Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill14564
My experience:
Woke up very early one morning to an unexpectedly warm house. Thermostat said cooling was on, air handler was moving air, but outside unit wasn't running. Checked the float in the drain tube to find it was full of water - drain tube was plugged. A few minutes outside trying different things to clear the drain got things working again.
After that I started running a gallon of hot water through the line on the first of the month. While I am working in that closet, I also look for leaks around the hot water heater and tap on the expansion tank to make sure it still has air in it. Simple enough to remember to do on the first of the month and haven't had a drain problem since.
Signed up for a maintenance plan to check the system. Tech came and cleared out the line, cleaned the coils, and confirmed it was working properly. Two or three visits later the tech advised that the capacitor was reading low and should be replaced. He offered to do it for somewhere between $80 and $150 (don't remember exactly but was less than $200). I declined the offer then changed it myself (being very careful) for about $30.
On the next visit the capacitor tested good. This seemed to surprise the tech which makes me think they might refer to their past records before they arrive.
Observations:
1. It is far easier to pour a gallon of hot water down the drain tube than to try to unplug it at 3AM.
2. The technicians don't always find something wrong on every visit
3. These technicians appear to be fairly honest - they didn't try convince me to pay them to replace the capacitor the first time and they acknowledged it was working properly the next time (after I had replaced it myself)
4. The annual checkups are not absolutely necessary if you keep up with regular maintenance.
5. If you don't have annual checkups or don't pay to have the capacitor replaced then it would be wise to have a spare on hand - Amazon delivers quickly but a house becomes uncomfortable even faster
Yes, it would be nice if a maintenance plan included replacing the capacitor every couple of years - the part is inexpensive and the cabinet is already open. Unfortunately, I have not heard of a plan that includes this.
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I'm surprised the tech was surprised the year later when he saw the capacitor was good after seeing it was goinig bad the year before because they see immediately the capacitor is now one of the cheap Chinese knock-offs vs the American made ones they all put in unless it's a small HVAC company looking to save money.