Cheap Frigidaire FRA124HT2 12,000/11,700 BTU Through-the-Wall Room Air

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List Price: $579.99
Sale Price: $479.99
Today's Bonus: 17% Off

I realize this is a long review, but this is a relatively pricey unit, so I figured you would want all the hot poop! LOL I purchased this unit to replace an old thru the wall unit that died. Its time had come.

INSTALLATION: I had someone else install it into an existing sleeve in the wall. He had no problems with installation. May be different if you are making a NEW through the wall installation. Also, be aware that this Frigidaire unit requires a 220 electric line. I already had a 220 outlet in the wall from my old unit, but if you don't have such an outlet, you will have to employ an electrician to install one. How to tell if your outlet is 220? The prongs are not turned the same way as a regular outlet. Try to plug a lamp into it. If it won't fit, its probably a 220 outlet. BTW, the electric cord comes out of the LEFT side of the unit when you are facing it. My outlet is on the right side but the 6 foot cord easily reaches it. If you don't want a dangling cord, install your outlet on the left.

CAUTION: Be sure to let this unit (or any AC unit) sit right side up for 24 hours either before or after installation BEFORE turning it on, in case it was turned on its side or upside down in transit. Otherwise you could damage the unit.

REMOTE: The neutral ivory unit itself is attractive; my old one was black and brown, a real eyesore. The easy to use remote is a FULL FUNCTION remote, so you never have to touch the unit once it is plugged in, except to adjust the louvers. You can move the louvers from level to up towards the ceiling (but not down toward the floor) and from right to left and everywhere in between to direct the air flow. The unit has 4 fan speeds: low, medium, high and auto, all accessible via remote. The remote also has a built in thermometer so you can check the actual room temp. Appears to be relatively accurate, but I don't have another thermometer to check it.

COOLING: I've been using mine for about a month now. Its set at 70°, low fan speed, and auto cool, nonstop. Initially it took about 10-12 hours for the house to completely cool down, since even the walls were hot to the touch. Now it runs 24/7 and my 625 square foot first floor is always comfortable. That's saying something because we just had 10 days or so of temps in the high 90s. UGH! Two days ago the actual temp reached 103°. Factor in the humidity and it felt more like 109°. Here in Southeast Pennsylvania, humidity is a four letter word! This unit never missed a beat. The house was comfortable through it all. Keep in mind that I have two 6' x 30" south facing windows and a 6' x6' sliding glass door facing west and the sun beats in all day till sunset.

FAN: On Auto, the fan does cycle on and off frequently. I got used to it. Of course, the fan is noisy, (its a fan!) but not annoyingly so on low speed. Its in the dining room between the kitchen and living room and does not noticeably interfere with the TV in either room. And on Auto mode, the fan only runs when the unit is cooling. Since the fan doesn't run all the time, I do run a cheap pedestal fan in the corner of the living room for additional air flow, which is considerably quieter than the AC fan.

COST: I have not received an electric bill with a full month of use on it, but I don't expect a problem. The key is to run it 24/7 to maintain the temp and humidity so the house never heats up. Maintaining the temp is less work for the unit than cooling it down once it gets hot.

AWORD OF CAUTION. CHECK WITH YOUR POWER COMPANY'S WEBSITE. MANY POWER COMPANIES OFFER REBATES FOR THE PURCHASE OF ENERGY STAR ELECTRIC APPLIANCES LIKE THIS ONE. IF YOUR POWER COMPANY OFFERS SUCH A REBATE, BE SURE TO COPY THE SERIAL NUMBER THATS ON THE SIDE OF THIS UNIT ***BEFORE*** YOU INSTALL IT. AFTER IT IS INSTALLED YOU HAVE LOST THE SERIAL NUMBER BEHIND THE WALL AND WILL LOSE YOUR REBATE. Hmmm . . . Guess how I know that?

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I am just about to order this product so please ignore the arbitrary 3 star rating!

I just wanted to help other people out who are trying to see if this product will fit an existing through the wall sleeve!

The specs listed are, "Product Dimensions: 20.5 x 24 x 14.5 inches ; 73 pounds."

You may be saying, "What Length x Height x Depth right?" or maybe Height x Length x Depth?

NO! You would be wrong! As per the Sears.com website for the same product Amazon has listed this as Depth x Width x Height!

Soooo just to be clear...

Width: 24

Height: 14.5

Depth: 20.5

Information as per Sears

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I bought this A/C to replace a very old behemoth of a Frigidaire through-the-wall A/C from the mid 1970's. This is one of the only 220 volt A/C's I could find, by the way, which is the same voltage as my old A/C. I was worried that this new A/C would be too small for the old sleeve which is 26" wide by 16.5" high. I was wrong. This new A/C seems to have been designed for the old sleeve that I had. The first step is to remove the old A/C which is definitely a two-man job. You should be sure to put a plastic sheet on the floor in front of the A/C before you remove it. Also have a bucket and some sponges handy. This is because the bottom of the old A/C has a drip pan which is probably full of water. After removing the face-plate, you then pull the old A/C out as straight as possible, maybe wiggling it a bit to get it sliding. It is not screwed or bolted in. It just takes a lot of strength and pulling to get it out. The directions to the new A/C recommended replacing the old exterior grille with the new grille provided. I tried this, but the new grille was too small, so I put the old one back on. Other than size, I noticed very little difference between the new grille and the old one anyway. The new A/C includes lots of different types and sizes of foam insulation, padding and cushions for using around it. After measuring the inside of the sleeve and the new A/C, I decided to first line the outermost top and side edges of the sleeve with the 1.5" stick-on foam strips. I left the bottom edge uncovered because that is where the drain holes are. Then I placed the four dense foam "centering blocks" in each corner of the sleeve floor facing inward (these are the blue pieces that are cut in the shape of stairs). In order to prevent the new A/C from snagging and moving the centering blocks while being slid into the sleeve, I then cut two long and narrow pieces of cardboard and placed them on top of the centering blocks. The new A/C is much lighter than the old A/C, but it is still good for two people to lift it and carefully slide it into the sleeve across the top of the cardboard strips. After it is centered in the sleeve, you can then lift each side one at a time and gently remove the cardboard strips. Voila! A perfect fit with the A/C resting about 1" off of the bottom of the sleeve with approx. 1" of space around each side. You then cut strips of foam for each side, the top and bottom, and then push it in around the front of the A/C. The finishing moulding/edge piece included with the A/C provides a very nice look that hides the foam and the lip of the old sleeve. I did, however, cut and fit some trim moulding around it as well, mainly to hide the rough edge left by the moulding around the old A/C. I was very pleased with how this job went. I expected it to take at least twice as long as it did. Don't worry if you end up with a lot of left over foam and other materials that are included. After it was installed, the new A/C ran very well and cooled down the room very quickly. It is much quieter than the old A/C, but it still makes some noise, as I would expect from any A/C.

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I purchased this unit to replace a through-the-wall unit in my condo. The documentation was pretty good; importantly there were specific installation guides depending on the previous unit's brand. Unfortunately, my sleeve is an unusual size. But the unit came with a bunch of foam and fittings so I could make it fit. I especially appreciated the power checking utility that ensures that the right voltage is supplied before the unit can be turned on. Once installed, the unit works great. Quieter than the "library quiet" unit in our bedroom. And the 12,000 btus cool our place quickly and efficiently. A good buy from a reputable company.

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It works. We had a week of hundred degree days. I set the unit to 76 degrees and it kept up to that temp. It slid into the existing sleeve easily and came with more foam and weather stripping than I needed. It is noisier than I was hoping for, but it's the fan / white noise that you can tune out after a while.