Inaccurate faulty a/c thermostat?

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kol12

kol12

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Jan 26, 2015
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I have a portable air conditioner with reverse cycle heating for which the thermostat seems rather inaccurate. It was 16C this morning and I set the unit to 21C. It cycled on for all of only a few minutes before switching off and reaching know where near 21C, it then fails to cycle back on. It behaves strangely at higher temps as well. For example if the room was 19C and I set the unit anywhere between 20-23C it won't even cycle on, sometimes I have to set it to 25C+ just for it to turn on when the room is only 19C. My understanding is that it should have +/- of at least 1-2C for re-cycling/turning on but I'm seeing much larger swings. I have two thermostats that read similar room temperatures and the a/c thermostat is not responding to these temperatures at all. Does it sound like the a/c thermostat is faulty?
 
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Ralston18

Ralston18

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Oct 11, 2014
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Possible.

May not be as sensitive as you expect (i.e., +/- 1-2 C) or that "sensitivity" was established under some ideal testing environment.

Air flows around the unit could be adversely affecting the temperature sensing.

And some devices may "time-out" to prevent excess cycling. So it just sits awhile before functioning again.

Check the User Guide/Manual and contact the seller. Especially if you still have any warranty left.



 
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kol12

kol12

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Hi, Sorry for the late reply. The unit still has 2 years of warranty on it, it's only a year old. I'm also concerned about the noise level from the compressor, the unit is classed as being very quiet with a rating of 45 db, but the db meter on my smart phone is reading 60 db.

When I wrote the above post we had a cold front come over which is why I was testing the heating but it's actually summer here in NZ and we're now getting afternoon indoor temps of 30C. The portable a/c is somewhat struggling in this condition, I have a big window in the room that the sun absolutely pounds on in the afternoon. Unfortunately I have Venetian blinds that don't block the sun out very well. Never the less it's quite a powerful unit (14,000 BTU) and I was expecting more. With 30C room temperature it's only dropping 4-5C off but with a bit of ambient fan flow from a fan I can get 23C in the direction I want but it still feels very warm, ultimately it's only dropping it from 30C to 25-26.

I discussed it another thread and unfortunately I still don't have it vented properly which I was told is likely contributing or is the sole reason to the cooling ineffectiveness. I'm waiting for a flange part to arrive so the vent hose can be vented out through a pane off glass. In the mean time the hose is hanging out of the bedroom door which means the door has to be open at least five inches. Because the unit is so close to the open door it's probably drawing warm exhaust air back into the room and into the a/c intake which is making it work all that much harder...

It's an Olimpia Splendid Ellisse HP 14 btw.

 
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Ralston18

Ralston18

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Without the proper venting the AC will not perform will. Especially if the warm exhaust air is flowing back into the room. You are fighting the laws of thermodynamics....

Once the venting is as it should be see how things go. Compressor could be noisy due to "overload". And the 14,000 BTU rating was probably established under ideal labratory conditions.

There are websites that can help determine the necessary size (BTU) for an air conditioner. Double-check the sizing. If your unit is borderline that may also be part of the problem.

Starting point is to first get the venting as it should be and, trusting that the unit is correctly sized as I read your post, consider a warranty claim if i the a/c still fails to cool as it should.
 
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kol12

kol12

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Yes the sooner I vent it properly the better but I don't have any other choice until the part arrives. It's cooling is rated at 14,000 BTU, 4.1 KW and my room is roughly 20 m sq so it should be adequate... The compressor noise could be overload but I noticed it was very loud in heating mode as well...

If I don't see an improvement after venting it properly I'm going to have to assume that something is wrong with it. The fact that the compressor is overly noisy alone makes me think I should seek a warranty claim anyway. I'll report back after venting it properly if your still interested. If I make a warranty claim it will be after summer as I can easily use something else for heating in the winter while it's being replaced but no so in summer.
 
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