Kenmore Window Air Conditioner Review

U P D A T E !

OUR POWER BILL WILL BE GIMUNGOUS!

Picture us in late August and early September!  My husband and I hide inside the house with the windows closed.  Our Kenmore 580 etc. Room Air Conditioner does a great job of filtering air from the incredibly far-ranging smoke of Southern California's ravaging Station Fire.  The outdoor temps are in the 100s.  We run the Kenmore 24-hours a day as recommended because of the smoke.

Oh, oh!  Suddenly, our indoor temps are frigid.  Could it be?

Yes.  Our relatively new 580, etc. (just past its warranty) now gives us all or everything -- the coldest temperature it can crank out.  The Energy Saver has died, and the Mode is full-freeze or nothing.

Once in awhile, a service contract (usually just a wallet-drainer) makes me wistfully wish I believed in service contracts.  At least the machine gets us through the smokiest days of the fire.  Now... about repairs...

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Our Kenmore Room Air Conditioner (we have model 580. 75121) works like a dream.  It replaces a durable 30-year-old conditioner that sucked money out as fast as it put cool air in.

Now, with the Kenmore's Energy Saver button pressed, I revel in a lower power bill despite regional hikes in utilities prices.  Now, two medium rooms stay comfortable instead of just one.  Our long-haired dog finds especially great comfort during her days in front of the 580!  My piano students rejoice when coming into the studio out of the blasting California heat.

Kenmore's Installation procedure seems straightforward for most situations.  Our windows swing open into the room, however, and our Kenmore Air Conditioner had to be installed through a lower bookcase in the old conditioner's space!  Inevitably, since the Kenmore is smaller (and lighter) than its predecessor, we had a case of air gap-o-sis.  TunefulPal and I remedied this almost immediately by filling air spaces with insulation tubing.  He and a friend got the entire installation done with few complaints on a blessedly cool day.

The Kenmore 580 comes with a remote control that replicates the panel on the machine.  From it, I can turn the machine on or off; set a timer for off and/or on; shift through the Cool, Energy Saver and Fan settings (mode); advance the Fan Speed from high-low-med and back to high; and adjust the Temperature in one-degree increments from 60 to 86 degrees F.

Please note (as I did not) that, if you shut the Air Conditioner down, you should wait three minutes before re-starting it.  Ditto if you move the Temperature Control to a warmer then immediately back it down to a cooler temp.  Not doing these things can result in inefficient cooling if the pressure inside the compressor hasn't had time to equalize.

When on Energy Saver, the unit (compressor) shuts down when it reaches your desired temperature.  The Fan then kicks on about every three minutes to "check" the temperature.  When your rooms start to warm, the compressor kicks back on to maintain even cooling.

Kenmore's bi-lingual (English-Spanish) manual does an excellent job of explaining filtering, machine noises, positioning of vertical and horizontal louvers, troubleshooting, and cleaning.  The filter can be removed easily.  Washing and drying it is a snap.  With a tad more effort you can also remove and wash the front grill.

Pal and I are very impressed with the entire Kenmore Air Conditioner package.  I've given only four stars (for now) because the end of our Full One Year Warranty period is near.  Superstitious or not, this is the time I cross my fingers and hope that the Kenmore plows on with its awesome job.