Why doesn't my air conditioner work?

[computerpro3]

This is a very strange problem.

I am living in a dorm, and each room has an air conditioner. It's not a window unit; it goes the entire length of the wall and is metal. It also can do heat. We have individual controls in the room.

Anyway, it doesn't work 95% of the time. It just blows out lukewarm air, even when cranked to the max. Sometimes, completely randomly, it works - and it works AWESOME. I mean it drops the room temperature by 30 degrees in about five minutes. But usually it just doesn't work. Right now I am sitting here sweating my ass off getting lukewarm (more hot than cold) air blown on my face.

The problem is that I really need an air conditioner. My rooomate has three computers, I have one, a large monitor, and tube audio gear. With the window OPEN on a 65f day, the room sits at around 95f. The room is around 100-105 degrees when it's 80 outside.

The only thing I can think of is that somehow the university can control whether or not the air conditioning is enabled, as this happens to most of the air conditioners here. Is it possible that to save money they disable it and don't tell us, and only enable it on the hottest of the hot days? If not, is there anything at all I can do to troubleshoot and fix this? I called maintanence and they claim they aren't taking service requests on air conditioners right now.

The school used air conditioning in each room as a huge selling feature during the tour. They forgot to mention the damn thing never works .

[twilyth]

It sounds like a blower for a central a/c unit. If so, then coolant coming into it from the central compressor would have to be on for it to work and the University probably turns that on and off depending on the outside temp. In my old apartment, they wouldn't turn the heat on until the outside temp was below 65F.

If the unit has it's own compressor, I can't think of any reason it would work only 5% of the time. If an a/c is low on coolant it will not cool very well but it will work. Once the coolant pressure drops below a certain point, it will shut itself off to prevent damage to the compressor.

Check with your neighbors and see if they're units work when yours doesn't. check with maintenance and see what the outside temp has to be before they turn on a/c. That might be why they're not taking service calls - since they know the units are off.

[Zytek_Fan]

Might need to be recharged.

[computerpro3]

I went and looked for the compressor and to be honest I am not seeing one. There is a small chance it is behind my roommates bed (can't remove panel to see) but here is what I think is more telling:

I can hear the refrigerant moving through the lines even when my AC is off (I was into phase change, I know that sound). What I am taking this to mean is that it is being piped in from a central unit and is just not chilled. Furthermore, I am not hearing or feeling a compressor either. There is a very soft whoosh/humming noise, but it is way too vibration-less to be a compressor, and I can't see a compressor anywhere either.

Sound possible?

[twilyth]

Sounds likely, although I had thought that the compressor was responsible for moving the refrigerant. But I guess it's possible that there is a pump too. But if so, I don't see why the pump would be on unless the same refrigerant is used for heating and the college thinks it's still cold enough outside to keep the heat on.

[[XC] Lead Head]

A compressor is a pump.

Can you take a picture of the unit? Usually units like these have two parts, with the compressor part being located directly outside the room, or somewhere else. The liquid sound you are hearing is more likely hot water being pumped through the unit. It may be that they have disabled A/C while the heating system is still running.

[adamsleath]

it works sometimes ay?

the thermostat is playing up or someone is turning off the compressor (fan coil unit/refrigerant pump/ whatever you want to call it.)

leaving you with a fan blowing uncooled air basically.

if the thermostat is playing up (or is placed in another airconditioned space that is further up the line than you are) then when the thermostat(perhaps in another area/not your room) reaches the preset temp it shuts off the compressor. if there IS a thermostat in your room, perhaps it is faulty.

someone? may be manually turning off the compressor to save power; why dont you just tell the admin that your a/c doesnt work properly?

i have a little a/c unit in my room and i always set it to cool/or heat manually; and i never use thermostat control (auto) as i have a thermostat built in to my body that tells me when im hot and cold, and i turn the a/c on or i turn it off as needed.

whatever your exact setup is; if you arent getting cool air then the compressor is definitely off. (if you NEVER got cooled air then it is possible that all the refrigerent has leaked out, but i dont think that is your problem)

i say it's a dodgy thermostat, OR some admin is deliberately shutting off the compressor units to save $$

maintenance not taking service calls right now hey? sounds dodgy

...while the admin no doubt is living in luxury while you swelter...but that's what you paid for isnt it?

[Mav451]

At UMD, they'd wait until the heat was unbearable before turning on the AC. It's just straight up campus politics sometimes.

[computerpro3]

My frigging video card was hitting 105c yesterday (today wasn't bad). Yes, it has AS5 on it, proper contact, and there is no dust. X1900xtx is hot as it is, let alone with 100f ambients.

