AC stopped working w/cold temps

[bilbobonger]

Hi, thanks for the time. Having some heat problems. Setup a new sealed room a while back, and since the outside temps dropped, my AC stopped working. Just wanted to check in here with you guys and see if this' normal. Got another smaller room that's also sealed. Been running the AC in there 24/7 for a couple years now, and this' never happened.

All was well until a couple weeks ago when the temps dropped below freezing. Had the lights going at night, and the thing iced over. Came in there and it was clunkin away like crazy. So I turned it off, let it thaw out and all, but it didn't seem to work as well afterwards. Then several days later it pretty much stopped altogether. Feels like it's just stuck in fan mode. No heat coming outa the back or anything.

FWIW, it's a 12000BTU Kenmore unit, and I just bought it last Spring. Perhaps this' the norm for these things to stop working when it's cold outside? Does everyone just have somekind of exhaust setup for the colder months to draw in cool air from outside? Can't imagine this' the case with all the people running Co2 and all, but if so, could someone perhaps pass along some tips on how I might go about doing this, or direct me to a link with a good method? I tried doing this once before with the air-cooled lighting and all. Was pulling air up from underneath the house, through my lights, then out the attic. Did ok for cooling (when it wasn't hot outside), but I started getting tons of condensation on my lights when it started raining. Didn't do shit in the summer tho. Gets so hot here, I figured I'd just drop the ducting all together and blast the shit outa the AC. Aint workin out too well right now tho...

Thanks again for the time. Still tryin to ride out this learning curve here...

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

Hey bud im guessing this is a wall unit? if so then yes the whole thing will freeze solid as it has to drip out the moisture which turn to ice freezing the unit. if its a mini split then it has to be rated for cold temps.

you sound like you froze the unit and kept it running burning up the compressor. for cheap a/c cut a hole into the outside of your house and install a dryer vent and then use a fan hooked to a thermostat to bring in the cold air.. youll get some condensation but o well.... dont send it through your lights... growing in winter is the best time of the year... free a/c ftw... let me know if you need for info.. sometimes i dont check back to threads so if you need ot know pm me -=]

 

[bilbobonger]

Thanks for the reply PoopyTeaBags, yeah it's a window unit. I'll give the exhaust a go. Sounds like good plan...

 

[Vernal Equinox]

I know my new window unit says a few times in the manual that the A/C will not work if outside temps go below 60 degrees F.

 

[bilbobonger]

Thanks Vernal Equinox, guess this' the norm for most units. Been up in the mid 60s this last week tho, and it still doesn't seem to be kicking on, at least not long enough to make much of a difference in temp. Hope I didn't burn out the compressor when it froze over. Don't know how long it was running like that for.