Frigidaire FRA086AT7 8,000 BTU Price Review

Frigidaire’s FRA086AT7 8,000 BTU Mini Compact Window Air Conditioner is perfect for medium to big size rooms up to 350 square feet. This unit features electronic controls and full function remote control with remote thermostat. The antimicrobial filter decreases bacteria, room odors, and other airborne particles for a comfy environment. And with Energy Star efficiency, this unit gives savings with cool, calm comfort.

183 of 186 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of five stars Great Air Conditioner, But., July 23, 2010
By Dominick Fontana See all my reviews This review is from: Frigidaire FRA086AT7 8,000 BTU Mini Compact Window Air Conditioner (Kitchen) I’m reviewing the Frigidaire FRA086AT7 8,000 BTU Mini Compact Window Air Conditioner. I’m giving this AC a good review, but will talk about some things I did not like about it. All of the complaints are minor, except for one, which was a problem for me, but may not be for you. I will start with the background info, then list the features, , then list the good points and bad points.

Background Information:

This is a great AC with many features, good looks, digital display, remote control, and it cools the room well. I am using it installed in a window for my bedroom. Mine is 8,000 BTUs, but Frigidaire has alike models with different BTUs. It only comes in White. Though it’s portrayed as “Mini Compact,” it appears tough and well made and is not really that small. Installation was a breeze because the unit weighs only about 50 lbs. It comes with the AC unit, a window installation kit, a nice manual, bubble that you may put between the windows, and self adhesive weatherstripping to cover any openings. All hardware is included. You just need a Phillips screwdriver to install it and a drill if you want to screw the top of the unit into your window. It’s Energy Star Compliant. The warranty is ONE YEAR Full Coverage and FIVE YEARS for the AC compressor.

Features:

It has a green LED digital display with membrane button controls. You press buttons to control the unit. There aren’t knobs. Membrane means that all the buttons are covered by hard plastic and you press the label on the plastic that covers the buttons underneath. Each button press emits a beep, but if you hold the temperature/timer button down, it scrolls faster and only beeps once.

It has buttons for On Off, Mode, Fan Speed, Temp/Timer Up, Temp/Timer Down, Timer, Sleep, Filter Reset, and Clean Air.

The Green Digital display shows the Temperature and Timer. Usually, when the unit is on Cool or Econ, it shows the temperature you have set, like a thermostat. But, when the fan only is on, it shows the real temperature in the room. When you’re setting the Timer, it displays the count down timer.

It has green LEDs for the three modes, the four fan speeds, if the digital display is showing Fahrenheit, Centigrade, or Timer, Timer On, Sleep On, Filter Reset On, Clean Air On, and Remote Sensing On.

You turn the unit on and off and it remembers your last settings. You press Mode to choose from Cool, Econ, or Fan Only. Econ is Economy Mode that cycles the AC compressor on and off, once it reaches the set temperature, to conserve energy.

Fan Speeds are Low, Med, High, so you have three speeds for both the AC and fan. The AC also has Auto Fan, which regulates the fan speed automatically for you. It comes on full blast when you 1st turn it on, then slowly lowers the fan speed as it reaches your wanted temperature.

The Up and Down buttons were used to set the temperature on the digital display. You may be able to set it from 60 degrees to 90 degrees and display it as either Fahrenheit or Centigrade. These buttons are used to set the Timer.

The Timer button lets you to program the unit to either turn on or shut off one time over a 24 hour period.

The Sleep button raises the temperature you have set by two degrees, one half hour after you activate it, , then by another two degrees, half an hour afterward. Then it keeps this temperature for the next seven hours. It sounds more confusing than it’s. Just, you may be able to activate the Sleep feature when you go to sleep. It assumes an 8 hour sleep cycle. If you set the temperature for 72 degrees, then an hour after you go to sleep, it’ll be set for 76 degrees for the next seven hours, , then go back to 72. The hypothesis is that it you may be able to fall asleep with the temperature you have set, and it can slowly get a bit warmer throughout the night, without it disturbing you, plus, it’ll prevent you from becoming too cold.

Filter Reset has an LED that lights after every 250 hours of use. When it lights, it reminds you to clean the filter. After you clean it, you press the button to turn off the LED and reset it. Then it’ll remind you after the next 250 hours of use.

Clean Air is a fitted Air Ionizer and Purifier. If you turn it on, it’ll automatically remove dust and impurities from the air while either the AC or fan is running.

It has two separate air vent openings at the top that may be controlled independently.

The enclosed remote (2 AAA batteries included) has an unlit LCD Display that shows the real temperature at the remote, presumably that’s where you’re sitting. You may be able to control everything from the remote, except the Filter Reset and the Clean Air Filter. A red LED blinks when you press a button. You may also turn Remote Sensing on and off from the remote. When it is on, a corresponding LED blinks on the AC unit to show it is activated. Usually, the unit controls the temperature, depending on what the temperature is at the AC unit itself. When Remote Sensing is on, the unit then controls the temperature depending on what the temperature is where the remote is.

