Window Air Conditioner, Reliable Brands?

[loscar141]

i bought the cheapest 5000btu Walmart window ac unit, a few years ago and used it when we lost power from hurricane harvey. i stored it in my garage until one month ago my ac went out, it was going to take a couple of days before getting it fix so i put the window unit into our 12x15ft room and it worked great, kept the room super cold. so yes you will get lemons sometime but they are not all trash.

Update.

Came home to my house smelling like burnt plastic. I check the air handler in the garage to find a partially melted relay. call my AC guy to see if he can fix it, he came over right away, but bad news is he didnt have the part, so he is coming back tomorrow. In the mean time I pulled out my cheap window ac unit and put into my 12x15 room and its working great.

[Rafe]

i bought the cheapest 5000btu Walmart window ac unit, a few years ago and used it when we lost power from hurricane harvey. i stored it in my garage until one month ago my ac went out, it was going to take a couple of days before getting it fix so i put the window unit into our 12x15ft room and it worked great, kept the room super cold. so yes you will get lemons sometime but they are not all trash.

Update.

Came home to my house smelling like burnt plastic. I check the air handler in the garage to find a partially melted relay. call my AC guy to see if he can fix it, he came over right away, but bad news is he didnt have the part, so he is coming back tomorrow. In the mean time I pulled out my cheap window ac unit and put into my 12x15 room and its working great.

Aargh. I hate A/C problems...and especially houses smelling like burning tires!

I ended up going with an LG for the shed/studio. It's working perfectly so far (knock on wood). Not that I'd ever want to have to move it, but your situation reminds me that now, if the central unit blows up when it's 101 degrees and 75% humidity in Houston, at least I'll now have the option to pull it and stick it in the bedroom window.

[Take Down Sicko]

i bought the cheapest 5000btu Walmart window ac unit, a few years ago and used it when we lost power from hurricane harvey. i stored it in my garage until one month ago my ac went out, it was going to take a couple of days before getting it fix so i put the window unit into our 12x15ft room and it worked great, kept the room super cold. so yes you will get lemons sometime but they are not all trash.

Update.

Came home to my house smelling like burnt plastic. I check the air handler in the garage to find a partially melted relay. call my AC guy to see if he can fix it, he came over right away, but bad news is he didnt have the part, so he is coming back tomorrow. In the mean time I pulled out my cheap window ac unit and put into my 12x15 room and its working great.

Aargh. I hate A/C problems...and especially houses smelling like burning tires!

I ended up going with an LG for the shed/studio. It's working perfectly so far (knock on wood). Not that I'd ever want to have to move it, but your situation reminds me that now, if the central unit blows up when it's 101 degrees and 75% humidity in Houston, at least I'll now have the option to pull it and stick it in the bedroom window.

...Good pick. I recently bought an LG 7500 BTU window unit from Home Dopey but havent installed it yet. I mainly bought it for emergency use but will most likely use it in conjunction with my home A/C on specially hot summer days.

[Rafe]

...Good pick. I recently bought an LG 7500 BTU window unit from Home Dopey but havent installed it yet. I mainly bought it for emergency use but will most likely use it in conjunction with my home A/C on specially hot summer days.

It's still running!

It cools the shed/studio/thing down so fast, even when it's in direct sunlight, that I thought briefly about another window unit for upstairs. We don't have a dual zone system, and the thermostat is on the staircase landing between floors. I guess it's a decent compromise place to put it, but on baking hot August days there can be almost 8 degrees difference between downstairs and up. The central A/C has to run like crazy if we want to keep the upstairs around 76...and then the downstairs is a chilly 70ish. So I figured for a few hundred bucks we could ease the load on the central system and still keep the upstairs comfortable.

Then I read the HOA rules. What they can't see behind the back fence is fine, but anything hanging out of any upstairs window is a no-go and would have HOA Karens threatening to fine us.

[Take Down Sicko]

...Good pick. I recently bought an LG 7500 BTU window unit from Home Dopey but havent installed it yet. I mainly bought it for emergency use but will most likely use it in conjunction with my home A/C on specially hot summer days.

It's still running!

It cools the shed/studio/thing down so fast, even when it's in direct sunlight, that I thought briefly about another window unit for upstairs. We don't have a dual zone system, and the thermostat is on the staircase landing between floors. I guess it's a decent compromise place to put it, but on baking hot August days there can be almost 8 degrees difference between downstairs and up. The central A/C has to run like crazy if we want to keep the upstairs around 76...and then the downstairs is a chilly 70ish. So I figured for a few hundred bucks we could ease the load on the central system and still keep the upstairs comfortable.

