Bad CAPACITOR or

that thing-a-ma-gig that makes the a/c cool the house.

It seems like every two years, almost like clockwork, our central a/c dies and the man comes, looks it over, bangs around on this and that, and then comes and announces, "it's a bad CAPASITOR, it'll run about $70 to replace. Would you like me to fix it?"

I always want to say, no, I don't want it fixed, I was just curious why there was no cool air coming from the floor vents.... OF COURSE I WANT IT FIXED....that was the whole idea when I called your company to come for a visit....duh.

So, JIMMY.....what is a capacitor? How comes it breaks every couple years? Please give me the simple, "little woman" answer, not the complicated answer for someone who knows about mechanical stuff. And what does it mean that the compressor has a little trouble with higher amperage on start up? The guy was talking but lost me long before he got to the end of his story. I just want the furnace and a/c to end up being the next owner's problem. I am so done with caring about repairs or things in need of replacement in this house.

The man could not even check to see if he should add some refrigerant because it was only 55 degrees outside when he was here and he said they can't check the refrigerant levels unless its over 65. So, IF there was a leak, too bad. If it doesn't cool the house when it gets hot again I can always call for another service call. Sigh.......

IDK but that is why I rent.  

Man, oh, man...why is it even what you said sounds like a Greek speech to me?

I think I am the most mechanically inept person in the world. Now I'm feeling bad I even asked the question, because I should be able to follow a simplified explanation. Oh well, maybe after I read it another dozen times or so it will start to make sense to me.

But thanks for trying, Jimmy. It's not you.....it's me. Lol

bethk wrote:Man, oh, man...why is it even what you said sounds like a Greek speech to me?

I think I am the most mechanically inept person in the world.  Now I'm feeling bad I even asked the question, because I should be able to follow a simplified explanation.  Oh well, maybe after I read it another dozen times or so it will start to make sense to me.

But thanks for trying, Jimmy.  It's not you.....it's me.   Lol

That's ok...

Here is a good one for cleaning the coil....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_xR4ScC6I4

Most people neglect this, and shamefully...so do service people / companies.

ONE clue to "Do I Need Freon?"
When the unit is running outside...typical 80 degree day ... the larger pipe should be either cold at the unit, and sometimes sweats. That is GOOD Indication you have enough charge of refrigerant.

ALSO Inside...the leaving air temperature should be 17 to 20 degrees cooler than the air entering the indoor coil furnace blower whatever you have.
With the system running 10 minutes, if you stick a thermometer in the air intake and it reads lets say 75 degrees and then with the same thermometer stick it in the cool air coming out...it should read 17 to 20 degrees colder than the entering air. i.e. 55 degrees would be perfect. Of course that is with a clean filter.

Ok, so the a/c turned on, it got warm enough.

The thermostat says the air temp is 76 degrees.

I stuck an instant read thermometer in the floor vent. The air coming through the vent is at 59 degrees. Does that mean I don't need to call and have them add refrigerant to our a/c system?

And everyone in the house wonders why the chair right next to the floor vent is MY chair....as in, GET OUTTA MY CHAIR !!! LOL

bethk wrote:Ok, so the a/c turned on, it got warm enough.  

The thermostat says the air temp is 76 degrees.

I stuck an instant read thermometer in the floor vent.  The air coming through the vent is at 59 degrees.  Does that mean I don't need to call and have them add refrigerant to our a/c system?  

And everyone in the house wonders why the chair right next to the floor vent is MY chair....as in, GET OUTTA MY CHAIR !!!  LOL

17 degree temperature difference sounds good to me Beth!

If you were to go outside...and the larger pipe is cold and sweating, then you are in like flint! No Need to add refrigerant.

Well I'll Be Darned... We'll send you back to the Villages as "The A/C Lady"
See... here is what we will do.
You wear a Camera On your forhead like a dashcam.
You Go to your customers and as you look at the unit, you transmit Skype it to me, and I will guide you to the problem as I see it in my monitor. hahahahahahahahahaha.... We'll Call it "Service Cam"... You need not have to know a thing about anything....just hahaha point your head in the problem, and all set to be in business.
Hey! They do surgery with TV Cams...Right?? LOL SOoooo Funny!

OK, so let's move on to the refrigerator thread....next problem up for discussion, oh, repair Guru.....

Forgive me, but I keep thinking of Christopher Lloyd's "flux capacitor" in the movie Back to the Future.

One of my favorite parts is (when he is trying to ascertain if Michael J. Fox was indeed from the future) when he asks Fox, "Who's the President?" and he responds, "Ronald Reagan," to which Lloyd responds hysterically with "The actor?" I still laugh even when I see it re-run and I've seen it a dozen times!

Speaking of Michael J. Fox....I just saw where he's returning to TV. I've always enjoyed him, ever since he was Alex P. Keaton. Loved watching him grow up.