AC working OT

[JoeM 7,873]

It was 90 here today and a a dew-point in the 70's, AC is running hard. 

Might have to chain the electric meter to the house if it keeps up, spinning hard! 

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,455]

Just now, JoeM said:

It was 90 here today and a a dew-point in the 70's, AC is running hard. 

Might have to chain the electric meter to the house if it keeps up, spinning hard! 

 

 

Pretty much exactly the same here!! 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,547]

Ditto...

 

[ebinmaine 67,455]

No worries people.  

 

It'll be down to 76 and bone dry this Sunday.  

[Beap52 811]

Over 100 degrees in SW Missouri the past couple of days.  Yesterday we were coming home from camping and I noticed as I turned into the driveway that the AC in my pickup was not blowing a cold as it has been.  Pulled the camper into the yard, unloaded our stuff then got into the pickup to put camper in it's carport.  Truck started  but no power steering and battery light on.  It had thrown the serpentine belt off an idler. Not seeing any damage to belt, I put it back in place and then started the engine.  I heard the ac compressor running and it sounded like shaking a coffee can full of rocks.  Took it down to our auto supply and my lifetime warrantied compressor will be replaced under warranty.  We put it on in May after the first compressor's seal went out.   I try to buy the best quality replacement parts but sure seems that more and more are junk.  I assume the compressor locked up and threw the belt off--fortunately in my own yard.   It's dangerously hot out there fellows.  You all be careful.

[lynnmor 7,305]

50 minutes ago, Beap52 said:

Over 100 degrees in SW Missouri the past couple of days.  Yesterday we were coming home from camping and I noticed as I turned into the driveway that the AC in my pickup was not blowing a cold as it has been.  Pulled the camper into the yard, unloaded our stuff then got into the pickup to put camper in it's carport.  Truck started  but no power steering and battery light on.  It had thrown the serpentine belt off an idler. Not seeing any damage to belt, I put it back in place and then started the engine.  I heard the ac compressor running and it sounded like shaking a coffee can full of rocks.  Took it down to our auto supply and my lifetime warrantied compressor will be replaced under warranty.  We put it on in May after the first compressor's seal went out.   I try to buy the best quality replacement parts but sure seems that more and more are junk.  I assume the compressor locked up and threw the belt off--fortunately in my own yard.   It's dangerously hot out there fellows.  You all be careful.

Most compressors are rebuilt and quality can be very poor.  I had several repair shops replace compressors for me and none lasted very long.  In order to put an end to the idiot parade, I bought the tools and a compressor then went to work..  Flushing the entire system to clear the debris from failed compressors needs to be done.  I contacted the store and the compressor builder to ask about the type and quantity of oil is in the compressor when it ships, the answer "good question."  So after draining the failed compressor and finding absolutely no oil, I believe I found the source of the failures, the experts weren't filling the required oil, their job description is parts changers..  I flushed the new compressor and added the correct amount and type of oil.

 

Parts are an issue on most any project, just today I received a pulley from Amazon for a brand X riding mower.  The pulley had the correct description and part number but it was for a 1/2" belt not the 5/8" required.  So I had this thing scattered on the house garage floor for 3 days, but I did find the correct pulley at NAPA so I can assemble tomorrow.

[Rob J. 1,941]

1 hour ago, Beap52 said:

Over 100 degrees in SW Missouri the past couple of days.  Yesterday we were coming home from camping and I noticed as I turned into the driveway that the AC in my pickup was not blowing a cold as it has been.  Pulled the camper into the yard, unloaded our stuff then got into the pickup to put camper in it's carport.  Truck started  but no power steering and battery light on.  It had thrown the serpentine belt off an idler. Not seeing any damage to belt, I put it back in place and then started the engine.  I heard the ac compressor running and it sounded like shaking a coffee can full of rocks.  Took it down to our auto supply and my lifetime warrantied compressor will be replaced under warranty.  We put it on in May after the first compressor's seal went out.   I try to buy the best quality replacement parts but sure seems that more and more are junk.  I assume the compressor locked up and threw the belt off--fortunately in my own yard.   It's dangerously hot out there fellows.  You all be careful.

