We have to buy a window unit for our house. We have Central AC but it’s not keeping up and we can’t afford to upsize it right now. So until then I’m researching which window units to buy. Any advice or anything to cut through all the marketing spam and AI copy that I have to wade thru?
Yes of course a fridge does not condensate nearly as much as a room A/C coil. Curious where you found information that says they purposefully designed it to not drain off. And how splashing water onto a coil would make it more efficient? Also, though I havnt done any deep search, from experience most window units are a hassle to access the coil for deep cleaning other than from through the filter. The midea unit is actually decent in accessing the entire face of the coil and fins can be cleaned by removing filter and with no tools opening up the entire face of the indoor unit (this would basically only be covered in dust) much better than older units I’ve tried to work on.
I don’t have information specific to midea, so there is some speculation, but I do have a ge unit which does outright say that the water condensate is slung across the condenser coil to boost efficiency. And yes, my ge unit got really nasty and I ended up drilling a hole in the base of the condensate pan to drain all the water.
https://products.geappliances.com/appliance/gea-support-search-content?contentId=16758
Heat pump efficiency is limited by the temperature delta across the compressor. The larger the temperature delta, the less efficient a heat pump is. Evaporating water off the condenser coil drops the refrigerant temperature compared to air only and gives a small boost to efficiency. I don’t think it’s a big difference, but it’s enough to be worthwhile doing if you can “get it for free.” Unfortunately, a constantly cool and wet pool is a great breeding ground for mold and pathogens that you don’t want airborne.
As for cleaning ease, I based that off of comments (on reddit I think), recommending people push midea to pay for a technician to perform the fix because taking it apart for a thorough cleaning is a hassle. So I have no firsthand experience there and I’ll defer to your judgement.
Fascinating. The “slinger ring” holy shit I’ve definetly heard that sound on my previous GE. And very slightly in the midea unit but much less often. Maybe due to the U set up making it quieter/ harder to hear. Or seeing as there is a recall, probably doesn’t work as well on midea.
Makes sense in regards to cooling the coil surface but yeah no doubt it won’t be enough to evaporate all the moister and cause mold. Thanks for the info