The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

Wife was out most of the day yesterday and I played video games until 0200 this morning. I one point, around 2100, I looked at the weather clock in the living room and noticed the inside temperature was resding 75°. Hmm that can't be right, its been reading 69° all day.

Turns out the damn fan on the outside unit won't kick on now, it tries but doesn't catch. But I can nudge it and it'll run. So we'll nudge it until it gets cool in here, shut the unit down and repeat as needed. Just had to nudge it again as it's getting toasty in here again.

Well this fiasco kept me awake until 0500, finally dozed off and woke up at 1000. So I'm tired, hot and grumpy right now.

Waiting for the AC guy to call and let me know he's on his way. It's currently reading 76.6° inside and 94.4° outside. Me and the dogs are melting, as we watch the temperature slowly drop in the house.

Thank God there is a ten year warranty on parts, just have to pay for labor.

Well $140.00 later, $125.00 for the service call and CINC Household saying give him a $15.00 tip, the AC is now fixed. The tip might be because of my threat if it got any hotter.

Capacitor was failing. The portion which kick starts the fan which should read 5.0 or something like that was reading 0.31. So out it went, new one in, and the dogs and I are happy and chilling like beer on ice.

Which is good, since I told CINC Household, if it gets any warmer in here, she'd have to lock the doors and bar any visitors, as I'm getting one step away from getting "Nekid" and getting in the kiddy pool...Hence why she probably told me to tip him.

ffuries wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2024 11:48 am Well $140.00 later, $125.00 for the service call and CINC Household saying give him a $15.00 tip, the AC is now fixed. The tip might be because of my threat if it got any hotter.

Capacitor was failing. The portion which kick starts the fan which should read 5.0 or something like that was reading 0.31. So out it went, new one in, and the dogs and I are happy and chilling like beer on ice.

Which is good, since I told CINC Household, if it gets any warmer in here, she'd have to lock the doors and bar any visitors, as I'm getting one step away from getting "Nekid" and getting in the kiddy pool...Hence why she probably told me to tip him.

I read your first post and thought, yep, a $15.00 capacitor. The first AC system in this house lasted 25 years without a single service call. When it failed I replaced it with a high-end, energy efficient unit with a ten year parts and labor warranty. That was about three years ago, they have been out to fix it about four times, and they are now charging a $165.00 "dispatch fee." Mind you, it is not a labor charge, it is a dispatch fee...When I went to pay the thing with my debit card, the tech said that there would be a 3% upcharge to use the card. I cussed a blue streak, then wrote him a paper check. That has bought the company all of the bad-mouthing that I can give them. I am on the edge of taking them to small claims court the next time they come out and see if the judge thinks that "parts and labor" includes coming to my house to fix it...I guess that they will argue that I could take the condenser to them to fix...

It is not like this is some shady single operator, they are one of the biggest names in AC and Plumbing in the area.

What a coincidence. My A/C failed last night about 7:00 PM when the thermostat went blank and no way to control the unit. About 0800 this morning, I called the company who installed the unit and they showed up before noon to install a new thermostat. It will cost me $155 plus labor/service call but I was glad to get it fixed. This unit is a Trane and has been super reliable for 10 years until this hiccup. Unlike where you live, we were able to open up the windows with the temp dropping to 62 degrees last night. Good luck.

SA1911a1 wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2024 3:10 pm

ffuries wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2024 11:48 am Well $140.00 later, $125.00 for the service call and CINC Household saying give him a $15.00 tip, the AC is now fixed. The tip might be because of my threat if it got any hotter.

Capacitor was failing. The portion which kick starts the fan which should read 5.0 or something like that was reading 0.31. So out it went, new one in, and the dogs and I are happy and chilling like beer on ice.

Which is good, since I told CINC Household, if it gets any warmer in here, she'd have to lock the doors and bar any visitors, as I'm getting one step away from getting "Nekid" and getting in the kiddy pool...Hence why she probably told me to tip him.

I read your first post and thought, yep, a $15.00 capacitor. The first AC system in this house lasted 25 years without a single service call. When it failed I replaced it with a high-end, energy efficient unit with a ten year parts and labor warranty. That was about three years ago, they have been out to fix it about four times, and they are now charging a $165.00 "dispatch fee." Mind you, it is not a labor charge, it is a dispatch fee...When I went to pay the thing with my debit card, the tech said that there would be a 3% upcharge to use the card. I cussed a blue streak, then wrote him a paper check. That has bought the company all of the bad-mouthing that I can give them. I am on the edge of taking them to small claims court the next time they come out and see if the judge thinks that "parts and labor" includes coming to my house to fix it...I guess that they will argue that I could take the condenser to them to fix...

