Those aren’t supposed to be round on top.

  • Zink@programming.dev
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    12 hours ago

    Yep, if your condenser unit outside just won’t turn on it’s always a good idea to check this capacitor. I think it was just last year that I replaced the one in my unit installed in 2015. I went through a few capacitors with the ancient system before that!

    • Canonical_Warlock@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      9 hours ago

      As a refrigeration/HVAC guy, the past couple months have been hell. Most of our crew has been working over 60 hours a week for two months straight and we still aren’t even close to keeping up. We’re having to heavily triage calls. Hell, I just finally got dispatched to a prison the other day where aparently a whole cell block had been mostly without AC for an entire week. Normally a call like that would get someone dispatched same day but we just don’t have the people. I work with guys that have been doing this for decades and even they say that the current volume of tickets is unprecedented.

    • rumba@lemmy.zipOP
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      13 hours ago

      I do but unfortunately the announcer just keeps talking right up to the post.

  • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today
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    14 hours ago

    I feel so dumb sitting here thinking you were talking about the connections. Like yeah they’re supposed to be round for ease of insertion. But also could tell something was off cause they usually point in parallel directions. Then I noticed the black dome they are attached to.

    Please bring this to a proper site for disposal, that thing is like a flaming poison bomb at this point.

    • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today
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      14 hours ago

      Last year mine conked out during a 100+° day. I tried everything! I’m talking cold(ground was still hot so it was actually a cool shower) then frozen water bottles in my pits, crotch, and neck. I ended up going to a cheap motel for the night and discover my door knob was actually hotter inside than out.

  • Shady_Shiroe@lemmy.world
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    14 hours ago

    My 20 year old AC breaks once a year, at this point it’s the ship of theseus. One year it’s the capacitor on condensor, then condensor fan motor, then fan motor that circulates air instead, then circuit board that controls all HVAC functions, then capacitor for circulation fan. Every year, when the heat hits strong, something breaks, I have become proficient in diagnosting HVAC system at this point.

    • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
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      9 hours ago

      If you’re going through multiple condensers a decade you need a new air conditioner. From a different manufacturer operating on a different continent.

  • clif@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    This was me on Sunday… And then also on Monday after relacing the cap and then realizing that the fan motor was janky (which might be what caused the cap to fail)

  • starlinguk@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Until you can fix it, open the windows, curtains and blinds at night and shut them during the day.

  • LogicalDrivel@sopuli.xyz
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    1 day ago

    Im sure OP knows what they are doing here but for those that don’t, be careful with capacitors. Especially larger ones like these and bigger as they can hold quite a charge for some time after being unplugged. I personally watched someone shock the shit out of themselves with this exact type of AC capacitors. They were showing someone corrosion on the terminals, bridged the connection and ended up putting his arm through a wall from the jolt.

    • rumba@lemmy.zipOP
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      1 day ago

      Yeah, they’re not to be trifled with. If the one I pulled out was actually capable of still holding voltage, it would have been more of a worry.

      It’s all normal electrical safety, Trip the breaker, pull the shut off at the disconnect by the condenser outside, take a picture of the wiring on the cap, ground each terminal with a screwdriver, pull the wires off with insulated pliers. Replace the cap, put the wires back where they belong. Reconnect the disconnect, turn the breaker back on, use the thermostat to call for cooling.

      It would be good form to replace the contactor If you have one, but they’re a little harder to find and it’s not usually necessary.

  • Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 day ago

    At last it’s an inexpensive and easy fix. Just buy another capacitor with the same specs and swap them out. Better yet, buy two! Keep one as a backup.

    • Trihilis@ani.social
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      1 day ago

      Don’t buy an electrolytic capacitor as back up and store then over a long time. They will degrade and will be bad when you finally need them.

      MKP/MKT capacitors are an exception since they don’t degrade the same.

    • rumba@lemmy.zipOP
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      1 day ago

      Yeah, I bought one to make sure that was the only problem. It just came back up so, now I’ll pull the furnace apart and find what size it uses for the blower keep them both on hand.

      • Madison420@lemmy.world
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        22 hours ago

        They can blow on their own but chances are you have a junk contactor or a fan that draws too much amperage.

        • Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          22 hours ago

          It’s also possible a critter shorted the contacts. Happens all the time in Florida. Usually the fried lizard is still there.

          • Madison420@lemmy.world
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            21 hours ago

            Then it certainly shouldn’t have failed yet so either high cycle rate or high draw.

            Clean both coils and keep watch on how often it runs and how long it stays running for a couple weeks. Also if you still have a analog bimetallic thermostat those can fail and cause rapid cycling and if the compressor isn’t smart enough to delay they can cycle themselves to death.

            • rumba@lemmy.zipOP
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              17 hours ago

              keep watch on how often it runs and how long it stays running for a couple weeks. Also if you still have a analog bimetallic thermostat those can

              It’s on an ecobee which appears to be behaving, pulling data from homeassistant on emporia power, it seems to be pretty chill.

              she’s 1.5 ton pulling 1300 watts while running which actually seems low to me.

  • AItoothbrush@lemmy.zip
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    1 day ago

    Good luck? I would just go to a convenience store and spend my there if this happened to me… also like 38c(~100f) right now here