How long do they last?
I am referring to those 3000 BTU jobs, that you can buy at Home Depot for $150.00 or less.
WE bought a few for a rental apartment, and they seem to last about 2 years at most (due to tenants leaving them on all the time).
I think these utra cheap units are designed for intermittent use only-perhaps 4-6 hours/day. If you run them continously, they seem to ahve a pretty short life.
In general, I fing chinese-made appliances to be built on the chaep-the motors use the minimum wiring size possible, and the switches and thermostats are really low end.
Has anyone (like CR) ever tested these units to failure?
I have never seen a rated lifespan mentioned on them.
I looked at one at Sears but opted to spend an extra $10 to get the Kenmore brand. When I got it home and could look into the chassis, I could see it was made in China by LG anyway.
I use it to supply cool dry air to the lower floor of my house, and wired the thermostat so it runs wide open 24/7. Even in the winter, the fan runs. It has been going 4 1/2 years that way so far.
The cheap ones at Walmart lass less then a year if your lucky. That is why Walmart changed the return policy on them.
I only buy the Sears brand because they can fix them locally. Another thing is you get more out of a correctly sized AC. 3,000 BTU’s is not enough to keep a mid sized bedroom cool. Also the second floor needs more BTU’s then first floor. I have a 12, 000 for the first floor and 10,000 BTU in the bedroom. They are around 6 years old and still kicking. I got a “library quiet” model for the bedroom because they are much quieter.
Try consumer reports.