Then I read the HOA rules. What they can't see behind the back fence is fine, but anything hanging out of any upstairs window is a no-go and would have HOA Karens threatening to fine us.

Yiks! We get letters from the HOA even if we leave the trash can out over night. Another concern with having extra A/c's running is the higher electric bill. 120 volt units seem to use more power than 240 volt ones. My bill is already high enough.

[03Lightningrocks]

...Good pick. I recently bought an LG 7500 BTU window unit from Home Dopey but havent installed it yet. I mainly bought it for emergency use but will most likely use it in conjunction with my home A/C on specially hot summer days.

It's still running!

It cools the shed/studio/thing down so fast, even when it's in direct sunlight, that I thought briefly about another window unit for upstairs. We don't have a dual zone system, and the thermostat is on the staircase landing between floors. I guess it's a decent compromise place to put it, but on baking hot August days there can be almost 8 degrees difference between downstairs and up. The central A/C has to run like crazy if we want to keep the upstairs around 76...and then the downstairs is a chilly 70ish. So I figured for a few hundred bucks we could ease the load on the central system and still keep the upstairs comfortable.

Then I read the HOA rules. What they can't see behind the back fence is fine, but anything hanging out of any upstairs window is a no-go and would have HOA Karens threatening to fine us.

We do HVAC installs/replacement/repairs. It is very likely that a zoning damper system could be installed that would correct your problem. We don't do Houston but there are many companies out that way who could put in a damper system for you. You don't have to change any of your HVAC equipment. It would just be a matter of a zone control board, two new stats, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. A couple motorized dampers installed in your ductwork to isolate downstairs from upstairs. Depending on duct modifications needed it could be done for around 4 grand. It would be the next best thing to having two systems and a whole lot cheaper.

[RPBrown]

:

...Good pick. I recently bought an LG 7500 BTU window unit from Home Dopey but havent installed it yet. I mainly bought it for emergency use but will most likely use it in conjunction with my home A/C on specially hot summer days.

It's still running!

It cools the shed/studio/thing down so fast, even when it's in direct sunlight, that I thought briefly about another window unit for upstairs. We don't have a dual zone system, and the thermostat is on the staircase landing between floors. I guess it's a decent compromise place to put it, but on baking hot August days there can be almost 8 degrees difference between downstairs and up. The central A/C has to run like crazy if we want to keep the upstairs around 76...and then the downstairs is a chilly 70ish. So I figured for a few hundred bucks we could ease the load on the central system and still keep the upstairs comfortable.

Then I read the HOA rules. What they can't see behind the back fence is fine, but anything hanging out of any upstairs window is a no-go and would have HOA Karens threatening to fine us.

We do HVAC installs/replacement/repairs. It is very likely that a zoning damper system could be installed that would correct your problem. We don't do Houston but there are many companies out that way who could put in a damper system for you. You don't have to change any of your HVAC equipment. It would just be a matter of a zone control board, two new stats, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. A couple motorized dampers installed in your ductwork to isolate downstairs from upstairs. Depending on duct modifications needed it could be done for around 4 grand. It would be the next best thing to having two systems and a whole lot cheaper.

[Rafe]

We do HVAC installs/replacement/repairs. It is very likely that a zoning damper system could be installed that would correct your problem. We don't do Houston but there are many companies out that way who could put in a damper system for you. You don't have to change any of your HVAC equipment. It would just be a matter of a zone control board, two new stats, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. A couple motorized dampers installed in your ductwork to isolate downstairs from upstairs. Depending on duct modifications needed it could be done for around 4 grand. It would be the next best thing to having two systems and a whole lot cheaper.

Four grand, huh? Hm. Might have to look into that. What would make the price more attractive is that we have a small linen closet off the top of the stairs. Not much storage space, but behind it, in the attic, is unused space about feet wide and a little longer than that before the roof starts to slope, call it 11 or so feet of useable length by building shelves/cabinets against the back. I'd thought about cutting out the rear of the closet and building out and insulating another room--as in maybe a reloading and tinkering space, which I really don't have now--but knew that me just trying to duct tape a spliced A/C duct run over there would do more harm than good. But maybe that could be done professionally as part of the whole zoning damper thing. Hm.