I grew up in SE Missouri, Cape Girardeau. I do NOT miss it at all. I remember in school getting let out early cause it hit 100 before noon. Humidity so thick you could see it. Good luck. 😉

[Rob J. 1,941]

It got up to 88 here today. Few point around 67. Been a few days this summer in the 90’s but for the most part 80-85. We currently only have a 10k btu window banger in the upstairs of our chalet. With it on low the temp never reached above 75 in the house today. It also hardly uses any juice. About a $20 difference this past month. We will be upgrading with a Fujitsu central air/heat unit towards the end of the summer mainly so I don’t have to keep pulling that banger in and out and so the boy can have some air up in his penthouse above the back garage. 😂 Stay cool my friends. 🧊 🧊 🧊 

 

Pure Michigan Baby! 

Edited July 29, 2023 by Rob J.

[c-series don 8,690]

One of the advantages of living on the coast and the east end of Long Island is that we are surrounded by water. The sea breeze off the ocean helps keep us cool in the summer and warmer in the winter. Only a matter of twenty miles to the west the temperature in the summer can be 10-15 degrees hotter in the summer. Don’t get me wrong, it still gets hot but it’s usually only a few days at a time. Water temps are in the 70’s in the ocean and almost 80 in the bays. Just went swimming in the bay after a nice BBQ on the beach with my family. Summertime is in full swing! I love it! 

[wh500special 2,170]

44 minutes ago, Rob J. said:

… it hit 100 before noon. Humidity so thick you could see it.

That’s the weather we were looking at in STL this week. 
 

at least it’s not Mississippi or Louisiana. 
 

It always tickled me when i lived in northern Indiana and spent big swaths of time in MeChicken to hear people complain about the heat and humidity.  Or when we’d go fishing in northern MN and would hit a “hot” spell…if they only knew!

 

Of course your winters make up for it…

 

Steve

 

PS - ‘MeChicken’ is a portmanteau of ‘me’ and ‘chicken’ which were somehow the autocorrects of however i misspelled Michigan.  I liked it so I kept it.  

Edited July 29, 2023 by wh500special

[JoeM 7,873]

6 hours ago, c-series don said:

Water temps are in the 70’s in the ocean and almost 80 in the bays

In the old days, colder the better and now I like the 80+ degree water, best for these old bones. Lol

Have to keep the cement pond open at night to let it cool down. Water will easily climb into the 90's. 

 

[rmaynard 15,436]

It's summer. It won't last. Then in a few weeks we'll be talking about getting the plows and blowers ready for snow.

[ebinmaine 67,455]

8 hours ago, wh500special said:

 

Steve

 

PS - ‘MeChicken’ is a portmanteau of ‘me’ and ‘chicken’ which were somehow the autocorrects of however i misspelled Michigan.  I liked it so I kept it.  

Excellent chuckle material. 

Thanks for leaving that. 

 

😂

[squonk 41,079]

Ah yes. The common mistakes often made when replacing an AC compressor. 

 

No oil

Didn't change receiver /drier if equipped.

Didn't change orifice tube if equipped.

Didn't clean condenser and rad fins behind condenser

Didn't address broken /missing plastic air dams that direct air thru condenser

 

And my 2 favorites. 

 

Adding too much oil.  "I'm changing this here compressor. The label on the car says system takes 8 oz. of oil. Ok 8 oz. it is! 

 

Vacuum has made it to 30" inHg, good enough!

 

Check out this real short video. This was my wife's van after a rear AC line was changed by a shop. All because they didn't run the vacuum pump at least for an hour.

 

 

[squonk 41,079]

We have 2 window shakers at the house. I have been running them on energy saver mode and the house is comfortable. 65-75° dewpoints the last few days.

 

Work is another matter. We have a 350 ton Absorption chiller that uses heat to make cold. Same principle as an RV reefer. The more load the more heat we need. I have been tweaking the system the last 2 weeks  . For years they have never gotten more than 150 tons out of it. I hit 321 tons on Tuesday at one point. 215° water coming out of the heat exchanger supplying hot water to the absorber. This is wide open, foot to the floor wide open boogie. Wed morning I 'm driving in an the phone rings. "Get there fast as you can as the boiler room is full of steam. I get there and they think the heat exchanger has a hole in it. I can't see a thing as my glasses are all fogged up. I start to back the absorber down and management is on the phone looking for a portable chiller. 

