Stormin Mormon wrote in news:fbHbx.66737$ snipped-for-privacy@fx17.iad:
Yes, I've gotten my terminology mixed up. Just like learning how to maintain the pool equipment from knowing nothing about it at first, to being able to take care of it myself, between this ng, talking with service techs, and going online, I've learned a lot about proper a/c terminology and how it all works.
All along, I thought the cooling took place in the outside unit. Wrong. I didn't know there was a thing called an evaporator in the furnace...a split system. I though that if I took the fan off of the top of the a/c unit, I'd see a whole bunch of complicated stuff about which I'd know nothing. Now I see that all that's in there (besides the electronics, which are physically isolated from the inards) is a compressor (big tin can in the middle) sitting on some rubber vibration isolation bumpers, surrounded by a radiator-like set of cooling fins.
I was incorrectly using compressor and condensor interchangeably.
The theory we're working on now is that the condensor is too dirty to cool the returning hot air generated at the evaporator. Yes?
If that's not it, I would suspect the evaporator. I'll have to see if I can get at the evaporator, and if so, I'll clean it, too, and reseal.
While the tech didn't record all the data on the work order, as he checked items, he'd tell me this is in range, that is in range. He did check temps at the evaporator inlet (he didn't open up), and considered icing.
I bought four cans of consensor foaming spray cleaner yesterday, but now can't go up to the Sacramento area until Sunday. Because the unit has louvered side panels over the fins, I don't expect to find and bent over or dented fins.