It is not like this is some shady single operator, they are one of the biggest names in AC and Plumbing in the area.

Damn, sounds like a frigging scam, if you ask me.

The guy that did our repair today didn't even charge me tax for his work today. Plus after talking to him and asking a few questions, he's going to come back for some additional work/jobs.

When the AC started acting up, the first thing I checked was the coils to see if they were iced up. Holy shit, what i saw/found shocked me.

When they did the house repairs, the HVAC guy inspected everything and gave it a passing grade with no maintenance needed. No shit it was only three years old at that point. Well then all the drywall work got done, and they ran the unit with all that drywall dust in the air. Which got sucked into the unit and coated the coils. The coils look like someone dipped them in plaster, they are frigging filthy as hell. Should have been re-inspected after the drywall work.

So he's going to come back and clean all that stuff up, inspect and clean the inside and outside units. Plus he's going to inspect the duct runs and do some air flow measurements. Then going to give me a quote on running the AC to the garage when I get it enclosed amd it becomes the new man cave.

He use to work for a national company (Starts with a P), but parted ways when they butted heads. He'd say something along the lines that this layout doesn't make sense and won't work right. They'd say that's what the customer wants and that's how it's going to be done, so do it.

He was trained by an old school HVAC guy, that used common sense and actual experience versus a computer to figure out runs. So he went and become an independent HVAC contractor, versus working for a company. That just thinks of the bottom line, versus taking care of the customer.

tjtM38 wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2024 4:11 pm What a coincidence. My A/C failed last night about 7:00 PM when the thermostat went blank and no way to control the unit. About 0800 this morning, I called the company who installed the unit and they showed up before noon to install a new thermostat. It will cost me $155 plus labor/service call but I was glad to get it fixed. This unit is a Trane and has been super reliable for 10 years until this hiccup. Unlike where you live, we were able to open up the windows with the temp dropping to 62 degrees last night. Good luck.

Tell me, I went outside around 0300 for a smoke and it was humid as hell out there. No way I could've slept with the windows open. Bad enough you could feel the dampness on the floors due the humidity and heat. One reason we also keep all the ceiling fans on high.

Around here the HVAC going out is damn near a death sentence. We've actually checked into a hotel for the weekend once, years ago when the AC went out. It was just too damn hot and humid not to do so. Ours is also a Trane unit, go figure.

The dogs and I are happy that house is once again an icebox. CINC Household, not so much, she's wearing her sweater right now. Around here if your fingers don't tingle due to the cold, it means someone adjusted the thermostat, and we're about to have a "Come To Jesus" meeting....LOL!

My ac unit is running fine. Getting to it is a pain, as it’s located up on the roof. Time to service it is the spring, as having it go out is a literal death sentence around here. Maricopa County finds dead every year where their ac units have failed-mostly poor elderly people.

SA1911a1 wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2024 3:10 pm

ffuries wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2024 11:48 am Well $140.00 later, $125.00 for the service call and CINC Household saying give him a $15.00 tip, the AC is now fixed. The tip might be because of my threat if it got any hotter.

Capacitor was failing. The portion which kick starts the fan which should read 5.0 or something like that was reading 0.31. So out it went, new one in, and the dogs and I are happy and chilling like beer on ice.

Which is good, since I told CINC Household, if it gets any warmer in here, she'd have to lock the doors and bar any visitors, as I'm getting one step away from getting "Nekid" and getting in the kiddy pool...Hence why she probably told me to tip him.

I read your first post and thought, yep, a $15.00 capacitor. The first AC system in this house lasted 25 years without a single service call. When it failed I replaced it with a high-end, energy efficient unit with a ten year parts and labor warranty. That was about three years ago, they have been out to fix it about four times, and they are now charging a $165.00 "dispatch fee." Mind you, it is not a labor charge, it is a dispatch fee...When I went to pay the thing with my debit card, the tech said that there would be a 3% upcharge to use the card. I cussed a blue streak, then wrote him a paper check. That has bought the company all of the bad-mouthing that I can give them. I am on the edge of taking them to small claims court the next time they come out and see if the judge thinks that "parts and labor" includes coming to my house to fix it...I guess that they will argue that I could take the condenser to them to fix...

