u/SubstantialValue0

I was given a non-functional Midea Duo air conditioner. No error codes, fan works but compressor does seem to turn on (based on no compressor sound). After doing some research, I think the most likely problem might be the relay or the capacitor. I opened it up and realized the electronics are in a metal box hidden deep behind a bunch of wires and connectors. I tried to get in there but it seems like a big job. Does anyone have any experience with this and have any hints? In the photos, the grey metal box is behind the black plastic panel which is behind those white connectors. You can see the outline of the grey box. Am I on the right track?

My swing out window is about 5 feet off the ground so I had the original Midea dual hose rising up and out the window. It was too short so I extended it with flexible hose. The problem is that when I roll down my roller blinds the hose is so fat that it interfered with the blinds. I took several months to design and build my own hose system and window panel. I'm pretty proud of what I did so I wanted to share some photos and the journey to get here.

I searched online for ideas and parts so I could build something that would work for me. I also wanted it to look nice since it is in my living room permanently all year since I have the Midea model that does cooling and heating. I couldn't find anything so I decided to make it from scratch.

I bought a 3D printer and learned how to design parts. The 3D printer can only print relatively small parts (less and 1 feet square) so it took many parts to complete this. I used PETG filament for the 3D printed parts since it can withstand the exhaust heat and UV light.

The dual hose:

- I made the hose to be as slim as possible (so my blinds can go over it, but the overall volume to match the original intake and exhaust hoses.

- The hardest part was making a piece to connect to the body of the air conditioner, then making a smooth transition backwards towards the window so that the blinds can roll down as far as possible. The design of the pieces weren't a perfect fit, so I made some extra fittings, lined them up and bonded them together. In the end, the hose fit the air conditioner body perfectly.

- I made the outside vents so the exhaust air vents upwards and the intake vent faces down, since I didn't want hot air to enter back in the intake vent. This wouldn't be good in the rain, but works for me because my vents are covered overhead by my swing out window and the whole window opens out to a covered balcony.

- I noticed the original Midea hose has a grid on the intake hose so I made a honeycomb grid for the intake and exhaust vents.

- I printed some mounting brackets so I can use the original screw holes to mount the hose to the body of the air conditioner. I epoxied the bracket onto the base of my hose but I ended up not putting the screws in since gravity was holding it on pretty well.

- I experimented on how to combine all these 3D printed parts. I think there was over 20 pieces. Most of the pieces took over 12 hours each to print. To glue them together, I tried superglue, epoxy putty, wood putty, liquid epoxy, and bondo. I found the best was liquid epoxy to hold the pieces together and bondo to fill the seams and other imperfections. Then lot of sanding, primer and spray paint.

The window panel:

- I'm on a upper floor of a high-rise condo, since my window opens to my balcony, I have access to working on the outside so I decided to make a dual panel for my window.

- I put one acrylic panel on the outside. I 3D printed a rectangle trim just large enough to fit the window opening, then screwed the outside panel to the trim. I put acrylic panel on the inside of the window and also screwed that to the 3D printed trim. So it's basically a sandwich of panels on the window casing.

- I cut an opening through both panels to match the shape of my hose. I 3D printed a trim piece to go between the two panels to mount the intake and exhaust vents as well as the main body of the hose.

All done:

- I finished about a week ago.

- I've only used it for a few hours, but so far it works great!

- My wife didn’t say anything when I installed it. She thinks that I bought it that way. I made it in my parents’ garage, a little every time I visited. She didn’t want me to buy a 3D printer so I didn’t say a word about it while I worked on it for many months.

- I'd love to hear what you think.