OT: Another product rant

one that doesn't have some ill-fitting pieces that rattle and buzz. A litt le attention to fit & finish would go a long way. Fer crissakes - if they c an mold Lego parts to fit together tightly, why can't they do the same for the front panel * filter holder on the AC? If they put another few sheet me tal screws in the case, it wouldn't rattle. If they made the case a quarter

-inch bigger, the compressor wouldn't bang against it.

e when I put it back together. That ought to make a difference.

nside unit is just a fan, so it's next to silent. The outside unit, though is also damned close to silent. Pretty much, all you hear is the fan. Unfor tunately, the way the house is laid out, it wouldn't be so simple to do the second floor the same way. We're thinking about a heat pump in the attic f or next year.

Where was the noisy one made, and when?

ee one that doesn't have some ill-fitting pieces that rattle and buzz. A li ttle attention to fit & finish would go a long way. Fer crissakes - if they can mold Lego parts to fit together tightly, why can't they do the same fo r the front panel * filter holder on the AC? If they put another few sheet metal screws in the case, it wouldn't rattle. If they made the case a quart er-inch bigger, the compressor wouldn't bang against it.

one when I put it back together. That ought to make a difference.

inside unit is just a fan, so it's next to silent. The outside unit, thoug h is also damned close to silent. Pretty much, all you hear is the fan. Unf ortunately, the way the house is laid out, it wouldn't be so simple to do t he second floor the same way. We're thinking about a heat pump in the attic for next year.

Noisy ONE? no, it's more like noisy dozen or so over the years. The current culprit is an LG 8000btu, maybe 4 or 5 years old. It WAS pretty good at fi rst, but not any more.

I'm actually thinking that this is as good an opportunity as any to try the silicone I and corn starch "DIY Sugru." to cushion some of the parts and s tick others together somewhat less than permanently.

In the past for squeaky, noisy items where they bolt together it was much simpler to lube the area. It was darn near impossible to stop them from rubbing/moving but a little bit of grease or suitable lube would top the noise...

see one that doesn't have some ill-fitting pieces that rattle and buzz. A little attention to fit & finish would go a long way. Fer crissakes - if th ey can mold Lego parts to fit together tightly, why can't they do the same for the front panel * filter holder on the AC? If they put another few shee t metal screws in the case, it wouldn't rattle. If they made the case a qua rter-inch bigger, the compressor wouldn't bang against it.

icone when I put it back together. That ought to make a difference.

he inside unit is just a fan, so it's next to silent. The outside unit, tho ugh is also damned close to silent. Pretty much, all you hear is the fan. U nfortunately, the way the house is laid out, it wouldn't be so simple to do the second floor the same way. We're thinking about a heat pump in the att ic for next year.

nt culprit is an LG 8000btu, maybe 4 or 5 years old. It WAS pretty good at first, but not any more.

he silicone I and corn starch "DIY Sugru." to cushion some of the parts and stick others together somewhat less than permanently.

Let us know how that works out.

I've been curious about the quality of air conditioners since around 2003. That year I replaced my two '60s-era Sears ACs with three Chinese-made ones also sold by Sears. I went in to buy one; they were so unbelievably cheap ($85 each) that I bought three.

That year, Electrolux (Frigidaire) closed its air-conditioner plant about t wo miles from my house, laying off 1,600 workers. I felt guilty about my Ch inese ACs. I expected them to give trouble. They gave no trouble. I expecte d them to get noisy, like my old ones were. Fourteen years later, they all work great and they're quiet. I just clean the mold out of them every two y ears and blow out the leaves.

So I don't get why some brands seem to be trouble. I can't believe they can survive in today's market making sub-standard ACs. BTW, there are a lot of complaints about LG ACs online, including noise.

The marketplace should have sorted them out and knocked off the bad ones lo ng ago, like it's done with cars.

e one that doesn't have some ill-fitting pieces that rattle and buzz. A lit tle attention to fit & finish would go a long way. Fer crissakes - if they can mold Lego parts to fit together tightly, why can't they do the same for the front panel * filter holder on the AC? If they put another few sheet m etal screws in the case, it wouldn't rattle. If they made the case a quarte r-inch bigger, the compressor wouldn't bang against it.

ne when I put it back together. That ought to make a difference.

inside unit is just a fan, so it's next to silent. The outside unit, though is also damned close to silent. Pretty much, all you hear is the fan. Unfo rtunately, the way the house is laid out, it wouldn't be so simple to do th e second floor the same way. We're thinking about a heat pump in the attic for next year.

Good point. I have some silicone grease that would probably work to quiet t he plastic parts, and some heavier stuff that could work on the metal parts .

