The fan on the outside unit of my heat pump failed. The repair guy replaced the fan with a universal replacement that
was so noisy that it sounded like my generator running. When I finally got them to come back, they replaced the run cap
with a 5uF instead of a 15uF. It made it quieter, and the fan seems to be running normally.

It's reaching 95 here every day, and the AC is running nonstop after about 10 AM until 10 PM. Can the smaller capacitor
be part of the problem? (The box for the motor says it uses a 15uF capacitor.) I'm tempted to parallel an 8uF with the
5uF in there to see if it makes a performance difference. The solution is probably to get the right motor. The cheapest
one I can find is $160. I'll have to sue the company to get my money back. It's probably not worth it.

The AC unit is an International Comfort Products CHP225AKA1. The crappy motor they used is a TopTech TT-C50-MHP2. The
one for the unit is an ICP Comfort Maker 1086598 1/5 HP. See http://j.mp/1GuemdC.

If you have a capacitor, go ahead and parallel it. If you have to buy the capacitor, that's a more iffy situation. Be sure that the voltage rating of whatever capacitor you use to parallel with has a voltage rating of at least 250V AC.

On Sunday, June 21, 2015 at 8:14:37 PM UTC-5, mcp6453 wrote:
The fan on the outside unit of my heat pump failed. The repair guy replaced the fan with a universal replacement that
was so noisy that it sounded like my generator running. When I finally got them to come back, they replaced the run cap
with a 5uF instead of a 15uF. It made it quieter, and the fan seems to be running normally.

It's reaching 95 here every day, and the AC is running nonstop after about 10 AM until 10 PM. Can the smaller capacitor
be part of the problem? (The box for the motor says it uses a 15uF capacitor.) I'm tempted to parallel an 8uF with the
5uF in there to see if it makes a performance difference. The solution is probably to get the right motor. The cheapest
one I can find is $160. I'll have to sue the company to get my money back.. It's probably not worth it.

The AC unit is an International Comfort Products CHP225AKA1. The crappy motor they used is a TopTech TT-C50-MHP2. The
one for the unit is an ICP Comfort Maker 1086598 1/5 HP. See http://j.mp/1GuemdC.

Whenever you replace a condenser fan motor, make sure the pitch of the fan blade is compatible with the speed and horsepower of the motor. If your old motor is an 825 rpm 1/4 hp it was used by the manufacturer to produce a quieter unit but it will have a steep pitch to the fan blade so it moves the same amount of air as a faster motor with a shallow pitch blade. If you install a new 1550 rpm 1/4 hp motor and keep the original fan blade for the 825 rpm motor, not only will it make more noise but it will overload the new 1550 rpm motor. It's not that hard to use the chart to figure it out and the supply house may have a chart they give out to customers. Here's a link to a chart. ^_^

http://fergusonhvacchicago.com/2012/...ize-the-motor/

https://tinyurl.com/p3sc4ac

[8~{} Uncle Blade Monster

mcp6453 wrote:
The fan on the outside unit of my heat pump failed. The repair guy replaced the fan with a universal replacement that
was so noisy that it sounded like my generator running. When I finally got them to come back, they replaced the run cap
with a 5uF instead of a 15uF. It made it quieter, and the fan seems to be running normally.

What was original caps. value? You can't reduce the value but you may
increase it some what. With low value cap. the motor may run hotter and
rpm may change.

On Sunday, June 21, 2015 at 10:49:15 PM UTC-4, Tony Hwang wrote:
mcp6453 wrote:
The fan on the outside unit of my heat pump failed. The repair guy replaced the fan with a universal replacement that
was so noisy that it sounded like my generator running. When I finally got them to come back, they replaced the run cap
with a 5uF instead of a 15uF. It made it quieter, and the fan seems to be running normally.

What was original caps. value? You can't reduce the value but you may
increase it some what. With low value cap. the motor may run hotter and
rpm may change.

It's not the original cap's value that's important. It's that the
replacement fan motor is the correct one and that you use the cap
value that is specified for it.

It's not clear what all was replaced. He says the motor crapped out
and the "fan" was replaced and then it was very noisy. Both the fan
and motor were replaced? Just the motor? Most logical thing would be
that only the motor was replaced. In which case, all you have to do
is match the fan voltage, speed, HP and direction and find a replacement condenser
fan motor. And I haven't seen a fan motor where you can change the
cap to whatever you want. The manufacturer specs it and that's what
you use.

If you put a different flan blade in, change the motor to a different
speed and don't know what you're doing, bad things will happen. We
just had another thread here where a genius service guy put in a
1050 RPM, 1/4hp motor to replace a 850, 1/4hp one. So, while the
AC guy claimed it would move more air, the motor is overheating and
shutting down.

Glad once again that I just replaced my own here instead of calling
a "pro".