hvac is out at the rent house

[The motor guy]

not really any set time. test them and if they are bad then jsut replace them . i keep a spare at my rental that the a/c is 22 years old and never changed it . caps and contactors are cheap and easy to replace . lots of folks replace perfectly good units jsut because they are old.

Yeah, hopefully it's something simple. This whole rental thing was a total bust. They signed a multi year lease, which was good, but then the monthly expenses have gone up so much, I'm nearly breaking even now this last last year.

 

[factorytuned2012]

tired older motors with weak windings sometimes need an extra kick in the pants and the cheaper inferior caps just don’t have it alone hard start kits sometimes buy extra time. I like a kit with a relay mounted externally from the cap

https://www.amazon.com/96506-Hard-S...2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

If the run/start cap is the problem

 

[CDX825]

From my understanding the freon which over is on hold for now. R410A can still be installed if you can find one.

Its not on hold. They are already making the new equipment.

Carrier brands will be using the R454-B as on now with most other brands using the R32. I would go with an R32 system just because it will probably be more widely available and yes it has been used in other countries for many years.

Everyone is going to 454B except for daikin which owns goodman and amana.

 

[CDX825]

So as usual my tenant waits until the weekend to let me know of a problem. Guess they just don't notice until they're actually home. I have an old R22 system that's about 17 years old. Recently replaced the fan motor upstairs inside the air handler a couple years ago. Most recently last year the fan motor for the outside unit was replaced. Sounds like the outside unit isn't working because they said they're just running the fan right now. What for I have no idea. Tried to get them to just shut everything down until monday, but whatever.

Now with that being said, I'm getting kind of tired of throwing money at this old system and wonder if I should just bite the bullet and get a new system, but i've heard they've changed to a new freon type starting at the beginning of this year, and it sounds like people are pretty leary about it. Can I still snag up an older R410a system? I've heard they're still allowed to be installed as long as the remaining supply lasts. Opinions?

It all depends on your area as to what is available. R410A equipment can still be sold until the end of the year but equipment availability is really hit or miss right now. Some distributors stocked up on equipment before the change over and others didn't. Some of the new equipment isn't even out yet and my one distributor told me they have no idea when they will see it. Its going to be an interesting year in the hvac world to say the least.

I will say if you can get someone to install 410A for you that I would go that route. This new equipment that is coming out with R454b and R32 is going to have a leak sensor on the coil that runs the fan if it detects a leak. Guys are already having issues with the sensors from what Ive heard. Just more thing to break in my opinion.

 

[CDX825]

Pretty much all capacitors now come from China; been that way for many years now. They aren't what they used to be, but then again, not much is in the HVAC world these days.

Amrad and BMI still make good quality capacitors in the US.

 

[The motor guy]

It all depends on your area as to what is available. R410A equipment can still be sold until the end of the year but equipment availability is really hit or miss right now. Some distributors stocked up on equipment before the change over and others didn't. Some of the new equipment isn't even out yet and my one distributor told me they have no idea when they will see it. Its going to be an interesting year in the hvac world to say the least.

I will say if you can get someone to install 410A for you that I would go that route. This new equipment that is coming out with R454b and R32 is going to have a leak sensor on the coil that runs the fan if it detects a leak. Guys are already having issues with the sensors from what Ive heard. Just more thing to break in my opinion.

Sounds like one of those things they'll be bypassing in the near future.

 

[zzyzzx]

How often should you have to replace capacitors?

Whenever they go bad.

 

[The motor guy]

Whenever they go bad.

I know one time it was totally rusted and the tech wanted to change it. I said keep that baby in there, it's gotta be a good one to last this long lol

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

How often should you have to replace capacitors?

In the old days, maybe never. Now? I have had some fail within a year. Some test fine on the bench but fail under load

 

[Sequoiasoon]

My old York system failed. I had done capacitor a couple times. The belt driven air handler motor went and I had a small leak up there.

I know you said you don't want heat pump but for me it's awesome. So much quieter and efficient than my old system. I have oil fired boiler hot water baseboard for heat. The Heat pump takes care of most of the house no issues. I'm in NY on Long Island. My oil usage is less, my electric bill is less, works for me. I have a Bosch IDS system https://www.bosch-homecomfort.com/us/en/ocs/residential/inverter-ducted-split-ids-heat-pump-1098929-c/

I use the baseboard within 1 degree of heat pump when really cold out to make sure no frozen pipe things. The heat pump kicks on randomly with it and helps move the heat from baseboards keeping overall comfort better in our house. The heat is louder than AC. In summer I can stand next to mine running and hear the neighbors AC across the street, seroiusly.

I didn't think about getting the heat pump and only one place gave the option out of a couple quotes. At that time with rebates/incentives the heat pump was cheaper AND 0% financing for 5 years.

 

[The motor guy]

I don't know that system works great for that particular place. It kicks on once it raises 1 degree, then brings it back down one degree below the set temp and reapeats. Runs about 15 minutes per cycle. That's the AC though, never really paid attention to the heater. Doubt it would be different

 

[SeaJay]

As a landlord, I would definitely get a new system installed.

 

[The motor guy]

As a landlord, I would definitely get a new system installed.

It might not be a bad idea just to stay away from the newer models. Although i'd hate to replace it if it's just something simple

 

[The motor guy]

Sounds like it just needed a new capacitor. I was trying to be there to pick the technicians brain and see what he thinks about the overall condition of the unit, but the tenant never replied to my text asking if it was okay for me to show up. They said the tech could call me in the morning and give his opinion, but I don't see how he's going to even remember given how many service calls he probably does per day. Guess I'll just keep rocking the old R22 unit.