I recently had my air conditioner (Trane split system, r22 condenser, mfd 4/97)inspected on an Angies's List 20 point inspection for $70. My air conditioner barely cooled the entire 12 years we lived here (we live in California and the temperature is rarely boiling so we rarely use it). They checked it and said it needs to be recharged, estimate $50 per lb., for 8 lbs, and leak checked. After the estimate that was it. I asked if everything else seemed okay, as per the 20 point check. No answer.

At this rate, am I better off fixing it or replacing it? BTW, my house is about 2400 sq ft.

On 4/15/2015 10:24 PM, wrote:
I recently had my air conditioner (Trane split system, r22 condenser, mfd 4/97)inspected on an Angies's List 20 point inspection for $70. My air conditioner barely cooled the entire 12 years we lived here (we live in California and the temperature is rarely boiling so we rarely use it). They checked it and said it needs to be recharged, estimate $50 per lb., for 8 lbs, and leak checked. After the estimate that was it. I asked if everything else seemed okay, as per the 20 point check. No answer.

At this rate, am I better off fixing it or replacing it? BTW, my house is about 2400 sq ft.


Hard to say. New units are more efficient and may pay for itself.
Given the age, anything can go at any time. Get some prices on new
units to start.

On 04/15/2015 09:24 PM, wrote:
I recently had my air conditioner (Trane split system, r22 condenser, mfd 4/97)inspected on an Angies's List 20 point inspection for $70. My air conditioner barely cooled the entire 12 years we lived here (we live in California and the temperature is rarely boiling so we rarely use it). They checked it and said it needs to be recharged, estimate $50 per lb., for 8 lbs, and leak checked. After the estimate that was it. I asked if everything else seemed okay, as per the 20 point check. No answer.

At this rate, am I better off fixing it or replacing it? BTW, my house is about 2400 sq ft.




Since the outfit gave you no indication of whether or not the unit is
actually OK, there is no way you can determine.


I'd go to Angie's list and give the outfit a poor rating, then find one
that knows how to determine the actual condition.


That said: How old is the unit? If it's over 20 years, you might just
be better off getting it replaced

On Wed, 15 Apr 2015 19:24:42 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

At this rate, am I better off fixing it or replacing it?

So you paid $70 and the asshole refused to even answer your questions.
I'd refuse to pay him. If you already did and used a credit card, or
check, cancel the payment. The report the asshole to the BBB and
complain to Angies List as well.

$50 per pound sounds like highway robbery. I bet you can buy a canister
of freon and rent the stuff needed to install it for much less. But does
it really need the freon? After refusing to pay the guy, get a second
opinion.

On 4/15/2015 10:24 PM, wrote:
I recently had my air conditioner (Trane split system,
r22 condenser, mfd 4/97)inspected on an Angies's List 20
point inspection for $70. My air conditioner barely
cooled the entire 12 years we lived here (we live in
California and the temperature is rarely boiling so we
rarely use it). They checked it and said it needs to
be recharged, estimate $50 per lb., for 8 lbs, and leak
checked. After the estimate that was it. I asked if
everything else seemed okay, as per the 20 point check.
No answer.

At this rate, am I better off fixing it or replacing
it? BTW, my house is about 2400 sq ft.


You didn't mention how many BTU or tons is your old
system. You also didn't mention if your residence is
old and drafty, or modern and well insulated. Both are
relevant.

I service HVAC, though I'm in PRNY, not PRC. With a
system that old, it probably needs cleaning. A good
HVAC guy would take the top off your outdoor unit,
mix up some cleaning solution and pour on. There are
three types, I use the purple stuff. For many reasons,
not the pink or green. After three to five minutes,
rinse the solution (and lots of dirt) with a garden
hose. Repeat, the second wash will also get a lot of
dirt.

Most of the time, no refrigerant is needed. Many
techs are big on weigh in a charge, look for leaks,
etc. My first treatment of choice is to chemical clean
the outdoor condenser.