It is not like this is some shady single operator, they are one of the biggest names in AC and Plumbing in the area.

The one ton unit originally installed in this house lasted 20 years (86-06), second unit a 3 ton unit lasted 12 years (06-18), Hurricane Michael finished it off. This one, a 3 ton also I think, was installed in 2019, we'll see how long it lasts.

awalker1829 wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 6:21 am My ac unit is running fine. Getting to it is a pain, as it’s located up on the roof. Time to service it is the spring, as having it go out is a literal death sentence around here. Maricopa County finds dead every year where their ac units have failed-mostly poor elderly people.

Our inside unit is upstairs in a closet. My daughter-in-law's parents unit is in the attic of their house (They're in South Carolina).

Being in Arizona, I'm assuming you have a Swamp Cooler? At least we did when we were in California.

Nope. I have regular ac. Swamp coolers are fine except during monsoon. Higher humidity makes them less effective at cooling.

Most modern homes are not designed to be livable without AC. Buildings constructed in earlier eras were built with hot summers and cold winters in mind depending on the climate in the area. Back then I am sure there are some very hot parts of the country that they would never have built anything in. You can burn enough wood to heat a home in even the coldest part of the country, but they had no real way to cool them except hanging wet cloth in the windows and hoping for a breeze. We have gotten soft, better hope the power grid holds up.

Junk Yard Dog wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 7:24 pm Most modern homes are not designed to be livable without AC. Buildings constructed in earlier eras were built with hot summers and cold winters in mind depending on the climate in the area. Back then I am sure there are some very hot parts of the country that they would never have built anything in. You can burn enough wood to heat a home in even the coldest part of the country, but they had no real way to cool them except hanging wet cloth in the windows and hoping for a breeze. We have gotten soft, better hope the power grid holds up.

Yes we have gotten soft, and technology has made it so. But also as we age, our health issues contribute to it.

Originally I could handle the heat and humidity, it was after my heart attack that I became heat intolerant. As the disease has progressed over time, that intolerance has gotten worse.

I remember at times coming off the flight line and my Woodland BDUs soaking wet from sweat. The next morning after they dried they damn near looked like DCUs (Desert BDUs). Remember working in 100+ degree desert temperatures, or 90+ degree temperatures with 60%+ humidity and it was just something I had to deal with and kept pushing on. Now you can kiss my ass if you expect me to be happy in anything over 70 degrees. Now I walk out the house and the temperatures are in the 80s I turn into a whiny brat, saying I don't want to go....! Then CINC Household gives that "What for" look and I get in line and shut up real quick.

ffuries wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 8:04 pm

Junk Yard Dog wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 7:24 pm Most modern homes are not designed to be livable without AC. Buildings constructed in earlier eras were built with hot summers and cold winters in mind depending on the climate in the area. Back then I am sure there are some very hot parts of the country that they would never have built anything in. You can burn enough wood to heat a home in even the coldest part of the country, but they had no real way to cool them except hanging wet cloth in the windows and hoping for a breeze. We have gotten soft, better hope the power grid holds up.

Yes we have gotten soft, and technology has made it so. But also as we age, our health issues contribute to it.

Originally I could handle the heat and humidity, it was after my heart attack that I became heat intolerant. As the disease has progressed over time, that intolerance has gotten worse.

I remember at times coming off the flight line and my Woodland BDUs soaking wet from sweat. The next morning after they dried they damn near looked like DCUs (Desert BDUs). Remember working in 100+ degree desert temperatures, or 90+ degree temperatures with 60%+ humidity and it was just something I had to deal with and kept pushing on. Now you can kiss my ass if you expect me to be happy in anything over 70 degrees. Now I walk out the house and the temperatures are in the 80s I turn into a whiny brat, saying I don't want to go....! Then CINC Household gives that "What for" look and I get in line and shut up real quick.

