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The A/C Died... Again


bgavin

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Yesterday was 108 degrees when the air conditioning compressor in the condensing unit died.
It did the usual Bryant grinding noise, then crapped out and failed to start at all.

This is the 2nd Bryant unit that has died this way...
The first one died just beyond the 10 year warranty.
This one died at 9 years and 10 months...

Today is even hotter... 109 to 111 depending on who is calling the numbers.
Last night the house was up to 96 degrees before the outside was cool enough to run the house fan all night.

The good news:  I no longer have my pair of Chinchillas to worry about, as they die over 75 degrees (Temp + Humidity >= 150).
I still have a window A/C unit that I get installed this morning while queuing up to get the unit replaced.
I have no doubt the A/C crews are slammed with this intense heat.

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Upstairs/downstairs or windows on opposite sides of the house, open tops on upstairs/one side and bottoms on the other let's the heat along the ceiling roll out top windows and draw fresher air inside. Spray cotton sheets damp with water when you try yo bed down the evaporative cooling will pull heat off. 

Car has AC or get to a cooling center/hotel. 

 

Sorry about chinchillas :(

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21 minutes ago, Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 said:

Well maybe I can top that. Both of our wells ran out of water yesterday.

Did your neighbor move out?  ;)

Humidity here runs around 35% or so, depending on time of day and temps.

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We  don't get extremes like the Californios do, but we get bad humidity at times. I've managed to resurrect our ancient unit three times since we bought this place in '99. I fear the day I can't get it to rise to the occasion. It  was probably installed when this place was put in in '94. It's a big bulky looking affair and is run separately from the heating set up. Two thermostats in the home, one for the heat and one for the A/C. Will probably have to replace both when that time comes. Home is total electric, no gas lines on this side of the park. Newer homes here have the grid for the unit mounted on top of the furnace unit with two lines going to the fan unit outside which is a LOT smaller than what we've got. Quieter, too.:(:rolleyes::blush:

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My house has two ACs.  I had to replace one about four years ago because it finally crapped out after 15 years.  The second one I had replaced two years ago as I did not want it to go out during the summer.   Luckily my AC guy is a CAS shooter so he watches out for me.  This year he sent out a guy to do a "free" AC check.  He called a couple of days later and said "I'll be out on Thursday to replace a part.  That some of the ACs he had installed when he installed mine had a bad part in them and mine was one of them.  I want to do it before the temps get to 115."  He was partially joking about the 115 as the temps that week were no where near that.  He spent about three hours up in the attic replacing what ever it was he said needed replacing.  When he came down he was wasted.  After he was done we talked about this week's weather report and that we were going to get to 115 eariler than normal.  He is my age plus or minus a year and said this was his last job.  He can't do it anymore and is turning the business over to his son.  I am sure glad he did the pre-emptive repair as it has been up to 119 this week.  As uncomfortable as it is for the homeowner the AC guys really take a beating trying to work in the sun or worse yet to have to work in the super heated attics.

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My tech guy is here now.
So far... bad dual-run capacitor.
He is cleaning out coils, etc.

I figure I will get a "no trouble found" diagnosis and a service call bill.
This does not explain the huge grinding noise in the compressor, or the complete failure to start.
The warranty expires in 60 days, so I have no doubt it will crap out again before then.

I won't argue the point with the tech, but will do so with the owner.
I've been in the service business all my life, and I do know the sound of grinding bearings and failing parts.

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If the run capacitor is bad the compressor won't start.  I found out with mine and talking to my AC guy that as ACs age they get harder to start.  They have a hard start or dual run start-up capacitor they install in older units to get them started.  My original capacitor melted from the load.  Yep, grinding noises are not a good thing.

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It actually rained in Visalia last night & is forecast to hit 109 today. It’s gonna be miserable.

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The tech replaced the dual-run cap... $175... no doubt it is seriously marked up.
But.. I have the service call on record, and still have 60 days before the warranty expires.
If it starts grinding again, I will call for a warranty fix/replace.

It is nice to have the A/C back on again...
The weather channel is calling for 109 today.

Bryant is another brand of condensing unit.
Like peanut butter, they all come from the same OEM, but with different names and features.
The tech preferred Bryant over Carrier, because Carrier goes overboard with more controls (which break).

I figure at $2300 every 10 years, I'm renting the unit for $230 yearly for the summer season.

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One thing I like about the swamp cooler is no compressor.