After the condenser is clean, it needs to be dry to
check the refrigrant level. So, the guy should come
back in two or three days to check the "Freon".

BTW, Freon is a brand name, like Sunoco or Pepsi.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 4/15/2015 10:24 PM, wrote:
I recently had my air conditioner (Trane split
system, r22 condenser, mfd 4/97)inspected on an
Angies's List 20 point inspection for $70.


They checked it and said it needs to be recharged,
estimate $50 per lb., for 8 lbs, and leak checked.

At this rate, am I better off fixing it or
replacing it? BTW, my house is about 2400 sq ft.


Questions for you. If you can't answer them, be sure
to ask the tech. Get back to me with the information,
please.

1) What was the outdoor temperature when the guy
did the check?
2) What was the suction pressure while running and
stabilized?
3) What was the discharge pressure while running
and stabilized?
4) What was the suction line temperature at the
unit, while running and stabilized?
5) What was the superheat?
6) What was the temperature of the condenser
discharge air?
7) What was the delta T across the evaporator?
8) How many tons was / is the system?
9) What is the amp draw of the outdoor unit?
Rated, and actual.
10) Is the system TXV or orifice (orifice is
some times called a piston).
11) What was the temperature of the liquid line
filter drier with the system running and
stabilizied?

Please note, that if the system is dirty (it has
to be) that a recharge and weighing in new
refrigerant will not make much change to the
performance of the system. A dirty condenser
simply does not work properly. And there is
often no way to know it's dirty by looking.

This seems like a lot of information to ask the
20 point guy, but (well, most of it) it's
relevant.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 4/15/2015 10:56 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/15/2015 10:24 PM, wrote:
At this rate, am I better off fixing it or replacing it? BTW, my
house is about 2400 sq ft.


Hard to say. New units are more efficient and may pay for itself. Given
the age, anything can go at any time. Get some prices on new units to
start.

When I was working for a friend, he'd get about
$2500 to replace the indoor and outdoor units.
This was ten years ago, the OP will likely get
prices higher than that. Being in PRC, and all.

I'd vote for competent repair company, not a gas
and go.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 4/16/2015 6:09 AM, philo wrote:
On 04/15/2015 09:24 PM, wrote:
I recently had my air conditioner
mfd 4/97)


That said: How old is the unit?

Since you appear troubled by reading
comprehension, I'll edit out some
text, and make it easier for you.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 6:21:45 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Wed, 15 Apr 2015 19:24:42 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

At this rate, am I better off fixing it or replacing it?

So you paid $70 and the asshole refused to even answer your questions.
I'd refuse to pay him. If you already did and used a credit card, or
check, cancel the payment. The report the asshole to the BBB and
complain to Angies List as well.

$50 per pound sounds like highway robbery. I bet you can buy a canister
of freon and rent the stuff needed to install it for much less. But does
it really need the freon? After refusing to pay the guy, get a second
opinion.

Agree with most of what others have already said. Especially the
question by Gfre, as to whether the system is actually running/cooling
or did it have a problem that initiated the checkup?
It's not unusual for scammers to offer $70 checkups and then tell
you that you need expensive repairs, sell you a new system, etc.
At the very least, I'd call in another company for an opinion without
telling them what this guy said.

The cost of R22 has varied, looks like it's about $10/lb now.
$50/lb seems OK if it needs a pound or two, but $400 for 8 pounds
seems excessive to me too. But before getting to that, it needs
to be determined what's leaking. If it's one of the shrader valves,
it's a $1 fix. If it's the evaporator, may be time for a new system.
But I wouldn't trust a guy that won't even answer questions.

Jerry's right. This guy charged you $70 to come over and try to sell you
some freon. A good con.

Dave M.

