"Ken" wrote in message
. ..
Smarty wrote:

"JayN" wrote in message
...
I had my Central A/C tuned up at the beginning of June. It has been
working nicely, I still am getting cooling. My unit is a 4 ton
Carrier system. It is an older system that uses R22.

Today, I happened to take a peak through the top of the condenser
unit, and noticed that there is a crack in the metal case of light
grey colored cylindrical part.

Here are links to 2 photos:

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeofpch/cracked_ac.jpg

and

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeofpch/cracked_ac2.jpg

What part is this? Does the crack in the metal case mean failure will
soon happen...if so how soon? What is the brown stuff I see on the
side of this part below the crack...is this oil? Do I have a freon
leak?

Nobody mentioned this during my tune-up. From the looks of it, it's
hard to believe the crack didn't exist at the beginning of the month
at all, and they didn't need to add any freon because pressure was
fine, and I'm still getting adequate cooling as far as I can tell.

Does anything need to be done?

Thanks,

Jay

Jay,

I am guessing that the light-colored cylindrical part you have
photographed is a large electrolytic capacitor, typically used to start
the outdoor condensing unit. It is very difficult to tell from the photo
you provided. It could be a receiver/drier, a low ambient kit, or other
refrigerant part, but I doubt it.

It is very unlikely that you are leaking freon based on your comment that
cooling is adequate. My advice would also be to not worry about this
item. If and when it does fail, you will need to deal with it then, most
likely with a complaint that your outdoor condensing unit does not appear
to be operating.

Maybe some of the "experts" on this newsgroup can offer better advice.
Based on my participation on Usenet and Arpanet dating back to the
1980's, I must say that I have never seen a more pathetic collection of
people than I have encountered here. Many questions are answered with
snide, sarcastic remarks by people have sniffed far too many chlorinated
and fluorinated hydrocarbons. Some questions are ignored altogether. You
might consider posing your question at alt.home.repair or one of the HVAC
forums on the Internet. This newsgroup is about as dysfunctional as any I
have every seen.

Smarty



I will not venture an opinion on what the item is in the original post,
but I WILL agree that this newsgroup is unlike any other I have read. The
general view by most, is that a question is posted so that the poster can
avoid hiring a HVAC pro. Having read many replies to questions posted, I
can understand why someone would want to avoid such an action. They
probably fear that one they would hire might turn out to be one of the
sarcastic "Pros." Not only have many of the replies been not helpful,
many have suggested actions that would make the situation worse. It is
one thing to refuse to give an opinion or help, but quite another to
suggest an action that would damage the unit or cost needless money.

The poster in this thread never suggested for a minute that he was about
to fix the unit himself, he simply was trying to ascertain if he had a
serious problem and if it needed immediate attention. Most often the
recommendation is that a poster hire a pro when he posts a question. That
is probably good advice in MOST situations. But even when a poster
reports on a job that a pro had done and whose results were poor, the
poster is criticized for having chosen the wrong pro. In other words:
Don't do anything yourself, hire a pro. But if the pro did lousy work, it
is YOUR fault for having chosen the wrong pro. I cannot understand how a
person who learned a trade, and presumably is proud of his trade, can
ignore bad work by others in that trade.

In recognition to the few in this newsgroup who have replied with civil
replies, your comments are duly recognized. To those who post to mislead
or cause harm, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Now have at it and post your vulgarities and wise remarks, as it appears
that many of you have few customers to service. I wonder why???


Oh boy, another asshole who *thinks* everybody deserves FREE advice on
everything and *if* they don't get that, we should be condemed.
Hey Putz, I have a question, are you Stormy's long lost brother?