My wife will not be happy if I bring this up...

[03Lightningrocks]

We do HVAC installs/replacement/repairs. It is very likely that a zoning damper system could be installed that would correct your problem. We don't do Houston but there are many companies out that way who could put in a damper system for you. You don't have to change any of your HVAC equipment. It would just be a matter of a zone control board, two new stats, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. A couple motorized dampers installed in your ductwork to isolate downstairs from upstairs. Depending on duct modifications needed it could be done for around 4 grand. It would be the next best thing to having two systems and a whole lot cheaper.

Four grand, huh? Hm. Might have to look into that. What would make the price more attractive is that we have a small linen closet off the top of the stairs. Not much storage space, but behind it, in the attic, is unused space about feet wide and a little longer than that before the roof starts to slope, call it 11 or so feet of useable length by building shelves/cabinets against the back. I'd thought about cutting out the rear of the closet and building out and insulating another room--as in maybe a reloading and tinkering space, which I really don't have now--but knew that me just trying to duct tape a spliced A/C duct run over there would do more harm than good. But maybe that could be done professionally as part of the whole zoning damper thing. Hm.

My wife will not be happy if I bring this up...

Another thing you can do when it is time to replace your existing HVAC system is install a two speed outdoor unit with a variable speed blower. This will complete the package and it will operate exactly like two separate systems. If just one zone is calling, the outdoor unit will run in low speed which uses much less electricity than when it runs in high speed. Your wife will like it once she realizes you folks have the ability to actually keep upstairs and downstairs at the temps you set the thermostats at. It is VERY important the zone system is set up properly. Get a few different companies to talk with you about how they will set it up. One issue you will have until you install the variable speed blower is what to do with the extra airflow when one zone is closed off. I personally prefer using a bypass damper with a barometric pressure control. The other option is making a dump zone where the extra air is dumped to keep airflow from being restricted when one zone is closed. I have never liked the dump zone as this always seems to make the area it is dumped in to warm or cold. The bypass damper will simply allow the extra air to circulate from the supply plenum back into the return plenum. The company you choose really needs to know zoning to make it work properly. After 30 years of installing zoning and working on others installs, I can promise you not all HVAC companies know what they are doing.

[Archery1]

We do HVAC installs/replacement/repairs. It is very likely that a zoning damper system could be installed that would correct your problem. We don't do Houston but there are many companies out that way who could put in a damper system for you. You don't have to change any of your HVAC equipment. It would just be a matter of a zone control board, two new stats, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. A couple motorized dampers installed in your ductwork to isolate downstairs from upstairs. Depending on duct modifications needed it could be done for around 4 grand. It would be the next best thing to having two systems and a whole lot cheaper.

Four grand, huh? Hm. Might have to look into that. What would make the price more attractive is that we have a small linen closet off the top of the stairs. Not much storage space, but behind it, in the attic, is unused space about feet wide and a little longer than that before the roof starts to slope, call it 11 or so feet of useable length by building shelves/cabinets against the back. I'd thought about cutting out the rear of the closet and building out and insulating another room--as in maybe a reloading and tinkering space, which I really don't have now--but knew that me just trying to duct tape a spliced A/C duct run over there would do more harm than good. But maybe that could be done professionally as part of the whole zoning damper thing. Hm.

My wife will not be happy if I bring this up...

Another thing you can do when it is time to replace your existing HVAC system is install a two speed outdoor unit with a variable speed blower. This will complete the package and it will operate exactly like two separate systems. If just one zone is calling, the outdoor unit will run in low speed which uses much less electricity than when it runs in high speed. Your wife will like it once she realizes you folks have the ability to actually keep upstairs and downstairs at the temps you set the thermostats at. It is VERY important the zone system is set up properly. Get a few different companies to talk with you about how they will set it up. One issue you will have until you install the variable speed blower is what to do with the extra airflow when one zone is closed off. I personally prefer using a bypass damper with a barometric pressure control. The other option is making a dump zone where the extra air is dumped to keep airflow from being restricted when one zone is closed. I have never liked the dump zone as this always seems to make the area it is dumped in to warm or cold. The bypass damper will simply allow the extra air to circulate from the supply plenum back into the return plenum. The company you choose really needs to know zoning to make it work properly. After 30 years of installing zoning and working on others installs, I can promise you not all HVAC companies know what they are doing.