I just heard back from the guy. He stated:

Just got your email forwarded to me for some reason the Angie's List email system does not always forward. Attached is a copy of the Big deal promotion that you bought. He did perform the items on the list, and found you to be low on refrigerant. All other items are within specifications. Let me know if you want us to come and re-charge the system

"Calibrating and leveling thermostat

Cleaning filters as needed

Lubricating and inspecting bearings for wear

Monitoring operating pressures of refrigerant

Inspecting safety devices for proper operation

Inspecting disconnect box for proper rating and installation

Monitoring volts and amps on fan motor

Tightening all electrical connections

Inspecting and testing contactor for burns and/or pits"
________

They did not a temp difference 10degree at 70/60. That is the only notation on the invoice except for the needs recharge est $12 service $50 per lb. Recommend evoc- leak check and recharge.

On Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 1:20:33 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I just heard back from the guy. He stated:

Just got your email forwarded to me for some reason the Angie's List email system does not always forward. Attached is a copy of the Big deal promotion that you bought. He did perform the items on the list, and found you to be low on refrigerant. All other items are within specifications. Let me know if you want us to come and re-charge the system

"Calibrating and leveling thermostat

Cleaning filters as needed

Lubricating and inspecting bearings for wear

Monitoring operating pressures of refrigerant

Inspecting safety devices for proper operation

Inspecting disconnect box for proper rating and installation

Monitoring volts and amps on fan motor

Tightening all electrical connections

Inspecting and testing contactor for burns and/or pits"
________

They did not a temp difference 10degree at 70/60. That is the only notation on the invoice except for the needs recharge est $12 service $50 per lb.. Recommend evoc- leak check and recharge.

I think most of us are still curious as to whether you had an
actual problem that lead to this checkup or was it working?
I would think with 8 pounds of R22 missing, it likely would
either not run or have an obvious problem. You didn't say
how many tons, but 8 pounds sounds like it could be all of it
for a typical residential system.

On Thu, 16 Apr 2015 10:36:56 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

They did not a temp difference 10degree at 70/60. That is the only notation on the invoice except for the needs recharge est $12 service $50 per lb. Recommend evoc- leak check and recharge.

I think most of us are still curious as to whether you had an
actual problem that lead to this checkup or was it working?
I would think with 8 pounds of R22 missing, it likely would
either not run or have an obvious problem. You didn't say
how many tons, but 8 pounds sounds like it could be all of it
for a typical residential system.

OP wrote: "...(we live in California and the temperature is rarely
boiling so we rarely use it)."

Much of residential northern California have no AC units.

This was an earlier email, they sent:
"Sorry I double checked Matt's paperwork and I realized he had written a 4 not a 2. The system fully charged takes 8 lbs of refrigerant, it should not require that much to re-charge."

I live in a relatively mild spot in Calif. It only gets so hot that I try to turn it on about 5 days a year. I can feel some cool air come out, but it isn't much and definitely doesn't cool the whole house. For years, we just kind of ignored it, since we barely turn it on. But I saw the inspection advertised and thought, I should have this looked at.

Sorry, there was more to the 20 points that I didn't list above.

"Inspect electrical for exposed wires.

inspecting and testing capacitors

inspecting fan blades

inspecting service valves

measuring temperature difference

monitoring compressor for proper amp draw, volt draw and wiring connections"

Do you think on this type of "tune up" they should be able to tell whether there was a leak or not, and where it might be?

Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 4/15/2015 10:56 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 4/15/2015 10:24 PM, wrote:
At this rate, am I better off fixing it or replacing it? BTW, my
house is about 2400 sq ft.


Hard to say. New units are more efficient and may pay for itself. Given
the age, anything can go at any time. Get some prices on new units to
start.

When I was working for a friend, he'd get about
$2500 to replace the indoor and outdoor units.
This was ten years ago, the OP will likely get
prices higher than that. Being in PRC, and all.

I'd vote for competent repair company, not a gas
and go.

-
.
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
. www.lds.org
.
.
I thought 8 lbs of Freon is pretty large amount for a system?

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
...
.
.
I thought 8 lbs of Freon is pretty large amount for a system?

My thinking that 8 lbs is just about all that a 3 ton or so unit will take.
If they do evaucte all the freon that is in the unit, it is suspose to be
reused or sent back for cleaning and recycling.

wrote in message
...
?

