Customer Reviews

Frigidaire FAM156R1A 15,100-BTU Window Air Conditioner with Electronic Controls

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The installation was a little challenging and the instructions not very clear, but being able to slip the unit into the chassis made up for those challenges. Once installed the unit cools my entire downstairs of five rooms and a hallway. I live in the south, and even with the oven on for hours for a dinner party, my guests were very comfortable and even asked me to raise the temp. Love the remote control and various settings. I use the sleep setting in the morning when I go to work which raises the temp while I'm out of the house, and lowers it just before I get home. The low fan setting is fairly quiet, and actually good given that it's a window unit. Looks nice and the filter is easy to clean. Very pleased with the energy efficiency. Got my first electric bill, saved $45 over the previous month's (not nearly as hot either) and $55 over the same time last year. That was a nice surprise given that my house is much cooler that it was with my old unit. Very satisfied with this purchase. Also, the company delivered much sooner than advertised.

This was the highest BTU window ac that I could find on the internet that used regular 120V power. It installed without much problem, and so far this summer it seems to be quite powerful, and lives up to it's specs. It is a bit noisy, but I guess that's to be expected. I would recommend this for cooling a large space.

I have been using this unit in the hottest summer on record in Phoenix and it has performed great. Installation was typical of a window unit and was not a problem at all. The manual states that if the unit go on and off quickly to move the temperature sensor away from the cooling coils. I tried this and it didn't stay in place so I put a piece of foam weatherstripping behind it to hold it out from the coils and the unit has worked great since. The remote sensor feature really makes this unit work well and cools the place down. Noise isn't bad for this size unit.

I purchased this A/C due to the high feedback and boy am I glad. I could not use the brace that came with unit on my particular windows, I hadn't planned on using it anyway. I purchased a separate heavy duty brace for 15000btu units that can be purchase from your local hardware. The heavy duty brace is sturdier and fairly easy to install. You need two people to lift unless you're Mr Olympic, other than that installation was moderate for a unit this size. The unit will probably stay installed all year long due to the weight and I'll just have to keep it covered. This big boy cooled the down stairs above my expectations. Cools the dining room to freezing and living room perfectly. Cools the kitchen fairly well, even with a meal cooking. There is no condensation dripping on your head outside, the unit must evaporate that very quickly. I've enjoyed being cooled the entire summer with no problems. I program the unit to come on 1-2 hours before I arrive, I walk in the kitchen from the hot outside and I feel like falling down and going to sleep. Bottom line is: this a great air conditioner for the square footage it is designed to cool! A must buy 120v circuit.

First, I'd like to preface the review with the following. I'm an engineer that works in the industrial equipment industry. I figured that the complaints about the installation manual were from people not familiar with mechanical stuff. Nope...that WAS the worst set of instructions I've ever seen! As one example, it told me to remove the internal packaging that MAY be present inside the unit. I found some Styrofoam that I tried to remove. Fortunately, I realized that the foam was part of the actual unit and stopped trying before any damage was done. I found no other "internal packaging". I also was looking for parts that didn't even come close to looking like the pictures. What pictures there were, that is.

Note: This thing is honking huge. In the box, it's even more massive. I had it shipped to work and had to have someone with a truck take it home for me.

So, on the installation. Apparently, I measured my window incorrectly and the unit was about ˝" too tall. By removing the window latches I was able to barely squeeze the thing in. Another problem is that the installation parts and instructions do not seem to be made for vinyl replacement windows. I certainly wasn't going to drill into my new vinyl window like they wanted me to. The outside supports didn't fit right and I had to add wood and shims between my window sill and the unit. I lost a lock nut in my Hostas.

I like that the unit slid out of the cabinet, but removing the face was a pain as you have to be careful not to break anything when prying it away from the chassis. I kept bending the very fragile fins on the front of the unit when I was trying to maneuver it around. There are very few hand holds on the internal unit.

Finally, as an air conditioner, I only used it last night for the first time. It seems like a great unit. The instruction manual lists a remote sensing feature, but doesn't explain what it's for. Overall, I'd say this unit looks and works great, but the pain to install it might not be worth it. My suggestion is to throw out the bloody instructions and figure out a Red Green style install yourself. Because if they don't find you attractive, they should at least find you handy...

