Air Conditioner Quit Working.

[OldCoyote]

First thing I did was add a temporary cooler, It got us by.

Since I didn't have time, called a repairman, ,, Can't be fixed,, estimate for a new one depending on the SEER rating $8000- $10,000 installed.

The problem was the evap coil ices up blocks the air flow, I make time, it is a bad expansion valve,, They don't make it any more.,,

planned obsolescence.  so you need to buy a new AC unit.  I go to a wholesaler, buy a universal Expansion valve. modify it, install it make some adjustments!!

Works great,, fact is because I cleaned all the coils, Recovered most of the freon,  made those adjustments.

I think it is working better than it has in years!!

My cost a little over $150, a fair amount of time.

[Deleted]

I wish I had your talents.  I DID avoid a ripoff estimate for cleaning my A/C unit by watching a 5-minute YouTube video and doing it myself. 

And it's very revealing that the outfit that wanted to replace the unit didnt' think of that solution.  Conflict of interest, maybe?

My brother can fix ANYTHING but he lives several states away.  I've joked that someday I'm going to fly him here and give him a To Do list.   He can start with replacing the outlet with the faulty GFI (outlet still works) that Big Ripoff company offered to do for $500.  I think I'd save the cost of the airfare very quickly.

[thyme4change]

Jul 29, 2019 6:46:01 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I wish I had your talents.  I DID avoid a ripoff estimate for cleaning my A/C unit by watching a 5-minute YouTube video and doing it myself. 

And it's very revealing that the outfit that wanted to replace the unit didnt' think of that solution.  Conflict of interest, maybe?

My brother can fix ANYTHING but he lives several states away.  I've joked that someday I'm going to fly him here and give him a To Do list.   He can start with replacing the outlet with the faulty GFI (outlet still works) that Big Ripoff company offered to do for $500.  I think I'd save the cost of the airfare very quickly.

You need to find a local handyman. They can knock out those little jobs for less than big companies (but more than your brother.)

[nidena]

It's funny how cost helps us to free up time.

[resolution]

Some air conditioning repair people will just try to prey on their customers during an emergency. I had a similar issue 10 years ago where I called in an emergency repair and they tried to sell me a new unit. That same unit continued to work with just a minor repair and I got another 9 years out of it before it really needed to be replaced.

[OldCoyote]

Wellll, it is not fixed,

Here is the funny part, my friends will laugh (good natured) at me cause they know I will now go to the end of the Earth to find out what is really wrong.

[sesfw]

Had a friend years ago that had A/C problems and called a big company here.  They told her she needed a new unit.  She got a second opinion from a local handyman and he replaced the thermostat.

Problem solved.

[hoops902]

For some reason HVAC seems to be the one thing I can never quite figure out.  Our A/C outside unit kept turning off on hot days.  I "fixed" it probably half a dozen times.  Cleaned it at the start of the year, cleaned it again when it stopped working, did a handful of other things to "fix" it that I figured were wrong with it.  It was driving me CRAZY, and my wife probably crazier.  Every time I'd "fix" it, and it would work for a day or two, then as soon as we got a hot day again it would stop working.

Eventually she called the person we use for all our HVAC to come take a look.  His response was essentially "well, you cleaned it, but for some reason you didn't clean a bit of dirt off the sensor you needed to.  It's got dust all over it and it's overheating when the unit runs for a long time on hot days, and it's turning the unit off".  Apparently the reason it was "fixed" each time is that I'd kill the breaker in order to open it up and work on it.  Killing the breaker killed the power to the sensor, so when I would "fix it" and flip the breaker back on, the sensor would have cooled down from how long it had been off, and killing the power reset the sensor so it worked fine until it overheated again.  Apparently I could have just flipped the breaker off, then on, and it would have had the same impact of all the work I was doing trying to fix the problem.  Or I could have identified this little stupid sensor and cleaned it off and actually fixed it.

[ken a.k.a OMK]

Jul 30, 2019 8:55:04 GMT -5 OldCoyote said:

Wellll, it is not fixed,

Here is the funny part, my friends will laugh (good natured) at me cause they know I will now go to the end of the Earth to find out what is really wrong.

I'm like you. I even fix things I know we will throw away afterward but I need to know what failed. Future reference I say. 

[OldCoyote]

Jul 30, 2019 10:16:28 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

Jul 30, 2019 8:55:04 GMT -5 OldCoyote said:

Wellll, it is not fixed,

Here is the funny part, my friends will laugh (good natured) at me cause they know I will now go to the end of the Earth to find out what is really wrong.

I'm like you. I even fix things I know we will throw away afterward but I need to know what failed. Future reference I say. 

Here is what is funny, my competitors employees call me for guidance.