[Ramboman55]

I have a two yr old house which of course has a 2 yr old air conditioner. It is a Lennox Merit Series 14acx. I was told by a service tech that the capacitors tend to go out between 3 and 5 yrs. He said they have cheap "chinese" capacitors in their units. I have read that Genteq capacitors are great. Anyone know of a local distributor that does carry them? Also, in general how do the Lennox air conditioners perform in the first say.... 5 yrs ? Anyone need their "capacitor" changed ? thanks for any comments and advice

[Camaro5]

We had a Lennox AC unit and furnace installed about 10 years ago at our house in Illinois. Both units get serviced every year and they've required some new parts over the years.

I believe the capacitor was changed in the AC unit after about 6-7 years. Last year they put on something called a compressor saver which helps with the voltage surge when the unit kicks on.

Generally, they've been okay but I expected Lennox to be a little better, but that might be expecting too much.

[usnftcret]

My house was built in 2008 with 2 lennox units. No issues so far. I make sure the fins are clean and remove all debris in the fans. I did notice the start/run capacitors are looking old.

[zumaboy]

The capacitors will go on pretty much any unit because they get baked by the LV heat. Fortunately it's a pretty quick (and relatively cheap) repair to change them out.

[WestieJeff]

Capacitors and contactors will typically be the first items to go out on any AC unit. I'm 12 years into a Bryant unit and still on my originals however.

I order them online and keep a spare of both for all units. If you're handy and comfortable working in an area with high voltage electrical, they aren't difficult to swap out. I think the typical cost for a guy to come out and change either is $150-$200. The parts are usually around $30. I mainly keep it on hand because I can swap it a lot quicker than they can get a tech out, especially in the summer.

[Ramboman55]

Wow since 2008 that is a long time You do live in the las vegas area usnftcret?

[Ramboman55]

thanks westiejeff yes I can change the capacitor out for sure. Where online or in las vegas can i pick one up? I have researched capacitors and found the Genteq line to be well built in the USA and is rated to last about 60,000 hours. AGainI appreciate anything you can tell me.

[WestieJeff]

In town, check out Appliance Parts Center off Eastern/95. Online, I usually go on eBay or repairclinic.com. Better pricing online if you don't have an immediate need.

Originally Posted by Ramboman55

thanks westiejeff yes I can change the capacitor out for sure. Where online or in las vegas can i pick one up? I have researched capacitors and found the Genteq line to be well built in the USA and is rated to last about 60,000 hours. AGainI appreciate anything you can tell me.

[yellowsnow]

My AC went out one July and an AC guy came out to give me an estimate and said I needed to replace a motor and it would be between 3 and 4 hundred dollars. I had read about capacitor failures. Trying to be a smart consumer, I then called another AC guy for an estimate and when he came out I acted like I knew what I was talking about and told him I was pretty sure it was just a capacitor. Sure enough, that's all it needed. Cost me about 1 hundred to fix. And of course, I hired the 2nd guy. The honest one! But if I hadn't acted like I knew what was wrong he might have tried to scam me too!

My unit is a Lennox and it was installed at the end of 2008. So far all it's needed is the 1 capacitor. The installation was pretty cool. They came out with a crane! The unit that came with the house was over 20 years old and was probably 0 efficiency from back when power was cheap!

[Ramboman55]

Well thats great news yellowsnow. It shows you live in Vegas. Do you have a 14acx lennox air conditioner? or is it 16 seer or more?