Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-24-2019, 12:41 PM
 
Location: Mesa AZ
294 posts, read 218,625 times
Reputation: 906

Advertisements

I have a 23 year old heat pump that I have been able to keep going by using a couple of window units to ease the load. I have had to replace the capacitors a few times and I keep spare ones at all times. You must discharge them prior to replacing. I looked into a new unit a few years ago and all the reviews for all manufacturers were bad, really bad!!!. Many people had to have new units repaired over and over and wished they had just kept their old unit a little longer. Some of them were charged for the Freon recharge after the repair even while under warranty. And most manufacturers will not transfer the warranty to a new homeowner.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-24-2019, 01:46 PM
 
15,754 posts, read 20,346,743 times
Reputation: 20895
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChessieMom View Post
That said, a 20 year old system is probably best replaced.
I had a plumber in to change out a water heater valve. Normally I DIY, but I also try not to mess with natural gas too much for peace of mine.

Anyway I was asking about my 30 year old heating system and he told me to not change it out unless I start having major problems with it. It was probably more durable than anything he would replace it with.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2019, 02:58 PM
 
Location: Arlington
380 posts, read 417,724 times
Reputation: 833
I love this entire thread!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2019, 08:59 PM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
32,846 posts, read 36,153,303 times
Reputation: 43630
My son figured it out in about 5 minutes, but he builds ambulances for a living.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-30-2019, 09:52 AM
 
Location: Riverside Ca
22,146 posts, read 33,381,488 times
Reputation: 35433
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunbather View Post
while a home capacitor for a home ac unit is relatively easy to replace, I also wouldn't recommend it to someone who doesn't actually know what they are doing or have a little bit of know-how.
If you can follow directions it’s doable by anyone. Sure capacitors are something to be careful around, but I had plenty of people who were told their AC is done for and all ot really was needed was a capacitor.
Unfortunately the AC industry is rife with shysters looking for a quick buck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-30-2019, 10:03 AM
 
28,623 posts, read 18,677,825 times
Reputation: 30904
My grandfather taught me to DIY 'way back in the 60s.

About 25 years ago, our washer started acting up. It wouldn't process through its cycles.

That was, of course, before YouTube.

I pulled off the control panel cover and then pulled off the cycle control dial....

...and about 30 tiny tumbler pins fell out into my hand.

Ah, crap.

But it only took a little while to figure out how the different lengths and shapes of the pins pushed and released the rotary leaf switches around the dial to turn the cycle functions on and off.

Kind of an interesting puzzle. I could then figure out which switch was defective and buy a replacement.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-31-2019, 01:51 PM
 
Location: Riding a rock floating through space
2,660 posts, read 1,544,205 times
Reputation: 6359
Quote:
Originally Posted by NC211 View Post
The night I realized it was not blowing cold anymore, I went outside to look the the compressor first. I have an Ecobee thermostat, so I was able to turn the ac on/off via my phone while standing there. First thing I noticed is the fan was spinning. I shut off the unit via the phone, I heard a click. I turned it back on, and heard the click again. I then found a loose stick and checked to see if the fan blades could move freely, which they could. I then shut it down for good.

Two conclusions I came to. (1) I could hear the compressor coming on/off (that click), (2) the fan motor was not seized up (blades could spin easily). So that led me to believe either the fan motor shorted out (doubtful), loose connection to the fan motor (maybe), or the capacitor had crapped out after 3 days of heat indexes of 110 and knowing the capacitor was at least 4 years old (how long we’ve owned the house), possibly even older than that.

The very day we signed the offer on our old house to sell it, one of our units did this exact same thing. They were only 4 years old (house was built in 2011, we sold in 2015). Called a guy who was working on a new build nearby, he came out and sure enough it was the capacitor and that’s when I learned about them. I recalled him saying that 90% of the time when you can hear the compressor kicking on and the blades can be moved freely with a stick, it’s the capacitor.

It wasn’t terribly hot that night, I couldn’t see well enough, too tired to mess with it. Went to bed and was out there at sunrise to take the panel off. Instantly knew it was the capacitor when I saw it. The top was buldged out. At close inspection, there are 3 connectors each labeled. The one that said “fan” was the high point of the blowout.

Was easy after that. And took the time to rinse the fins with a evap foaming cleaner and the hose (they were dirty). Put the new capacitor in, put the panel back on, put the breaker fuse back in, grabbed the phone and turned it on. Fired right up and running like clockwork again.
I bet that was a great feeling seeing it fire up with the new capacitor. Those technicians were crooks, it's terrible they didn't spend any time with a diagnosis, just said "20 years old, who cares what's wrong time for a new $5k unit!" Horrible how they take advantage of ignorance.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:21 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top