my house A/C is broke

[FoBoT]

i am melting..............

ugh



i got home from work at 8:30 pm

house felt hot, i went through the mail, took out the garbage, etc, etc, etc

felt hotter, so i check the thermostat, reads about 82-83

on a hot day, our A/C normally can't quite keep up, so no matter how low it is set, the house gets up to about 78 or maybe 80F on a really hot day

i go down and check the freon line coming in from the outside unit and it is warm/room temp. crap :|

i shut it off hoping the outside unit is just iced up

find a flash light and go check it, nope, outside unit is bone dry double crap :| :|

its borked gotta call the landlord at 8 am . what are the chances the slumlord will pay for sunday service ?

 

[Shawn]

Go sit in your car and turn on your a/c.

 

[FoBoT]

me and the kids are sleeping in the basement, it is tolerable

i just remembered i have an old 6K BTU window unit from when we lived in new york

i'll hook it up in the morning before heading to work

 

[Kelvrick]

I come into work on weekends just because of AC.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

you checked the breaker/fuse right?

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick
I come into work on weekends just because of AC.

do you take the whole family

my wife was supposed to host a dinner party for her friend sunday, guess they will move it to the friend's house, 25 people in a 90F+ house is probably a Bad Idea

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: FoBoT

Originally posted by: Kelvrick
I come into work on weekends just because of AC.

do you take the whole family

my wife was supposed to host a dinner party for her friend sunday, guess they will move it to the friend's house, 25 people in a 90F+ house is probably a Bad Idea

Nope, just the gf sometimes. I took the most refreshing nap in only a pair of shorts today. Its good to be the only one in the office. I'm suprised how comfortable I was on three chairs shoved together though.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
you checked the breaker/fuse right?

after letting it sit, i turned it back on

the outside fan didn't start spinning right away, but it was buzzing, so i poked it with a stick and it spun up

but after 10 minutes, the incoming freon line was still the same temp

unless the compressor is on a different circuit breaker ? i'll look
also the inside blower/furnace is running fine, just no cold in the heat exchanger

 

[Schadenfroh]

park car in garage, keep engine running, turn a/c on full blast, close garage door, open door to house. enjoy:evil:

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Thank god you don't live in AZ

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts
Thank god you don't live in AZ

in mississippi, it 110 degrees with 95% humidity so its a humid hell

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
park car in garage, keep engine running, turn a/c on full blast, close garage door, open door to house. enjoy:evil:

Enjoy the Carbon Monoxide poisoning?

You are a Darwin Award candidate in training.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts
Thank god you don't live in AZ

in mississippi, it 110 degrees with 95% humidity so its a humid hell

weather.com for zip 64068 says

89°F
Feels Like 94°F

also there is a scrolling heat advisory that says

Severe Weather Alert from the National Weather Service

...BATES MO-CASS MO-CLAY MO-JACKSON MO-JOHNSON KS-LEAVENWORTH KS-LINN KS-MIAMI KS-PLATTE MO-WYANDOTTE KS-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF... BUTLER... HARRISONVILLE... KANSAS CITY... OLATHE AND PAOLA.730 PM CDT SAT JUL 26 2003
... HEAT ADVISORY CONTINUES FOR THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON...

HEAT INDICES WERE AS HIGH AS 110 DEGREES LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND HAVE ONLY COOLED A FEW DEGREES EARLY THIS EVENING. TEMPERATURES ARE ONLY EXPECTED TO DROP TO BETWEEN 75 AND 80 OVERNIGHT... KEEPING THE HEAT INDEX AT 80 DEGREES OR ABOVE. IN ADDITION... TEMPERATURES WILL ONCE AGAIN CLIMB INTO THE UPPER 90S ON SUNDAY... SENDING HEAT INDICES INTO THE 105 TO 110 DEGREE RANGE.

THE EXCESSIVE HEAT AND HUMIDITY WILL MAKE A DANGEROUS COMBINATION FORINDIVIDUALS IF PROPER PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. EXCESSIVE HEAT KILLSPEOPLE BY TAXING THE HUMAN BODY BEYOND ITS ABILITIES TO COOL ITSELF.

