A quick tip if you want to minimize the number of repairs. If a motor dies, replace all the start components as well. The old ones might be fully functional and even test good but when the motor quit it likely weakened them. Similarly, if one start component fails then just replace all of them for the same reason. A failing start cap or run cap can really beat up the start relay so even if it works temporarily, it will often fail later. Also if you notice that you keep having to replace start components for a particular motor then that motorcis starting to fail. We see that all the time with compressors in particular. A hard start kit can help in that case but it shouldn’t be considered a fix.
Comment on 98 degrees upstairs, ac stopped working at 8am.
Shady_Shiroe@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
My 20 year old AC breaks once a year, at this point it’s the ship of theseus. One year it’s the capacitor on condensor, then condensor fan motor, then fan motor that circulates air instead, then circuit board that controls all HVAC functions, then capacitor for circulation fan. Every year, when the heat hits strong, something breaks, I have become proficient in diagnosting HVAC system at this point.
Canonical_Warlock@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 weeks ago
Shady_Shiroe@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The breakages happen a year apart when the summer heat gets bad, if we were going to replace a lot of components at once, at that point we could have just got a new system entirely as this one is really old
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 4 weeks ago
If you’re going through multiple condensers a decade you need a new air conditioner. From a different manufacturer operating on a different continent.
Shady_Shiroe@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
We don’t replace the whole thing, only the part that broke, and again, this system is 20+ years old
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Yeah, at some point I would suggest replacing the unit as a whole rather than throwing parts at it constantly. For me, that point would come when the system can’t survive a season.