Its true what they say, AC units only breakdown on the weekend

August 26, 2023, 03:48 PM

quote:
Originally posted by straightshooter01:
For a person doing it themselves it may not be as clear cut, but for someone waiting two days and paying hundreds of dollars for a service call, it is a no brainer to pay the $40 even it only lasts twice as long.

Agreed.

August 26, 2023, 06:33 PM

egregore

Days like this are what early afternoon matinee movies are for.

August 26, 2023, 06:46 PM

V-Tail

quote:
Originally posted by egregore:

Days like this are what early afternoon matinee movies are for.

Late 1960's I was working in Puerto Rico. Rented house was not air conditioned. If it got REALLY hot, we woud go to a movie.

August 26, 2023, 07:22 PM

alteon180e

quote:
Originally posted by selogic:
I have a contactor and two capacitors , along with a bottle of turbine oil . I'll go down fighting ...

LOL. my exact sentiments. They usually wait for the weekends, and usually present a slight deviation from the last KO.

i think ive added a few more parts over the years, and have a portable A/C for hurricanes in case it goes greek tragedy on me..

August 26, 2023, 07:24 PM

sigcrazy7

If you desire a U.S. made capacitor, you can still get AmRad caps. I keep extras of every size, from 5uf up to 80uf, so if any go out in an apartment, I'm ready.

https://www.amazon.com/Round-U...+%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-3

One of the reasons the Chinese ones fail often is because of quality issues, but also because some are built cheaper as only 370v caps. You should always install a cap rated for 440v, even if your system had a 370v cap. 370s are running right at their design limit. Even when Chinese ones are labeled 440v, I don't trust them to be honest. They're Chinese, after all.

August 26, 2023, 09:20 PM

JYuma

Went through the same thing just last weekend. Fan and capacitor both went out. Every HVAC parts store was closed until Monday. Hottest weekend of the year. We had to stay at a hotel Sat & Sun at $150/night. Monday morning my husband got the parts, another $162, and had it fixed by Monday afternoon. The house was about 98 degrees and took 7 hrs to cool back down. Luckily he’s a pipe-fitter who used to be an electrician so he knew how to install it. Couldn’t imagine what an HVAC shop would’ve charged.

August 26, 2023, 10:51 PM

straightshooter01

quote:
Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
If you desire a U.S. made capacitor, you can still get AmRad caps. I keep extras of every size, from 5uf up to 80uf, so if any go out in an apartment, I'm ready.

https://www.amazon.com/Round-U...+%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-3

One of the reasons the Chinese ones fail often is because of quality issues, but also because some are built cheaper as only 370v caps. You should always install a cap rated for 440v, even if your system had a 370v cap. 370s are running right at their design limit. Even when Chinese ones are labeled 440v, I don't trust them to be honest. They're Chinese, after all.

Nice. The MARS are good but these AmRad are also USA made and available on Amazon. The MARS are only sold via distributors I think. Folks should really consider buying one of these two brands and save a lot of money and headaches down the road. And support USA. Don't see a rated life in hours but they do have a 5 year warranty, the MARS have a rated life of 60,000 hours.

August 27, 2023, 07:28 PM

HRK

quote:
Originally posted by MikeGLI:
Unit quit blowing cold air. Condenser isnt firing up. Of course, it's fucking Friday and all I want to do is relax for the weekend.

Here we go.

AH don't sweat it

you got a Hurrycane on the way gonna be here Tuesday/Wednesday, Idalia is on the way! Got the Generator out and fired it up, need to change the oil tomorrow, picked up 15 gallons of fuel....

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