My 30 year old house AC finally gave up and a new unit cost me $4200. Over the last cooling season, I calculated that I saved about $6 per month over the old unit. I won't live long enough to break even. However; the new one cools much better. Ed
Should I look into replacing the AC unit?
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Should I look into replacing the AC unit?
I would not.
I would not.
The R-410a runs at a much higher pressure and the new coils leak and need replacing early and often. There is a substitute for R-22 now so stay with the old units as long as you can. All brands of new equipment have designed obsolescence built into them now. In fact, if you can buy a used unit you are better off if you can find one in working condition. Perhaps the folks that think they will save money with a higher SEER unit will sell their used unit.
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Trying to make a unit cool to 72 on a hot day will make any unit run continuous. Sounds to me like your unit is still good but you might be expecting too much from it. I don't make mine cool to 72. I set it to 76 in the summer and it's very comfortable when you dress lightly. The unit cycles on and off and the electric bill ain't bad.
Originally Posted By: 229
The R-410a runs at a much higher pressure and the new coils leak and need replacing early and often. There is a substitute for R-22 now so stay with the old units as long as you can. All brands of new equipment have designed obsolescence built into them now. In fact, if you can buy a used unit you are better off if you can find one in working condition. Perhaps the folks that think they will save money with a higher SEER unit will sell their used unit.
The A-Coil , if made well , should not leak on any unit . Depends on the quality of the build and materials .
Whether this happens or not , just depends . Might do some internet searching to try to determind which brand is experiencing problems .
The R-410a runs at a much higher pressure and the new coils leak and need replacing early and often. There is a substitute for R-22 now so stay with the old units as long as you can. All brands of new equipment have designed obsolescence built into them now. In fact, if you can buy a used unit you are better off if you can find one in working condition. Perhaps the folks that think they will save money with a higher SEER unit will sell their used unit.
The A-Coil , if made well , should not leak on any unit . Depends on the quality of the build and materials .
Whether this happens or not , just depends . Might do some internet searching to try to determind which brand is experiencing problems .
Originally Posted By: Dave1027
Trying to make a unit cool to 72 on a hot day will make any unit run continuous. Sounds to me like your unit is still good but you might be expecting too much from it. I don't make mine cool to 72. I set it to 76 in the summer and it's very comfortable when you dress lightly. The unit cycles on and off and the electric bill ain't bad.
If you are going to play , you dot to pay .
Trying to make a unit cool to 72 on a hot day will make any unit run continuous. Sounds to me like your unit is still good but you might be expecting too much from it. I don't make mine cool to 72. I set it to 76 in the summer and it's very comfortable when you dress lightly. The unit cycles on and off and the electric bill ain't bad.
If you are going to play , you dot to pay .
Originally Posted By: Dave1027
Trying to make a unit cool to 72 on a hot day will make any unit run continuous. Sounds to me like your unit is still good but you might be expecting too much from it. I don't make mine cool to 72. I set it to 76 in the summer and it's very comfortable when you dress lightly. The unit cycles on and off and the electric bill ain't bad.
Only 72 from 10pm to 5am or so... When it often is mid 70's anyway at night outside. 5am-3:30pm I have it at 77F when at work... 75F from 3:30-10pm.
I dress lightly, but I am just hot blooded. So I set it at what I find comfortable.
Going to stop at the hardware store after work today and pick up some coil cleaner and do a clean on the unit today. It may be a little dirty, we shall see. Either way, can't hurt. Air filter was replaced last month, so all that is good already.
Trying to make a unit cool to 72 on a hot day will make any unit run continuous. Sounds to me like your unit is still good but you might be expecting too much from it. I don't make mine cool to 72. I set it to 76 in the summer and it's very comfortable when you dress lightly. The unit cycles on and off and the electric bill ain't bad.
Only 72 from 10pm to 5am or so... When it often is mid 70's anyway at night outside. 5am-3:30pm I have it at 77F when at work... 75F from 3:30-10pm.
I dress lightly, but I am just hot blooded. So I set it at what I find comfortable.
Going to stop at the hardware store after work today and pick up some coil cleaner and do a clean on the unit today. It may be a little dirty, we shall see. Either way, can't hurt. Air filter was replaced last month, so all that is good already.
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Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
If you're happy with your energy bills, keep it for now. At the hottest part of the day they're supposed to run constantly. But if it starts in the morning and doesn't shut off until night time, it's probably time for a new one.
A properly sized unit on a hot day should run almost continuously. The second job of AC is to remove humidity and if you have oversized system it will cool then shutoff too much and not remove enough humidity. Keep the old one for sure and dont worry. for any other problem other than bad compressor you can fix it.