Point is that in 1924 yours and other homes around you would have been built with a hot climate and no AC in mind. High ceilings, tall windows, pass through hallways that allow air to move from front to back of the house easily. Kitchens either separated from the house, or located at a far corner from living areas to minimize the spread of heat from the stove. A hundred years ago they knew how to build homes for the world they lived in and AC was a what's that? These homes were barely tolerable in the hottest months, and the reason why the very rich had multiple homes around the country so they didn't have to stay in the most uncomfortable weather, they chased the seasons. Experts keep warning that our power grid is antiquated and venerable to attack by both man and nature. Apparently, things could happen that might shut off the power for an extended period of time, and that would be a giant suck for anyone during the hottest or coldest months unless you lived in a non updated colonial home. Williamsburg maybe? I have never been good with heat or humidity once I left my early teen years behind. Yesterday it was a high of 66 with low humidity, perfect day if we could do a repeat of it for the whole year. Right now it's 50 at 4:49 am, I can smell 90 on the way any time now.

Junk Yard Dog wrote: ↑Fri May 31, 2024 1:50 am

ffuries wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 8:04 pm

Junk Yard Dog wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 7:24 pm Most modern homes are not designed to be livable without AC. Buildings constructed in earlier eras were built with hot summers and cold winters in mind depending on the climate in the area. Back then I am sure there are some very hot parts of the country that they would never have built anything in. You can burn enough wood to heat a home in even the coldest part of the country, but they had no real way to cool them except hanging wet cloth in the windows and hoping for a breeze. We have gotten soft, better hope the power grid holds up.

Yes we have gotten soft, and technology has made it so. But also as we age, our health issues contribute to it.

Originally I could handle the heat and humidity, it was after my heart attack that I became heat intolerant. As the disease has progressed over time, that intolerance has gotten worse.

I remember at times coming off the flight line and my Woodland BDUs soaking wet from sweat. The next morning after they dried they damn near looked like DCUs (Desert BDUs). Remember working in 100+ degree desert temperatures, or 90+ degree temperatures with 60%+ humidity and it was just something I had to deal with and kept pushing on. Now you can kiss my ass if you expect me to be happy in anything over 70 degrees. Now I walk out the house and the temperatures are in the 80s I turn into a whiny brat, saying I don't want to go....! Then CINC Household gives that "What for" look and I get in line and shut up real quick.

Point is that in 1924 yours and other homes around you would have been built with a hot climate and no AC in mind. High ceilings, tall windows, pass through hallways that allow air to move from front to back of the house easily. Kitchens either separated from the house, or located at a far corner from living areas to minimize the spread of heat from the stove. A hundred years ago they knew how to build homes for the world they lived in and AC was a what's that? These homes were barely tolerable in the hottest months, and the reason why the very rich had multiple homes around the country so they didn't have to stay in the most uncomfortable weather, they chased the seasons. Experts keep warning that our power grid is antiquated and venerable to attack by both man and nature. Apparently, things could happen that might shut off the power for an extended period of time, and that would be a giant suck for anyone during the hottest or coldest months unless you lived in a non updated colonial home. Williamsburg maybe? I have never been good with heat or humidity once I left my early teen years behind. Yesterday it was a high of 66 with low humidity, perfect day if we could do a repeat of it for the whole year. Right now it's 50 at 4:49 am, I can smell 90 on the way any time now.

That's kind of the way my house is built here in north central Louisiana but it doesn't have high ceilings. Like I mention on the phone this house was built in 1939 or rebuilt, there was a fire around that time and my neighbor who was about 90 told me when he was a kid the church bell sounded alerting the neighbors to the fire and was a call to help. His dad and he piled in to the horse draw wagon and headed over here to help. This house had fireplaces and a whole house fan leading to the attic, no A/C. The fireplaces are still in the house but the chimney's were removed a long time ago. They put in central heating and air 40 or 50 years ago. When I got here after a year or so I started smelling a burnt smell when the A/C was running. I found a swelled up run capacitor for the inside fan that had failed and was making the fan overheat. My neighbor had just had his whole system replaced and still had the old system parts so I found a capacitor on his system that was the same specs and used it and happy motoring. Been going for 12 years so far. I did have to have the relay for the compressor and fan unit outside replaced and the tech replaced the run capacitor for that fan. I doctored the relay for a few years to keep it working but it got so bad I had to have it replaced. I was an auto A/c tech for over 30 years but this was not something I felt comfortable doing. He only charged me like $230. He also put gages on the system to check it while he was here. It was worth not having to fool with chasing down a relay that would work for this old system.