# HELP! Home AC repair question



## bobcat_fisherman (Jul 3, 2012)

We're buying a house and the AC just went out on it yesterday. The seller had a technician come out and replace the capacitor. Its working fine now. Is this a sign of more problems to come or do capacitors go out alot? I don't want the house if we're going to have to replace the whole AC unit. The house was built in 2006. I'm not sure of the AC model but its a 1750sq ft home so its nothing fancy.


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## stdreb27 (Aug 15, 2011)

Typically if it blows one, more problems to come. At least that's what the AC guy claimed. When he was trying to schedule his salesman to come out.


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## bobcat_fisherman (Jul 3, 2012)

Average cost to replace AC unit? $5K or so right?


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## stdreb27 (Aug 15, 2011)

bobcat_fisherman said:


> Average cost to replace AC unit? $5K or so right?


???? All depends. But that's probably a bit light.


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## sleepersilverado (Jun 27, 2011)

Capacitors going bad is probably the most common issue on an A/C. Search in the ttmb section, it is discussed all the time.


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

bobcat_fisherman said:


> We're buying a house and the AC just went out on it yesterday. The seller had a technician come out and replace the capacitor. Its working fine now. Is this a sign of more problems to come or do capacitors go out alot? I don't want the house if we're going to have to replace the whole AC unit. The house was built in 2006. I'm not sure of the AC model but its a 1750sq ft home so its nothing fancy.


My a/c is 13 years old, i just replaced the capacitor a little over a week ago. It was rated 45/3 (45 uF for compressor and 3 uF for fan). I measured it and it was 34/2.2....in another word it was way out of specs and could kick the bucket without warning. In rush current was a tad over 30A, stable current at 11A. After I put in a new capacitor and a hard start kit it pulled 10.5A at start and stabilized at 9.5A. It was just amazing. Despite of the hot weather we had last week the weekly power consumption I got from power company showed a reduction of 3%.

You change oil in your car every 4K miles or so to keep it in tip top condition and last you 150K miles. If you don't change it at all it will still run to may be half that much and croak. Same with a/c. Capacitor should be replaced every three to four years. Once it loses 15% of its rated capacitance it should be replaced. It cost me $27 and less than an hour to replace it.


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## bobcat_fisherman (Jul 3, 2012)

We hired a 2nd AC guy to come out and take a look. He thinks the unit is good for a few more years. He did recommend a "hot boost" or something like that which helps the capacitor out. I think he said they're about $150. Worth it??


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## stdreb27 (Aug 15, 2011)

bobcat_fisherman said:


> We hired a 2nd AC guy to come out and take a look. He thinks the unit is good for a few more years. He did recommend a "hot boost" or something like that which helps the capacitor out. I think he said they're about $150. Worth it??


Not knowing anything, I would automatically dismiss anyone who markets a service with marketing gimmicks like a branding term "hot boost".

You're fixing an air conditioner, not selling add-ons.

But that's just me.


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## fishingcacher (Mar 29, 2008)

In some cases, as the unit gets older it may require a boost to get started. Special capacitors called hard start capacitors are made for these situations. They are a combination of a capacitor and a built in relay. They give the compressor extra starting torque and the relay disconnects the capacitor after the unit starts. They are very inexpensive and can often extend the life of the compressor for several years.

If you install a hard start capacitor and the unit will still not start, you will need to proceed with air conditioner compressor replacement.

In other cases, the air conditioner compressor may run but not provide cooling. This can happen when a failure allows liquid refrigerant instead of vapor at the compressor inlet. The result is usually broken valves in the compressor. In that case, the air conditioner compressor or the whole condensing unit will require replacement.


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## speckle-catcher (May 20, 2004)

bobcat_fisherman said:


> We hired a 2nd AC guy to come out and take a look. He thinks the unit is good for a few more years. He did recommend a "hot boost" or something like that which helps the capacitor out. I think he said they're about $150. Worth it??


hard start kit?


