"Bill" wrote in message
...
Steve wrote:
You are fortunate that you can do the work for yourself, and don't
have
to rely on locating a good tech. As we have discussed before, the
waters
are treacherous!

Only when you are trying to shark HVAC companies for a cheap or a free
fix.

Certainly no sharking going on at this end. In my 3 years of home
ownership and 3 HVAC calls, I promise you that I have never been given a
cheap or free fix. And frankly, I never expected one.

If all these companies were crooked...They would be put out of
business for lack of Bonding. I for one am damned tired of working my
ass off and then seeing some dip**** here ****ing on our industry.


I'm not doing that, maybe it's just trickling down? I think it's fair to
say that the industry will reap what it sows. I sense a greater need for
regulation, and I'm rather conservative. I bought a new multi-meter
(/capacitor tester) today.


So you bought a new meter to check capacitors.... that was a real good
use
of your time and money... The cost of a decent meter that you *might*
need
tocheck a $20 capacitor... is as much as the cost of a service call and
capacitor replacement. I am missing the part where you are saving
anything
here.

The unit, Sperry DM6450 - 9 function, was on sale for $45 at Menards.
An AC service call is $89, and my last capacitor (installed) cost $280.
I thought we (almost) agreed that 10P was the absolute minimum! : )
And, having my own unit, I won't even need to wait two days for someone to
check it. You think this is a poor investment of time and money? It was
only 2 miles to the store, so for the dollar value of my time, it makes
sense for me maybe not for you.

As someone who enjoys using his hands, I'm sure I'll find other uses for
the multimeter too. It's a nice improvement from the Radio Shack cheapie I
bought for myself for about $8 in 1978, which eats batteries as long as
you leave them in. I'm sure I'll also learn something from the new tool as
I experiment with it as I'm interested in electronics.

As far as the "might need" part, as you may have pointed out, it's really
just a matter of "when". If I could start over with my $280 capacitor, I
would handle it differently. Live and learn. $280 capacitors are fine for
people who can afford them I guess. At this point, I don't see how a
homeowner can afford not to be able to check a capacitor on his or her
own. As you have said, the cooling unit is the most expensive appliance in
the house. Last week I suggested to a friend to check his (dual)
capacitor, and he was able to repair his AC unit for $17.50. THAT was
actually the tipping point which made me decide to own a better
multimeter. I'm a "tool guy" anyway so $45 is not a huge amount of money
to me for a good tool. I paid almost as much for a torque wrench which
doesn't see much duty, and twice as much for a Starrett combination
square, and I have no regrets. But I see the potential of paying $280 a
second time for a bad capacitor as just a waste of a tech's valuable time.
I can't even make myself pay $185 for a Veritas router plane, and I really
would like one of those! : )

It actually probably makes sense for many people (those that won't hurt
themselves) to have extra capacitors (one for the fan motor and one for
the compressor motor) on the shelf and ready to go--don't you think?
Together they would cost less than a tank of gas, and they they would have
very little down time when a capacitor goes bad. It seems like cheap
insurance. If they buy the multimeter ($45) and both capacitors (for say
$35) and ever use either capacitor then they would come out $200 ahead,
and still have a multimeter and a capacitor on hand! Are you still
sticking with your hyperbole about my use of time and money? : ) I know
how to use a torch too, but I'm not going there today...lol.


I said a *DECENT* meter.... Fluke and UEI meters that are capacitance
capable, run around $250 a copy.
If your dual-run capacitor goes bad, and you replace it with a good quality
440v one, not the cheapest chinese POS you can find, you should never have
to worry with it again.

You just continue on your merry little way...