Hi all,

Just bought a new AC, a 2003 model Frigidaire, 10'000 btu,
thru-the-wall. Paid $500 for it, with taxes and all, and thought I'd get
a decent device for that dough. Especially since it only had rotary
controls, all the money would go into quality parts, right?

Well, I installed it, plugged it in and turned it on, and my first
thought was DAMN, is that thing loud! Even at the lowest setting, there
is no listening to music or having an otherwise nice evening. I'm quite
dissappointed.

Seriously, is this normal? The device doesn't sound defective, it's just
mainly the fan. If I bought crap (excuse my French), please tell me.

Otherwise, if this is somewhat normal, does anybody have ideas to
silence that thing? I'd love to somehow lower the fan speed ...

Ray

"rs" whatever wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Just bought a new AC, a 2003 model Frigidaire, 10'000 btu,
thru-the-wall. Paid $500 for it, with taxes and all, and thought I'd get
a decent device for that dough. Especially since it only had rotary
controls, all the money would go into quality parts, right?

Well, I installed it, plugged it in and turned it on, and my first
thought was DAMN, is that thing loud! Even at the lowest setting, there
is no listening to music or having an otherwise nice evening. I'm quite
dissappointed.

Seriously, is this normal? The device doesn't sound defective, it's just
mainly the fan. If I bought crap (excuse my French), please tell me.

Otherwise, if this is somewhat normal, does anybody have ideas to
silence that thing? I'd love to somehow lower the fan speed ...

Ray

BJ's sells a nice, quiet Sharp brand 10K btu unit. It has some really nice
features such as timers (handy for when you don't want to run the A/C all
day, but want to come home from work to a comfortable home), digital
temperature control and energy saver mode. In case you haven't used an A/C
with energy saver mode, this feature turns the fan off until cooling is
needed again. In other words, it goes from relatively quiet to absolutely
silent. Oh, and it's just over $200. On the other hand, 10K btu models are
all rather noisy compared to more reasonably sized room air conditioners.
But for a savings of over 50%, I think you'd be happier with the Sharp model
anyway, even if there is no difference in noise level.

If possible, move the A/C to a different window, or even another room.
Depending on how much floor space you have, it might be strong enough to
cool two or three rooms efficiently. The catch is that much of the cooling
comes from air circulation. But if you can use the A/C to drop the temp.
and remove the humidity, you can always use a nice quiet fan for air
circulation in your immediate area, while locating the noisy A/C unit
farther away. -Dave

The thing is, it's not a window unit, it's a thru-the-wall unit. I saw
the consumer reports reviews, but they didn't bother giving advice about
those types (which, invariably, I find what CR is about - givign advise
on things I truly don't need it, like digital cameras and computers, and
not giving advice for the thigns I need ;/ )

Taking back won't be easy, but if the Panasonics were *quiet*, I'd try,
mount them in a window, and stuff up the hole in the wall. Are they quiet?

Ray

Jim Kent wrote:

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 01:09:57 GMT, rs wrote:


Just bought a new AC, a 2003 model Frigidaire, 10'000 btu,
thru-the-wall. Paid $500 for it,


I'd take that sucker back if you can. You should be able to buy *two*
10KBTU window units for $500. Next time, think Panasonic, maybe
Sharp. The most recent Consumer Reports had a nice report on window
units, so a trip to the library might be in order.

"Jim Kent" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 01:09:57 GMT, rs wrote:

Just bought a new AC, a 2003 model Frigidaire, 10'000 btu,
thru-the-wall. Paid $500 for it,

I'd take that sucker back if you can. You should be able to buy *two*
10KBTU window units for $500. Next time, think Panasonic, maybe
Sharp. The most recent Consumer Reports had a nice report on window
units, so a trip to the library might be in order.

And if you see maytag air conditioners just keep on walking. Two friends
bought then this summer. One bought an 8,000 & a 5,500 BTU and the other has
a 6,000 BTU unit. They seem to be a good example of a company using their
formally good name to make junk. In each case there is a throb
throb throb throb throb compressor sound
that is so load that you can barely carry on a conversation.