Hi,
The heat pump in my apartment is not working.
At the outside unit I can hear a slight hum and then it clicks then goes quiet. It seems that a circuit breaker in the unit is tripping. It doesn't appear/sound like the compressor is running and the fan isn't running. Would a frozen compressor keep the fan from running? I set it on cooling and it still didn't run.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Dave
Dave, Most of us already know whats wrong but if we told you it might lead to us contributing to your death, dismemberment or disfigurement. Call your landlord. Bubba
Hi Bubba, I don't think that I would kill myself. I'm a licensed in the auto world for Freon, I'm also a licensed A&P (aircraft mechanic) and an electrical engineer. I'm trying to save the nice lady some money if I can repair her problem for a reasonable cost. If somebody wants to send me an email to point me in the right direction or give me some pointers I promise I won't tell, lol.
Dave
Bubba wrote:
Oh My! A licensed auto refrigerant tech, a licensed AP AND .............you guessed it everyone. He's also an EE! Now to top it off you want to save some little old lady some money. Do her a favor. If you REALLY care that much, LEAVE it the hell alone and pay a tech to come out and fix it for her/you. Consider the money a Christmas gift. Bubba
Elitest bastard, i bend over backwards to help aircraft owners to work on their own airplanes. i give them data, tips and pointers on how to do things right. These are my customers. It's narrow minded people like you who try to keep the information to themselves and pat themselves on the back for doing it. I tried to ask for some simple information and I get shit for no reason. I suspect that your pretty insecure otherwise you too would be trying to pass on information you have learned through the years, and probably from people far more experienced than you. They should have laughed at you and put you down for asking for information.
Dick head
Bubba wrote:
Well there ya go Bubba - an "EE"!
Actually Nieve Dave;
Many a person do I teach *in my trade.* When it's someone who's [outside] of my trade, who wants a [quick] answer to [save someone money,] it puts a whole different spin on things. You want to learn the trade? Take a course in HVACR pr two.
How wonderful it is that you help / pass on information to those in need for aircraft repair and electrical work. But I am not you. And you shouldn't insult Bubba's mom that way either. Keep your family names to yourself Davie.
As a matter of fact, your the "dick head." Why don't you just call you neighborhood friendly HVAC tech and ask them to "share" the information?
Then you shouldn't have any problem with basic electrical and control troubleshooting.
Harbor Freight sells a 140Kbtu propane torch maybe unfreeze the compressor could help...
Perfectly welcome.
Most compressor have an overload trip built inside. But that would not prevent the fan from running.
A 24vac signal powers a big relay that typically turns on both the fan and the compressor. Both have starter capacitors or share one of those dual starter capacitors. The compressor is 230 and the fan is usually 115.
There is also a reversing valve in the freon line that controls if it is in ac mode or heat mode.
Plus there is usually a circuit board that periodically puts the unit into defrost mode which is basically turning it back into an ac for a couple minutes but without the fan. This heats up the outside coils pretty fast and melts any accumulated ice. It could be sensor controlled but most are just timer circuits.
WTF?????
Yeah, I liked that too. :-) A "big relay" and the "fan is usually 115". James is a genius. Bubba
You, Mr. Dick head may bend over whomever you wish backwards. I dont swing that way. As far as Im still concerned you got the best information given. Call a real hvac tech, pay for it yourself and tell the old lady Merry Christmas. There, now you got all that valuable info for free. And if you think what you got was "shit" then you need to grow some balls and take off those panties you sniffiling little toddler. Bubba
In most of the world contactors are called relays. Beats me where the name contactor came from? Usually it seems to only be used for higher powered relays. If you showed an ee one I'd suspect he'd be more likely to call it a relay.
I'll bet we won't see any of them some day. I've been getting 25amp triacs for under a buck apiece lately. If it wasn't for the surge current it's be easy to replace the contactor with a triac and optocoupler.
I am sorry James but some of us see it different "In most of the world contactors are called relays." Relays are normally open and or normally closed and they come in single or multi contacts usually max. rated amperage 15 amp. the contactors are usually 15 amp. and up and are normally open very rarely that are combination but yes can be for special purpose combination NO&NC but for general purpose Contactors are always normally open and they start at 20 Amp. rating common for 2,3&4 poles Tony
Note: Triacs or for resistive loads not bad I would not want them on my equipment on inductive loads and I am talking from experience.
Yea, in the hvac world contactor is the norm. And it does more commonly refer to the high amp situations. I was using terms the guy was more likely to understand. He may or may not know what a contactor is but if he has any electrical experience at all he does know what a relay is.
I can't argue with you at the moment about the triacs for high current inductive loads. But the ratings are continuing to climb and the price drop. You might be able to use them now on smaller residential units. Once they have ones that can handle the high inductive load they will be way more reliable than the current mechanical devices. Plus they are more easily used in conjunction with computer control and I'm thinking that computer control is not far off in residential hvac either. It's pretty easy to see how a cpu could manage compressor, fans, expansion valves, etc all based on input from sensors on the equipment, indoor, and outdoor environments.
I guess James is working on a new product line? I can't remember seeing any
115 VAC condensor fans, either.
The new equipment that I install has a mother board in condensers and heat pumps with an on-board contacts that are pulled in or released when the current sinewave is at its null to elimate contact arcing. The "advertised" lifespan is supposed to be 100 times that of a regular contactor. Yes the computer control is already there and has been for a couple of years.
quoted text -
It's still a mechanical device and that makes it more prone to failure.
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