We priced this air conditioner locally and it is selling for $589 -- a difference of $200!! We have a 1700 sq. foot 2 story home and it cools off the entire downstairs with no problem. Fantastic a/c.

Just got this and installed it yesterday. Shipping was a bit frustrating (they called to set up a time for delivery but whenever I called back I got voicemail), but it finally came and was in good shape.

So as to the installation, the manual is AWFUL (as other reviews have said), but the unit works great and once installed I'm very happy with it. So a few tips on the install:

1. The front grill comes off easily, then remove the filter. Once the 4 screws are out of the third front piece (the piece with the vents), the manual says to pry it off. There are four notched tabs on the left and right sides that attach the plastic front to the metal casing. If you carefully start with one side (i.e. the left side) and pull the plastic away from the metal a bit, then you should be able to slide the plastic front forward and the other side will come off easily.

2. The shipping screws - it says to fill the screw holes with foam. There are indents where the shipping screws were. Fill those indents with a piece of the black foam that came with the unit - otherwise when you get it back in the window there will be a small hole to the outside.

3. It says there "MAY" be shipping materials inside. The big Styrofoam piece inside the unit is part of the unit (I assume it muffles sound), DO NOT REMOVE THAT. I didn't see any other "shipping" materials, and it sounds from the reviews that nobody really did.

4. Installing the top piece - the screw holes in the piece face the unit, with the flat side without holes facing the front. Before you fasten the side or top pieces, check to see that you have everything the right way. The side flaps slide into the bottom of the unit and can only go in one direction.

5. Screw in the side and top pieces with the little screws that there are more of than any others. No nuts or washers needed.

6. Install the side flaps - the "movable" side of the flaps go towards the unit, disconnect the end from the plastic frame of the side piece and slide it down the "track" created by the metal side pieces you attached to the A/C frame. Then re-align the plastic side frame and slide it into the track created by the top piece you installed and the bottom piece already in the A/C.

7. Install the brackets - I did this prior to putting the unit in the window, make sure it's in the right spot to properly support the unit. Use the screws with flat bottoms but a Philips head, and the nuts with the spiky washers attached. Put the screw through the unit case first and then down through the bracket. If you do it from the bottom (like I did the first time), you won't be able to slide the A/C into the casing at the end.

8. Put into the window, attach the bracket to your wall or window sill. Screw down the casing into your window sill (you may want to purchase long, well-holding screws to make sure it's well secured and I drilled two more holes and added two more screws to make sure it was well attached.

9. Once the case is firmly attached to the window along with the bracket, lower your window, attach the top of the frame to the window sash (they provide brackets but I screwed the frame directly to the window).

10. Now that the case is firmly in place, you can slide the unit back into the case (all the way), re-attach the front panels, and you should be good to go.

11. I ended up with a bunch of extra screws including the ones with the flat tops that I had no clue where they went. The goal is to get the "case" securely fastened to the window - both directly and with the brackets, if you can do this with your own screws or other materials then I think that works fine - don't worry if there are extra screws when you're done.

Hopefully this helps, since the little picture showing "extra packing materials" and descriptions in the manual were awful and I had to discover some of the things by trial and error. That said, I'm happy with the unit now that it's installed!

Still going strong after a year. The batteries that come with the remote have been the only thing that has gone out. I'm not really a read the instructions kinda guy but don't recall having any issues with it other than maybe the top screws with the weather stripping. I came looking online for the manual so I can figure out how to use the timers and sleep mode. This was after I got bored just pressing the buttons trying to figure it out.

Other ratings on instruction manual are true, made my own support system, problem solved. Aside from the manual, this is a great unit. I bought 2 in the spring, and these are the first units I've had that didn't have to run full time to keep the house cool. I belive that should make them last longer than the units they replaced, and they are quieter.

This unit could not be more simple for installation. I have no idea how anyone had any problems, unless they really can't follow simple instructions. Mine was installed and running in 20 minutes, no joke! Cools quickly and nicely and my apt. is huge! Also, pretty quiet for me. I love the energy saver function, works great! The only slight issue I have is with the swivel air blowing part. Not much control and would be nice if it went up and down further. Still, 5 stars for me!