We have a one-yr-old Kenmore AC window unit that we got for our last apt. The cond we're in now has through-the-wall units. Can I put my window unit through the wall, as long as it fits? Anything I need to be aware of besides blocking vents?
Yes, you can, I have done this in a condo. Folks generally do this because the replacement in-wall units are about twice the price of comparable window units. Just make sure of the following:
1) The window unit you buy vents out the rear. You COULD use one that vents out the rear AND the sides but only IF the new unit is significantly smaller such that, as Mrs. Arten (happy late B-day by the way) said, the vents aren't blocked. I'd like to see at least 3 inches of air space on either side. Keep in mind, however, that 3 inches will make a nice place for birds to nest in. When I replaced the unit in the condo, we bought one that fully vented out the back, put some wooden blocks to keep birds out, and stuffed the gaps with insulation.
2) As Arten recommended, some of those older window units are 220V. You'll know it by the shape of the plug/receptacle. If the current unit plugs into a regular outlet on the wall, it's standard 110V.
3) The unit you buy will likely be much smaller than the old unit. Be ready to shim with pieces of wood and jerry-rig it so that it fits into the current hole in the wall and yet doesn't look trashy. And for the sake of folks below the unit, be sure to secure it somehow so it doesn't slip out and kill somebody! I believe we resolved that by remvoing the old unit and screwing pieces of wood on the top and bottom inside walls of the exsiting metal sleeve. The thickness of the wood was made to just fit the window unit in. Then we slipped the new window unit into the now tighter sleeve and slipped a wood block under the butt end of the new unit. We then took the face piece off the new window unit (plastic grille) and popped a couple of screws through the sheet metal of the new unit into the wood. Then we replaced the grille, turned on the unit and cracked open a couple cold ones. Have fun!
One last thing. Air conditioners need to drain water. Find out where your window unit will drain and think about how you're going to get that water out of the metal sleeve that your current unit is sitting in. Usually those sleeves are pitched toward the outside, in which case the water will find its way out. But you don't want to go stuffing insulation around the unit such that it blocks the drain hole or gets wet and eventually moldy. The unit we used had a drain out the back side.
Be careful that it is secured. Before we had central air installed in our home, we had a few window units. One morning, we awoke to the sound of our bedroom window unit crashing to the ground below us. Very scary!
You should also check with your condo rules and other documents concerning this switch. Do you have a management company that handles building engineering issues? You might be affecting common elements or limited common elements beyond your unit walls.