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56 minutes ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

What is a Bryant?

https://www.bryant.com/en/us/products/air-conditioners/

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I had a whole house Tappan AC that my parents got in 1967. (I moved in my parents house in1996 which is mine now) It finally died 2 years ago. They couldn’t get parts for it. I’ve got a Rheem unit now. So far so good but I doubt this will last as long as that old Tappan did.   

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Our a/c went out when it hit 122 in Phoenix. The wife was sitting on the front stoop when I got home from work at the steel shop. The service company came out the same day and got us running, which was a miracle due to the demand everywhere. We later replaced the whole system when the furnace was diagnosed with a gas leak. Those service calls can literally be a life saver. It helps to know a reputable company, so you also don't get ripped off.

The home was 1960 built and you couldn't find parts in the books. 

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I feel bad for you folks in S. California and elsewhere where the temps are clearing 100.  It's 76 on Cape Cod right now, and will not get any warmer for the next couple of weeks; there is a very pleasant 10-15 mph breeze off the ocean, and humidity is 47%.  I don't have A/C, and really don't feel the need for it.  If it gets warmer in a couple of weeks, I'll walk across the street and take a dip in the ocean, or turn on the sprinklers.  Spoiled and feeling downright entitled; but we worked hard for it, so not feeling bad about it.

 

LL

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3 hours ago, Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 said:

Well maybe I can top that. Both of our wells ran out of water yesterday. They gradually came back though. However, we need to conserve. 

 

Allie, that's plumb terrible!  Been there a few times... :(

 

How deep are your wells?  When the "Former Missus Hardpan" and I built our place thirty years ago the well company drilled to 380'; the pump was somewhere around 200' as I recall (but that recaller is a mite fuzzy).  The well was rated at over 50 gpm.

 

Over the next ten years it went offline several times, requiring pump or pump motor replacement, and once for a short in the power cable; all necessitated pulling pipe.  

 

New owners had a new well drilled a few months ago - something like 550 - 570 feet.

 

A buddy of mine had a new well drilled a few years ago - 750 feet!  And the water was horrid - analysts said that apparently they had terminated the hole in a pre-historic rotted redwood forest.  He had to install what essentially amounted to a mini refinery.  Water pumped from the well goes in and three pipes come out - one is potable, the second is suitable for outdoors use only, and the third goes right back down the hole.

 

Good luck!  With the drought the aquifer levels are dropping fast.  Pray for rain!  (Like THAT's going to happen - might get a bit come November).  

 

 

                                drought – DarylCagle.com

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We've had trouble with the wells supplying the old section of the park for years. Originally there were four of them. Two are now shut down with one that you could tell when it was in service ,the water tasted and smelled funny. The two running now have had problems relating to the equipment recently. The one burned the pump out and required pulling and a new pump, pipe and controls after a nasty short. They've also had to install a booster pump into the system as well. As a coincidence, our lot rents have had to be increased. The one repair ran over $16,000.In case of emergency failure, we do have a connection that will supply Canton City water if necessary.:blush:

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1 hour ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

One thing I like about the swamp cooler is no compressor.

Swamp coolers are only effective in dry climates & they require more maintenance than.   I have a Mastercool that uses a proprietary resin impregnated paper media.  The water source is a well.  The water has a high level of soda ash*; so the media lasts two seasons, May through September.  Also, circulating & purge pumps are good for 3-4 years.

*I live a half mile from a lake that in the 19th century had a business that boiled the brackish water in giant caldrons to extract soda ash that was used in the many gold & silver refining facilities in Norther NV..  The predecessor of the Bureau of Reclamation in the 1 st & 2nd decade of the 20th century dammed the Carson river & built unlined irrigation canals.  The water that filled the canals ,April 1 through September, charged the aquifer that feed the lake.  This resulted in the lake level increasing the lake level 60 ft. flooding the soda ash operation out.  The water is so brackish that only brine shrimp live in it; because, there is no outlet.  The only way water leaves is evaporation.  Where the springs are the lake grows tufa's like Mono Lake.

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Loophole, It is supposed to be over 100 here (No. CA foothills South East of Bruce). The last time we ran out of water per Hubby was at the end of summer.

 

Hardpan, I'll ask Hubby when he comes in. We already bought a 2500 gallon water tank and pump. It isn't installed yet as the pump just came this week and hubby wants to clean the tank first.

 

Bruce, Sorry for the highjack.

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I finally put my very old window AC unit  in today    running great for now   . 87 in the SF bay area but I have solar panels so it is free 

last Jan I did service on the central air at  my Gf house  cleaned coils , added some R-134  replaced 3 wire connectors that looked shakie 

it ran ice cold and is getting a workout for this heatwave 

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3 hours ago, Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 said:

It's 76 on Cape Cod right now, and will not get any warmer for the next couple of weeks; there is a very pleasant 10-15 mph breeze off the ocean, and humidity is 47%.

