Hits Just Keep on Coming ... HOT! ... HVAC Quit! ... UPDATE!!!

Bill Arnold

1974
Staff member
Messages
8,622
Location
Thomasville, GA
Our back yard this afternoon . . .
Screenshot 2022-06-23 15.14.48.png

AND , , , After making it through the past few days in pretty good shape, The HVAC compressor bit the dust this morning! Fortunately. our next door neighbor has a window unit in his storage building he's loaning us when he gets home this evening.

The compressor in the heat pump was replaced last November. We're waiting to hear from the HVAC company. It's a good bunch of folks, so we'll get something worked out.
 
That would be no fun. Good to hear the neighbor is loaning you a unit. We've been running one of the stand-alone indoor units upstairs at the house, but planning to have someone come out and quote some mini-splits for each of the rooms up there this next week.
 
AAARRRGGG!!! That is bad this time of year. I have no window units, but I do have a portable ac. Not one of those water coolers but a real ac. Works good, too. This old farm house's insulation is not what it used to be so when it really get hot, the central ac needs little helper and it works well. Good luck on the fix.
 
Yikes, a heat index of 120! I hope you get this resolved soon.

We had mini-splits installed this past February. Before that, we did not have any air conditioning. There were only a week or two where it was really needed. Although we get high daytime temperatures in the 80's and 90's, we also get nightly lows due to the cool evening air from the mountains. Also we do not have the humidity that you get. As Don likes to say, "It's a dry heat". All we need to do is open up the windows when the sun goes down and house cools off rapidly. Only problem is when we have wildfire smoke and you can't open the windows. That was the main reason for getting AC.

By the way there was about 12" inches of snow still on the ground when they came to install the AC.

We are finally starting to heat up a bit. First time in the 80's this year. Here is our current 10 day forecast. Notice the nightly lows.

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I'm betting that it's a capacitor, either the one for the compressor or the one for the outside unit fan. If the fan doesn't operate, the compressor will build up excessive pressure and trip a safety limit. If they left a leak after replacing the compressor, it could be out of refrigerant, and low pressure could trip a limit too. AC units work great if everything works as it should. Shut down is sudden when it isn't. Were you using the AC prior to it shutting down, or did you discover this when trying to run it the first time this year?

Charley
 
... Were you using the AC prior to it shutting down, or did you discover this when trying to run it the first time this year?

Charley
It's a heat pump, so it's in use all year. This problem seemed to rear its ugly head when the 100°F days started.

... Stay cool if you can.
The neighbor's window unit is working well for us. We put it in a master bedroom window that allows us to direct the air toward the door to our family room, so we're sleeping well and reasonably comfortable all day.
 
The capacitor is worth checking. If you don't have the ability to check it, they can be cheap enough that you may even want to just replace it to see. Service guys tend to charge $100+ for the call, plus way too much for the $15-20 cap, plus tax, etc.
 
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For less than the cost of a service call, you can replace the start and run capacitor (sometimes within one container) plus the fan capacitor. There may be limit switches tripped, so reset them too. You will likely be out about $50. If this doesn't work, then it's more serious and a service call is needed. If the start and run capacitors are in one container, be certain to connect the wires exactly the way that they were on the original. Copy the ratings off the labels. The ratings will look like 420 ufd 250 VAC and if two section there will be two listings with a symbol like a triangle or D or similar shape that matches the printed rating to the pin marking on the end terminal. Grainger or a similar industrial supply should have what you need, but don't discount Refrigeration Supply houses, if one is available near you. They may sell to you if you know what you want.

If, after doing this, if you still don't have a working system, be certain to tell the service man what you replaced. When the temperatures get up around 100 deg, getting AC / Heat Pump service can sometimes take days. They get booked up days ahead when it gets very hot or very cold.

Are you certain that power is reaching the unit? Can you measure it somewhere as close as possible (like the service disconnect) at the unit?

Charley
 
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For less than the cost of a service call, you can replace the start and run capacitor ...
To follow up on this, a certified HVAC tech checked the system at no cost thanks to the warranty. He replaced a capacitor on one trip to get the unit restarted. A week later the system failed again, this time being the compressor failure.

If all goes according to plan, a crew should be here this morning to install a new unit. :bounce:
 
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