On 08/17/2015 12:58 AM, Tom Gardner wrote:
On 8/16/2015 9:33 AM, Robert Nichols wrote:
On 08/15/2015 06:18 PM, Tom Gardner wrote:
Yep! I once had a AC company do a free estimate on my condenser pump
that wouldn't start. I told him I suspected the cap and asked him how
much to just replace the cap and he had a spare on his truck. He wanted
$327 with no guarantee. I waited until Monday and got one from Grainger
for $27.

Even worse, during an annual maintenance visit I was told that my
capacitor was getting weak (True, it was.). I asked how much for a
new one and was told $50 for the part and, get this, $70 labor to
install it. The guy had the old part out of the machine to measure
it. No charge to put the old cap back in the machine, but $70 to
do the same thing with a new one. I told him, "No, thanks," and
found a seller on eBay that would send me two (2) exact replacements
for a total of $15.60 with free shipping. The first of those has
been in use for 2 Summers now, with no sign of a problem.


I have to replace my dual cap every 2 years, why don't they last?

They're pushed within an inch of their lives on voltage rating
(Measure the voltage across one some time -- you'll be surprised.),
and baked in the sun on hot, Summer days. They would last a lot
longer in a more hospitable environment.

--
Bob Nichols AT comcast.net I am "RNichols42"