First time zone system owner here, and boy have I had an education in ducting I never wanted! As for the two ways to handle the split, mine is currently split with a bypass. There seems to be a universal issue with this way that I am currently having a solution evaluated for. That cold return air wreck havoc on the system in sweating where the cold bypass meets the warm intake. Couple that with high humidity day and my box is constantly sweating to outright dripping on the floor below. The universal solution seems to be to reroute to a dump instead, and that, coupled with variable speed, would make the system near golden, so I'm being told initially. There's competent installers and then there's more competent troubleshooters - I'm waiting on the later. The system is only 3 years old, so the dump at least needs doing now before the box sweats away.

[Rafe]

Man. A lot to learn before thinking of going this route. The info is much appreciated.

[03Lightningrocks]

We do HVAC installs/replacement/repairs. It is very likely that a zoning damper system could be installed that would correct your problem. We don't do Houston but there are many companies out that way who could put in a damper system for you. You don't have to change any of your HVAC equipment. It would just be a matter of a zone control board, two new stats, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. A couple motorized dampers installed in your ductwork to isolate downstairs from upstairs. Depending on duct modifications needed it could be done for around 4 grand. It would be the next best thing to having two systems and a whole lot cheaper.

Four grand, huh? Hm. Might have to look into that. What would make the price more attractive is that we have a small linen closet off the top of the stairs. Not much storage space, but behind it, in the attic, is unused space about feet wide and a little longer than that before the roof starts to slope, call it 11 or so feet of useable length by building shelves/cabinets against the back. I'd thought about cutting out the rear of the closet and building out and insulating another room--as in maybe a reloading and tinkering space, which I really don't have now--but knew that me just trying to duct tape a spliced A/C duct run over there would do more harm than good. But maybe that could be done professionally as part of the whole zoning damper thing. Hm.

My wife will not be happy if I bring this up...

Another thing you can do when it is time to replace your existing HVAC system is install a two speed outdoor unit with a variable speed blower. This will complete the package and it will operate exactly like two separate systems. If just one zone is calling, the outdoor unit will run in low speed which uses much less electricity than when it runs in high speed. Your wife will like it once she realizes you folks have the ability to actually keep upstairs and downstairs at the temps you set the thermostats at. It is VERY important the zone system is set up properly. Get a few different companies to talk with you about how they will set it up. One issue you will have until you install the variable speed blower is what to do with the extra airflow when one zone is closed off. I personally prefer using a bypass damper with a barometric pressure control. The other option is making a dump zone where the extra air is dumped to keep airflow from being restricted when one zone is closed. I have never liked the dump zone as this always seems to make the area it is dumped in to warm or cold. The bypass damper will simply allow the extra air to circulate from the supply plenum back into the return plenum. The company you choose really needs to know zoning to make it work properly. After 30 years of installing zoning and working on others installs, I can promise you not all HVAC companies know what they are doing.

First time zone system owner here, and boy have I had an education in ducting I never wanted! As for the two ways to handle the split, mine is currently split with a bypass. There seems to be a universal issue with this way that I am currently having a solution evaluated for. That cold return air wreck havoc on the system in sweating where the cold bypass meets the warm intake. Couple that with high humidity day and my box is constantly sweating to outright dripping on the floor below. The universal solution seems to be to reroute to a dump instead, and that, coupled with variable speed, would make the system near golden, so I'm being told initially. There's competent installers and then there's more competent troubleshooters - I'm waiting on the later. The system is only 3 years old, so the dump at least needs doing now before the box sweats away.

Not knowing how it is all set up it is hard to know for sure what they did wrong in the design but it sounds like they are bypassing way to much air. A bypass or dump zone is not suppose to get rid of all or even most of the extra air from the closed zone. It is only meant to disperse a small portion of it,(25% maybe). We have never had this issue with a bypass(sweating). The trick with a standard blower is to set up the controls to reduce blower speed when the system calls for a single zone.

[Archery1]

We do HVAC installs/replacement/repairs. It is very likely that a zoning damper system could be installed that would correct your problem. We don't do Houston but there are many companies out that way who could put in a damper system for you. You don't have to change any of your HVAC equipment. It would just be a matter of a zone control board, two new stats, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. A couple motorized dampers installed in your ductwork to isolate downstairs from upstairs. Depending on duct modifications needed it could be done for around 4 grand. It would be the next best thing to having two systems and a whole lot cheaper.