If you have a decent delta and it is not icing up, you can figure out
how bad the leak is by just running it another season. Being "a little
low" may not really mean anything on a system that old. I would still
gamble up to a pound of freon before I did anything. (But I still have
a jug in the shed) ;-)

If it is a pound or two low I would think it might be icing up.. If so the
air flow would be very low if at all after an hour or so of run time.

On 4/16/2015 1:36 PM, trader_4 wrote:

I think most of us are still curious as to whether you had an
actual problem that lead to this checkup or was it working?
I would think with 8 pounds of R22 missing, it likely would
either not run or have an obvious problem. You didn't say
how many tons, but 8 pounds sounds like it could be all of it
for a typical residential system.


The 2 or 2 and a half ton systems I've serviced
have taken about 5 pounds. Eight may be high.

The offer sounds less and less believable.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 4/16/2015 4:14 PM, wrote:
This was an earlier email, they sent:
"Sorry I double checked Matt's paperwork and I
realized he had written a 4 not a 2. The system
fully charged takes 8 lbs of refrigerant, it should
not require that much to re-charge."

I live in a relatively mild spot in Calif. It
only gets so hot that I try to turn it on about 5
days a year. I can feel some cool air come out,
but it isn't much and definitely doesn't cool the
whole house. For years, we just kind of ignored
it, since we barely turn it on. But I saw the
inspection advertised and thought, I should have
this looked at.


At this point, I'd decline the offer, and see if
some other tech will come out for estimate. I'd
come out, but the trip charge from PRNY is a bit
much, and I don't have a business licence in PRC.


-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 4/16/2015 6:44 PM, wrote:

You can check the delta yourself. Turn on the system, let it run a
while and check the air temp going into the return, compare that to
the output as close to the unit as you can get. If you are getting a
15 degree or more delta,. I might not do anything.
If you are just "low" after 18 years, you may not have a bad enough
leak to justify evacuating the system, charging with nitrogen to test
for leaks and putting in new (recycled) freon at $50 a pound. That is
particularly true if he is not even sure how low it is. Find someone
who will top it up, and check it again next year..

In earlier post, I also suggested some maint that
likely is very needed, and requires no freon.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 4/16/2015 7:03 PM, wrote:
Sorry, there was more to the 20 points that I didn't list above.

"Inspect electrical for exposed wires.

inspecting and testing capacitors

inspecting fan blades

inspecting service valves

measuring temperature difference

monitoring compressor for proper amp draw, volt draw and wiring connections"

Do you think on this type of "tune up" they should be
able to tell whether there was a leak or not, and where
it might be?


No, and no.



-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 4/16/2015 7:23 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 16 Apr 2015 16:03:40 -0700 (PDT), wrote:


Do you think on this type of "tune up" they should be able to tell whether there was a leak or not, and where it might be?

If you have a decent delta and it is not icing up, you can figure out
how bad the leak is by just running it another season. Being "a little
low" may not really mean anything on a system that old. I would still
gamble up to a pound of freon before I did anything. (But I still have
a jug in the shed) ;-)


Considering the age of the equipment, my
advice from an earlier post is more likely
to be useful than this freon obsession.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 4/16/2015 8:08 PM, Tony Hwang wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:

I'd vote for competent repair company, not a gas
and go.

I thought 8 lbs of Freon is pretty large amount for a system?

The first system I worked on (june 2000) took
5 pounds. IIRC, two or two point five tons.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

My concern is that they didn't really check out the air conditioner and do the "20 point" inspection. They said everything else was within standards, but come on, could something this old still be within standards. Nothing else on the thing needs work except for more Freon?

On 4/17/2015 1:02 AM, wrote:
My concern is that they didn't really check out
the air conditioner and do the "20 point" inspection.
They said everything else was within standards, but
come on, could something this old still be within
standards. Nothing else on the thing needs work
except for more Freon?


You did read my earlier posts, right?

