Are window unit air conditioners worth fixing ?

[John Timmins]

My window unit A/C unit died. It is exposed to salt air since the building is on a salt water canal in Florida.
It is a 12000 BTU unit about 3 tears old. I have not investigated the type of refrigerant and I doubt it even has shrader valves to put gages on. The condenser fins down low are cemented together with oxidation, and I suspect that the corrosion ate through a place on the low side.

So is it really worth taking it somewhere and after labor costs spending a fortune on parts ? It is a G.E. thing that probably has that really high pressure new-fangled refrigerant that blew something out, ad there went the charge.

If any of you have a repair shop, would you simply crop out as much condenser fins as needed and solder a hole shut, add shrader valves, charge it...then charge ME 2-3 hours labor at $65/hour, $75 for the refrigerant, $30 for incidental parts then oppressive sales tax, refrigerant anti-ozone layer killiing fees and 2 mend wages to put it on the work bench.

Should I just junk this thing and wait till next season if I can ? It was 90 today in Orlando and it's Oct. 21 .

Still sweating.....

 

[p_mori7]

My previous 12K btu unit crapped out after 5 yrs... I didn't even think about trying to get it fixed after I inquired about the rates ($80/hr) and the warranty they offered on the repair (30 days). I bought a new one.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

What is it doing,if its just not cooling have you tried cleaning it out?

 

[brihvac]

Trash it

 

[John Timmins]

It is not cooling. As it runs the outside does not feel warm at all...the condenser. The evaporator is not iced up because the air inside is blowing. It appears to have no charge.

If I had this happen in the old freon 12 days, I would attempt to charge it and see what happens and play with it. but now, I would have to buy the gages, the refrigerant, and all that **** so I believe it will simply be recycled.


I'll have to get a new one at Sams Club I guess....perhaps not much more than fixing this one ?

 

[Steve in Mi]

Three years is a short time for an A/C unit but I agree that replacement is probably the better option considering repair costs. I see Amazon has several options for "12000 btu air conditioner" for under $300.

 

[shanker]

in your case one of those 5 year replacement warranties from lowes/homedepot may be a viable option since you live on the coast. (as do I)

 

[Garage Coffee Roaster]

Trash it!

Good chance if you fix it something else will break on it soon. Best to buy a new one and cut your losses on this one.

 

[mygarageone]

Junk it , window a/c units were never meant to be repaired.

 

[John Timmins]

It will be junked. Today I ran it and I could barely feel any flow or heat through the condenser although the fan motor was turning the fan blades. I noticed that the top of the compressor was wet from oil and there were bubbles.

This thing is just finished. That idea of buying a new one from Lowes with the 5 year guarantee is a good idea. I don't know what the failure will get me next time then next one died, but it'll be in the fine print .

 

[6768rogues]

No. Toss it.

 

[purevil115]

This is why I went mini split. I do hvac for a living and window acs are a joke for the cost of new, its worthless to fix old ones. Mini splits are replaceable parts and are considered permanent window acs are temporary.

 

[John Timmins]

what kind of pressure are these new refrigerants on the high side ?

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

It only takes 10 minutes or less to pull the top off and see if the coils are plugged up or if the compressor is even coming on,nothing to lose but a few minutes of your time.