Four grand, huh? Hm. Might have to look into that. What would make the price more attractive is that we have a small linen closet off the top of the stairs. Not much storage space, but behind it, in the attic, is unused space about feet wide and a little longer than that before the roof starts to slope, call it 11 or so feet of useable length by building shelves/cabinets against the back. I'd thought about cutting out the rear of the closet and building out and insulating another room--as in maybe a reloading and tinkering space, which I really don't have now--but knew that me just trying to duct tape a spliced A/C duct run over there would do more harm than good. But maybe that could be done professionally as part of the whole zoning damper thing. Hm.

My wife will not be happy if I bring this up...

Another thing you can do when it is time to replace your existing HVAC system is install a two speed outdoor unit with a variable speed blower. This will complete the package and it will operate exactly like two separate systems. If just one zone is calling, the outdoor unit will run in low speed which uses much less electricity than when it runs in high speed. Your wife will like it once she realizes you folks have the ability to actually keep upstairs and downstairs at the temps you set the thermostats at. It is VERY important the zone system is set up properly. Get a few different companies to talk with you about how they will set it up. One issue you will have until you install the variable speed blower is what to do with the extra airflow when one zone is closed off. I personally prefer using a bypass damper with a barometric pressure control. The other option is making a dump zone where the extra air is dumped to keep airflow from being restricted when one zone is closed. I have never liked the dump zone as this always seems to make the area it is dumped in to warm or cold. The bypass damper will simply allow the extra air to circulate from the supply plenum back into the return plenum. The company you choose really needs to know zoning to make it work properly. After 30 years of installing zoning and working on others installs, I can promise you not all HVAC companies know what they are doing.

First time zone system owner here, and boy have I had an education in ducting I never wanted! As for the two ways to handle the split, mine is currently split with a bypass. There seems to be a universal issue with this way that I am currently having a solution evaluated for. That cold return air wreck havoc on the system in sweating where the cold bypass meets the warm intake. Couple that with high humidity day and my box is constantly sweating to outright dripping on the floor below. The universal solution seems to be to reroute to a dump instead, and that, coupled with variable speed, would make the system near golden, so I'm being told initially. There's competent installers and then there's more competent troubleshooters - I'm waiting on the later. The system is only 3 years old, so the dump at least needs doing now before the box sweats away.

Not knowing how it is all set up it is hard to know for sure what they did wrong in the design but it sounds like they are bypassing way to much air. A bypass or dump zone is not suppose to get rid of all or even most of the extra air from the closed zone. It is only meant to disperse a small portion of it,(25% maybe). We have never had this issue with a bypass(sweating). The trick with a standard blower is to set up the controls to reduce blower speed when the system calls for a single zone.

I think you hit exactly where my thinking has been going!! 3,600 sf house and less than 1/3 (master bedroom area and bath) are other zone. When we only run that zone, you can even hear air through registers and bypass is blown fully open. My opinion has been if I needed to dump that much air, I might as well just block all dampers and run whole house single stat. Near same difference. I've got someone who helped my neighbor who had same builder and same type setup,though he had another issue re humidity. Like I said, the installers were good, seemed to know their onion about most things initially, but I think some of this is above who normally had been coming out. Thanks, gonna keep that blower speed suggestion in my head, as it could be just that, not shifting down blower speed. I just don't feel anyone has ever tuned this or the or the April Aire stuff to operate as it really should, and, the sweating is just not good!

[Take Down Sicko]

...Good pick. I recently bought an LG 7500 BTU window unit from Home Dopey but havent installed it yet. I mainly bought it for emergency use but will most likely use it in conjunction with my home A/C on specially hot summer days.

It's still running!

It cools the shed/studio/thing down so fast, even when it's in direct sunlight, that I thought briefly about another window unit for upstairs. We don't have a dual zone system, and the thermostat is on the staircase landing between floors. I guess it's a decent compromise place to put it, but on baking hot August days there can be almost 8 degrees difference between downstairs and up. The central A/C has to run like crazy if we want to keep the upstairs around 76...and then the downstairs is a chilly 70ish. So I figured for a few hundred bucks we could ease the load on the central system and still keep the upstairs comfortable.

Then I read the HOA rules. What they can't see behind the back fence is fine, but anything hanging out of any upstairs window is a no-go and would have HOA Karens threatening to fine us.

Too bad you don't have a tree to hide it from view.