Air Conditioning - Best Air Conditioner Brands (Window Unites)

Man, its been a long time. I originally posted here because my Fedders air conditioner seemed to be overheating. Original thread: http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=272699&
Rather than bring back such an old thread I decided to just start a new one. Anyway here is the continuation of the story.

This year when I went to start it up, after sounding normal for a 30 sec the compressor made a noise that sounded like a rock getting picked up by the vacume cleaner, then it sounded normal again. After it did that I turned it off. Today (about 80*), after having worked on my car, decided to cool off but the A/C and other ideas. It would still cool the air but The compressor sounded different and it would run for a few minuets, shutdown, try to start again, run for 30 sec, shutdown. The outside vents were not blocked. I tried the water trick I did in the other thread but this time it made no difference. The unit was covered for the winter and nothing was done to it since I made the last thread. I don't know what you guys think but I think it's toast. Thats what we get for buying an air conditioner from Wal-Mart.

Every time I come downstairs in the summer, I see my parents old JCPenney air conditioner, still running strong after over 20 years, this one isn't even 10 years old and it's dead. Since the hole the old one is installed it will most likely need to be modded to fit any new unit, what is a brand that will last a long time? Does anybody have experience selling/repairing these and want to recommend a brand that is durable?

Twenty years ago, I'm guessing air conditioners were made in the good ole USA, thus your parents old reliable. Today, you'd be lucky to find one made even 500 miles from the U.S.

I thought Fedders were supposed to be pretty good? Anyway, I just bought a Frigidaire unit for my upstairs office. It was $99 at Best Buy, normally $129. Seems they have all their AC units on sale right now. Yes, it's made in China.

Anyway, it got a good rating by users, so I gave it a shot. It's got a remote control and illuminated LED display, so I can glance the temp from across the room. It also has an energy saver mode, so hopefully I'll keep a few buck in my pocket this summer. It's actually a pretty rockin little unit.

So far, it's working like a champ. The real test will be this summer, when Mother Nature blankets Dallas with 100 degrees and 100% humidity. But hey, for $99 you can't go wrong.

Just for fun I checked the label on the old JCPenney. You were right, "Made In USA" in 5-81, 26 years old! I looked at the Fedders also and I can't find the manufacturing date or were it was made.

Just curious,

Do you have this unit plugged directly into a receptacle, or are you using a extension type cord?

It is on a short extension cord designed for appliances, the extension cord is thicker than the cord on the unit. I need this cord in order to reach the only 3 prong plug in the room. This is the only plug on a 20 amp line and it is shared with my computer. Last night when the compressor would try to turn on the lights would dim but the unit would do nothing. Then, you could hear a faint click when the unit would go into overload protection. Eventually it tripped the breaker which has never happened before. I unplugged it and let it sit overnight.
This morning I tried to start it again and it tripped the breaker without even trying to start. I haven't tried it since. I made a short video of what it did last night and even caught it on tape tripping the breaker. I can upload it if need be.
I think the compressor is seized and/or shorted now.

Look on the information plate on the a/c and tell us what the amps say. I think this circuit maybe overloaded causing your tripping.
The compressor will use he most amps when starting up which is causing this issue.

Also, can you tell what gauge wire the extension cord is? It should be printed in the cable.

5.9 amps on the unit. Extension Cord is 14 ga. and cord on the unit is 18 ga.

Either the compressor is shot, or the circuit is overloaded.

You need to find anything that is attached to this circuit and add up the amperage ratings.

Is this a GFCI type breaker?

I just tried to run it again a few minuets ago, this time I turned the computer off. The only things running on this line at the time were some wall-wort style power adapters. I set the t-stat to warm and put it on low cool, the fan came on just fine. Then I turned the t-stat until it clicked on, the breaker tripped immediately. This is a normal 20 amp breaker and the circuit is wired directly to this one non GFCI plug. It was installed specifically to run the air conditioner in this room. There is also no integrated GFCI on the units cord or plug. The unit and this computer ran together on the same line for years without ever tripping the breaker.

It could be a weak breaker or bad wiring at one of those receptacles.

Inspect the extension cord and A/C carefully. Make sure there are no cuts.

If that turns out ok, then go flip that breaker off, and inspect the wiring on the receptacle.

Is there any other receptacle you can plug this a/c into that's on a seperate circuit just to test?


++MODS, this thread maybe better suited in the Electrical forum now++

I don't think this thread needs to be moved. My original question was "what is a good durable brand of window air conditioner?" If you read my first post and the thread I linked to you would see that I have been having problems with this unit going into shutdown. Its also fair to mention that the cooling performance seemed to be going down over the past few years. The compressor was making sounds like a rock getting sucked into a vacume cleaner when I first started it this year but then that sound went away. Then the first time I actually try to use it this year the compressor runs for about two min, turns off, restarts for 30 sec, shuts down again. During this time the fan was still running. I am vary sure the compressor is shot. I looked it up and for the price of a new compressor get a whole new unit better than the current one. I am asking what brand of new window air conditioner is durable and will last longer than the old one? What brands have you had good or bad experiences with?
BTW, all the cords seem fine and the outlet was installed 8 years ago when the unit was installed so I assume its fine, it's currently running the computer I'm using to type this. All other outlets in the room are not dedicated and if the unit really is bad and tripping a 20 amp breaker by itself then I don't want to put that kind of strain on this house's old wiring. My parents will kill me if I start a fire in their wall trying to test this stupid air conditioner.

Like stated before. Window shakers 20 years ago were built to be bullet proof. Today they are disposables like everything else in our society. If you get 5 or more years out of any window shaker your doing good. LG makes a pretty decent unit.

Thanks for all the help. I would have checked out LG but when I got home from work today my dad had already got a new unit. Its a Frigidaire FAA055P7, 5200 BTU, 11 EER.
http://www.frigidaire.com/products/roomair/window_mounted/compact/prod_FAA055P7.asp
Its not the unit mentioned in the second post. The guy at the local appliance shop said it was one of the best unites you can get. He also said he has had lots of people coming in and asking why the unit they bought at Wal-Mart is malfunctioning.

I have the Frigidaire FAA054P7, 5000 BTU model, a slight step down from your model. I think it's identical to your model, just a lower BTU rating. Anyway, with the remote control and all, I've really grown to love it. I come into my office, grab the remote, kick it on and enjoy cool, clean air. It is however, a tad bit noisy, but you get used to it after a while. I figure if I get 2 or 3 years out of it, I'll be happy. After all, it was only $99. That's almost a tank of gas these days.