Good Points:

Cools fast and very well.

Calm.

Six foot long, 3 prong power cord, so you most likely will not need an extension cord.

Remembers your last settings, if the unit is shut down caused by a power failure.

Auto Fan speed is nice and is alike to digital weather control in a car, plus you have the other three manual fan speeds.

Sleep feature is a nice touch to prevent you from to get too cold while sleeping.

Reminds you when to clean the filter.

Air ionizer is a smart idea and makes you wonder, why did not someone think of this before.

Nice looking unit.

Remote control adds a level of convenience, but it’s the temperature display right on the remote that’s an added bonus. Plus, having the unit control the temperature right where you’re with the remote is nice.

Small and easy to remove air filter. It slides out from the top.

Energy economical and the increase in my electric bill is less than with other AC units I owned.

Bad Points:

Can not speak French. (Honeymooners’ reference.)

It is somewhat annoying that if the AC is on, you must cycle it to Fan to display the real temperature in the room, , then set it back to AC. There should have been a separate toggle button that could let you to view either the temperature you set or the room temperature right on the AC unit itself. There’s a temperature display on the remote, but when I’m closer to the unit than the remote, I frequently use the unit to see what the temperature in the room is.

The vent is generally closed. It is the 1st AC unit that I have owned that strangely does not have a Vent Open and Vent Closed control. Some my other ACs have Vent Open, Vent Closed, and Exhaust controls. It is not that big a deal, but with all of its other features, I wonder why this basic control was left out.

When you press a button on the unit, the beeps are deafening.

For many people, the Timer feature will be a great thing, but I have been spoiled. The Frigidaire unit I’m reviewing is replacing a Carrier AC that lasted me 21 years! The Carrier worked perfectly from 1988 till the end of summer 2009 , then it broke. I replaced it with this unit.

The Carrier was ahead of its time and it also had a timer. It was an analog timer, but it allowed you to turn the unit on or off, at hour intervals, as many times as you wanted over a 24 hour period. That may sound like overkill, but I could use it to turn the AC on one hour before I came home from work , then shut off two hours afterward, just in case there was many emergency and I did not make it home right after work. Usually, I could come home, the room was nice and cool, , then I could turn the timer off. But just in case, I had the peace of mind knowing the AC could shut off in two hours, instead of staying on all night, if I did not make it home.

You can not do that with the Frigidaire. You simply set a countdown timer and when it reaches zero, the unit will turn on, if it’s off, or turn off, if it’s on. As well, you must set the timer every time you use it. With the Carrier, you could set the programmed times once, , then just turn the timer on when you wanted to activate it. Again, this isn’t that big of a deal and many people may not use the Timer.

The big disadvantage for me and the only thing that prevented me from giving the unit a 5 Star ranking was that the air directional controls are totally awful. I am talking about the opening at the top of the unit where the air blows out from. I honestly can not understand how such a nice unit may be so deficient in this regard. They really missed the ship on this one.

All the ACs I have had over the years had alike air direction controls and they all worked great. Just, they all had little handles, where you could rotate the vent flaps either left or right. Then there were also up/down flaps, where you could direct the air to blow upward. The bottom line is that you could control the direction of the air flow beautifully.

With the Frigidaire, they promote it as 8 way air control. If you look at the picture you may be able to see that you may control the left and right vents individually. So the left vent may be controlled left right up down and that is four ways. Then the same for the right vent, makes eight ways. Well, it sounds good on paper, but the vents simply do a bad job of. Read more ›

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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars Nice features, great price, 8000 BTU, October 4, 2010
By Chris See all my reviews () This review is from: Frigidaire FRA086AT7 8,000 BTU Mini Compact Window Air Conditioner (Kitchen) The best thing about this little AC unit is the “remote sensing” feature. It has a thermometer on the remote control and can use that as the input for the thermostat, set the remote in the center of the room and it’ll keep it at an temperature. It also has an “econo mode” setting and a “clean air” ionic air filter. It’s small, comparatively calm, and the 8000 BTU’s do a great job keeping the place cool (it hardly ever runs in econo mode but still keeps it cold). This unit was only $10 more than the equivalent 6000 BTU Frigidaire unit.

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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of five stars hard ac unit, August 29, 2010
By ManchesterUnited08 (Brooklyn, NY) See all my reviews () This review is from: Frigidaire FRA086AT7 8,000 BTU Mini Compact Window Air Conditioner (Kitchen) I do not have many of experience with window a/c units, but this little man looks to do alright. I moved to Brooklyn newly in the midst of mid 90s heat, into an apt with zero a/c. Units were sold out all over town (except in overpriced expertise stores) so I had this unit rush delivered. The quality looks pretty good, given the relative low cost. I have the installed in my bedroom and it keeps the complete room chilly (68 F) on the lowest fan setting. Another plus is that I have not been bothered by any water dripping inside or out of the unit, which was a problem of mine in other units.

The one negative I have is the volume of the lowest setting. I wish there was another setting lower that was a bit quieter.

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