Fan on outside air conditioning unti making a thump thump sound

G

Geezerette

Senior Member
It's right outside my dining area. The unit is actually for the upstairs apt but she is away & the longer it runs the worse it gets. Must be awfully hot up there, I haven't used mine at all yet. Didn't do this last summer. Fan hums ok but this sound is on top of that. Very annoying especially in the evening. I think something is out if balance somewhere but apt maintenance took look at it while I was out & left word it was normal. It is not. I've left word for them to come back when I'm home & it's running .
Any of you mechanically inclined folks know what might be causing it?

ive had too many experiences with Maint. people trying to tell me something is "normal" when they're too dumb or lazy to fix it, or saying they dont hear anything when they've lost hearing from using noisy power tools. And there are types that won't try to fix an item until it's totally inoperable.
Any time any fan makes a noise other than a hum there is something wrong. Any ideas?Thanks!
 

Sounds like the mounting bolts. Could be one or more of the mounting grommets used to absorb start up torque are old & deteriorated. If not mounted using grommets then potential bolt has loosened allowing the fan to wobble/thump. Could also be a fan loose blade. Then going a little further the compressor could be failing. The funny thing about strange noises is they don't always happen when checked.

If accessible to you why not go out & look at the unit when it's thumping to see if you notice what could be causing that sound.
 
Could be something like the time my dads a/c started thumping and vibrating. Turned out there was a rather large black snake wrapped around the fan.:eek: Pulled out one slightly gooey and very dead snake and the shake was gone. :)
 

Geezerette said:
It's right outside my dining area. The unit is actually for the upstairs apt but she is away & the longer it runs the worse it gets. Must be awfully hot up there, I haven't used mine at all yet. Didn't do this last summer. Fan hums ok but this sound is on top of that. Very annoying especially in the evening. I think something is out if balance somewhere but apt maintenance took look at it while I was out & left word it was normal. It is not. I've left word for them to come back when I'm home & it's running .
Any of you mechanically inclined folks know what might be causing it?

ive had too many experiences with Maint. people trying to tell me something is "normal" when they're too dumb or lazy to fix it, or saying they dont hear anything when they've lost hearing from using noisy power tools. And there are types that won't try to fix an item until it's totally inoperable.
Any time any fan makes a noise other than a hum there is something wrong. Any ideas?Thanks!
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Is the thump constant or intermittent? Any time a fan makes a noise there is something out of balance.

Does this happen when the unit starts the cooling cycle? Shut the unit down. Then start it up. See if it takes a while to warm up before it starts making the noise.
 
As I said it isn't my unit, it just sits next to my window & the person in the apt it goes with has been away over a week. It must be very hot up there or she likes it very cold, has been running it a lot most of May. Turns off & in according to her thermostat I guess. I haven't needed to start mine yet. At first the noise would start after it had been running a while , & now it starts almost immediately. I looked it up, could be a lot of things, but the big thing now is apt maint came and looked at it this am when I wasn't home, it was cooler and maybe wasn't running much & I had wanted them to come in to hear what I hear. So they said "it runs normal, it's just old." NOPE. Have to deal with apt Mgr to get them to look again on MY terms.
A healthy fan just hums. Any other sounds along with, there is something wrong. Sadly, Once again feeling like they are "trying to put something over on the old woman"
 
applecruncher said:
Geezerette, You need for DonM to drop in. He knows everything. :)
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Thank you...I hope this was meant as a compliment...I have spent most of my life fixing "things". Insofar as this ladies AC unit is concerned, the First step would be to determine if the unit is still supplying cool air....that would require access to the ladies apartment....this poster said she is not home. If the apartment is no longer being cooled, I would suspect a problem with the compressor/low refrigerant level. If the unit is still cooling, then the noise would probably be something loose or failing in the fan motor/blade area, or some foreign object bouncing around in the cabinet. At any rate, a skilled HVAC repairman should be able to determine the problem fairly quickly....but the First step would be for the apartment manager to allow access to the apartment, and have a competent HVAC person assess the problem.
 
Thank you Don M! I've lived long enough, daughter of an engineer, & have long been aware of how mechanical things work that when any fan, from ones in small appliances to furnaces & truck motors make any noise other than the hum of the motor that there is sonething wrong. Ive got to get the maint people to come at a time when I'm home & its thumping.

Talking about grudges above: I've lived in several different Apt complexes since I moved to ABQ 25 yrs ago & wanted to be free of responsibilities if a house, and with a few exceptions apt maint guys (always guys, seems women not allowed in that occupation ) think women especially old ones are stupid about mechanical things & won't Know the difference if they say something is normal when it isn't, & mgt that tells them not to fix something unless it's totally inoperable or dangerous, & most these gypsy "mechanics" wouldn't get hired by any reputable repair company anyway.That's my grudge.
 
Oh Applecruncher, that makes my roll my eyes and sigh; you know what I meant. I should have said "rare" which you might probably have agreed to. So sorry I thoughtlessly put Snarkbait in your path.
 
Geezerette said:
Oh Applecruncher, that makes my roll my eyes and sigh; you know what I meant. I should have said "rare" which you might probably have agreed to. So sorry I thoughtlessly put Snarkbait in your path.
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Do you feel better now?

Okay. Roll away........:rolleyes:

Z
 
Geezerette said:
Thank you Don M! I've lived long enough, daughter of an engineer, & have long been aware of how mechanical things work that when any fan, from ones in small appliances to furnaces & truck motors make any noise other than the hum of the motor that there is sonething wrong. Ive got to get the maint people to come at a time when I'm home & its thumping.

Talking about grudges above: I've lived in several different Apt complexes since I moved to ABQ 25 yrs ago & wanted to be free of responsibilities if a house, and with a few exceptions apt maint guys (always guys, seems women not allowed in that occupation ) think women especially old ones are stupid about mechanical things & won't Know the difference if they say something is normal when it isn't, & mgt that tells them not to fix something unless it's totally inoperable or dangerous, & most these gypsy "mechanics" wouldn't get hired by any reputable repair company anyway.That's my grudge.
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If your apartment pays the utilities, how 'bout pointing out to the mgt that the thing running all the time is costing them $$?
 
No more advice, thanks. Too bad that some people have to get snarky & make fun of my frustration. I'm done.
 

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