 

Turns out a check valve for one of the boilers failed so when 1 boiler called for water it filled the other boiler as well and overfilled it. Water had gotten into the steam header and was raising havoc throughout the system.  

[c-series don 8,690]

@squonk One things for sure, it sounds like you definitely know your business! If those people in the hospital were counting on me, they would die!🤣

[JoeM 7,873]

14 minutes ago, c-series don said:

If those people in the hospital were counting on me, they would die

Me too, or at the least be hot!

[squonk 41,079]

11 minutes ago, JoeM said:

Me too, or at the least be hot!

I love it when they call and want the Temp in an OR lowered 1°. Like they are really going to feel that! 

[rmaynard 15,436]

"Knock on wood" or I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I have been in that state of mind for decades now. We had our whole-house A/C installed in 1989. At the time we decided that getting the best unit available would pay off in the long run. Well we got a Trane XL-1200, and we've gotten more than our money's worth. Did I say 1989? Yes I did. The unit has NEVER been service since, and as of today it still cools like the day it was installed. There is something to be said about buying the best, then "leave the sleeping dog lie".

 

Kinda like a Wheel Horse.

 

 

 

[Handy Don 12,216]

1 hour ago, rmaynard said:

whole-house A/C installed in 1989

My wife and I take the same view. Research and buy the best you can afford.

 

Our top-of-the-line Amana system system failed (dead compressor) last summer after 39 years. We also had to replace the still-working-fine evaporator coil because it was for the older, now banned refrigerant and rated for lower pressure than the new system and refrigerant. Thankfully, the original heavier duty refrigerant piping was still usable. I was interested to see that the fittings were all silver soldered to withstand the higher pressures/vacuums as well.

 

As he was cleaning up after the job, the installer asked why “folks like you" were spending extra money for another top quality system (he probably assumed we were ready for a retirement home or about to kick the bucket). I told him it was so I would likely never see him again--he got pretty quiet after that.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Handy Don

[squonk 41,079]

Keep the condenser coil clean and they will last. High pressure line for todays refrigerant are supposed to be brazed not soldered. Yes soldering works, takes less time and talent to install but is not recommended over the long haul. I 've run into a few soldered 410A systems. They all had to be redone. Not a great idea to use old lines either. but it does happen. Some work and some don't. With the quality of today's copper it's a crapshoot either way

[Ed Kennell 38,158]

1 hour ago, rmaynard said:

"Knock on wood"

Same here Bob.      My son Mike installed a luxaire unit in 2003 for me and Mrs. K.         Only failure was a start up capacitor on the air handler about 10 years back.   

Never needed a charge.      Mike says the copper is so thin on the units he installs today they have a 5 year life.  

 

 

Low 90s max here, but it in the low 70s by daylight.   Not too bad.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Ed Kennell

[squonk 41,079]

We installed a new walk in freezer at a school a few years ago. 3 years later it went down. No refrigerant in the system. Found the leak where the lines went through the block wall. We installed it through a sleeve and insulated the lines and kept them from rubbing together. The copper had polka dots all over it and pinholes.

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,297]

Already 90 here , calling for 98 with heating index of 110 , this ole goat is staying inside.

[WHX?? 48,815]

On 7/29/2023 at 9:56 AM, Ed Kennell said:

 the copper is so thin on the units he installs today they have a 5 year life.  

True they dont make it like they used to. Evidently bean counters rule.

True but most if not all brands will throw in another five year parts warranty if you register your crap on line. Evidently your name and info is more valuable for marketing than anyone's product. 

On 7/29/2023 at 9:47 AM, squonk said:

They all had to be redone

 

Most likely not done right to begin with.

Me: why did you not use a N2 purge when you brazed? 

Installer: The N2 bottle was empty cause i didn't check it before i left for the job. Dinner was waiting and I just giterdone.

Me:

Lost money on that job needless to say. 

Went to silver and never looked back

We never had a problem with silver soldering unless the help had a tee time to make and rushed the procedure.