Purchased: August 2022 - still works GREAT! ru-vid.comUgkxxsUnXhGsSJLim_XnMHyQK0u3XVaW-CGn I live in a studio and during the summer it gets scorching hot - really old building with no ac units. I can’t express how EASY it was to install.This unit has been a life savior during the summer and some days during other seasons where it can still be a bit warm at night. In this small place is my friend, a husky, poodle mix and myself. We need AC - lolI don’t use the dehumidifier option - I’m not sure if it will leak in my house, since I did not install the small draining hose that came with it. May look into it late but I don’t worry about much humidity in the apartment.I don’t understand why the negative reviews since all things mentioned, I personally did not find issues with. Definitely worth it!
@@remington2277 Interesting... I live in Florida, currently using a 5,000 btu ge ac to cool a 220 sqft room. Without the unit it's 83-86 in August. Even with current insulation we had added it stays hot, the room is in direct sunlight, no shade from trees like the rest of the house. Anyways I figured a 12,000 BTU unit could bring it down from the 78-75 the 5,000 BTU unit does (and that's if it runs nonstop 16 hours a day in the summer, yikes). Technically the 12,000 unit is double what I "need" to cool 220 square feet, but knowing my conditions I think it should be (sadly) just about right.
I’ve been looking at this unit to replace the unit that’s going out. I get tired of listening to the unit I have. How do you like it sense you’ve had it a while?
I love this thing. I bought mine last summer for a 700 sq ft house and it cooled the entire house. I was amazed too when my utility bills went from over $100 in the summer to below $70.
Glad to hear you are happy with the Midea unit. We are happy with ours as well. We are currently on generator power, but hope to connect to the grid in the near future, it’s nice to hear your electricity usage did not increase.
I installed my 12k BTU Media u-shaped unit in about 2.25 years ago. Love it! It is one of the best decisions I've ever made for my home. Amazing! It even feels like it cools better than the rating it even says. In fact, it cooled my living room so much that condensation formed inside my once poorly isolated 1970 living room walls. Causing the cheap 1970 wall paneling to eventually buckle in the middle from the constant saturation & drying. Not to mention (you guessed it) the black mold that formed inside the walls. BTW, it took my dad, my neighbor handyman, & me three days to figure out what had happened. It wasn't the fault of the Midea a/c window unit at all. It did its job perfectly. This was caused by the horrible build quality of my 1970 home. I very much & highly recommend this product! It's, as I said before, amazing! Very quiet, efficient, & cold! Cools my entire 1400+ sf downstairs (even before the upgrade to all of my wall insulation) even on the hottest days, & with far less electricity.
Wow! Glad it cooled your house so effectively but what a bummer! Guess it was a blessing to update and insulate better! We love ours too! It’s over 90 degrees outside already but we are cool and comfortable inside! Hey… thanks for watching! We appreciate your feedback!
I watched your video yesterday and helped my girlfriend install her Midea-U today. Your instructions were perfect (please lose the music), but a minute after the unit was turned on, error code 07 appeared on the display. Midea does not list error codes online or in the instruction manual, but Amazon explains the problem that many people have had. A piece of black vibration dampening material is wrapped around the 2 copper pipes next to the condenser coil fan (the section of the unit outside the window). If the material extends too far, it will prevent the condenser coil fan blade from turning, causing an error code 07. In order to make the unit functional and prevent the error code, remove the top cover from the outside portion of the unit (3 screws on top, 2 screws on each side and 3 screws in the front. To remove the 3 front screws, a stubby screwdriver is necessary). On the left side, by the compressor are 2 copper pipes with the black material between the pipes. Trim or push the black material away from the fan blade so it spins freely, then install the cover and screws. It is easiest to test the unit before installing it in the window to be sure it functions properly so you can make the repair if needed. The fan on the inside part of the unit did not have a problem and worked normally.
Thank you for your comments and instruction on the fault code. We did not have any issues with the 2 we installed, but we know not every unit is installed without issues. Thank you for your insight on the music, this info. helps us improve our videos going forward. Thank you for watching and contributing with your comments.
