Average time window A/C runs out of feon? (how much, air conditioning, heating)

[luvnyc]

I have a 10,000 btu a/c that can usually cool my whole apartment.

This year I moved the a/c to my bedroom and one coil on the side and top freezes up all the time.

The unit is struggling to cool my bedroom, one half is cooler (side w/ a/c) than the other.

I've had this a/c unit for about 6 or 7 years.

Could it be low on feon? or Would it just be cheaper to buy another a/c unit?

Before I moved the unit I did try to clean the interior by running water over it. I didn't take it apart other than taking off the encasement and it didn't look very dirty at all. Did I possibly mess something up while doing this? Or could it be clogged somewhere?

The screen in front has a greenish line going down coming from the area of the freezing up coil and the inside of the front panel has a green spot too. Is this feon? Is it a leak?

Please help, too hot for a broken down a/c.

[chet everett]

Freon is gaseous refrigerant that ought to remain sealed inside an air conditioning unit for just about forever IF the seals are OK. Once the seals age and harden the gaseous refrigerant can leak out either a bit at time or pretty quickly.

I would be willing to bet that a 6 or 7 year old window unit is not worth servicing. A new 10,000 btu window unit is about $250 ...

[luvnyc]

Oops! Forgive my spelling errors, that should have been spelled f-r-e-o-n. Guess I'm getting old. lol


Thanks Chet.

I ended up taking the a/c out the window again to see if I missed something. The back was dirtier than I thought. I'll see how long it'll last before I'll need a new one.

Just put it back in after cleaning and started again, either it's my imagination but I think that may have helped.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by luvnyc

Oops! Forgive my spelling errors, that should have been spelled f-r-e-o-n. Guess I'm getting old. lol


Thanks Chet.

I ended up taking the a/c out the window again to see if I missed something. The back was dirtier than I thought. I'll see how long it'll last before I'll need a new one.

Just put it back in after cleaning and started again, either it's my imagination but I think that may have helped.

Cleaning always helps. Any electrical or mechanical component (or machine) that uses a radiator for cooling (like the radiator on your car, for example), has to be periodically cleaned. A lot of the outdoors AC units use radiator-like components, and these are regularly rinsed or air-cleaned.

[BigJon3475]

Have you pulled the washable filter out and cleaned it?

If you have and you've cleaned the coils there isn't much more maintenance to do on a window unit besides making sure the coils aren't bent.

If it's still not working after all that it may be time to buy a new one. The cost to repair one isn't worth it if you have a leak unless you know how to do the work yourself and have the tools and ability to buy refrigerant.

[nightbird47]

How much life am I sucking from one if its nearly alway on? It on low so when its not so hot it just blows air but its keeping me from needing to set up the more powerful one yet.

[BigJon3475]

Originally Posted by nightbird47

How much life am I sucking from one if its nearly alway on? It on low so when its not so hot it just blows air but its keeping me from needing to set up the more powerful one yet.

If you keep the coils clean, the filter clean, the coil fins undamaged and the drainage system clear on it you're not sucking much life at all from it. Certainly not enough life to be worried about it.

[Jackass1]

Originally Posted by luvnyc

I have a 10,000 btu a/c that can usually cool my whole apartment.

This year I moved the a/c to my bedroom and one coil on the side and top freezes up all the time.

The unit is struggling to cool my bedroom, one half is cooler (side w/ a/c) than the other.

I've had this a/c unit for about 6 or 7 years.

Could it be low on feon? or Would it just be cheaper to buy another a/c unit?

Before I moved the unit I did try to clean the interior by running water over it. I didn't take it apart other than taking off the encasement and it didn't look very dirty at all. Did I possibly mess something up while doing this? Or could it be clogged somewhere?

The screen in front has a greenish line going down coming from the area of the freezing up coil and the inside of the front panel has a green spot too. Is this feon? Is it a leak?

Please help, too hot for a broken down a/c.

What is the name of your air condition? PLEASE

[turf3]

Window A/C unit, as refrigerator, should have only brazed joints on the refrigerant lines, so there are no "seals to dry out". Most common cause of leaks will be a pinhole from corrosion in one of the heat exchangers (probably evaporator, because it's constantly bathed in condensate, but could also be condenser due to outdoors exposure, especially if near the beach with salt exposure).

[BostonMike7]

These days, modern window units almost seem to be disposable. You can buy a 5000-6000 btu unit for $100, or a 10K unit for $250. It fails in 2-3 years, just buy another.


With that said, I've had pretty good luck with my units getting 10 years or so out of them. I regularly clean them out, to keep them from overheating, and have only had one that seemed to have lost it's coolant charge. I haven't bought any within the last 5 years though, and the 3-4 units I have are easily a decade old.


My current house has an 18K btu unit dated 1990 that still blows ice cold. When I run this bad boy, it freezes out the room in a matter of minutes. Problem with a 27 year old AC unit is finding parts. The cooling mode/OFF select switch broke, and I can't find a replacement.