How to maintain McQuay AC Units

To help you keep your AC unit up and running.

(This is from dm but has been edited slightly)

Purpose

To help you keep your AC unit up and running.

Prerequisities

Just some spare time.

Step by step

Oil - oil - oil! It will make all the difference in the world.

I use 3-in-1 oil. If you get the drops into the 2 little holes in the 2 motors, no, it will not give off an oil odor.

There are 2 motors which operate the fans in the front of the unit (closest to the room) that need oil -- these can be reached by removing the metal plate that is held on by 8 screws, after lifting off the outside cover. Leave the one screw that is second from the top on the right hand side a little in as you can just slide the front off.

Then there is the condensor unit that needs oil -- this requires removal of the screws holding the unit to the wall, and gently sliding the unit out enough to apply the oil. It might not be that gentle and make sure everything else is unattached. The best way to do this is to have two people, one on either side, slide it out. Put one down on the front and the other hand on the back brace bar as it slides out. Keep the unit level as there might be a ton of water in there.

The front motor can be oiled before sliding out the unit, it has two holes on the sides, 6 drops each, every 6 months.

The back motor has the holes covered with little yellow plastic plugs that can be wedged in there. Don't break them as they are needed to keep water out of the motor. Remove them, drop 6 drops of oil in each (every six months) and you are good.

While you are in there, clean up all the gook that is in the tray or anything that could be blocking the unit in the back. Also make sure to clean the filter on the bottom. A high powered vacuum cleaner does the best.

If you do this yourself, UNPLUG THE UNIT before doing anything!

In addition, the original fan blades are made of plastic, and can break. When that happens, it can make a lot of noise. These blades can be replaced with metal ones, which is only necessary if they break.

Parts can be purchased up the street:

McQuay New York (NY) 43-24 21st Street Long Island City, NY 10018 [phone removed] Email: [email removed] Website: www.mcquay.com

Again, if servicing yourself, assure you unplug the electricity. You will also need to disconnect a smaller plug from the side of the unit (it will be evident) before pulling the unit from the wall. When pulling the whole unit out (after unscrewing the 4 screws holding it in place), you do not need to remove it all the way -- only enough to reach into the motor most near the outside. The unit can still rest on itself. If you choose to pull it out further, assure that you do not rest the unit on the fans or fan motor located at the bottom / center. This can easily damage those parts. Rather, place large (manhattan) phone books (or something similar) on the corners of the unit to rest it on.

Although I service my units each year, the change in their operation after oiling is evident.

The one additional item that needs care is the filter. After removing the unit cover, you will remove the 8 screws holding the face plate. The filter is located at the bottom, and can be slid out. Some vacuum it -- I wash it with a spray of water and fantastic (do not use bleach or anything harsh on any part of the unit -- it will corrode the metal). Also, do not attempt to "dust" the fins (the many wavy metal pieces laying side-by-side) -- they are very pliable, and will be easily damaged.