I live in Florida, 900 sqft home, about 50 years old, in spite of adding insulation to the walls and attic it gets HOT. I have central air, the unit is 20 years old and I don't want to grenade it since I don't have 10-20 grand to replace it... also the room my wife and I keep our computer in is in a garage converted into a room on a side of the house not shaded by trees at all, so it gets 83 to 86 degrees in the summer keeping the house unit at 76. I'm really excited at the prospect of keeping this room in the 70s this summer. I work outside in Florida, sweat and heat all day... it's nice to come home to a low humidity conditioned room! Thanks for the video, I have the unit but am just planning out how I am going to do this. I find if I can watch a good video like this I can think ahead and grab the tools I need before starting the job to make install... a breeze :D
You got this. I would suggest pulling the video up on your phone and then follow step by step, pausing as needed. When we installed our second unit awhile later, that is what we did and it worked great! Good luck😊
@@r-ranchadventures Thank you sir! I do have a question for you, I've seen in a few photos that the underside of the unit sweats on the outside as it's cold, have you experienced this? I fired the unit up today and verified it's working good, then I bought some of the 5/8" barbed plugs and hose to funnel the drainage from the pan away from my house. The unit will be installed on a porch and I live in humid Florida, I really need to make sure this unit won't sweat down my wall or drip allover the place so I felt like the adhesive insulation I bought might keep the bottom of the unit from sweatring and the drain fittings I can flow the water into the nearby shrubs vs having it run on my porch (my current AC pulls about a gallon of water out of the air a day so I'm sure this unit will do similar, drainage is a necessary evil here).
@@jetjazz05 The unit does create condensation, but I have not a lot. We live in humid Texas, our unit drips onto the dirt creating a damp spot, but never enough to create a puddle that I have noticed.
Awww, thank you for your kind words! We are totally going to tell our kids we were called legendary ❤️. I’m so glad to hear the video was helpful! Way to go with your install!!! 😊
Thank you so much for the video. I tried to install with just the written directions and was so overwhelmed. After watching your video, I was able to install by myself. Thank you again.
Thank you. Your video really helped my friend and I installed one in my bedroom today. Sometimes you really need more than just the manual, you need to see it done...live!👍👍
Thank you, I’m moving into a studio without central air and no window units supplied. The apartment has new windows and I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to drill into the actual frame or around it. It’s only 400 square foot so I figured I’d go with the 12000 btu to be safe. You made it look exceptionally easy and I’ve saved the video for later reference! Thanks for recording Toni!
Thank you for the clear and well explained video, I’m purchasing 2 12,000 BTU and a 8,000 BTU soon and I really wanted to know how to get it mounted correctly, specially since I live in a second story apartment, I don’t want it to fall on anyone lol
I watched hundreds of videos and I almost never leave a comment, but this will be the exception. Your step by step and easy to follow instructions were outstanding. Thank you (and the film crew ;-) for putting this video. The instructions in the box were very poor. Thank you again.
Perfect timing. Just installed a 12 k btu for our downstairs. I'm used to simple rectangular ACs which we removed each winter. But this u shaped AC was complicated to install. I can see lots of gaps which I'll try to caulk up. I'll try to keep it in during the winter. Here in central Connecticut we get winter so maybe I need to figure out how to insulate it. Subscribed. Thanks
The U-snapped units are absolutely more difficult to install as far as window units go. We don’t have to worry about the winter thing like you do. We did take the time to be sure all the gaps were sealed to maintain all the cold air inside. Good luck with filling the gaps.
Someone out there must have a window greater than 36" wide, as in my 1951 house. Sure I can cobble together some solution but if anybody out there wants to explain how they handled installation in such a window, you will be the first human to do so, and will be appreciated.
I wish I could offer you some insight, but I have no experience with this scenario. I hope someone who has experience with a larger window will read and respond.
I was outside in the dark tonight trying to assess where all the gaps are. I regret my purchase. There are so many places for insects and water to enter. I used the supplied foam blocks, which are not even long enough to completely fill the 36" tracks. I had another 4.5" to cover. I just crammed a piece of closed-cell foam in there, but it is ugly. If you go through with this I recommend you saw off the metal track with the many silly holes in it at the point where the supplied foam block ends. Then you will have a simple rectangle shape to fill. Leave that unused vertical piece (which was meant to attach to the side of the window somehow) makes it near impossible to fit anything in there. The machine itself is top notch; just the poorly designed and terribly documented scheme for installation is the problem. Do not be fooled by the RU-vid videos that make this look straight-forward. You will not see any images of the outside of this device and I say that no two installations will be the same, since you are on your own to try to make it work with your windows. I'd love to see a video showing how this holds up against a storm.
@@marusholilac I am really sorry you have had issues with leakage and insects. With all honesty, we have not had any issues. This spring in Texas, we were pounded by multiple heavy storms and never had any issues with leakage. And we have not had any issues with bugs. Could be the type of windows we have; hard to say. We have had the units over 1 year and still love them.
