# window air conditioner question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 13, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/window-air-conditioner-question/407909 "2007-06-13T21:23:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/window-air-conditioner-question/407909/1 "2007-06-13T21:23:08Z")
i have a very small window in my finished attic. if i installed a window air conditioner unit on its side, so that it fills the whole window, will it work properly? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/window-air-conditioner-question/407909/2 "2007-06-13T21:47:54Z")
Most likely not. I haven’t seen one that can be turned sideways, without the compressor being a problem. You may wish to try a portable unit that only requires a vent to the outside. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/window-air-conditioner-question/407909/3 "2007-06-13T22:10:00Z")
Harmonious is right. They are simply not designed to be run on their sides. I can think of three reasons off the top of my head 1)The compressor oil will leak into the rest of the system and it won’t work properly. 2)As the evap coils get cold, they condense and drip into a pan that either drips outside the window or get’s heated by the cond coils and evaporates. If it’s on it’s side, it’s going to drip into your room/through some electronics/somewhere else bad 3)On the floor of the AC unit are four bolts sticking up. They slide shock absorbers onto those, then the compressor over that, then screw nuts over it to hold the whole thing together. The nuts are on losely so that the compressor can move around a bit as it starts up and runs. This setup is desinged to allow vertical movement. If the unit is on it’s side, the compressor won’t be able to bounce around a little and will have to absorb all the vibration either itself or by disapatting it though the rest of the AC and window. Not only will that be louder, but it’ll probably ruin the system after a while. Though I would expect the compressor to break the mounting bolts sooner then that. In short, no, you can’t run it on it’s side. Hell, it shouldn’t even be stored on it’s side. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/window-air-conditioner-question/407909/4 "2007-06-13T22:29:05Z")
Another issue is the liquid/gas distribution in the system will settle differently then designed, so during startup you may get things like the compressor trying to compress liquid (worst case) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/window-air-conditioner-question/407909/5 "2007-06-13T23:00:00Z")
And to be actually helpful, they do make vertical form factor window AC units, like [this one](http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4456977). Not that I recommend this particular unit for your application; it’s just an example. You’ll need to know the size of the area you need to cool, plus a few other considerations to size it properly with the right BTU/hr rating. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/window-air-conditioner-question/407909/6 "2007-06-14T03:57:22Z")
A fan would be very useful up there. They also have solar powered venting fans. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/window-air-conditioner-question/407909/7 "2007-06-14T04:07:15Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] Harmonious is right. They are simply not designed to be run on their sides. I can think of three reasons off the top of my head 1)The compressor oil will leak into the rest of the system and it won’t work properly. 2)As the evap coils get cold, they condense and drip into a pan that either drips outside the window or get’s heated by the cond coils and evaporates. If it’s on it’s side, it’s going to drip into your room/through some electronics/somewhere else bad 3)On the floor of the AC unit are four bolts sticking up. They slide shock absorbers onto those, then the compressor over that, then screw nuts over it to hold the whole thing together. The nuts are on losely so that the compressor can move around a bit as it starts up and runs. This setup is desinged to allow vertical movement. If the unit is on it’s side, the compressor won’t be able to bounce around a little and will have to absorb all the vibration either itself or by disapatting it though the rest of the AC and window. Not only will that be louder, but it’ll probably ruin the system after a while. Though I would expect the compressor to break the mounting bolts sooner then that. In short, no, you can’t run it on it’s side. Hell, it shouldn’t even be stored on it’s side. [/QUOTE] _Stored?_ It shouldn’t ever be _carried_ on it’s side. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/window-air-conditioner-question/407909/8 "2007-06-14T04:09:54Z")
[QUOTE=Aceospades] i have a very small window in my finished attic. if i installed a window air conditioner unit on its side, so that it fills the whole window, will it work properly? [/QUOTE] 1. it won’t work (altough possibly for a very short time) 2. it will make a mess 3. it will be damaged beyond repair (in short order0 4. under some circumstances, I can imagine it being unsafe. not a chance.