EarlyBroncoGuy
King Of The World
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2013
- Messages
- 926
Being January with a big chunk of the country well below zero, I realize air conditioner repair is not exactly at the top of everyone's list, but there will come a time when it's hot, and your window unit conks out.
I installed a 24,500 btu LG window unit in the wall of my 40 x 60 insulated metal building about a year and half ago, worked great the first year but this past summer it started making noises, vibrating, then quit cooling. If I let it sit for a while, then turned it back on, it would kick on OK and cool for a few minutes, then shut down again.
I tracked it down to the fan motor not turning fast enough (at least that's what I thought it was), so I ordered a new motor. They were on backorder, so I sweated it out and waited for it to arrive. By the time the motor showed up, the weather had cooled off, so I put off replacing the motor (the unit is HEAVY and installed 7 feet off the ground).
Finally got around to pulling it out and got it on the workbench, started taking it apart and discovered the real problem - the plastic fan on the outside part of the unit was loose on the motor shaft. It's clamped around the shaft from the factory, but the clamp had lost grip and allowed the fan to spin on the shaft. The shaft has a flat spot ground into it on both ends, for both fans, but only the squirrel cage fan on the inside part of the unit had a flat area to mate with the shaft, the outside fan doesn't.
Well, it does now. Mixed up a little JB weld, applied it in a thin strip to the inside of the hole in the fan the shaft fits into, let it dry, filed it flat, then slid the fan back onto the shaft with the strip of JB weld now mating with the flat part of the shaft, which will prevent it from spinning on the shaft. Replaced the old weak clamp with a stronger hose clamp to tighten the hub of the fan around the shaft, and problem solved.
Got everything back together and turned it on, works great. Turns out I didn't need a new motor after all, which is nice, since the motor they sent is the wrong one - my unit takes a 220v fan motor, the one sent is a 110v motor. Good thing I was able to send it back for a refund.
I installed a 24,500 btu LG window unit in the wall of my 40 x 60 insulated metal building about a year and half ago, worked great the first year but this past summer it started making noises, vibrating, then quit cooling. If I let it sit for a while, then turned it back on, it would kick on OK and cool for a few minutes, then shut down again.
I tracked it down to the fan motor not turning fast enough (at least that's what I thought it was), so I ordered a new motor. They were on backorder, so I sweated it out and waited for it to arrive. By the time the motor showed up, the weather had cooled off, so I put off replacing the motor (the unit is HEAVY and installed 7 feet off the ground).
Finally got around to pulling it out and got it on the workbench, started taking it apart and discovered the real problem - the plastic fan on the outside part of the unit was loose on the motor shaft. It's clamped around the shaft from the factory, but the clamp had lost grip and allowed the fan to spin on the shaft. The shaft has a flat spot ground into it on both ends, for both fans, but only the squirrel cage fan on the inside part of the unit had a flat area to mate with the shaft, the outside fan doesn't.
Well, it does now. Mixed up a little JB weld, applied it in a thin strip to the inside of the hole in the fan the shaft fits into, let it dry, filed it flat, then slid the fan back onto the shaft with the strip of JB weld now mating with the flat part of the shaft, which will prevent it from spinning on the shaft. Replaced the old weak clamp with a stronger hose clamp to tighten the hub of the fan around the shaft, and problem solved.
Got everything back together and turned it on, works great. Turns out I didn't need a new motor after all, which is nice, since the motor they sent is the wrong one - my unit takes a 220v fan motor, the one sent is a 110v motor. Good thing I was able to send it back for a refund.