AC Unit question

[Hornin NYC]

I have a (actually 3) Ice Cap wall unit Air Conditioners in my apartment.

(as an aside they must be connected to the mob, whoever makes this, because even today no residential buildings have central air in NYC and they all have this same AC Unit which costs 2000 bucks)

Anyway, the one in the bedroom works fine (cold air wise) but when the compressor kicks in it makes a godawful grinding noiseand then works fine. When the compressor stops it makes a similar noise and then the fan runs.

Any ideas before I call out the repairmen?

 

[accuratehorn]

If there is a front cover or panel that is easily removable, you could take it off and see if anything is visibly rubbing on the rotating parts, like the squirrel cage fan, belt or pulleys. Maybe the previous resident, or a horse's head, is stuffed in there, or a piece of loose insulation or something.

 

[Hornin NYC]

will do.

 

[7Titles]

Maybe Jimmy Hoffa's head is in there.

 

[suttree]

Call Kramer to install it.

 

[horn4life]

sounds like it's probably the comnpressor and that means just deal with the noise until it's time to replace it. No oil has leaked out that you can see. Look closely as I am sure the prior owner wiped it down pretty well.

oh yeah.... keep $2000 handy!

 

[Agamemnon]

A wall unit A/C will hardly cost $2000 to replace. Closer to $200 than $2000. I would venture to say about $600, depending on the size of the room it cools.

Replacing the compressor would be a waste of time and money considering it would cost close to the same as a new unit so just deal with it then when it dies toss it in the river with a some lead slippers and a horse head. That'll keep the cops guessing for weeks.

 

[Hornin NYC]

these aren''t the wall unit's you get at circuit city, they are monsters.

Thanks H4L. No oil yet.

 

[horn4life]

try this link The Link it's a great site I found yesterday double checking some info.

They seem to ahve a good group of knowledgable folks. I would also find the model specific model number of your unit and google it in quotes and see what you come up with.

Here is another link with cross references to "exact fit" units Ice Cap has designed their products to replace. So clearly there are alternatives to Ice Cap. You might use some of these units for a cost comparison or to beat them down on price The Link

probably just the compressor. I think there is a compressor "brake" that might be making the noise. I think it holds the unit back to puild pressure at start up, but I really am unsure about this. Just seems like some tidbit of useless info I accumlated somewhere. But the links are a good starting point.

 

[Hornin NYC]

tyvm yes it deos soudn like some sort of brake that realeases and kciks in when the compressor starts and stops.

 

[Agamemnon]

Ahh, I saw "wall unit" and envisioned "window unit." My bad. Still, you should be able to beat a $2K price, IMO.