Window ACs

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Hmm, should this go in Windows since these things do?

The smaller window mounted AC units now do not have condensate drains. They have pans that collect condensate and are supposed to disperse it by fan evaporation into the outside air. They say that 'under normal conditions' there should be no water dripping from the unit at all.

But they don't define 'normal conditions'. A normal summer day can be over 80 from 8AM to 10PM with high humidity and dew points.

The 6K BTU unit I got 7 or 8 years ago didn't have one and I often found water with mold and other gooey stuff in that pan that you can see looking into the side of the unit. I ended up drilling a drain hole in that one and it would fill a five gallon bucket in a few days.

This new 6K BTU one I just got a few weeks ago has the same set up and I can already see water standing in that pan, but so far it's clear. But it's mid-May and I've only used it a few days and for few hours each day.

I only cool the one room I spend most of my time in, so there is no need for a bigger, more elaborate unit.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Not sure I am in a similar spot.
My wife does a lot of work from home now She works in the bedroom which is the end run of our ducts. I have posted here before that hvac guys have said our ducts are small. One guy said he remembered the dude who did the duct work in these houses, he was doing some internship stuff while he was learning the trade, he even remembered the guys nickname which I forgot (I think it was something like mookie) and mookie prided himself with how little metal waste he had per job dude used to buy bigger sheets of metal then cut them in half.
Back to my AC dilemma, the bedroom doesn’t cool very well. I am wondering if getting a small window AC would make sense vs having the outdoor heat pump cooling the whole damn house lower than it needs to be to keep the work area cool.
I may try a fan in the hall to blow cooler air into the bedroom but I know my wife won’t like that idea.
Right now I am leaning towards letting her sweat it out because she doesn’t think it’s a problem.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

A $250 window AC that can be installed and removed in 10 minutes or less vs a $1,000 plus minisplit that essentially requires permanent installation or having a professional install central AC was an easy choice.

But then I don't have another 'person' to be obedient to.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

A $250 window AC that can be installed and removed in 10 minutes or less vs a $1,000 plus minisplit that essentially requires permanent installation or having a professional install central AC was an easy choice.

But then I don't have another 'person' to be obedient to.

mini splits are like my heat pump but even more efficient *I think*
My Bosch heat pump is ridiculously efficient.
Going to guess if you really don’t have ANY interest in cooling the rest of the space a small windowed AC is the way to go.
Relationships are all about expectations/saying what you mean and compromise.

 

[deadlyapp]

mini splits are like my heat pump but even more efficient *I think*
My Bosch heat pump is ridiculously efficient.
Going to guess if you really don’t have ANY interest in cooling the rest of the space a small windowed AC is the way to go.
Relationships are all about expectations/saying what you mean and compromise.

A small AC for supplemental cooling is probably the way to go if you don't mind the way the install looks. Just recognize that there's potential for that room to get significantly cooler since your central AC won't know how cold it is in that room.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

A small AC for supplemental cooling is probably the way to go if you don't mind the way the install looks. Just recognize that there's potential for that room to get significantly cooler since your central AC won't know how cold it is in that room.

Good point, I do have an ecobee so I could easily add a sensor in the bedroom.
I'm likely going to default to the do nothing plan. I asked her today and she will be in the office more often starting next week or the week after.

 

[Thump553]

I have two (old) window AC units. Both essentially have a hole the bottom corner of the the sheet metal cover. Couldn't you accomplish the same thing by (very carefully) drilling such a drip hole?

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

^^^ See the last line of paragraph four in the original post.

I'm kind of watching this one to see how much accumulates in the pan before I decide to drill it. Since it's still under warranty, I'm not too anxious to modify it just yet.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Is it possible they need the condensate water in the pan to help them cool?

 

[Brainonska511]

I have two (old) window AC units. Both essentially have a hole the bottom corner of the the sheet metal cover. Couldn't you accomplish the same thing by (very carefully) drilling such a drip hole?

Why do you need a drain hole? The last sets of window ACs I own had a covered hole in the rear that I would only open when I was removing them for the winter. If somehow, they overflowed, they would just dump over a ledge on the backside, since you install it with a slight rearward tilt anyway. As far as I'm aware, the condensate is used by the system to make it more efficient.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

If somehow, they overflowed, they would just dump over a ledge on the backside,

Which is exactly what I don't want .... water on the ground next to the house in that area.

 

[Brainonska511]

Which is exactly what I don't want .... water on the ground next to the house in that area.

I rarely saw water drip from our window ACs, even in the depths of a humid New England summer. Water pooling in the pan was fine, because it gets tossed into the air to evaporate. So in short, I wouldn't imagine it would be a problem.

As for standing water: technically, it's outside of the envelope, so even if something grows, it shouldn't be blowing it into your house.

 

[iRONic]

Which is exactly what I don't want .... water on the ground next to the house in that area.

It won’t be more than a few ounces. Definitely less than a gallon. Quickly absorbed or evaporated.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

^^ If you read above, you'll see that I was filling a 5 gallon bucket every couple of days. I got termites that just LOVE moist ground, so I need to take steps to make the ground as dry as possible despite putting down ground insecticides.

 

[iRONic]

You said the old one generated 5 gallons over -several- days. I’d think the new one would be more efficient and generate even less.

Your crib though. *shrug*

 

[Steltek]

^^ If you read above, you'll see that I was filling a 5 gallon bucket every couple of days. I got termites that just LOVE moist ground, so I need to take steps to make the ground as dry as possible despite putting down ground insecticides.

Bury a PVC drain line to move the water away from the house. Then, drill a drain hole in the unit drain pan and calk a washer or two stacked on top of the drain hole in the pan so that it doesn't drain until water in the pan is about to overflow. Connect a smaller rubber drain hose from the hole to the drain line (one that can be disconnected from the unit easily), call it a day.

 

[mindless1]

Was this 5 gallons in two days, just an initial observation or perpetual rate? It would be at higest rate at first while removing humidity from the indoor air, so to keep producing same amount, there must be an additional source of humid indoor air.

It seems unlikely to perpetually produce 5 gallons every couple days unless someone is opening windows at night and letting all the humidity back in.

If you must, yeah you can put a tap into the pan and plumb it away with pipe or hose. Get it away from the foundation with perforated pipe buried in the ground, observing gravity (pipe goes downhill (buried depth) if not at least level till the perforations/exit).

Regarding someone else's post about efficiency, higher efficiency does not reduce condensate (water) production rate, nor does it get used somehow to increase efficiency, is just a waste byproduct of cooling air, but very beneficial to reduce humidity so you feel more comfortable at a higher temperature as your sweat more readily evaporates.