12 hour AC repair

[greenjp]

Arrived home from a week out of town late last night to a hot house (88 deg) despite having our neighbor cancel the hold earlier in they day. The air handler was running but not the outdoor unit. Thank god it was in the 70s last night and we were able to air the house out enough to sleep. First thing in the AM I pulled the capacitor from the outdoor unit, my multimeter can't do capacitance so I checked the resistance, no readings across any of the pairs which from what I gather indicated it'd gone bad. No obvious bulging or anything else. Checked Amazon and was able to get same day delivery, part was $16. It arrived at 8, had it in at 8:10, started right up. I figured if that wasn't the problem, I'd have been waiting until Monday to call an HVAC company anyway so why not give it a shot.

I've read in the past that you might as well have a spare one on hand. Good advice.

jeff

 

[Racer4]

Yes, happened to me last year. It is a good idea to keep a spare capacitor on hand. I have 2 heat pumps and have spares for both.

 

[tyman]

Yep, quite a few forums I'm on recommend the same thing.

 

[Lubener]

Replace the contactor along with the capacitor and carry spares for both. Altogether about thirty dollars.

 

[wag123]

I keep a spare capacitor on hand, and it has paid-off twice. The capacitors manufactured now days don't last as long as they one did, especially the dual capacitors.

 

[Jim_Truett]

I keep a spare capacitor on hand, and it has paid-off twice. The capacitors manufactured now days don't last as long as they one did, especially the dual capacitors.

If available in your area, Titan HD capacitors are made in the USA to a higher standard and will be much more reliable than the cheap Chinese units.

 

[nomas]

I keep a capacitor and a contactor . Also a bottle of turbine oil for the fans .

 

[greenjp]

I got a "Capcom" (which I gather is the new name of GE's spun-off Genteq line) which says it's made in Mexico. The original one lasted about 8 years, dunno if that's good or bad.

jeff

 

[diyjake]

If available in your area, Titan HD capacitors are made in the USA to a higher standard and will be much more reliable than the cheap Chinese units.

Did you get the Titan HD from a local supplier?

 

[Jim_Truett]

Did you get the Titan HD from a local supplier?

Yes, Johnstone Supply. Sales there are for tradespeople only, though sometimes they will sell capacitors and other incidentals to the general public. Amazon as well as several other online retailers also carry them.

 

[Fitter30]

Instead of just buying the correct capacitor for your unit buy a turbo 200 $55 from amazon. Then can help a neighbor or relative. Its a muilti mfd cap.

Turbo 200® Family – The Leading Manufacturer of Motor-Run Capacitors

amradmanufacturing.com

 

[diyjake]

Instead of just buying the correct capacitor for your unit buy a turbo 200 $55 from amazon. Then can help a neighbor or relative. Its a muilti mfd cap.

Turbo 200® Family – The Leading Manufacturer of Motor-Run Capacitors

amradmanufacturing.com

I could see this being helpful in a emergency situation but I am not sure if it is a great idea to use this as a go to capacitor. I would be curious to hear what HVAC professionals think of something like this.