Questions re Winder A/C Unit

[expos4ever]

While I just posted something about a problem I'm having with an air conditioner at home, this post is about an entirely different issue. I am giving a friend of mine an old window unit that I have in storage and have not used for about 10 years. I'm not sure whether it still works and my first question is can I test this by simply plugging the unit in on the floor inside and checking to see if cold air comes out from the front vents where it is supposed to? I realize, of course, that you cannot use an air conditioner this way but I wonder if it's good enough to at least get a feeling as to whether the air conditioner is actually cooling air. I would strongly suspect that if you run the air conditioner this way for too long, you risk damaging it so it only run it for, say, 5 minutes. Is there any other way I can test this unit to see if it still works without going to the hassle of actually installing it in a window?

Assuming that the air conditioner still works, I have another question about this whole issue of sealing off the open space” after the air conditioner has been positioned. When I have done this in the past, I have generally carefully measured the dimensions of the space that needs to be filled, and created a rectangular panel of wood that I would insert and then use caulking to seal. Is there any more convenient way to do this? For example, I would expect that it might be at least possible that there is some kind of flexible film that would be easier to work with. I know that I see people actually using garbage bags to seal off the hole, but that seems like a bad idea for a number of reasons. Any suggestions in this respect would be greatly appreciated.

 

[billshack]

listen just put the ac unit on a table and plug it in and turn it on . there should be hot air coming out the back end and cool air coming out of the front end. if it works instal in a window and seal up the open parts with wood or carboard and seal with duct tape