Frigidaire FAA055P7A Compact Small-Room Air Conditioner with Remote Control
by Frigidaire
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List Price: Our Price: $210.00 You Save: $9.99 (5%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Frigidaire FAA055P7A Compact Small-Room Air Conditioner with Remote Control
Customer Review: Cool...so far!
Summary: 5 Stars
We like it for our spare bedroom! Working great! I highly recommend this product and seller!!Customer Review: Very nice unit, works well, lots of features for the money
Summary: 4 Stars
I ordered and received this in 5 days. It was shipped from PA to CA. I was surprised that it came that fast since the estimated delivery time was 2 weeks. Unfortunately when I opened the carton there was damage to the unit which had probably been dropped. One corner was badly dented, one side was twisted the entire unit was slightly warped. But, because it is hotter than ... well, you know, darn hot here, I plugged it in and it worked fine, the damage, though pretty bad, is all cosmetic. I'm pretty resourceful, so I figured I could fix it.
I removed about 10 screws which attached the metal housing around the top and sides, popped the front panel loose, and wiggled the metal and it came right off. I used some scrap wood and a rubber mallet to straiten the dents and side as best I could, the side louvers were tricky. Fortunately there was no damage to the rear exchanger fins. Because of this abuse, the paint cracked in a few spots and it is still a bit lumpy here and there, but it is no longer warped. It will never be as pretty as a new unit, but now its OK. I reassembled it, put it in the window, cut a piece of plywood I had lying around, since I have a slider not a casement window and it is now running fine. I sealed all the small gaps with duct tape, and everything is neat and rock solid. All this took about an hour to do, including the repair.
One thing I noticed when I was working on it is that the front panel plastic is very thin and flimsy and already had a small crack due to the previously mentioned damage. I don't think the plastic will last many years, but for the money, this is a great unit, and has one of the best energy saving ratings for this size. Produces ice-cold air (it is over 100 degrees outside), and even though it is working hard, does not seem to be straining or under-designed. I have it in our master BR, which is large and on the sunny side of the house, so it probably won't cool it down below 70, but it is pretty comfortable (finally). This A/C is a noisier than a similar sized unit (LG) I own, but if you turn the fan down quite low, it is pretty quiet. I don't see the need for 100 fan speeds -- 4 or 6 would have been plenty. The LED digital readout is not very readable, and the remote and its buttons could be made a bit simpler, but these are minor nits. All in all a good unit, an excellent price, and I am happy with it.
Customer Review: Good for cooling the computer room
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this A/C unit about 2 weeks ago, after we realized that our central air was useless for the upstairs computer room. Long story short, two computers with dual monitors, located upstairs, means a lot more heat where the thermostat can't sense it. Thus, why waste the central air electricity when we're spending time up there? The room is about 10' x 13' in case that helps.
Just to be upfront and to the point, so far this unit has been great. It only takes about 30 minutes to cool the room down to a comfortable temp when I come home to find the upstairs is sweltering. Also the price was quite good at the time, $150. I am disappointed to see Amazon had ended the Amazon Prime shipping advantage on it though, because that was the biggest reason I bought it online instead of at Lowes or something. Prime shipping made it a much better value for me to buy it without seeing it 'in person' first.
Also! We bought this unit because we have very small windows, only 20" wide between the casing edges. The 'upright' A/C units weren't very cost effective because they were much higher BTU than we needed, and cost about twice as much. This unit is about 18.5" across including the metal parts on the case. It doesn't fit perfectly, but there's only a few millimeters of a gap on the side we didn't attach the accordion thing, so we can live with it. It was noted in other reviews that the Louvres aren't very effective unless it's in the middle of the room; well, our window is in the center so it worked out ok for us. I can't really speak to other setups.
Ultimately I feel it was a good value for the limited need we had. Hopefully it holds up for a long time. I like the included remote for when I'm in the middle of a raid or something. It is not super quiet but I also don't think it's super loud; I've had to endure a lot of crappy A/C units on Army bases and I think this one is a lot quieter than those, at least. Also I don't mind the white noise as it blocks out the neighbors. Hope this review helps!
Customer Review: Almost Perfect for my small window and room
Summary: 4 Stars
The window this needed to go in is only 23" wide (interior) and the aluminum storm window is even smaller. From the product description I thought it would fit, but when it came and I measured it with the "side louvers" in place I thought it would be too big. Omitting the louvers would demand some other improvised frame, so I just left them on and proceeded. It fit, with the louvers at their minimal extension. I did omit the "lock frame" and the "sash lock" - no problem. The unit does a great job cooling my small 9x12 office. It sits about 5 feet left of my chair and is quiet enough for me. THE REMOTE is very handy, glad I got it! But, I wish I'd done a little more homework, as some of these come with a "Fresh Air Vent" which can "Exchange air from the room" or "Draw fresh air in to the room". Since this AC can be in "Fan Only" mode I assume one could exchange air with outside without cooling going on. This unit didn't come with the Vent. Exchanging would have been handy as this unit replaced a reversible window fan I was often using to blow tobacco smoke outside. If you want the Vent contact Frigidaire dot com to find out the model.
Another surprising plus, Frigidaire (probably others too) has figured out how to eliminate the old condensation drip. I actually called them after I couldn't find the usual drip hole.
The only complaint I have is with the cardboard packaging. Oddly, the bottom cardboard is just a frame around the bottom of the actual AC. So once the AC is out and you want to store the box with its interior foam bits and such there's some taping to be done. I've never seen a bottomless box before!
Customer Review: A great option for small rooms and cheap people
Summary: 4 Stars
I got this air conditioner last week during a brutal heat wave and it did not disappoint. Like most air conditioners, it was a bit of a pain to install (took about 15 minutes, not terrible), and it doesn't quite sit in my window properly (all air conditioners seem to assume a certain layout of panes and such, but my window is not quite typical, so it's a problem for any A/C). Nevertheless, it works just fine. It is a little loud, but I had no problem watching TV or sleeping with it on. The high fan mode may pose a problem for more tranquil or sensitive souls, though.
My only actual issue with it that I've found so far is that the EnergySaver mode is distracting. It's designed to vary fan speed and cooling to maintain a temperature you dictate without wasting energy. I like the idea, so I tend to use this setting. The problem is that it seems to change the fan speed so frequently that it's somewhat distracting. Maybe most people wouldn't notice, but I'm not used to a change of humming pitch every five minutes, so I always notice it. Relatively speaking, though, this is a minor issue and not one that is cause for real concern.
Overall, I'm very satisfied so far with the unit. I know some people have an issue with the controls (not that hard to figure out) and the remote (clunky but easy), but I have no such problems. I would definitely recommend this item for anyone with a small room (12x12 or less) and simple cooling needs. Anyone who needs something fancy or sleek, fork over the extra hundred bucks and get a more serious A/C. Otherwise, this one isn't a bad choice.