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On Thu, 16 Apr 2015 22:02:46 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

My concern is that they didn't really check out the air conditioner and do the "20 point" inspection. They said everything else was within standards, but come on, could something this old still be within standards. Nothing else on the thing needs work except for more Freon?

My old ac unit was 40 years old and had only had freon added once -
and was still working well, when I replaced it with a newer more
efficient unit.

Sometimes you can find a leak just by looking for oily trace. When the
freon comes out it oftem takes a little bit of the refrigeration oil
along out with it - particulatly if the leal is in the bottom "corner"
of the condenser or evaporator. In auto A/C you can often locate leaks
that way that don't even sho up with a "sniffer"

On Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 7:03:47 PM UTC-4, wrote:
Sorry, there was more to the 20 points that I didn't list above.

"Inspect electrical for exposed wires.

inspecting and testing capacitors

inspecting fan blades

inspecting service valves

measuring temperature difference

monitoring compressor for proper amp draw, volt draw and wiring connections"

Do you think on this type of "tune up" they should be able to tell whether there was a leak or not, and where it might be?

They certainly can tell if it's low on R22 or not. If it's low,
then it went somewhere, so it's leaking. Could be just a very slow
leak at the schrader valves which costs $1 or it could be a leaking
evaporator, etc that costs $1000+.

Did it ever run right? You seem to be saying that either it never
cooled right or it hasn't been cooling right for a long time. If
it's the latter, but it's still doing some cooling, that would suggest
that it's a very slow leak. You could do what gfre suggested, get
someone else to diagnose it and assuming they can't find a leak,
if it needs a few pounds of R22, top it off. That should get it
back to normal performance and then you can see how long it lasts.
I'd make sure that you know how much it's going to cost though.
Putting a few hundred into it to try to either fix it or get a couple
years out of it wouldn't be a bad idea. Putting $700 or $1000
into it, that's a different story.

Also, as gfre suggested, you can measure the air temp going into the
returns and coming out of the registers. Somewhere between 15 to 20F
delta is typical.

I am not an air conditioner technician, however, I had a big problem with my new AC unit in my newly built 2450 square foot home in hotter-than-hell Texas not being able to keep my home at the 72F set on the thermostat. I had about 4 technicians tell me that the unit was working fine, but when the temperature kept creeping up approaching 80F, I called the manager of the AC company. He came out and just looked at everything, no tools involved. He told me that an AC unit, like a performance car engine, works better if you can improve the way it breathes. He advised me to add an additional air return duct and filter. I did this myself and all my problems were cured. A cheap and easy fix!

On Friday, April 17, 2015 at 9:58:34 AM UTC-4, wrote:
I am not an air conditioner technician, however, I had a big problem with my new AC unit in my newly built 2450 square foot home in hotter-than-hell Texas not being able to keep my home at the 72F set on the thermostat. I had about 4 technicians tell me that the unit was working fine, but when the temperature kept creeping up approaching 80F, I called the manager of the AC company. He came out and just looked at everything, no tools involved. He told me that an AC unit, like a performance car engine, works better if you can improve the way it breathes. He advised me to add an additional air return duct and filter. I did this myself and all my problems were cured. A cheap and easy fix!

I presume this manager was from the same company that installed it?
I guess the only thing better would have been if the company put in
the additional return, which is what seems right. If they put the system
in a brand new house, it's supposed to work.....

On Friday, April 17, 2015 at 10:19:16 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Fri, 17 Apr 2015 07:10:59 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, April 17, 2015 at 9:58:34 AM UTC-4, wrote:
I am not an air conditioner technician, however, I had a big problem with my new AC unit in my newly built 2450 square foot home in hotter-than-hell Texas not being able to keep my home at the 72F set on the thermostat. I had about 4 technicians tell me that the unit was working fine, but when the temperature kept creeping up approaching 80F, I called the manager of the AC company. He came out and just looked at everything, no tools involved. He told me that an AC unit, like a performance car engine, works better if you can improve the way it breathes. He advised me to add an additional air return duct and filter. I did this myself and all my problems were cured. A cheap and easy fix!