 

We lived in W. Dennis, then in Hyannis in the '72~73 time frame.
I remember the hot late summer nights in the sweltering humidity.
Stupid me.. I had all my photo negs in the basement, and they were all destroyed by mold.

I was particularly impressed with the ocean being 77 degrees in October at the Hyannis beach (gulf stream).
Farther up in Wellfleet... brr... and on the bay side... truly arctic water temps.

The Cape was not badly overbuilt when we left in '74... hopefully your area is the same.
We have a place in San Diego, also 1 block from the ocean, but can't live there... much, much too crazy.

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6 hours ago, Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 said:

Well maybe I can top that. Both of our wells ran out of water yesterday. They gradually came back though. However, we need to conserve. 

Sounds like you need to have a well service company out to test the resting water levels.  Worst case the wells & pumps will need to be replaced.  You could add large black plastic tanks with level switches to control the submersible pump & a pressure controlled pump to pressurize the pressure tanks.  Rather than use a pump protector that monitors the submersible pump running  current install water level control.  This requires pulling the pump to install the two level probes, one just above the pump & one higher up.   The one just above the pump is the shut-off level and the other has to be lower than the worst case standing water level.  If  the distance between the two levels isn't enough to prevent rapid cycling, the submersible pumps have to be replaced by smaller pumps that have a capacity less than the well's worst case production rate.   With this the pumps run 24/7 except when water demand is less that pump capacity.  The internet is a great references for low capacity well water systems design & components. 

P.S.  If you don't have a pond or swimming pool select tank capacity recommended by the CDF.  Also install a standpipe for the CDF  apparatus to connect their suction hose to.   Additionally you should have a portable gasoline powered fire pump & a 1 1/4" fire hose with nozzle.  The hose length has to be long enough to reach the farthest property line.  I expect that the CDF can examine your property & make equipment recommendations.

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4 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

One thing I like about the swamp cooler is no compressor.

 

I have central air conditioning, but I'll use the swamp cooler as long as I can stand it - a window mounted Bonaire Durango (product of Australia).  Our climate is so dry they work; right now it's 109° on my covered porch, and 82° inside the house.  That's bearable. 

 

I may turn the A/C on for a bit before bedtime, but honestly, I just cannot justify running it full time to cool a two-story house with just me in it.  We have about the most expensive electricity in the continental U. S. here... with PG&E's (Pacific Gas & Electric) rates the A/C would increase my electric bill about $300 or so.  I've watched my electricity bills triple in some months over the past ten years.

 

For what it's worth, we are under what PG&E calls a "Flex Alert" until 2200 tonight (10:00 PM).  We are asked to NOT run any unnecessary electrical devices - including dishwashers, laundry machines, and... air conditioners.  

 

1 hour ago, J.D. Daily said:

Swamp coolers are only effective in dry climates & they require more maintenance than.   I have a Mastercool that uses a proprietary resin impregnated paper media.  The water source is a well.  The water has a high level of soda ash*; so the media lasts two seasons, May through September.  Also, circulating & purge pumps are good for 3-4 years.

 

 

We have extremely hard water here, with high levels of calcium and manganese.  The running joke is "if you get a new plumbing leak, just leave it alone and it'll seal itself up in a couple of days."  Consequently, I'm very lucky to get two years out of a set of Durang's "honeycomb" pads.  

 

Surprisingly, I would also have to replace the water pump every year.  Then I had a brainstorm - instead of buying yet another cooler pump, about six years ago I bought a fountain pump; it was actually a few dollars less than a cooler pump.  I formed a "bowl" out of window screen to set it in (to keep out chunks of calcium) and it's been working like a champ ever since.  ^_^

 

 

                                                      images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSmZ_syeOhIU84zb0S1eBhZMrZSRYvog023XBkC2s50qxj-m-rggOunAxgbp_gzytqa453ePXTlUg&usqp=CAc

 

 

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40 minutes ago, Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 said:

Hardpan, 

 

I just asked Hubby how deep our well is. He said 400 feet.

 

Probably more than deep enough when it was drilled, and undoubtedly has filled in some... do you know what depth your pump is?  I surely hope you don't need a new well; you might be able to add a section of pipe and lower the pump.