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## bobcat_fisherman (Jul 3, 2012)

fishingcacher said:


> In some cases, as the unit gets older it may require a boost to get started. Special capacitors called hard start capacitors are made for these situations. They are a combination of a capacitor and a built in relay. They give the compressor extra starting torque and the relay disconnects the capacitor after the unit starts. They are very inexpensive and can often extend the life of the compressor for several years.
> 
> If you install a hard start capacitor and the unit will still not start, you will need to proceed with air conditioner compressor replacement.
> 
> In other cases, the air conditioner compressor may run but not provide cooling. This can happen when a failure allows liquid refrigerant instead of vapor at the compressor inlet. The result is usually broken valves in the compressor. In that case, the air conditioner compressor or the whole condensing unit will require replacement.


Yeah, thats it. Couldn't remember the name of it. He said it would help big time and is about $150.


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

bobcat_fisherman said:


> We hired a 2nd AC guy to come out and take a look. He thinks the unit is good for a few more years. He did recommend *a "hot boost" or something like that* which helps the capacitor out. I think he said they're about $150. Worth it??


That is the hard start kit to help the compressor at start up. It is worth it based on the in-rush current being reduced by at least 50%. It helps your compressor to last longer. I install them on my two home a/c and also the a/c on my RV roof. Without that kit my generator often got stalled whenever the a/c kicked on. After the hard start kit installation it has never once failed to start up a/c.

If the $150 charge includes labor that is reasonable. Wholesale price for that kit is between $40 to $60 depending on tonnage of the a/c unit. It takes about an hour to install.


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## Lilbear21 (Nov 16, 2011)

Typically when buying a house the seller should offer to pay for your first year of home warranty, or maybe your realtor as a gift. This has been my experience twice. Then you shouldn't have to worry about anything. We had to replace our furnace within the first year. All it cost us was the $60 service fee for the technician to come out. I'd ask about a warranty.:texasflag


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## fishingcacher (Mar 29, 2008)

I wouldn't get it as the new capacitors don't seem to last very long compared to the old ones. The home warranty is only as good as the companies providing it. There are good companies and bad ones.


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## HIJACK (Aug 10, 2005)

I just had to replace a capacitor on my unit and the A/C guy was telling me that his company has replaced about 500 of them so far this summer. Was telling me that they have oil in them and the heat makes the oil expand and then capacitor will expand and then go out. My unit is 5 years old and I have two on my house and he was telling me that 5 years is about all you will get out of a capacitor.


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

HIJACK said:


> I just had to replace a capacitor on my unit and the A/C guy was telling me that his company has replaced about 500 of them so far this summer. Was telling me that they have oil in them and the heat makes the oil expand and then capacitor will expand and then go out. My unit is 5 years old and I have two on my house and *he was telling me that 5 years is about all you will get out of a capacito*r.


One of my a/c is 13 years old and the other is seven. Both were still running but I measured the capacitance in their capacitors and both were out of specs. After I installed the new capacitors plus the hard start kit they ran smoothly....especially at start up. I am going to replace their capacitors every three to five years from here on. They are fairly inexpensive and very easy to replace.


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## HIJACK (Aug 10, 2005)

mas360 said:


> I am going to replace their capacitors every three to five years from here on. They are fairly inexpensive and very easy to replace.


Not a bad idea.


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## stdreb27 (Aug 15, 2011)

mas360 said:


> That is the hard start kit to help the compressor at start up. It is worth it based on the in-rush current being reduced by at least 50%. It helps your compressor to last longer. I install them on my two home a/c and also the a/c on my RV roof. Without that kit my generator often got stalled whenever the a/c kicked on. After the hard start kit installation it has never once failed to start up a/c.
> 
> If the $150 charge includes labor that is reasonable. Wholesale price for that kit is between $40 to $60 depending on tonnage of the a/c unit. It takes about an hour to install.


Heck the capacitor for mine is about 10 bucks. Of course I spend 250 buck than first time it went out thinking my unit had cratered.


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

stdreb27 said:


> Heck the capacitor for mine is about 10 bucks. Of course I spend 250 buck than first time it went out thinking my unit had cratered.


I paid $27 for mine on Amazon.com. 
Where do you get them for $10? I'd change them once a year for that price....


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## redduck (Jul 26, 2006)

how hard is it to install the hard start kit.


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

Not hard but you either have to be very patient with the instruction the first time when you do the wiring....knowing which wire goes to which connector....or getting a tech to show you the rope once.


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