[Zytek_Fan]

Get a window A/C

[computerpro3]

Not allowed to.

[[XC] 2long4u]

Sounds like they use a common liquid line.
It may have a solenoid to allow the expansion of the refrigeration in your unit.
Or it could be controlled on the suction side.
Anyway you look at it there should be a control device in your room. Post up some pics.

[trance565]

Not allowed to.

get a window unit, and sit it on your floor.

[Zytek_Fan]

Not allowed to.

Tell them if they don't fix the A/C, you're buying a window unit.
And get other people in the apartment complex to do the same.



Or you could get some coolers, put them in various places throughout your room, and fill them with dry ice

[computerpro3]

Sounds like they use a common liquid line.
It may have a solenoid to allow the expansion of the refrigeration in your unit.
Or it could be controlled on the suction side.
Anyway you look at it there should be a control device in your room. Post up some pics.

I will rip the panels off tomorrow and post detailed pics. I just pray that there is a compressor in the room, for where there is a compressor, there is a way to start it.

[computerpro3]

Tell them if they don't fix the A/C, you're buying a window unit.
And get other people in the apartment complex to do the same.



Or you could get some coolers, put them in various places throughout your room, and fill them with dry ice

Dry ice + toilet in community dorm bathroom = win. Trust me. What else was I supposed to do with the leftovers from the package Omaha Steaks sent me?

[Grafton]

does anyone else have this problem in your dorm?

[computerpro3]

Check this out, I found the unit:

LXF Sureflow Vertical Lowboy Cabinet. On the bottom right.

http://www.iec-okc.com/Products/PROD...6/Default.aspx

How it Works:

http://www.iec-okc.com/portals/0/doc...lyer_08.07.pdf

A low watt customized circulator is factory
matched to each SureFlow® fan coil creating an
independent secondary circuit. When there is a call for heating or cooling the
circulator delivers the design flow GPM to each unit from the primary loop to
the specially circuted coil, and then back to the primary loop. Place multiple
SureFlow® fan coils on a primary loop in series and you are able to satisfy the
comfort requirements of individual rooms with a single pipe for cooling and a
single pipe for heating. SureFlow® is designed to eliminate differential system
pressures which allow the individual units to respond to dynamic building
load changes. Each SureFlow® fan coil cycles on and off under control of its
individual thermostat; no special thermostats are required. The central pump
is no longer responsible for overcoming the valve and coil losses, but is only
required to move water continuously and easily through the distribution
piping. This significantly reduces the horsepower demands of the central
pump, resulting in increased pump energy savings for the building.

Ahah! Now we're getting somewhere. If I'm understand this correctly, it is a water based system - which is why I can hear the coolant moving.

[WrigleyVillain]

I will rip the panels off tomorrow and post detailed pics. I just pray that there is a compressor in the room, for where there is a compressor, there is a way to start it.

I don't understand why this is your responsibility and not that of the facilities dept. there...

[computerpro3]

They really don't give a . The school president completely drive us into the ground financially. We don't even have screens on our windows. Bugs and fly in all the time when we need to have the windows open due to heat.


http://www.iec-okc.com/portals/0/doc...uide_08.07.pdf

Looking at the engineering guide, if I am understand this correctly, the heating and cooling is done out of room. However, there is a local room thermostat that controls whether the unit mount circulators cycle on or off. I need to find and manipulate this to test this theory. I am assuming the thermostat is located in the controls for the unit. When my roommate wakes up, I will blow a hairdryer set on hot on this area and see what happens.

http://www.iec-okc.com/portals/0/doc...uide_08.07.pdf

On a side note, if my roommate doesn't wake up soon, its time for some awping on full volume.

[Polizei]

My dorm room is the same way. They have a central HVAC building for the entire campus, and they have not "enabled" the AC yet - it just blows out room temp air. It's been 75F here for the past couple days (with the exclusion of today's 46) and with 2 high-er end computers in the room (mine and my roommate's) and his Xbox360, the room gets pretty toasty... I would say 85 or so.

Once the AC kicks in, it's never above 60F in here. Good for OC'ing a couple more MHz.

[WrigleyVillain]

They really don't give a .

Damn, sorry to hear that. Well good luck, and if and when you do get that thing along again you will be the hero of your dorm because from what you describe you're probably not the only one!

I sense some new girlfriends in your future.

Yeah heating the thermostat is a good next step.

[computerpro3]

Here are the pictures