Air Conditioning - AC Pipes Leaking

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Ducimus13
07-06-08, 03:20 PM
Ok, here are some the specs. It is a older Fedders unit, 5000BTU. All analog knobs, Non Energy Star :( . We live in a 4 1/2 on the 3rd floor and the AC unit is in our bedroom window (vertical Unit). Now here are the problems:

1. The AC seems to drip quite a bit out the back. (gets very hot in Montreal these days)
2. When you pop the front off, there are curved copper pipes, that up until a few weeks ago would get ice cold (not freeze) but now they drip water from condensation.

So I am trying to diagnose the problem.

Could turning the AC on and off during day cause it to regulate the temp properly?
Is it low on freon?

Right now after been on say a whole night I wake to a nice pool of water, luckily I caught it early, had towels ready.

So now the AC is out of the window and I would like to try to get to the bottom of this problem to avoid making any damage claims is it continues to leak and get to the floor.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-Jon

tinmantu
07-06-08, 03:31 PM
Sounds like it may be a plugged drain that a good washing out with a garden hose would remedy. Since it's out of the window, that would be the first thing I'd do. It's not uncommon and the first step to diagnosing window unit problems. Just keep the water off of all electrical components. Some disassembly is required to clean it properly, but by no means hard.
Ducimus13
07-06-08, 04:38 PM
But is it normal for those pipes to condense like that? I'll crack it open and see what I can find.

tinmantu
07-06-08, 05:29 PM
it's normal for the condensation to increase as outdoor humidity increases. Lots of water isn't the problem. Draining off the water that is made is the problem. The drains frm the front to back are small. A good washout is all I can recommend from afar.
Ducimus13
07-06-08, 08:23 PM
it's normal for the condensation to increase as outdoor humidity increases. Lots of water isn't the problem. Draining off the water that is made is the problem. The drains frm the front to back are small. A good washout is all I can recommend from afar.

Will compressed air do the trick? I don't have access to a hose in our apartment building.