<p>Hi, gang!</p>
<p>DS has asthma and will be allowed to have a room air conditioner in college? The window is about 46" wide, but the maximum width air conditioner unit we could find was “41” with the accordian filler fully extended.</p>
<p>I’d appreciate ideas about how to fill the gap. I’ve been told plywood, plexiglass, insulation foam board. Are there kits that would work? What do you think? All ideas welcome! Thanks! :O)</p>
<p>OrangeBlossom,</p>
<p>My husband has installed two window A/C’s in our house and has used plywood to fill the gap with no problem. Sorry I can’t be more specific because he’s definitely the handyman around here, not me :)</p>
<p>Plywood or plexiglass with duct tape or caulk.</p>
<p>I would check with housing to see what their guidelines are. They may have restrictions or suggestions or even prefer to install the unit themselves to ensure that it’s safe.</p>
<p>This is not about college, but I also have an air-conditioner problem Our window unit was installed in such a way that the sash window cannot be opened for cleaning purposes and the window is too high up to reach from outside. Can the ac be re-installed to allow the window to be cleaned? Any advice greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>To clean my windows, I have to take the AC unit out. The unit sits on the window frame and the upper sash comes down behind the flange on the top of the unit and keeps it from falling out.</p>
<p>Would colleges not be worried about injuries caused by incorrectly installed window units falling out? Also, in some buildings there may be a power problem if many students brought their own ac. I’d be sure it was permitted before I hauled the unit to school.</p>
<p>lkf: My point exactly re: checking with housing. I could just see the darn thing falling out onto the sidewalk… </p>
<p>Hadn’t thought about the power issue, though. D1s dorm at NYU was so poorly equipped she would trip a breaker if she heated her flat iron and ran her hairdryer at the same time. Not to mention the expense of running AC.</p>
<p>Thanks for replies.</p>
<p>FYI…</p>
<ol>
<li> Yes, DS has permission (for medical reasons), as noted in my OP</li>
<li> College has no guidelines, except no more than 5500 BTUs</li>
<li> We will be charged an extra amount to cover electricity</li>
<li> College will only do an after-the-fact safety inspection</li>
</ol>
<p>** I’m still in a quandry though…plywood, plexiglass, insulation board, other … does it make a difference???</p>
<p>You may need some bracket suppport below it also.</p>
<p>OrangeBlossom: Since the college is allowing the AC, they must have guidelines for filling the gap which is probably along the same lines as their safety inspection.
Hardware stores sell replacements for the side fillers about $12. (Search Lowes for airconditioning accessories) You could get one of those.</p>
<p>This is one of those situations which is easy to deal with on site but hard to diagnose “over the phone” because there are lots of possible solutions. It makes a difference if the window is double hung (opens up and down) or a slider (side to side). Assuming it’s up and down my tendency in a situation like this would be to recommend getting a piece of “L” shaped stamped steel cut to the width of the window opening. This is a common item, sold at Home Depot and many hardware stores - they have holes stamped in them at regular intervals, and come in different thicknesses and lengths. They are easy to cut with a hack saw. You could then mount the AC unit in the middle of the window resting on the sill using the brackets which come with it and bolt or screw the metal bracket across the top of the unit and to the sides of the window frame, holding the AC unit in place. How you would fasten it at the sides depends on what the sides look like and are made of - that’s the part that’s hard to answer long distance. Then you can close the window onto the metal bracket - or open it ifor some fresh air at times. The gaps in the side can then be filled with whatever - plywood, insulation board, plex - because they won’t be structural or under any stress, and you’ll have a solid base to fasten them to - the metal bracket.</p>
<p>A lot of the decision about what materials you will want to use depends on what kind of local vendors you have. If there’s a plastics store available - TAP Plastics is one - they’ll cut “side windows” for you to size. Plex is kind of tricky to cut yourself - you really need a special saw blade to avoid cracks and chips. Most large hardware or home improvement stores will cut pieces of plywood or other wood to size.</p>
<p>Apologies for a slight hijack here, but, D’s off campus apartment has two of these things, and I would like to know if there is some sort of maintenance or cleaning that is supposed to be done. I have central air in our house - that’s a monthly filter change; I don’t understand window AC units, but, the two in her apartment look sort of dirty, the landlord is in some other country and inaccessible, and, the electric bill for this small apartment just went from an average of $80/month to $250 last month. The increase has to be due to the efficiency of these two constantly running window AC units. </p>
<p>Should I try to take them apart and clean the vents or something? Would that help reduce the electric bill?</p>
<p>Open the front of the unit (it probably tips out) and remove the filter (it may or may not have a frame). Vacuum the filter and wash it. Dry thoroughly and replace. check the filter often.
Have the kids set the temp higher esp. during the day when they’re not home. Remind them they do not have to live in a refrigerator. I use box fans (highly decorative) and ceiling fans to keep the air moving. They’re cheaper to run than the AC.
RE: the rise in cost: I don’t know what’s happened to utility rates in your area, but our rates are MUCH higher here now that gasoline is so high.</p>
<p>Adrew, thanks for that. I cleaned one. Disgusting, but easy enough to do. The other one doesn’t appear to have a filter of any kind at all. Open the front of it and it’s all just cold metal coily stuff - can’t see anything to clean…not sure what to do about that, and I don’t know if it matters.</p>
<p>Are the coils dirty? No filter sounds like someone damaged it and threw it away. (I’m a landlord and so suspect) Are the coils pretty clean? Maybe put a vac in there (unplug the unit) and see if that helps.<br>
Are the 2 units the same? You can buy repacement filters at Lowes, etc. I don’t think that would cause the high bills though, just blows the crud into the room.
as mom of 2 DDs and several tenants, I’d say they are running the units all the time instead of just when they need it. $20 box fans
When we lived in Houston, our outside AC shut off because it was full of fire ants!</p>
<p>A, thanks for that. The coils appear to be clean, slightly wet, and very cold. But the unit looks so old that I doubt anyone sells anything for it, unless these things have size consistency over time. We’ve lots of fans, uselessly packed carefully and stored in the closets here. I’ll pull them out and hope that helps control the utility bill.</p>
<p>I noticed a free-standing room air conditioner unit in Costco a few weeks ago. It looked for all the world like one of those room air purifiers. Is it possible that something like this world work for your son?</p>
<p>Hey, I saw those too! But where does the water go? Do you need to direct it out of a window, or does it collect in a bucket, or what? </p>
<p>Anybody ever use one who can comment on their efficacy?</p>
<p>They have a bucket, much like a dehumidifier. I looked at them last year. Too expensive then and even this year, they are over $300. As far as efficiency goes, the more efficient the unit (and therefore lower cost to run) the higher the initial investment.</p>