Can A Window Air Conditioner Catch Fire?
Can A Window Air Conditioner Catch Fire?
Yes. The most serious danger associated with window air conditioner units is fire. In fact, it has been demonstrated that room air conditioners pose a greater fire risk than central air conditioning systems. In fact, a window unit is thought to be 1.8 times more likely than a traditional unit to cause a fire.
Air conditioners have the potential to catch fire from a short circuit or improperly installed components, but this is rare. To catch fire, air conditioners must be able to overheat and cause a short circuit to occur.
This can happen if there is an increase in voltage coming from an overloaded electrical outlet that is too close to the air conditioner unit. If this happens to your window air conditioner, you will notice that it starts making a loud “buzzing” sound shortly after you turn it on.
The sound of the radio at high volume might get louder and louder until it becomes irregular. This indicates that the problem is probably the overheating of the unit. Once overheated, the coils on your air conditioner turn into a short circuit creating sparks and eventually causing a fire.
The way to protect your home from potential fires caused by AC units is to plug your unit into an outlet protected by a circuit breaker. This way, if an overload does occur, it is automatically protected and disconnected from the source of electricity.
Inspect all of your electrical outlets at least twice a year to make sure you are not overloaded. If you are looking to buy a unit that is more than just window-related, check out the whole line of Goodman equipment.
There are many different types of air conditioners for all kinds of rooms in your house. If you want to find the right one for your home and increase the coolness levels in any room or area, then contact us at Goodman today.
Can You Put An Air Conditioner In A Storm Window?
Yes. A window air conditioner can be installed into a storm window if it fits properly. Installing the AC with storm windows necessitates some preparation on your part. The key is to raise the unit in the front so that you can keep the correct pitch and clear the storm window frame/lip in the back (since the unit needs to tilt slightly downwards for proper drainage).
Generally, however, the air conditioner will not operate correctly in this setup unless the sashes of the storm window are painted white. If you have an older home with traditional wood double-hung windows instead of newer aluminum frames (which may block certain frequencies a/c units emit), there is a need to do something about them.
This prevents proper ventilation and cooling. The first step is to remove the interior stops that hold the sashes when raised up. After that, wrap some aluminum foil around the exposed wood so they match more closely to your frame A/C unit.
Now all you have to do is slide in an air conditioner with the proper length for the window. You will need to find out if the particular A/C unit has a maximum operating temperature. If so, it would need to be installed on a special bracket that has holes in it in order for the unit to cool properly.
You should also give your electrical line a check because that can be another source of problems, especially if your breaker trips when you think your A/C is turned off. You may also notice short circuits if your electrical wiring is not secure.
If you have any questions about this, contact Goodman Repair. We will be happy to provide more information and assistance.
Does A Window Air Conditioner Have To Be Perfectly Level?
Many people believe that air conditioners should be pitched down, slightly out of level, to help condensate the drain. Actually, an air conditioner should be installed on a level surface. Condensate collects beneath the fan and runs into the slinger ring in these appliances.
You don’t really want to go above the slinger ring, or you could cause overflow and a water line backup. The best way to level an air conditioner is with shims. Get enough to do the job, and then you can use washers and spacers to get it level.
Put shims under the unit so that it can tilt downward slightly at the top and top of the motor. We recommend a minimum of three shims: two at the feet of the unit, one across two feet in front of it, and one more directly underneath. The shims should be about the thickness of a pencil.
Hold the unit so that it is level when you slide it into the window. Then, light-tightly screw shims against each other with two or three washers between them, until the unit is level.
Pitch an air conditioner as low in the window as possible, but not too low. If you can’t get it to sink enough to fit properly in your opening, try putting it on a box or other means of support in order to bring it into proper contact with the window sill and sills and sill plate.
You can use spacers or washers to make sure your air conditioner is level while you are sliding through the window opening. Keep in mind, if you don’t fix the problem at the very beginning and it gets worse, the job will get more difficult. A lot of people think that a window air conditioner needs to be perfectly level because they are used to the old style accordion-like models.