A novel approach to save energy... Set your programmable thermostat to go very low at night for good sleeping then in morning just before power costs increase raise the temp. Making the drywall tile etc store the cold when power is cheap at night it will release that coldness during the day. In a well insulated house the AC will stay off most of the following day temperature rising about 1 degree an hour.
A novel approach to save energy... Set your programmable thermostat to go very low at night for good sleeping then in morning just before power costs increase raise the temp. Making the drywall tile etc store the cold when power is cheap at night it will release that coldness during the day. In a well insulated house the AC will stay off most of the following day temperature rising about 1 degree an hour.
Kestas
Staff member
On those rare 98° days I'll set the garden hose to mist the condenser coils.
We only have a single rate , 24 hours a day . I asked when I was charging the Nissan Leaf at night .
Originally Posted By: Kestas
On those rare 98° days I'll set the garden hose to mist the condenser coils.
That can cause problems if you have hard water like we do . :-(
On those rare 98° days I'll set the garden hose to mist the condenser coils.
That can cause problems if you have hard water like we do . :-(
So... Unfortunate news.
I picked up coil cleaner on the way home to give this thing a good clean. Once home, took off the side panels/cover on the outdoor unit. The coils were CAKED with grass/dirt/whatever else to the point you couldn't even see coils in many parts. Took a shop vac to it first before using the coil cleaner to finish. Put everything back together, put the unit back on and.... Nopppppe.
Hear electricity/buzzing, but the fan don't spin. Sounds like a transformer type sound buzzing.
Did some research, sounds like either the capacitor or fan motor blew. Found the replacement capacitor part on Amazon surprisingly for $25 shipped so I have that en-route expedited (hopefully arrive tomorrow), but if that doesn't work I may have to look at the fan motor. I want to say the capacitor is original, as it looked the part... p/n 43-21298-20 (35uF 370V 60Hz)- Also has Aerovox Z24P3735M on it as well.
Crazy that me cleaning the unit did something to kill it... I didn't touch any wires or anything like that. Wonder if a light bump killed one of the (old) delicate components. Just really sucks... I was all excited to get this thing back clean and going.
On the flipside, I am shocked the unit isn't leaking coolant... Big groups of the fins are corroded to nothing anymore (likely from being dirty for so long. We took over the house last year). The main lines must be OK, though.
I brought my capacitor into work (many electrical engineers here to check it for me to confirm it bad or not)... I'm mechanical, so I barely know how to use a voltmeter properly. Now to try to find a motor for this unit, just in case...
Model information for those curious:
Rheem RACC-030JAS
Manufactured 6/89.
I picked up coil cleaner on the way home to give this thing a good clean. Once home, took off the side panels/cover on the outdoor unit. The coils were CAKED with grass/dirt/whatever else to the point you couldn't even see coils in many parts. Took a shop vac to it first before using the coil cleaner to finish. Put everything back together, put the unit back on and.... Nopppppe.
Hear electricity/buzzing, but the fan don't spin. Sounds like a transformer type sound buzzing.
Did some research, sounds like either the capacitor or fan motor blew. Found the replacement capacitor part on Amazon surprisingly for $25 shipped so I have that en-route expedited (hopefully arrive tomorrow), but if that doesn't work I may have to look at the fan motor. I want to say the capacitor is original, as it looked the part... p/n 43-21298-20 (35uF 370V 60Hz)- Also has Aerovox Z24P3735M on it as well.
Crazy that me cleaning the unit did something to kill it... I didn't touch any wires or anything like that. Wonder if a light bump killed one of the (old) delicate components. Just really sucks... I was all excited to get this thing back clean and going.
On the flipside, I am shocked the unit isn't leaking coolant... Big groups of the fins are corroded to nothing anymore (likely from being dirty for so long. We took over the house last year). The main lines must be OK, though.
I brought my capacitor into work (many electrical engineers here to check it for me to confirm it bad or not)... I'm mechanical, so I barely know how to use a voltmeter properly. Now to try to find a motor for this unit, just in case...
Model information for those curious:
Rheem RACC-030JAS
Manufactured 6/89.
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Did the capacitor you took off have 3 terminals ? If so , be carefull to hook the new one up correctly .
Should be marked ;
c - common
herm - compressor
F - fan
Turn the power off before you mess with it .
Should be marked ;
c - common
herm - compressor
F - fan
Turn the power off before you mess with it .
