Great while it lasted

Author's Rating:

Pros: Size, BTU rating, good warranty, easy to use.

Cons: Short lived, impossible to obtain warranty service.

The Bottom Line: 
I'm relying on the retailer to make good on a bad unit. The warranty may be five years, but it's of ZERO value if you can't get through to them.

Author's Review
We bought this 9000 BTU unit about 60 days ago. What sold us was the price, the BTU rating, the design and it's five year warranty. We've converted one bay of our garage to a kennel for the dogs. The area needed cooling, so this unit was just about perfect. It's a 10 X 20 space and needs about 10 degrees of cooling on the average hot day. The unit is well packaged with adequate padding and a full set of installation and operating instructions. The first problem that I had was with the design of the window kit. It was not compatible with the double hung windows in our garage. I was forced to fashion a replacement out of wood. It looked better, fit better and allowed full use of the window. As for electrical requirements: It draws a little less than 9 amps. At startup, it's probably closer to 15 or 20 amps, so I would not run this unit on a common circuit that has numerous high-draw motors or electrical appliances. It plugs into a standard three prong outlet.

THE GOOD:
It blows colds... when it hits it programmed temp it cycles the compressor off and continues to blow cool air. It has a wonderful little remote control device that allows access to power, temp and timing functions. And because of the upright shape, it doesn't take up much floor space. It has a Five year warranty. The unit is easy to clean.

THE BAD:
The window kit didn't work with our window. It's very heavy.

THE VERY BAD:
It broke over this past weekend (60 days of ownership, maybe 20 days of operation). The warranty service telephone center has a constant busy signal. The warranty service website refers someone in need of service to a telephone number that is voicemail only and it's filled, not taking new messages. We've got a hot garage, a broken expensive a/c unit and a high level of frustration.


I'm hoping that Home Depot will be particularly nice and accept this unit for exchange. I can't get anywhere with the warranty folks, so my next step is a dispute with American Express. I'm going to take it to the Home Depot out in the country that seems to be a bit more gentle with their customers. I've got my fingers crossed.

BTW- Maytag doesn't manufacture this unit. It's made by Fedders. Their website is www.fedders.com. You can also see if a service center is located near you.


UPDATE 7/15/2004. The manager of Home Depot did the "right thing" and exchanged the Maytag air conditioner for a new in-the-box identical unit. It is performing well, and I've got my fingers crossed.