Window A/C Unit question

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
32,539
260
126
My bedroom is last along the line for the vent ducting and as such the warmest spot in the summer. I'd like to get a window unit to prevent from really cranking down on the overall temperature setting. May have a problem though, my windows have a vinyl strip along the bottom about quarter of an inch wide that sticks up about an inch or so. Do newer units or installation kits have something to account for that?
 

Modelworks

Lifer
Feb 22, 2007
16,240
7
76
pic would really help to understand better but if the strip is an issue you can always get a small piece of wood to offset the bottom of the AC unit.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,336
136
I just set mine on the lip. It held.

Make sure you use some foam board or similar to seal around the unit. The slide out panels they come with have zero insulation value.
 

geecee

Platinum Member
Jan 14, 2003
2,383
43
91
pic would really help to understand better but if the strip is an issue you can always get a small piece of wood to offset the bottom of the AC unit.
I did this when I helped my parents install a window unit a few years ago. Just measured the height and cut a piece of wood to match.
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
32,539
260
126
Ill toss a pic up once I get home. Yeah insulation will be a concern as the window sits facing due east and gets a bunch of direct sun.
 

twinrider1

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2003
4,096
64
91
You could cut a piece of wood to sit on the sill. The unit would rest on that and not put any weight on that vinyl.

Make sure the back of the unit is tipped downward at least a little. You don't want that condensation to pool on the sill. It will eventually get inside the wall.
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
32,539
260
126
trouble on the pic, can't get logged into picsbbzzdd for some reason.
 

skyking

Lifer
Nov 21, 2001
22,709
5,837
146
Put a screen out in front of the window if you can. The AC unit will work better out of the direct sun. We have a plastic bamboo one in front of our west facing window.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053
something similar to that.
I built a wood bracket to put it out from the house about 16". It shades both the window and the AC unit, but does not block the airflow.
 

brblx

Diamond Member
Mar 23, 2009
5,499
2
0
Put a screen out in front of the window if you can. The AC unit will work better out of the direct sun. We have a plastic bamboo one in front of our west facing window.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053
something similar to that.
I built a wood bracket to put it out from the house about 16". It shades both the window and the AC unit, but does not block the airflow.

i dont quite understand the screen thing. to really have a benefit, you would need to cover the entire unit (from above) to keep the condenser and other external (i.e. they sit outside the window) parts.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,199
13,585
126
www.anyf.ca
To be safe I'd cut a piece of wood to fit tightly in that section to secure the unit better.

Also you could consider a through the wall unit, so you install it very well, once. I have a big ass portable unit in my office and after modding it to double it's efficiency and actually get 1 ton of cooling out of it, it's not exactly portable anymore, I would have been better off with a through the wall unit in the office and in my bedroom. Live and learn.
 

brblx

Diamond Member
Mar 23, 2009
5,499
2
0
don't they make 'through-wall' units that are in two seperate pieces? assumably the hole in the wall would only have to be big enough for the refrigerant lines and mayber some wiring.

although i think those are pretty damn expensive. cheap and non-permanent are probably some of his priorities.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,199
13,585
126
www.anyf.ca
Yeah mini splits, those are nice and probably the most efficient, but yeah very expensive. The nice thing is some are DIY friendly as the lines snap in so there's no need to do braising or adding refrigerant.
 

skyking

Lifer
Nov 21, 2001
22,709
5,837
146
second floor room, screen would be somewhat difficult.
Bummer:(

i dont quite understand the screen thing. to really have a benefit, you would need to cover the entire unit (from above) to keep the condenser and other external (i.e. they sit outside the window) parts.
The shade starts out about a foot above the window; no sun gets past it. It is hanging 16" from the window outside.
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
32,539
260
126
don't have my pic, but found one here

http://www.homedepot.com/Doors-Windo...kuId=202766001

if you look at the bottom of the lower pane you can see a small lip on it overlapping the strip that runs across from one side to the other. That stip at the bottom keeps the window from being (mostly) flat except for the 4 or so inches towards the outside with the window up.
 

SparkyJJO

Lifer
May 16, 2002
13,357
7
81
Mine is just sitting on that lip for the most part. Probably not the best.

It surprises me how the new units are still designed for the old wood frame windows and have no accommodations for the newer vinyl windows. Such a pain.
 

MovingTarget

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2003
9,002
115
106
Perhaps install a fan or dehumidifier?

How big is the room? Do you want a window unit to keep the cool between when the central air comes on or do you want it to take over that role entirely (as if you shut that vent)?
 

Alone

Diamond Member
Nov 19, 2006
7,490
0
0
Get a floor unit that has a hose which goes through your window. Seal around it, problem solved.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,336
136
Make sure to mouse proof it.
Ha. Bat proof. Wife comes running/screaming downstairs one morning, "There's a bird upstairs." Nope. A bat had been living under the unit and somehow had gotten in. Wife/bat jokes, ftw.
 

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
19
81
It may depend on the AC.
A cheap 8000 BTU Haier air conditioner I bought a few years ago didn't come with much of anything in terms of mounting hardware.
A somewhat higher-grade 10000 BTU Kenmore air conditioner that was bought after I was out of college, earning a positive income :), had adjustable mounting standoffs to allow for a lip, up to around 2" high. (It's also much quieter than the Haier one, and easier to install.)




Perhaps install a fan or dehumidifier?

How big is the room? Do you want a window unit to keep the cool between when the central air comes on or do you want it to take over that role entirely (as if you shut that vent)?
A dehumidifier will also dump quite a bit of heat into the room. I've got a small 30pt/day unit here, and it's rated 3.8A, so that's effectively a nice little 450W space heater right there.
 

Tsaico

Platinum Member
Oct 21, 2000
2,669
0
0
Second vote for the smaller portable unit and window adapter. I got one for an IT room that had no AC vent. I vented teh heat into the janitor closet since i had no window. That janitor closet got hot as all hell in the summer, having two rooms' heat in it, but most of it seemed to escape out the fire escape hatch.

I I had also made a wood shelf type for my second floor window. On one side, I had used large metal "L" brackets to hold in place on the inside. Those were drilling into the king studs on the bottom of window frame. The other part was a wood shelf that just extended out a little, so I didn't mount anythign into the actual window itself. This was more for the fact that in So. Cali, we have side to side windows for some reason, when the rest of the world has the double hung style.
 

MovingTarget

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2003
9,002
115
106
It may depend on the AC.
A cheap 8000 BTU Haier air conditioner I bought a few years ago didn't come with much of anything in terms of mounting hardware.
A somewhat higher-grade 10000 BTU Kenmore air conditioner that was bought after I was out of college, earning a positive income :), had adjustable mounting standoffs to allow for a lip, up to around 2" high. (It's also much quieter than the Haier one, and easier to install.)





A dehumidifier will also dump quite a bit of heat into the room. I've got a small 30pt/day unit here, and it's rated 3.8A, so that's effectively a nice little 450W space heater right there.

I only mention it because I was in a similar situation once and I live in a very humid climate. Over half of keeping cool is keeping the indoor humidity down.