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Blowin' in the Wind, Issue #085 Air Conditioner Not Cooling - Aug 1, 2011
July 28, 2011
Hello ,

Darn Air Conditioner - not Cooling again!

Ever find your air conditioner not cooling at times? When summer comes around having a working air conditioner is pertinent for you and your roommates or family to live happily.

Most of us know what it's like to have a hot summer with no dometic air conditioners, and the extreme lengths people will go to in order to avoid this massive discomfort. Some have done tricks such as blowing a fan onto ice cubes, sleeping without any blankets, setting up fans pointing every direction, blowing air in from outside, even spending time with the car air conditioner if available.

Hey, that's cool...

People love their air conditioning. Luckily many air conditioning units are easy to fix, and doing so only takes a few small steps.

Often, when your air conditioner stops cooling it's because you may find the small coils that reside within the air conditioner frozen. To fix this air condition problem you can turn the thermostat off and let your fan run for a few hours. This will slowly thaw the coils, and allow the fluids inside them to flow properly once again. You should also be able to feel the results as the coils start to thaw, and cool air should be "pressured out" of the unit.

Once they are completely defrosted you might want to open up the unit to make sure that the coils are clean. If they are dirty, they can freeze again very quickly, and/or become wet, causing further problems. So make sure they look good.

You may need to replace the filter. Once that is done, your air conditioner should function, however if the coils freeze again soon after restarting, you may have to replace or recharge the refrigerant. Then, if problems still occur, or if air flow isn't up to par, you may need to replace the entire air conditioning unit.

More air conditioner problems

Another pitfall to look out for is letting your air conditioner continuously run after it stops producing cool air.

If hot air is coming out and you allow it to run for long periods of time you can ruin the compressor. If the compressor casing or area feels hot then it is still in good shape. However if it is cold, you may need to replace it. Check you local central air conditioning parts store. If you feel that there is still sufficient charge in your air conditioner, then faulty cables can be your issue. Check and see if they are plugged in? You can easily replace these cables, which is much cheaper and easier than replacing an entire air conditioner.

When summer comes around, you are going to want to avoid the heat as much as possible. Your family and friends all appreciate and love air conditioners so it is important to know how to keep up with your central air conditioner maintenance. Don't resort to drastic measures; just take the easy simple steps to control the "air conditioner not cooling" problem and make sure your air conditioner keeps you all nice and cool throughout the summer.

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