I presume this manager was from the same company that installed it?
I guess the only thing better would have been if the company put in
the additional return, which is what seems right. If they put the system
in a brand new house, it's supposed to work.....

A lot of that assumes that the guy installing it was competent. If
this is a place where A/C is an afterthought, they may not know much
about A/C design and just try to use the heat duct design..

He said it was a brand new house in Texas. And even if the guy
installing it was incompetent, the fact that a manager figured out
that the solution is an additional return would, in most cases,
mean that they are responsible for doing the modification.


Here in Florida, it is the other way around. They design for A/C and
the heat is inefficient.. We seldom ever turn it on so that is not a
problem. I think it has been 2 or 3 years since the toaster wire
strips in my A/C have been hot.

And here in NJ which needs both, there are still plenty of screwed
up ineffective systems, usually on the cooling side.
Which is sad, because by now, with all the
computer tools and knowledge base, it should be easy to do it right.
Unfortunately, doing it cheap seems to be one factor. And I think
because so many techs are focused on that world, they don't even
learn how to do it right.

On Wed, 15 Apr 2015 19:24:42 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

I recently had my air conditioner (Trane split system, r22 condenser, mfd 4/97)inspected on an Angies's List 20 point inspection for $70. My air conditioner barely cooled the entire 12 years we lived here (we live in California and the temperature is rarely boiling so we rarely use it). They checked it and said it needs to be recharged, estimate $50 per lb., for 8 lbs, and leak checked. After the estimate that was it. I asked if everything else seemed okay, as per the 20 point check. No answer.

What do you mean "no answer"? How do they have nerve enough not to
answer?

Unless someone can explain to me how this is okay, it sounds like a con
game to me. That is, who knows if they checked out anything. Who
knows if you really need 8 pounds? maybe you need 2 pounds. I
certainly wouldn't let this company touch your AC again, and if they
won't answer about the other 19 points, I'd report them to Angie. After
all, what good is that list, which you have paid to use, I gather, if
people don't report their bad experiences.

I'd demand an answer to each of the 20 points, but at the this point, I
would expect anything to be true.

At this rate, am I better off fixing it or replacing it? BTW, my house is about 2400 sq ft.

My Carrier AC worked fine until about 4 years ago, when the compressor
started tripping the breaker on startup. It's not the cap. I rarely
used it, preferring open windows unless it's over 90 or 95 out, but it
worked fine for 32 years.

On Thu, 16 Apr 2015 13:14:53 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

This was an earlier email, they sent:
"Sorry I double checked Matt's paperwork and I realized he had written a 4 not a 2.

He misread the number! That sounds like a lie to me, the kind of
thing they say when they get caught. (But it still doesn't mean
they're saying the truth now, only that they're no longer claiming you
need 8 pounds) Sure, someone can misread a number (How coudl a 4 look
like a 2?) but in context, I don't bellieve them.

The system fully charged takes 8 lbs of refrigerant, it should not require that much to re-charge."

So how much would it take, and where do 4 and 2 come in?

I live in a relatively mild spot in Calif. It only gets so hot that I try to turn it on about 5 days a year. I can feel some cool air come out, but it isn't much and definitely doesn't cool the whole house. For years, we just kind of ignored it, since we barely turn it on. But I saw the inspection advertised and thought, I should have this looked at.

On Thu, 16 Apr 2015 18:44:20 -0400, wrote:


You can check the delta yourself. Turn on the system, let it run a
while and check the air temp going into the return, compare that to
the output as close to the unit as you can get. If you are getting a
15 degree or more delta,. I might not do anything.
If you are just "low" after 18 years, you may not have a bad enough
leak to justify evacuating the system, charging with nitrogen to test
for leaks and putting in new (recycled) freon at $50 a pound. That is
particularly true if he is not even sure how low it is. Find someone
who will top it up, and check it again next year..

