I need help in asking ?? about my window air conditioner, a slide-in chassis ( fixed in the window; first, my supern'tndent said I have 110 voltage in the outlet; does this mean I cannot use a unit that says'230 volts? I'm confused. Next, should I replace the unit *I think it may contain viruses and such inside, I used it first time 3 weeks ago new this season and I got sick with high fever and chills. ( It is 7 yrs old the unit. SHOULD I replace? thx!

I'm sure we have a Doctor on the board who will tell you exactly what to do and how to do it, in detail

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nona,

With only 110v available, you must get a smaller 110v powered A/C unit. Most are 220v as the 110v units are smaller. The only way to use a 220v A/c in this location would be to run in a new 220v supply line - something for an electrician to do.

It could be that you just need to give a good cleaning to the unit that you have. If it has sat unused through the winter, mold and algae could have built up within. If you can open it up and take a look, it might save you the replacement costs.

No, you don't need to replace any wiring. If the unit worked fine 3 weeks ago when it may have made you sick, it'll work fine when you next turn it on.

And, at the risk of "dumbing it down for the locals", if the viruses in that AC unit got you sick 3 weeks ago, and you've since fully recovered from that illness, chances are it won't affect you at all if you turn it on again. That's because your blood is now full of antibodies that were made by your body's immune system to kill that specific kind of virus that got you sick 3 weeks ago. So, you are now immune to that virus if it did in fact come out of your A/C unit.

My advice would be to gift wrap that air conditioner and give it to someone who hasn't gotten sick from it yet. Someone you aren't particularly fond of, like your landlord, a lawyer, the used car salesman that sold you a lemon, or maybe nona.

Seriously, if there are greeblies inside that A/C unit, then you most likely got sick by inhaling them, in which case it's reasonable to believe they're growing on the evaporator coil of the air conditioner. The evaporator coil will be a coil of aluminum, brass or steel tubing, probably with fins on it, and there should be a fan that's intended to blow air through that evaporator coil. I would clean that evaporator coil, the fan blades and the drip pan under that evaporator coil with bleach to kill any greeblies living on it. I'd clean the control knobs on the unit with bleach too, just in case you touched them, and then stuck you fingers up your nose or in your ears or in your eyes and got sick that way.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nestor,

Rusty: your superintendant says the outlet is 110 -- did you use the outlet? Did you plug it into the outlet? Or is the a/c unit hardwired in?

Re-Mdlr: No, the AC is not hard-wired in..this is a simple plug-in unit in the outlet/ ( My outlet is only 110 v according to my building super'tndant. It works fine...but I do understand to run a 230 v air conditioner, ( should I want to buy one..) I'd have to have an electrician change and update this outlet, correct? this is what puzzles me @ 110, 115 appliances and 220 v and 230 applin'ces can SOMEONE clear this up for me!? thaannkS!! rusty. NYC

In these parts the norm home service has two "Hot" legs and a neutral/ground wire to safely power your abode. Lets skip a disconnect required in some parts under certain situations, for now. My service provider tries to make sure at least 124 volts per leg to allow for voltage drop.
So when you ask about 110 or 115 or even 120 volts, you are are talking about the same basic incoming supply. More an age think with who is actually talking about flowing electrons more than anything else. Same with 220 or 230, when we are really talking about 240 volts, the voltage of the two hot legs serving you house or apartment.
Got all that? Now close you books and shut down your PC for a pop quiz.

quote:

Originally posted by rusty1978:
I'd have to have an electrician change and update this outlet, correct?

Yes you'd have to have new wire run to the location, but that outlet is probably tied into others, so you don't update the outlet. But adding a new one with wire run back to the service entrance is the best bet.