bad timing

tmbg · Post by **tmbg** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:24 pm

so, as some of you may or may not know, georgia's having a heck of a heat wave. 98 degree highs every day.

So, of course, my AC system is dead. Compressor won't even run. It's all quite old and has been needing replacement for some time, but of course I wait until the worst possible moment, right?

Anyway, anyone have any suggestions as to how to go about this? I have no clue what it will cost. Should I try to get it done this weekend, or should i wait til monday to avoid getting overcharged? Any suggestions on who to call? I'm completely in the dark here :/

tshort · Post by **tshort** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:33 pm

Is it the central AC for the house? My 15+ y/o system died in the same situation a few years ago; it turns out it was this huge capacitor that is mounted in the outside unit. Cost like 150-200$. Got another 5 years out of the unit.

You're in a tough spot, being a heat wave, after hours, and with those guys knowing you need a system. Do you have Angies List or some such for the area? I am lucky in that a good friend / RV4 pilot owns an HVAC business and replaced my system last year. It still ran 4500$ or so for the entire system (including gas furnace).

T.

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 4:24 pm

I would call a few guys and ask them all to come as soon as they can during regular business hours.

Whenever there is a heat snap, those guys are straight out. I was the regular electrician for a local HVAC contractor. Sometimes they don't even do the billing until things cool down!

My wife would want it back on PRONTO! Me? I could wait. If it was THAT bad, I would get some window shakers for the time being.

Your best bet is to wait for regular business hours. Weekend rate is CRAZY!

Lemme know what you do and what it costs!

CJ

tmbg · Post by **tmbg** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 6:33 pm

ok here's the breakdown:

$150 for a 10kbtu window unit, so I have an 80 degree base of operations (my bedroom). Without that, I surely wouldn't have been able to accomplish anything.

Started poking around the compressor, found that the dog had chewed through the bell wire that runs the contactor. Figured it'd be an easy fix, so I pulled the disconnect and started hooking up test leads around the chew to see if I could get the contactor to close. I couldn't.

Confirmed 24VAC on the bell wire from the transformer, so I pulled the cover off the compressor and started poking around. I managed to find the right magic to make the contactor close, so I plugged the disconnect back in to test it out, and it EXPLODED and spit fire at me!

I went down to the panel, and the main breaker had tripped, not the 40A AC breaker. Reset the main, and the house didn't come back to life. I had to kill the AC breaker, then reset the main, then turning the AC breaker back on didn't pop anything, so I went outside and tried again.

Tried to plug the disconnect back in, and more fire spitting. Same ritual at the panel.

SO, I went to Lowe's and bought a new breaker (in case the breaker was bad, weird that it didn't trip but the main did) and a new disconnect box, and a new liquidproof whip, and some "Smurf Tube" plastic conduit to shield the bell wire from curious aussie teeth.

I then went home and pulled the old disconnect box off the house, and the problem was apparent: some doofus had routed one of the hot lines (just one! I guess it was too short for him to work with) through a 1/4" mounting hole in the box with no sort of bushing, and it had abraded through and was shorting to the box when I was pressing the disconnect in. Replaced the disconnect box and whip, got everything all mounted up happy, then threw the AC breaker and no explosions! So I went up and plugged the disconnect in, and still no explosions! I then closed the contactor on the compressor, and it came to life. Yanked the disconnect so I could safely stick my hands back in the compressor.

Finally, I rewired the signal line with some new bell wire than I had lying around, splicing it in to the old line on the house side of the chew, and protecting the run with the smurf tube. I closed the machine back up and plugged the disconnect back in, and it came up happily. Now there's cold air coming out of my vents!

Total cost of the above: $45.

Not bad for a few hours worth of sweat and mosquito bites!

jim_geo · Post by **jim_geo** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 7:42 pm

Here's a Micky Mouse suggestion but it works if only for a week end. A window fan and a big block of ice. Then call for AC repair on Monday.

tmbg · Post by **tmbg** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:38 am

and here's the culprit

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 7:33 am

Ian, I am glad you got it all figured out! Nice chatting with you last night!

When I saw that pic the first time, I didn't know he was an Aussie dog! I couldn't see the lack of a tail.

Here is Wyatt in one of his fuzzier moments. Right now he has a buzz cut.

You can't see the lack of a tail in this pic either.

Good thing the AC was an easy fix!

CJ

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:53 pm

...and a more recent pic of him with his summer cut!

CJ

tmbg · Post by **tmbg** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:28 pm

hehe he looks much happier with his 'cut! Although aussies always look happy anyway

Here's a couple more pics for ya, this is Echo's mother when they were just born:

And him and his sister Roo (my neighbor's girl) when they were a couple weeks old:

Also, I have a funny story for you... these pups are all docked of course, as is their mother, and they all tend to wag their entire ass-end when they're excited. My friend Nicole works in a vet's office, and a customer brought in a young aussie that wasn't docked, and he wagged only his tail. Nicole was very confused and asked the customer 'what's wrong with your dog?' The owner looked confused and said, 'what do you mean?' She replied, 'My friends have aussies, and they wag their whole bodies!'

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:28 pm

HA!

Cool!

I brought Wyatt to a vet (not too experienced) once and she wanted to have his hips checked because he walked crooked!

As Ren would say to Stimpy, "You IIIIDIOT!"

CJ