You Get What You Pay For

The Chinese continue the invasion of our shores with this series of cheaply made, very chintzy window air conditioners. "Frigidaire" conjures up thoughts of good old hearty American appliances, Chevy, Grandma and apple pie. Nothing could be farther from reality. This thing's a Frigidaire in name only. The unit is almost entirely made of thin styrofoam inside. Styrofoam in refrigeration products is common anymore, but the guts of this one are freestanding styrofoam, nothing else. That became readily apparent the first morning that the sun shone on the unit. The insides light up like an x-ray - you can see right through it! Working a night shift, I need room darkening shades, etc. Here this thing is lighting up my bedroom through the vents like a headlight!

Installation is straightforward and well thought out, and probably the only "plus" of this unit, besides being relatively inexpensive. Another flaw in the design is the control knobs - they're completely symmetrical and the pointer is just a tiny, subtle raised area on one side, so it's difficult to tell which way they are pointing - one of the first things I did was almost wring the fan knob off trying to turn it the wrong way (past the stop) because I thought it was pointed 180 degrees from where it was. JB weld repaired the damaged knob, and coloring the pointers on the knobs with a red "Sharpie" marker solved the problem by making the controls "readable". If the manufacturer had spent one more cent stenciling on the pointers (they seem to have no problem stenciling on the "Frigidaire" name), this would not have been an issue.

The noisiness is self-explanatory. I have heard worse, but again, you get what you pay for. The fan and fan motor do seem to be in pretty good balance, so it least it doesn't shake the window and wall. Anyone who's driven down the road with a cheapo styrofoam cooler in the back seat knows why styrofoam construction and quiet do not go hand in hand (squeek squeek). Oh, yes, then there is the screen-style filter. This thing has such a coarse mesh (almost like a window screen), I don't see how it could filter much at all. If you live in a dusty area or have pets, the evaporator will become clogged with debris in no time. I'll be installing a foam filter (another penny saved by the manufacturer).

Overall, the unit works (for how long, who knows? Styrofoam is not a durable, lasting material, especially when exposed to the elements, UV, etc.) but is a typical cheap piece of Chinese crap. What alarms me is that it looks like this whole series of window A/C units is constructed in similar fashion, even the large, more expensive units with remote control and additional features. This one may earn it's keep for the cheep $$$, but there's no way I'd plunk down more cash for a dressed up unit built like this.