Great video…Just a suggestion …30 stories up….use the window half way down to hold the ac while adding brackets and foam, etc The unit is awesome, you don’t even know it’s on in the auto position..
I just bought one came here to learn how to install it. Thanks for your informative blog. You guys made it look easy. I hope it was worth the investment.
Teamwork ❤❤ I can't thank u enough for this video. I usually don't read the instructions, but did this time. I came here to find out where the extra foam was hidden. But I watched the whole video and really glad that I did.
@@r-ranchadventures As I'm doing the install, I just noticed that when measuring my sill, it's 40 1/4". I live in an apartment. Guess that I'm heading to HD so that I can make a couple of 1/2" blocks. With the extension arms fully extended, the brace measures 39" 🙄. Or, it looks like I could actually drill an additional hole in each extension...
I am so glad it was helpful to you! Sorry to hear about your divorce but great job being resourceful and getting this installed on your own! You totally got this!
Great video, and what would we do without our wife help. I watched the factory installation video, however your video make the installation better understood.😊😊
I gotta pick up 2 jus don't know if I should go with the regular box one feel lik more Modifications, they made the more problems don't lik buying 1 Gen of thing even know they had them years ago
We have been happy with this U-Shape model. It is quiet, energy efficient, and fairly easy to install. But go with what you feel comfortable with. Let us know what you decide and best of luck! 😊
Very informative video, on the fence about what unit to buy before the heat hits and most videos on the tube seem to be paid for by the company selling the AC. Appreciate your real review. Subscribed
@@592Johno we are certainly not experts and can not speak on behalf of manufacturer’s recommendation…. But it seems like that would work (but will still need to fill the entire remaining space of the window to prevent drafts)
Great video that helped my friend install this too heavy for me to lift 12,000 BTU AC unit. Lots of water coming from it and dripping down the side of my house! How do you attach a hose to collect and deflect water? It seems to come from lots of unknown places. Should it be angled more than you and instructions directed maybe??? Please help or I have to send this back!
You can certainly try adjusting the angle. I am not sure about the hose… you may need to reach out to the manufacturer to see if they have any suggestions. Best of luck sorry we couldn’t be more help.
@@r-ranchadventures My friend who helped me is a finish carpenter and very fussy about his work so he followed the directions to a tee and referenced your video along the way. I'm thinking that if there are that many peg holes, you must be able to change the angle so it works in your window, right??
With the u-shape design of this unit it is limited to windows that slide up and down. But I am sure if sliding window was wide enough you could McGuiver a way to make it work. But I would look at a traditional unit (not U-shape) in your case.
Thanks for the video. Bought two of this unit; one for the bedroom and one for the office. I put a mini-split in the living room last year. I've got 46" windows, though. Still looking for solutions on installation.
I wish I could offer you more help on those wider windows, but I don’t have any practical knowledge to share. Good luck, where there is a will there is a way.
Thank you for the video. I'm wondering how to get the Media 12,000 BTU out of the very nice box without destroying the box. It looks like at 9:20 in the video that has a also been an issue for you - box front torn. My intention is to have the AC in the window for season when needed and store in the garage in the original box and protective foam when not needed. Might be questionable. Bigger and heavier than I thought it would be.
The unit is heavy and awkward, however we had no intentions of saving the box. I’m sure if you wanted to save the box it could be done. Let us know if you figure out a good way to save the box.
Great question! We did not and there was not any issue. Great seal and no cold air leaking. However, we live in Texas so no snow and minimal ice. Hope that helps.
For installation, is it absolutely necessary to screw into the window frame? I plan to use the air conditioner unit temporarily and don't want to have holes drilled in..
I do think you will need to screw the bracket to the window frame to secure the unit. I could be wrong, but I think you turn the risk of the unit falling or damaging the window.
Most likely you cannot put the bracket exactly on the center, one side may be one hole space different from the other one. It didn't really matter. But then you can put your window on the center of the window or any slight offset you want .
I suspect they advise centering because that would be necessary for the brackets to reach the maximum width they specify. For some situations, it may not be advisable. For example, in my installation the "legs" of the bracket were going to be resting against aluminum siding, so I wanted to assure at least one of them rested directly over a stud, which would not have been possible with a centered install. (The legs are on approximately a 8.25" center, so it is impossible to have both fall on a stud). Also, I was installing it in 46" wide window, well beyond their specified maximum, and wanted at least one of the interior extendable arms to reach all the way to the upright window frame on the inside.