Good idea. Also, check your filter(s) to make sure they are clean.
That the guy says he checked doesn't mean he did.

On 4/18/2015 6:26 AM, micky wrote:
My Carrier AC worked fine until about 4 years ago, when the compressor
started tripping the breaker on startup. It's not the cap. I rarely
used it, preferring open windows unless it's over 90 or 95 out, but it
worked fine for 32 years.


Most likely, the insullation on the motor windings
is breaking down. 32 years is long past time to
replace.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On Sat, 18 Apr 2015 07:38:53 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 4/18/2015 6:26 AM, micky wrote:
My Carrier AC worked fine until about 4 years ago, when the compressor
started tripping the breaker on startup. It's not the cap. I rarely
used it, preferring open windows unless it's over 90 or 95 out, but it
worked fine for 32 years.


Most likely, the insullation on the motor windings
is breaking down. 32 years is long past time to
replace.

-
.
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
. www.lds.org
.
.
I'd be trying a "soft start kit" first.

On Saturday, April 18, 2015 at 6:33:42 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
On Thu, 16 Apr 2015 13:14:53 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

This was an earlier email, they sent:
"Sorry I double checked Matt's paperwork and I realized he had written a 4 not a 2.

He misread the number! That sounds like a lie to me, the kind of
thing they say when they get caught. (But it still doesn't mean
they're saying the truth now, only that they're no longer claiming you
need 8 pounds) Sure, someone can misread a number (How coudl a 4 look
like a 2?) but in context, I don't bellieve them.

+1

And at least now we know how the system could be running.
With 8lbs missing, that seemed impossible. IDK if having
1/2 a charge is enough to run it for sure either, but at
least that seems like it could.




The system fully charged takes 8 lbs of refrigerant, it should not require that much to re-charge."

So how much would it take, and where do 4 and 2 come in?

Maybe Stormin can help us out here. I'm not sure that you can
tell for sure how many pounds it will take based on readings.
Seems more likely to me you can only ballpark it.

Since it looks like it may just be low on refrigerant, I'd get
a different company out to check it out, look for leaks, and if
the leak is just at the valves, or they can't find a leak, then
top it off. At the least, he'd likely get another year out of
it and see what happens. If you get another year, possibly more
for maybe $250, that doesn't sound like a bad idea.

On Saturday, April 18, 2015 at 8:37:23 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Sat, 18 Apr 2015 07:38:53 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 4/18/2015 6:26 AM, micky wrote:
My Carrier AC worked fine until about 4 years ago, when the compressor
started tripping the breaker on startup. It's not the cap. I rarely
used it, preferring open windows unless it's over 90 or 95 out, but it
worked fine for 32 years.


Most likely, the insullation on the motor windings
is breaking down. 32 years is long past time to
replace.

-
.
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
. www.lds.org
.
.
I'd be trying a "soft start kit" first.

Around here we call those hard start kits.

On 4/18/2015 12:13 PM, trader_4 wrote:
they're saying the truth now, only that they're no longer claiming you
need 8 pounds) Sure, someone can misread a number (How coudl a 4 look
like a 2?) but in context, I don't bellieve them.

+1

And at least now we know how the system could be running.
With 8lbs missing, that seemed impossible. IDK if having
1/2 a charge is enough to run it for sure either, but at
least that seems like it could.


1) I've repeatedly said what needs to happen before
anyone adds refrigerant to the system. I guess no one
listens to me.

2) After I hear that my suggestion was taken, I'll
comment on refrigerant charge. I've worked on several
systems that actually were low.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 4/18/2015 12:13 PM, trader_4 wrote:
Maybe Stormin can help us out here. I'm not sure that you can
tell for sure how many pounds it will take based on readings.
Seems more likely to me you can only ballpark it.

Since it looks like it may just be low on refrigerant, I'd get
a different company out to check it out, look for leaks,


I already did give my hard won wisdom, but no one
appears to care. Nothing to do with refrigerant,
at this point.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..