AC window unit drain holes

[Syntaxvgm]

I drilled holes in my ac units to allow them to drain. Yah I know they're supposed to use water to cool the condenser. But I don't want a gallon of water every hour on my porch and I don't like listening to sloshing when I'm sleeping with the unit in my room. Apparently I'm AC Satan for that? My units will die? 

[Thunderpup]

Where did you drain the holes? If its in the back next to where hot air exhausts then it'll be fine.

 

A/c units do not use water for cooling. Instead that water is a byproduct of the cooling process.  Its the moisture that was in the air being cooled.  It condensed into liquid when the air temp dropped.  Similar to how/why the outside of a cold bottle has moisture built up.

[Syntaxvgm]

7 minutes ago, Thunderpup said:

Where did you drain the holes? If its in the back next to where hot air exhausts then it'll be fine.

 

A/c units do not use water for cooling. Instead that water is a byproduct of the cooling process.  Its the moisture that was in the air being cooled.  It condensed into liquid when the air temp dropped.  Similar to how/why the outside of a cold bottle has moisture built up.

The holes are in front of the compressor, more towards the house side, but still on that side of the unit on both units- one a new 8500 BTU unit from some Chinese company (actually kicks ass, powerful fan) and the other is an older Frigidaire 5500 btu unit. The reason I chose there I was able to 100% see what I was drilling via the top vent holes and make sure I didn't hit anything. I'm ok with some water as long as it didn't hit the fan. I get a ton of people that claim newer units utilize the water to help cool the condenser for extreme heat. I have no idea how true this is, but I installed one of the units on my enclosed porch to allow me to keep it in all year and not have to clean it as much.  As a result the porch (where the condenser exhausts)can reach over 100 on a day that's just 80 even with windows open. I plan to add a good weather resistant fan in that room so it doesn't get so hot- it really lets a lot of heat in if you come in the front. So that one is more of a concern. I have this one drain into a funnel and hose that leads off of the porch.Had to take water somewhere. For the smaller unit the water simply made it too annoying to sleep next to. 

[Thunderpup]

That sloshing noise can be a bit annoying. 

It helps if you can manage to have the unit sit at an angle with the rear pointing a little downward. It encourages the water to move more freely toward the drains.

 

Also even in an inclosed environment the unit will need to be cleaned from time to time.

Algae will form where water pools and mold can grow in the vents. 

 

Where abouts in the world are you located?

[Syntaxvgm]

9 minutes ago, Thunderpup said:

That sloshing noise can be a bit annoying. 

It helps if you can manage to have the unit sit at an angle with the rear pointing a little downward. It encourages the water to move more freely toward the drains.

 

Also even in an inclosed environment the unit will need to be cleaned from time to time.

Algae will form where water pools and mold can grow in the vents. 

 

Where abouts in the world are you located?

Indiana. Yah I expect to clean it every now and then, but I just want to leave it in the window over the winter.  I don't like to just simply throw them in the window, I like to properly insulate them and make sure it's bug tight as well, big problem with the area I live- bunch of tall grass. So I take my time to install them neatly. Since the central air broke, having one ready to go will be a worth the trouble for me on the porch. Plus it'll probably need cleaned less, just mold and whatnot. Speaking of I'm going to get a new more efficient unit for my room and move that one to the office, it is very dirty. It has dirt or something in the evaporator, no fucking idea how. I think the Styrofoam wall is broken in places, it's really old it would make sense for the mud or whatever it is. For that I assume I can put some spray foam sealant on it. 

Both units were installed with the correct grade, but the one on the porch just produced up to gallon of water a hour or two, and despite the weather proof carpet there I didn't want that. 

[TheKDub]

35 minutes ago, Syntaxvgm said:

I drilled holes in my ac units to allow them to drain. Yah I know they're supposed to use water to cool the condenser. But I don't want a gallon of water every hour on my porch and I don't like listening to sloshing when I'm sleeping with the unit in my room. Apparently I'm AC Satan for that? My units will die? 

It's just condensation from the evaporator coil. I haven't heard of any A/C units using it to cool down the condenser, but it could be possible.

[Syntaxvgm]

Just now, TheKDub said:

They don't use water to "cool the condenser". The condenser is the part that cools down the air, condensation gathers on it due to how cold it gets, that's where the water comes from.

That was my initial thought, now I'm just letting idiot know-it-alls let me have doubts I suppose. I mainly asked this to be sure since I'm going to be adding 2 more new units to my house soon. 

[TheKDub]

Just now, Syntaxvgm said:

That was my initial thought, now I'm just letting idiot know-it-alls let me have doubts I suppose. I mainly asked this to be sure since I'm going to be adding 2 more new units to my house soon. 

My brain derped, I updated my post with correct information.

 

It's possible it's using it to cool down the condenser, but it shouldn't hurt anything to just let it drip out instead. If anything it'll just make the air conditioner less efficient.

[Syntaxvgm]

7 minutes ago, TheKDub said:

My brain derped, I updated my post with correct information.

 

It's possible it's using it to cool down the condenser, but it shouldn't hurt anything to just let it drip out instead. If anything it'll just make the air conditioner less efficient.

Eh lol with the old Frigidaire 5500 unit it uses only 100 watts less than the new 8500 BTU unit I just got. In fact the one I'm gonna replace it with uses almost 100 watts less is 6400 BTU, and this is accounting for the fact that the fan itself uses more power than the fan on this old unit. (You can feel it like 10 feet away but it uses 100 watts even on low vs 40-60 watts on the old unit) And I use it a lot, I always sleep in a cold room, especially after work. I think even with a hole I'm coming out ahead with a new unit, I'll just move this one to my office where it will get occasional use (gaming pcs make the room hot as hell with friends there)

[Syntaxvgm]

so it turns out the one in my room is 6500 BTU. Actually bought it from a pawn shop for dirt cheap year ago and they told me it was 5500. Hmm. A lot better energy wise than I thought.