GE Portable Room Air Conditioner is not cooling properly and drain bucket continues to fill every 2 hrs.?

Question

I just bought a GE Portable Room Air Conditioner 8000 BTU's yesterday at Sam's. I am using it in an upstairs bedroom that is hotter than any other place in the house. It has been running for over 24 hours and it is STILL HOT!!! It is set on Maximum Cooling (High Cool & 61 degrees) I have to empty the fill bucket about every 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. It does have a drain port with a hose that I decided to put in a 5 gallon bucket for the water to drain into. It still has not drained into the bucket. Does the fill bucket have to be full first before it goes into the bucket?? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to cool this room???? I just can't believe it hasn't cooled down any!! HELP!!!!

Answer 1

it sure sounds like you got a defective ac. I would exchange it for a new one. Sam's is pretty good about returns :)

Answer 2

Your AC is working fine.  An air conditioner creates water when warm, moist air passes over the cold coils in the unit.  Since you are getting a lot of water, the coils are getting cool and the air is being moved over them.  The compressor is working, the fan is working.

This size unit should be sufficient for a bedroom -- even a large bedroom.  Do you have the door open?  Heat rises, so all of the hot air in the house will try to move to a slightly cooler room upstairs.  If the door is open, you are effectively trying to cool the whole house, the unit is not big enough for that.

Is the duct properly installed, and is it free of obstruction.  Remove the duct from the window and hold your hand over the end while the unit is running, not to block the end but just to feel the air movement.  You should feel some warm air after the unit has been running for 30 seconds or so.  If not, check the duct for obstructions or a large hole in the flex pipe.  If the duct is in good shape and you aren't getting any warm air, there could be a problem with the unit but I don't see how since it is producing so much water.

Once the room is cooled, the water should slow down a bit.  The drain line must be lower than the bottom of the drain port to work effectively.  The isn't anything to pump water up and into the top of your bucket.  If the top of the bucket is lower than the full sensor in the container, the water may run over the top of the bucket eventually, but if the sensor is lower the unit will shut off before you get any water in your bucket.