It looks like you have had this unit for about three months... Have you cleaned the filter? Does the unit have an indicator light to tell you its time to clean the filter? Are you planning on doing a deep clean on this unit before it goes into storage at the end of the hot season. I would come out and help but I live in S.C. What I just did to my old style box A/C was to clean the filter. I never let it get crappped out. The unit has a red led to tell you that it needs to be cleaned. While I was doing that I looked closely at the evaporator coils and the saw some minor dirt build up. I sprayed cleaner on the coils and vacuumed it off. The water was very dark and cloudy. I also saw some black spots that might be mold... UUGGH... I tried to clean the inside but a good part of that is not easy to get to. The fan and other parts are impossible to access without taking the whole thing apart. All this makes me wonder how this U shaped unit can be deep cleaned. The evaporator coils on the inside and the condenser coils on the outside. Can this be done without removing the unit. They have designed the unit to be more quiet and allow you to open the window -- Did ease of cleaning enter into the design ?????? Around here, not really cleaning for the whole season will be unhealthy.
I have cleaned our filters a few times, they have gotten pretty dirty a few times with drywall and dust. These units do not have indicator lights to my knowledge. They are also do not appear to offer easy access to the internal components. We actually don’t have plans to remove the units for winter, in this part of Texas, we could be running them in December, you never really know. Thanks for watching and interacting, we appreciate you.
Thanks for asking. Unfortunately, we have not been back out to our property since we installed it. But all reviews were great and we feel confident (and super hopeful) that will will cool it down with ease🙏🤪😊
Good luck with your install, let us know how it goes. The multi tool has CAT as in Caterpillar on it, we purchased it at Sam’s Club not long before we did the AC install.
I just purchased the 12K unit, what I did not know was a thing, is that the window cannot be wider than 36", but my window is 45", so I called Midea and they stated No. So my question can I still install the unit,? I do have a vertical window, rare were we live, ground floor. I was thinking about cutting one of the brackets and welding another on it to give me the reach. Or simply place a board under it and face screw it in. Thanks in advance
I am sure you could make modifications to make the unit work, however our install was within manufacture specifications. I don’t have any experience with making those types of modifications with this unit. I wish I could be of more assistance on your scenario. Good luck sounds like your ideas are on the right track.
I understood you better than the manual itself😊...so you plugged it into an extension cord? I thought it had to be plugged directly into the wall socket😯
You are correct, you should not use an extension cord. We are currently off grid. We get our power from a gasoline generator. The extension cord is the lessor of two evils, we do not want the generator close to the cabin due to carbon monoxide.
This looks like a great unit! We need something for our bedroom but I am concerned as our window measures 39” side to side not sure if the brackets allow for this width. Any advise.
Great question! Unfortunately, we don’t have the answer and when googled, could not be found. May be a question for Midea customer support. Sorry we couldn’t be more help. Let us know what you find out.
I only have 1 straight bracket that attaches to the bottom by sliding in, but now i have to see how to screw that on and slide it on while the window unit is IN the window. Ie. Impossible.
It’s 110 degrees where I’m living, my 12000 btu (maybe 7000-8000 btu in reality) portable AC can’t cool my small living room since the surrounding walls and the floor is made of wood, it traps the heat and there is no ventilation, might have to buy a water cooler or if I wanna to go crazy why not buy a floor standing AC, it’s expensive but it’s 24000 btu (too big for an extremely small living room size of an attic or bathroom lol) and it should cool the room in minutes during hot days.
Our unit struggled to cool our cabin until we had the spray foam insulation installed. It would definitely do some cooling but could not super effective. However now that we have insulation, it works GREAT! We actually got too cold last night! Hopefully you find a solution that works for you. 110…. Yikes!
You could try it without but I would recommend using it for stability. It would be challenging to get the seal air tight without first securing the unit to the bracket and then following all of the additional steps. Probably not the answer you hoped for.
As someone that also has this unit, I absolutely would NOT want to try putting it in a window without that support. Keep in mind the interior unit has no metal rail at top resting against the windows sash like a conventional unit.
@@r-ranchadventures I just re-installed mine for this summer and your video was just as helpful as last year! Though with the holes already made, it was a much faster installation :)
You can just made a custom base with wood and paint white on the top of you bracket to match the bottom of your window. You will need to buy a window sash lock to lock your windowthen.