CHILDREN... THE ELDERLY... AND PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC ILLNESSES... AREUSUALLY THE FIRST TO SUFFER FROM THE HEAT. HEAT EXHAUSTION... OR INEXTREME CASES HEAT STROKE... MAY RESULT FROM PROLONGED EXPOSURE TOTHESE CONDITIONS. BE SURE TO PERIODICALLY CHECK ON PEOPLE WHO AREMOST AT RISK.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

it is 100 degrees according to weather.com RIGHT NOW in AZ, so take that!

Anyway, I work on A/C systems here...stupid me

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts

Anyway, I work on A/C systems here...stupid me

uh, if you aren't busy, can you come take a look at it?

hehe, it probably just needs a shot of freon

hopefully, i am not sure the slumlord will be happy if he has to replace the whole unit

or maybe the compressor is smoked

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts
it is 100 degrees according to weather.com RIGHT NOW in AZ, so take that!

Anyway, I work on A/C systems here...stupid me

The lack of humidity though, makes it much more of a comfortable 100...

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: FoBoT

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts

Anyway, I work on A/C systems here...stupid me

uh, if you aren't busy, can you come take a look at it?

hehe, it probably just needs a shot of freon

hopefully, i am not sure the slumlord will be happy if he has to replace the whole unit

uh, no, thanks though

Adding freon MAY be a temporary fix, but it probably will not last long. Freon does not just get used up or anything, it must leak. So adding freon may make it last for a decade, or it may all leak out as fast as it is put in.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: Millennium

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts
it is 100 degrees according to weather.com RIGHT NOW in AZ, so take that!

Anyway, I work on A/C systems here...stupid me

The lack of humidity though, makes it much more of a comfortable 100...

come out here and say that

 

Its 96 in Vegas right now with alot of humidity do to a storm heading in. Fobot can you hear the compressor trying to kick in at all.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

/me notes that the next person who asks him to clean a PTAC unit's coils will be shot.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: DrJohnMarkway
Fobot can you hear the compressor trying to kick in at all.

i don't think so , which is why i am afraid the compressor is toast, unless there is a seperate fuse for just the compressor, aren't the compressor and blower usually powered from the same source?

as antdude pointed out, freon can't just go away, it probably isn't a leak

 

come out here and say that

I have lived in the Valley of the Sun for over ten years and have lived in the south, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Houston. I will take 120 degrees in the Mojave desert anyday over 95 degree and 90% humidity of the South

 

Sounds like your compressor is toast. I hope your landlord does not dick you around. I keep around a portable evap cooler around to tide me over for such occasions.

 

[etech]

Originally posted by: FoBoT

Originally posted by: DrJohnMarkway
Fobot can you hear the compressor trying to kick in at all.

i don't think so , which is why i am afraid the compressor is toast, unless there is a seperate fuse for just the compressor, aren't the compressor and blower usually powered from the same source?

as antdude pointed out, freon can't just go away, it probably isn't a leak

The blower and the compressor are usually on seperate breakers. Look on the side of the compressor, sometimes there is a panel there that has a breaker in it. Turn the thermostat to where the compressor won't kick on. If there is a breaker on the side of the compressor, reset it, wait about 10 minutes than try to turn it on again.
To reset a breaker, pull it all the way to the off position, then turn it back to on.
If there isn't a breaker on the side of the compressor you will need to find the breaker box and check the breaker for the compressor there. It will probably be a 30 amp dual breaker. Use the same instructions as above to reset it.

Ok, for the picky, you don't have to wait if it is the middle of summer. That really just covers cooler weather so the heating on the compressor has time to kick in.

edit/ if the compressor isn't kicking on and you have power to it there are two main things to check if you are qualified to work on them.
The first thing I would check is the contactor (big relay) which will be mounted somewhere in the compressor(outside box) They sometimes go bad and need to be replaced. I think the one I replaced was only about eight dollars.
The other would be the capacitor. Probably time to call an AC service man at that point if you don't know how to check it or replace it.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: etech
The blower and the compressor are usually on seperate breakers.

cool, i will look at that in the morning

i was an electrician in the navy, so i could check/replace a relay. maybe a capacitor if i could find it

but this is a rental, so i dunno if i will go that far

we'll see how keen the slumlord is on getting a guy out here quick

and it the old window unit still works or not

thank you , if it had still been light out when i discovered this , i might have poked around a bit more