LG (aka Lucky Goldstar) has been around a LONG time, they were one of the first Korean companies to market in the US. They are HUGE and actually make many items for other brands as well.

Yeah, I have some of their stuff, but not an air conditioner. I used to like their flip phones.

Dunno about noise, but every damned one I've bought comes with fillers for sash windows, to fill in the sides. Every house I've lived in has sliding windows, I've had to make my own fillers (typically glass with wood frame)...

Jon

I made the plexi-glazed filler insert to fit and seal the entire window opening. The A/C sits on a removeable closely-fitted shelf supported front and rear by the sill and higher than the outer storm window frame. The weather-stripped insert is solid down to the top of the A/C and has side doors below that open to simplify installation.

I roughly center the A/C on the shelf, pop in the insert, then slide the A/C sideways against whichever door closes and shut the other one. The fit isn't perfect all around so I tape any gaps.

-jsw

Really? I haven't heard of them until recently. I always thought LG meant Life is Good or something.

the same way. We're thinking about a heat pump

I'm sure that Electrolux accountant was wondering why their own Air Conditi oners didn't sell at only $57 dollars. I'm sure Over-zealous commission sa les is usually the problem that kills domestic firms. There's no direct com parison of course, but its good that a Mother-May-I regulatory approach, li ke in Europe and the Pacific Rim, forces many large and medium companies' s ales prices down to stop unforeseen slowdowns and even permanent work stopp age like the ones you just described.

You are buying the wrong air conditioner. They ARE made for sliding windows - they are just not as easy to find, and more expensive

I was selling Goldstar monitors 26 years ago. They were good already back then

to see one that doesn't have some ill-fitting pieces that rattle and buzz. A little attention to fit & finish would go a long way. Fer crissakes - if they can mold Lego parts to fit together tightly, why can't they do the sam e for the front panel * filter holder on the AC? If they put another few sh eet metal screws in the case, it wouldn't rattle. If they made the case a q uarter-inch bigger, the compressor wouldn't bang against it.

ilicone when I put it back together. That ought to make a difference.

The inside unit is just a fan, so it's next to silent. The outside unit, t hough is also damned close to silent. Pretty much, all you hear is the fan. Unfortunately, the way the house is laid out, it wouldn't be so simple to do the second floor the same way. We're thinking about a heat pump in the a ttic for next year.

rent culprit is an LG 8000btu, maybe 4 or 5 years old. It WAS pretty good a t first, but not any more.

the silicone I and corn starch "DIY Sugru." to cushion some of the parts a nd stick others together somewhat less than permanently.

. That year I replaced my two '60s-era Sears ACs with three Chinese-made on es also sold by Sears. I went in to buy one; they were so unbelievably chea p ($85 each) that I bought three.

That air conditioner class that I had wasn't bad. I learned to always keep the pipes as clean as possible.

That air conditioner class that I had wasn't bad. I learned to always keep the pipes as clean as possible. =============================== Did they mention what cleaners to use, or more importantly NOT use, when hosing the uncovered unit in the driveway?

-jsw

They replaced my window unit at work with one that sounded like a semi with no muffler running on the highway. it was a relief when it broke, and I haven't had the nerve to tell them it is broken. I'd rather live in room a bit too warm than put up with the roar of that thing. That one wasn't a rattle, just a very loud fan and an insanely loud compressor.

Jon

Makes you wonder if they had the gall to give you something that was ABOUT to break.

My mother's senior (92 ;) apartment last year had one of those ghastly loud units from a couple decades back. Just obnoxious. Many motels have them, and you can't sleep with the noise when the bloody things are on, or the heat when they're off. Lose/Lose.

When I was installing A/C units in new trucks in Phoenix in '73, we had cork/butyl tape to wrap the suction section. It works well to deaden the sound of sheetmetal. You can also buy sound deadening kits for auto doors, which is a piece of aluminum sheet with butyl tape on one side. Those quiet the metalwork considerably. Taping all edges with masking tape where they meet also quiets rattly sheetmetal cabinets. Where plastic meets sheetmetal, you can lay a strip of masking tape to tighten the fit, eliminating those rattles. Luckily, the most obnoxious noises come from the sheetmetal and plastic parts and a simple masking tape application will fix the worst.

Compressor and fan noises are harder. Isolating the compressor from the base with rubber mounts can help a lot. Replacing noisy fan blades with quieter style can help.

Upper end: The Mitsubishi Splits are the quietest, most efficient thru-wall models on the market. ChaCHING!, but worth it.

Good question. I've heard that dousing condenser pipes of a running air conditioner with water helps overall efficiency, but I've also heard that as little of anything should touch those pipes as possible to avoid corrosion, etc...