The unit is at our weekend property, so I can’t go look to confirm, but I believe there is a small hole in the bottom of the pan. I know when the unit is running you can see water drip from the bottom outside portion of the unit.
@@r-ranchadventures OK thanks I am running mine right now and I will go out there and see if it drips. How is your unit working out? We added our to a house with central AC but the electricity is very expensive so we want to use this unit to alleviate some of the electric usage.
The only thing that would screw into the vinyl window is the optional window lock, which we did not use. There are other options to lock the window that do not require drilling or screwing into the window frame. Good luck with your install.
@@r-ranchadventures thanks for checking. Yeah, that’s not very big. I don’t think my windows in the house would fit. With the ledge to grip to lift them, they are close to 2”.
Sorry to hear that. We have not had that problem. Research says the most common reason for tripping the circuit is overload. But we are definitely not professionals… hope you are able to get the issue resolved. Let us know what you find out!
Why was the disgusting music necessary? Really? On my four units, I put the grey foam between the two window panes where they meet at the top of the lower sash pane. Ron W4BIN
We did not take ours out. The foam blocks create a tight seal so they should be fine to leave up all year. But we also don’t live in a climate that gets super cold… pretty mild/ moderate winters in Texas.
The instructional video by Midea shows wrapping bottom of white foam blocks only on side with the swing down bracket, and bottom, not on the outer edge against window frame, i guess because the compression there is going to make a tight seal, whereas there are gaps in the plastic swing down arms. I think putting half up the frame side on the white foam block would actually make it less even, if you are going to do it on that frame side then i would do it full on that side, not halfway up the white block. Not sure Im making myself clear.
I see what you are saying, but with the foam blocks being 1/4” longer than the space, the block is tightly compressed in the area. We have not found any air gaps in our installation.
It's quiet like a fan and also cools the same way. Ain't worth it's weight in dog shit. I have 4 of them and it takes hours to drop Temps inside by a few degrees and it's not even very hot outside yet. My very old R22 unit that was very noisy at 10 000 BTU worked better than the 12000 from this company
@@newtonraymond77yours have a problem than my 12000btu keeps my big double wide living room and kitchen cool 0 problems and doesn't take long to get it cool and no it doesn't cool like a fan mine has our kitchen and living room ice cold. If they're so shit why do you have 4 of them 🤦
The unit has small clips to prevent the window from opening but we also bought small metal clamps that fit on the window railing to prevent the windows from opening upwards.
did you buy all 4 at once? or one after another? How long have you had it? I installed in a small bedroom (thought 12k btu would be overkill) and it works but i'm wondering if the cooling is not as great as you mentioned.
Its difficult for me seeing vidoes from states so hot right now, im in Michigan and we actually had turn our ac off as its so cool outside. I am hoping we get some sort of summer soon.
There are definite times where ‘mansplaining’ happens… but I don’t mind learning the right terminology (respectfully and not in a condescending tone). 😊
You may need to change the GFCI outlet. We have had issues with a fridge that would trip the GFCI, I replaced the GFCI and it resolved the issue. I would suggest you have an electrician diagnose the issue.
Great question and unfortunately, I don’t know the answer. I looked it up on their website but all I found was: CEER 15 BTU/H/Watt. Cooling Watts 1140W. Probably not what you were looking for but hope that helps.
@@r-ranchadventures Did some more research and there are reports that start up and operating wattage are the same for this design. Also, reports indicate that on high speed the maximum wattage on very hot day is around 950. So it actually uses less wattage than the specs in the manual indicate.
Good video until the part you plugged it into a extension cord. As I watched the video I was wondering why you were installing a AC in a place that didn't look like it was wired for electricity yet. Isn't plugging a AC into a extension cord a big no no.
You are absolutely correct. However, since we are off grid at the moment, we are just doing what we got to do. We don’t want to put the generator that close to the house. Lesser of two evils. 🥴
They also advise having nothing else on the circuit, even if it is a unit that only uses 7-8 amps. The advice is meant to protect them from the liability of someone doing something stupid such as plugging it into an extension cord that is too small a gauge of wire for the current and/or too long, or plugging it into circuit that would be overloaded. That said, that is a long extension cord they are using and probably only 16 gauge, perhaps 14 at best. I would really want to see 12 gauge for a stranded wire cable for this unit, and that only for a relatively short cable (e.g., 6-10 feet). At full load, that unit can pull up to 12.17 amps (although I have yet to see my unit pull that much, even on a 105 F afternoon, where it hit 10.17 amps).