My thru the wall friedrich 62EX2880 is freezing up and spitting out what appears to be dirty water and also making alot of noise. The unit is only four years old. Is it worth fixing?
When a AC freezes up the most likely reason is that the evaporator coil (the one the cold air comes from) is 'dirty,' and/or the filter (that goes in front of the coil) is also 'dirty.'
Be sure to defrost the unit (if it isn't already).
If it presently has ice on it - just turn the unit to FAN ONLY and allow it to completely defrost (all ice gone).
Then: Be sure the filter is 'clean' and air can flow through it.
Be sure the coil is also clean. Note: if the coil is dirty you can usually clean it fairly easy with a brush. Often (especially if the unit is freezing up) you can actually 'peel' a layer of 'wet matted stuff' from the coil by hand.
Another reason (less likely one) for the unit freezing up - is that the fan motor is going off (when it shouldn't) and the "lack of any air" over the coil is causing the unit to freeze up. You didn't say anything about the fan motor not running so it's not likely this is your problem - but be aware - that fan motors can get hot and will go off on internal overload - UNTIL - it cools down and then will come back on - so - if you're not watching - it's possible the motor could be "heating up and going off (for 30-90 minutes) and coming back on" without you realizing it, which would cause the unit to freeze up. Like I said - this is not likely though. If, however, it is doing something like this - the 'sure-cure' is to replace the motor. The cost to replace a blower motor will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 which should cause one to think about buying a new unit.
Another reason - also 'less likely,' is that the AC is 'low on refrigerant.'
If - after checking the filter/coil - you find that they are both clean and not causing the problem - and you've watched the fan motor and it's not going 'off and on,' then, you must consider that the unit is 'low on refrigerant,' which will require a Service Tech - who has the expertise and tools to repair the leak and re-charge it. If this is the problem you're probably looking at a repair bill of $75 -$125 - which when considering the price of 'new air conditioners' might cause you to think about buying a new one.
Answers & Comments
My thru the wall friedrich 62EX2880 is freezing up and spitting out what appears to be dirty water and also making alot of noise. The unit is only four years old. Is it worth fixing?
When a AC freezes up the most likely reason is that the evaporator coil (the one the cold air comes from) is 'dirty,' and/or the filter (that goes in front of the coil) is also 'dirty.'
Be sure to defrost the unit (if it isn't already).
If it presently has ice on it - just turn the unit to FAN ONLY and allow it to completely defrost (all ice gone).
Then: Be sure the filter is 'clean' and air can flow through it.
Be sure the coil is also clean.
Note: if the coil is dirty you can usually clean it fairly easy with a brush. Often (especially if the unit is freezing up) you can actually 'peel' a layer of 'wet matted stuff' from the coil by hand.
Another reason (less likely one) for the unit freezing up - is that the fan motor is going off (when it shouldn't) and the "lack of any air" over the coil is causing the unit to freeze up. You didn't say anything about the fan motor not running so it's not likely this is your problem - but be aware - that fan motors can get hot and will go off on internal overload - UNTIL - it cools down and then will come back on - so - if you're not watching - it's possible the motor could be "heating up and going off (for 30-90 minutes) and coming back on" without you realizing it, which would cause the unit to freeze up. Like I said - this is not likely though. If, however, it is doing something like this - the 'sure-cure' is to replace the motor. The cost to replace a blower motor will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 which should cause one to think about buying a new unit.
Another reason - also 'less likely,' is that the AC is 'low on refrigerant.'
If - after checking the filter/coil - you find that they are both clean and not causing the problem - and you've watched the fan motor and it's not going 'off and on,' then, you must consider that the unit is 'low on refrigerant,' which will require a Service Tech - who has the expertise and tools to repair the leak and re-charge it. If this is the problem you're probably looking at a repair bill of $75 -$125 - which when considering the price of 'new air conditioners' might cause you to think about buying a new one.
Hope this helps.