It's really hard for anyone out here to judge the necessity of part
replacement without seeing the part. If the contacts are not being pulled in
completely, because the contactor is worn out, it could damage the motor.
You have to have some faith in service people. I think the guy is trying to
do preventive maintenance. As far as his charge, I get $125 for a service
charge not including parts



"jymusic" wrote in message
news:avsbg.65$zg5.3@trndny04...
My mom and I both live in the same complex. We likely have the same exact
model of central A/C condensor (around 19 years old). Mine says Carrier
38EN048320.

We both had a tuneup scheduled and, in addition to the regular tune-up,
the technician recommended the EXACT same extra work on both our units,
which makes use wonder if the extra work was really necessary and the
price was really reasonable.

On mine, the maintenance technician showed me that the contactor was
buzzing. The old part says "8726 Honeywell R824381247 (3) 24V 50/60ZH
HN51DC024A"

He also recommended putting in a condensate trap, which is a clear U
shaped trap in the condensate line.

I went along with it and let him do both jobs and so did my mom.

1) Was wondering if the contactor making a buzzing sound is really a
problem? I don't know much about these, but the two "circular metal
(silver?) pieces" on the old contactor do look like they have some grime
or maybe carbon on or oxidation. Does the buzzing mean the electromagnet
is struggling to pull the piece against the "metal circular (silver?)
pieces" to make a connection? Was $128 a good/fair price for replacement
or too high? I see he wrote down that he put in "a 2 pole 30a
contactor"...the original was 24a...was 30a really necessary?

2) Is the "ez flow P-trap" condensate trap is going to be of much added
benefit? Was $99 a good/fair price for installation or too high?

3) By the way, wondering if you any can tell me how many tons my unit is,
based on the model number?

Thanks,

J.