HVAC Companies Practically Make a Living Off of this Cheap DIY Fix!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- In this video I show how to troubleshoot and test your heat pump / air conditioner that's not running or cooling properly to see if it needs a new run capacitor. This has been a long time cash cow for the HVAC industry and it is probably the most common and easiest thing to fix... Not to mention lucrative. The capacitors are usually $20 or less and can be easily bought.
They got my mother for $400 to replace compressor start cap. I didn't know she had even called someone I would have looked at it first. Also, I would keep your own stock of CAPs most HVAC suppliers in town will not sell to a homeowner only a licensed contractor. You can get the parts online buy them ahead of time that way save money.
That's absolutely right! I used to live near a place called R.E. Michael and they would sell to a homeowner... I haven't researched the place I'm living now to see if there's anything nearby that will too. But like you said, you can buy a lot of parts Online.
@@TheHomeImprovementChannel I'm in Phoenix used to be a sheet metal place they sold AC parts. Last year my roof top goodmen died I went over to have him test the indoor blower motor thinking that was the problem place was out of business. When I called around 2 places had the motor they would not deal with me. Ended up my compressor locked up fried the indoor motor was a brushless motor. Had to call an AC contractor in the end he got me good $8800 for 4 ton roof top goodman installed. I should have paid about 6500. What can you do in August when it's 109F had to pay him. My old goodman ran 15 years I suspected it was having some issues should have replaced it sooner the compressor was getting louder and louder wasn't drawing more current the caps were still good.
Awwww man... yea 9Gs is a huge amount to come up with unexpectedly. I hear Phoenix is under a bad heat wave... any relief in sight?
@@TheHomeImprovementChannel It's always really hot in July here, but we got some thunderstorms last night cooled it down some. Usually by this time we start getting some rain the temps come down. We had 3 1/2 weeks of 112-119 which is little more than we usually get to. My AC run for 4-5 hours if I let it, I usually turn it up to 78-79 give it a break. I have lot of computers inside the house get hot.
Ok great information. Thank you. Tell me, where di you buy capacitors for the units? I dont recall seeing those at the big box stores. After posting the comment I hooked it and they are readily available. Pardon my pardon
HI! I haven't seen those in big box stores, unless I've missed them. I bought them from Amazon. They are pretty cheap and fast shipping... of course it's good to have a spare of the size you need so you don't have to wait for shipping in case of a failure... 😀
So $20 capacitor +100 + to buy a meter + the time & gas to go find one and come back + the chance of messing something up. Thanks but i was happy with the tech that replaced mine on a sunday when i had family over.
That's up to you! Thanks for the input.
Its cool that homeowners are trying to DIY stuff. But dont get mad when you mess up and have to call a professional and they hand you a bill.
I've never been afraid to take something apart for the first time. I've only had to get a professional one time ever... On a manual transmission on a dodge truck... 😊😊. If you don't try, you won't learn!
Its not that its a secret its that at a typical 125/hour plus truck charges it adds up fast. another thing to note is wash your condenser coils! disconnect power and give it rinse once a year with your garden hose. not so much pressure to bend the fins but enough to get the dirt out. a dirty condenser can/will cause damage to the compressor and then its an expensive fix for something that could have been avoided. also change the damn air filter lol.
Absolutely keep the coils clean and change the filters! I worked with a guy for quite some time and whenever we went to a house that had tenants one of the first questions is... "How old is the filter". That's when you get the deer in the headlights look... 😂!
Yeah, buy garbage caps online and wire them wrong…then repeat the process a year or so later because they are made with paraffin wax in China. Lol
OK thanks...
dude, your fingernail had me cring... I've done that so many times growing up... hit something on it, smash in door, etccc.... painful under the nail... Had my toe nail removed twice, fully pulled out and removed, the most painful thing i've ever experianced... it would have hurt less to cut off the damn toe....
Yea I smashed it pretty good with a waffle headed hammer a couple of months ago 😩😩😩.. It looks worse than it feels.. (Luckily). I had one removed once.. It was the worse thing I've ever had to do.. No fun 😂😂
I learned the hard way. $249. on a Sunday morning. When the condenser fan locked up, I fixed it myself. I also have a new contactor waiting just in case, as well as a couple of caps.
So really getting ripped off ended up costing them in the long run.
OH yea.. they charge! The Sunday price might have been a little more than the regular price, but rest assured if it had been Monday morning, they would still charge plenty.. 😂. Granted I understand the service call costs money and training/ licenses and all that.
Thanks, Rudy. It's really great that you keep us in mind by showing us how to fix things so that unscrupulous contractors cannot cheat us. Good tip on the strap iron. That'll keep us from getting frustrated.
You're welcome! Yes I've seen it a few times where the new capacitor is smaller than the old one and now the original strap won't fit😀
I've had to replace this twice on my unit--the first time my brother-in-law (HVAC tech) at the time did it, and the second I called a tech and he was 100% honest and changed it out for me, did an inspection, and that was that. Remember, whenever you have electrical parts fail, INSPECT THE SYSTEM so see if there is an underlying problem. Each time I got it replaced, I had them do an inspection of the whole unit as well to make sure that was the only issue--$20 for the part, $100 or so for the inspection, money well spent.
Excellent! Yes there could be an underlying culprit. Most of the time the capacitor just goes bad and it's replaced and done. Luckily most HVAC techs are honest and not trying to rip people off. I worked with a guy for a pretty good while who was honest and I appreciated that. I wouldn't have wanted to work for him if I saw anything shady going on..