AC compressor

[Stormin Mormon]

I missed the conclusion. Did Mr. Ransley get the AC repaired?

[bud--]

There is a circular magnetic field around a conductor carrying current. With 2 wires carrying current both ways in a circuit, the magnetic field pushes the wires apart. The starting current for a motor is about 6x the running current. Seems to me you might hear wires moving in some cases.

[bud--]

And in motor circuits the circuit breaker protects the wire from short circuits, not overloads. The breaker may be significantly larger than the wire rating. There is overload protection at the motor end of the circuit.

[jamesgangnc]

The starting current is typically 2 to 3 times run in hvac units.

The breaker is slow to respond to the startup current surge so it's rating can be closer to the unit run current.

[ransley]

It runs but is it fixed? He said it was out of freon and he bypassed the 5 minute timer circuit thats for my old Honeywell thermostat. But It was just filled 3 weeks ago by the same company but different tech fixed a leak, but there is nothing leaking where it was fixed. Here is where I get suspicious, last time it failed it took a few days to leak out and I noticed it and saw ice on the coils, this time it just stopped cooling and the handler had no ice. I know the tech has no motive to lie but having the timer and a leak??? But he didnt charge me when he found out they were out a few weeks ago, so, I will just see if it all leaks out again, the date on the compressor is 94 so it may have run its life but I cant afford a new one anyway, hey summers about over so im not worried. They want 300 for just a leak test and he thought I would say yes yes yes, but I said no. I see leak detectors for 29$ on ebay and 75 at HF so maybe I should get one for fun and saving a 300$ test.

[The Daring Dufas]

Like I posted to someone else, the noise sounds like a steel fish tape rattling around in an otherwise empty conduit. It's a distinct sound. Sometimes it sounds like someone whacked the conduit once with the metal shaft of a screwdriver, the sharp noise seems to travel down the length of the conduit if you understand what I mean. It's unmistakable when you hear it, you may even hear the breaker buzz too.

TDD

[Stormin Mormon]

You can mix a big squirt of dish soap with a cup of warm water. Paint it on with a brush (on the copper tubing) and some where you might find where it blows bubbles.

And like you say, buy your own leak detector. I sense that HVAC company is expensive, and not very service minded.

[jamesgangnc]

You must have another leak or the first repair was flawed. The mormon is right, soapy water is not a bad leak detector. The cheap leak detectors are not much better than soapy water. Unless it's in the evaporator coil. Big leaks are usually pretty easy to find. I'd start where the first repair was made.

You paid once for them to find leaks. I'd be on the phone with the manager. When I had someone find a leak in my upstairs unit they went over the entire system even though they found one leak in the evaporator part way through the check. They used a leak detector but it was not a cheap one.

[trader4]

.

It's also amazing that they would just refill it with refrigerant without doing the leak test. They repaired a leak and filled it a few weeks ago. Obviously the refrigerant went somewhere. You would think they would just do the leak test for free while they were there rather than screw around.

I guess the worse case is that it's leaking somewhere other than where they repaired it. If so, I guess you're out of luck because they're likely going to say they only guarantee the particular leak they fixed, not a new one. Of course if there is another leak, it could have been there all along too. I guess the question becomes, if there is another leak, is it worth continuing to try to fix this or time for a whole new unit. Also consider the tax credits available this year.

[The Daring Dufas]

Sometimes I have to isolate sections of a system and pressurize it with nitrogen to determine if it's leaking in a particular segment. The service valves at the condensing unit can be closed therefore isolating the line set and evaporator. I'll pressurize it to at least 100lbs and watch the gauge or use my ultrasonic leak detector or sniffer if a bit of Freon is in the mix. The Mark I Eyeball and HE-II Ear are often the only tools needed to find a leak in conjunction with the F1 Finger. 8-)

TDD

[Stormin Mormon]

That reminds me. Didn't you pay them to find and repair the leak, already? If it's still leaking. Either the tech didn't actually repair the leak. Or there is a leak he didn't find. Or there is a leak that is new.

In any case, a call back is a good idea.