Air Conditioner Thermostat??

Question

My A/C runs non-stop all day & I don't know why. When I took the cover to the thermostat off, there's some kind of dial underneath the says "longer cycles" and has numbers like .3, .25, .2, .15, 1., .5, ... etc.... there is an arrow resembling a clock hand on the dial that can be moved around as well... any idea as to what this all means, and whether it has anything to do with the A/C running non-stop.

The temp is set to 75... the thermostat is in my hallway, where it's generally the coolest. It's the AC itself running, u can feel the air coming up from the vents as you walk past them. My elec bill this month is $300 !!!!! I just moved in here & I'm flipping!!

And the A/C coil is new, I just bought it & had it installed. It's a Mobile Home.

Answer 1

Ok, the cycle of your air conditioner refers to the amount of coolant being processed. In a longer cycle, the coolant takes longer to pump, resulting in more efficient power useage, but the air is not cooled as fast. If you are in a mobile home, though, chances are that the A/C unit is not your main problem. What I mean by that is that mobile homes are not well insulated. You are losing cool air as the outside of your mobile bakes in the summer heat. You can try the following:

1) Set your thermostat a little higher and buy fans.

2) Keep the doors closed in rooms that you don't often use, such as your bedroom during the day.

3) Turn thermostat up when you leave house. And when I say up, I mean WAY up, about 87 degrees. The house will take a little while to cool back down when you get in , but you will save big time money by not running it all day while you are at work. (As a sidenote, people with houses will scream disagreement at this idea. Unlike a well-insulated house, you are losing your cool air so fast that it will actually help you to turn up your thermostat this high when you are gone.)

4) Insulate what you can. Windows, esp. ones that let direct sunlight in, are a huge drain for cold air. Get some 3M window covers and seal them up. Make sure the doors have good weatherstripping, replace it with thicker stuff if need be.

Good luck.

Answer 2

That other dial is an anticipator. It provides a little heat to the thermostat (settings match the current draw of the burner controls). When you set it you get the burner to turn off quicker to make up for the fact that heat still comes out for a while after you shut if off. That prevents overheating and on/off cycling. I don't think it effects the air conditioning side at all.

Is cold air coming out constantly? If not the only thing that may be running is the A/C fan. It has a switch that says AUTO which makes it come on only while the A/C is putting out cold air and ON which makes it run continuously. Check that setting first. If it is really the A/C that is running your electric bill will be a killer. It is cheaper to replace the thermostat if it does not do turn offs.

Also check the setting of the thermostat. Maybe it is asking for too cold a temperature and the A/C keeps running to try to reach that. Compare the thermometer on the thermostat with that setting and turn the thermostat to warmer if that is the problem.

Answer 3

If the air conditioning unit (sounds like you have central AC) is running continuously, then there are only 2 reasons for it to do so.
1. The filter for the evaporator unit is totally clogged up with dirt and needs to be replaced, since it blocks the air from going through and bring the temp down to the point where it would shut off by the temperature control in the hallway, or the evaporator is iced-up because of extreme high humidity (same effect as a dirty air-filter, or caused by this) If this condition would go on for a long time, then freeze-back would occur on the suction line of the AC unit and could destroy the compressor, because liquid freon would enter the compressor.

2. The AC unit may have a lack of refrigerant charge (Freon)
and therefore never reach the low temperature as desired and keeps on running all the time.
If this continues over a lengthy period, the compressor would be destroyed because of overheating, since the freon is not
only used to cool the house, but the compressor as well.

Call a certified technician ASAP or you might be in for a large bill to replace the whole system after it has destroyed itself.

Answer 4

it may not be getting colder than 79 due to the heat load that it is trying to keep up with.. if the room that its in is well insulated and the size of the unit is correct for the size of the room then one of two things could be happening. one the unit is slowly leaking freon. two, the thermostat is bad. if its leaking then the leak needs to be repaired and the unit charged up. if its the thermostat then unplug the unit and take out the covers, remove the knob and unscrew the thermostat. disconnect the wires. make sure you know where to connect them back. remove the thermostat being careful with the line and bulb. then make sure you get the correct replacement. if the problem is a leak then you probably want to have a service technician locate the leak and charge the unit.

Answer 5

What is the temp. in the room where the thermostat is located.? Maybe only the fan part runs all the time and the compressor kicks in ever so often...Adjust the thermostat until the unit kicks off.....

Answer 6

yes raise the numbers on dials to a higher temperature, this should turn off you ac.