 

I remember Hank once telling me that his domestic well was something like eighty feet deep, with water at forty or less.  Different geology from where I am - forty miles north, we have hardpan near the surface (guess where my alias came from?  :lol: ) that leads to flooding and runoff, instead of recharging the groundwater.  I'm told that most of our water originated as precipitation in the mountains and foothills, and literally "runs downhill" deep beneath the surface.  And it takes a LONG time to get here!

 

I'm on a community water system that has multiple wells.  Deep wells.  And it's not cheap - ninety dollars a month for limited water.  JUST water.  Unlike the city, where water, garbage and sewer are bundled and usually for less than that. 

 

At this time we're "allowed" to water one day a week - no lawns, limited gardens on drip systems.  Short showers.  Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.  Don't wash your car at home.  Only run the dishwasher (and laundry washer) when full, and then only at night.  And, as many folks outside California do not realize, restaurants are not allowed to give you a glass of water unless ya specifically ask for it.  

 

By the way - in most areas in California we're now required to put meters on new domestic wells - after all, even after spending tens of thousands of dollars on drilling, equipment, electricity, maintenance (and paying taxes on all of that) we just can't have country folk getting "free water!"  :angry:

 

 

                             Political Cartoon - California's drought - A Run to remember

 

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2 hours ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

 

I have central air conditioning, but I'll use the swamp cooler as long as I can stand it - a window mounted Bonaire Durango (product of Australia).  Our climate is so dry they work; right now it's 109° on my covered porch, and 82° inside the house.  That's bearable. 

 

I may turn the A/C on for a bit before bedtime, but honestly, I just cannot justify running it full time to cool a two-story house with just me in it.  We have about the most expensive electricity in the continental U. S. here... with PG&E's (Pacific Gas & Electric) rates the A/C would increase my electric bill about $300 or so.  I've watched my electricity bills triple in some months over the past ten years.

 

For what it's worth, we are under what PG&E calls a "Flex Alert" until 2200 tonight (10:00 PM).  We are asked to NOT run any unnecessary electrical devices - including dishwashers, laundry machines, and... air conditioners.  

 

 

We have extremely hard water here, with high levels of calcium and manganese.  The running joke is "if you get a new plumbing leak, just leave it alone and it'll seal itself up in a couple of days."  Consequently, I'm very lucky to get two years out of a set of Durang's "honeycomb" pads.  

 

Surprisingly, I would also have to replace the water pump every year.  Then I had a brainstorm - instead of buying yet another cooler pump, about six years ago I bought a fountain pump; it was actually a few dollars less than a cooler pump.  I formed a "bowl" out of window screen to set it in (to keep out chunks of calcium) and it's been working like a champ ever since.  ^_^

 

 

                                                      images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSmZ_syeOhIU84zb0S1eBhZMrZSRYvog023XBkC2s50qxj-m-rggOunAxgbp_gzytqa453ePXTlUg&usqp=CAc

 

 

Hardpan,

Thanks for the pump tip.  Fountain pumps are magnetically coupled, so the humid environment inside a swamp cooler won't rust the stater & rotor steel & lower the winding insulation resistance to the point that leakage current overheats the windings.

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Our retirement home we bought last year is beautiful, but it has a HVAC system too small for the house. SO it works itself ridiculously hard and the bill is terrible. Looks like I will have to pry open the wallet and buy a unit proper sized for the house. It has a 2 1/2 ton unit and should be running a 3 1/12 or even 4 ton unit.

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1 minute ago, J.D. Daily said:

Hardpan,

Thanks for the pump tip.  Fountain pumps are magnetically coupled, so the humid environment inside a swamp cooler won't rust the stater & rotor steel & lower the winding insulation resistance to the point that leakage current overheats the windings.

 

Ha!  That explains it ~ every summer I would find the previous year's "official cooler pump" to be rusted and frozen.  Not so the fountain pump!  ^_^

 

By the way - this was taken at 4:15 this afternoon, on my screened-in, well-shaded porch.  Whew

 

 

                 33042196_Temperature0618.thumb.jpg.f7749608581b82053f62e326e6e6c351.jpg

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Howdy,

A while back ac failed and the landlord said that I should replace

the window unit.... o n my dime.

So I did some math and bought a slightly SMALLER window unit.

After a while he came by and seemed upset and said it was too small

and on and on.

It worked great for a few years.  

Then the landlord started messing with me again.

Went on vacation and left me with problems.

I moved out. 

I took the ac with me, gave it to a friend who helped with moving.

He now has ac in his garage.

I wonder how he rented that place in August with no ac.....

Never asked.

Best

CR

 

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