accessible? Because renters shouldn't be doing their own repairs.

 

I said: "our ac / heating unit is outside."

As I said, we own it, how is that your business?
Just tell me you can't answer the question, and I'll go
somewhere else.

Also if it was on the roof, I would say it is on the roof!

 

When you put the unit into A/C mode..... the blower will come on for the inside air.
You've confirmed that as working but just running that by itself won't accomplish anything.

What you need to do is when unit is in A/C mode..... confirm that the fan that is visible on the top of the unit is running.

The fan and compressor may be delayed up to 5 minutes before they come on.

 

Thank you PJMax. I will do that. I was just wondering if turning the ac on will be safe. I know it's a dumb beginner question, but my husband is a stroke survivor and sometimes comes up with weird ideas. I'm trying to assure him that it's fine, and also determine if we really need a repair.

To ray2047: I'm going to wait to go outside to check the info of the unit, because:the local neighborhood drug dealers are currently holding a satanic ritual around it. They should be done doing their thing by morning, and that is when I'll go outside to look.

 

Normally the unit is protected from damage by running it. If you were getting heat from it over the winter then it's probably a natural gas furnace.

Running the unit in A/C shouldn't hurt it but if the A/C section has a problem you won't get any cold air. It will just circulate room temperature air.

 

Tunguska, I apologize I upset you but the unit you describe is not what I would expect to see. I'm a bit baffled by what you have and curious. I'm thinking maybe a through the wall but I wouldn't call that outside even though it does protrude through the wall. I was just trying to gather info for those more familiar with heating and air.