No, this one only has 2 terminals. And before I removed it, I cut power at the circuit breaker and pulled the fuse. Also de-energized by crossing the terminals with an insulated screwdriver. So I was careful.
This is the RUN capacitor, thinking I need to pull the start one as well and get that one replaced. I may have a AC company local to here with excellent feedback/reviews stop by to see if they can revive it cheaply or possibly quote a new unit install... After seeing the condition of the cooling coils, I don't know how much time is left to be honest.
This is the RUN capacitor, thinking I need to pull the start one as well and get that one replaced. I may have a AC company local to here with excellent feedback/reviews stop by to see if they can revive it cheaply or possibly quote a new unit install... After seeing the condition of the cooling coils, I don't know how much time is left to be honest.
Had the exact same thing happen to me 2 weeks ago. I flipped the circuit breaker off and on a few times, it's located outside in a box but still, and it kicked on. Last week, found a local AC guy that seemed legit and he went through my 22 year old system. The capacitor was a little weak, but still pulled duty. He explained to me that the capacitor on these units, a 97 Lennox, 4 ton, built date of '97, not only use the capacitor to fire up the compressor, but it also helps regulate the compressor so if capacitor is not running 100%, could eventually do damage to the compressor. Had it replaced, only about 60 bucks.
Another thing I recently did and it MADE A HUUUGGGEEEE DIFFERENCE, was I installed an electric attic fan when I got my roof replaced. Set the thermostat to 98F. I have also had a remote temperature reading sensor in the attic. I can remember many years looking at the in the summer and seeing 125F many times. With this new attic fan, I've yet to see it go past 105F. I'm sure the cost of electricity running that attic fan offsets the cost of running/straining the AC unit. Wish I'd done that years ago.
Another thing I recently did and it MADE A HUUUGGGEEEE DIFFERENCE, was I installed an electric attic fan when I got my roof replaced. Set the thermostat to 98F. I have also had a remote temperature reading sensor in the attic. I can remember many years looking at the in the summer and seeing 125F many times. With this new attic fan, I've yet to see it go past 105F. I'm sure the cost of electricity running that attic fan offsets the cost of running/straining the AC unit. Wish I'd done that years ago.
We also have an attic fan, but it's been dead a few years. Need to go up there and hopefully pull the motor and find a replacement. It's on my "to-do" list... Maybe go up there this weekend (in an upper, upper attic I usually don't go in).
Do not be supprised if you can buy a complete fan as cheap as just a motor .
Originally Posted By: xBa380
No, this one only has 2 terminals. And before I removed it, I cut power at the circuit breaker and pulled the fuse. Also de-energized by crossing the terminals with an insulated screwdriver. So I was careful.
This is the RUN capacitor, thinking I need to pull the start one as well and get that one replaced. I may have a AC company local to here with excellent feedback/reviews stop by to see if they can revive it cheaply or possibly quote a new unit install... After seeing the condition of the cooling coils, I don't know how much time is left to be honest.
2 terminals , does not matter which way you connect the 2 wires .
Capacitors are inexpensive , not a bad idea to replace the other one ( which may go to the fan ) .
You used to be able to buy , on the internet , " dry charge " ( no refrigerant included ) R-22 condenser units . For replacement , delivered to your door , with out any licensing . Do not know about now .
As long as the old unit has not had a burn out , nothing wrong with using the R-22 from the old unit in a new dry charge unit . The refrigerant does not wear out .
Pay an HVAC guy just to swap out the units . Make sure he / she vacuums the system down very well . And probably add a dryer .
No, this one only has 2 terminals. And before I removed it, I cut power at the circuit breaker and pulled the fuse. Also de-energized by crossing the terminals with an insulated screwdriver. So I was careful.
This is the RUN capacitor, thinking I need to pull the start one as well and get that one replaced. I may have a AC company local to here with excellent feedback/reviews stop by to see if they can revive it cheaply or possibly quote a new unit install... After seeing the condition of the cooling coils, I don't know how much time is left to be honest.
2 terminals , does not matter which way you connect the 2 wires .
Capacitors are inexpensive , not a bad idea to replace the other one ( which may go to the fan ) .
You used to be able to buy , on the internet , " dry charge " ( no refrigerant included ) R-22 condenser units . For replacement , delivered to your door , with out any licensing . Do not know about now .
As long as the old unit has not had a burn out , nothing wrong with using the R-22 from the old unit in a new dry charge unit . The refrigerant does not wear out .
Pay an HVAC guy just to swap out the units . Make sure he / she vacuums the system down very well . And probably add a dryer .
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