AC Maintenance and a friendly PSA.

As I was walking to the shop yesterday afternoon I heard the condenser fan on the house AC unit quit. The compressor was still running though which meant I had a problem. With today forecasted to be the hottest day of 2023 so far, that meant it was a big problem. 

Flashback to a couple of weeks ago. 4th of July weekend, just as we were leaving town, I walked outside to hear the compressor growling and the condenser fan not turning. Frequently that's due to a bad run capacitor. My AC eats one every year or so so I keep a spare on the shelf. I swapped it out and it went back to running. Two days later the fan quit again. It could be another bad capacitor or it could be the motor failing. I was out of town, but my son was still home. He swapped the capacitor for a new one and it went back into service. In the meantime, knowing that the worst of summer was on the way, I ordered another capacitor and a fan motor to put on the shelf for just in case.

Yep, just in case happened yesterday. This time a capacitor didn't help the problem and the motor was extremely hot. At a guess, the thermals had kicked it out. It's a good thing I ordered the motor when I did.

Swapping it out is fairly easy and in short order, the AC system was back in service. For some reason, this unit is hard on fan motors. I think this is the 4th one I've replaced in the last 12 years. Practice makes perfect. 

Now for the PSA.

Clean the outside coils on your AC units at least once a year. 

While I had it apart, I figured I'd clean the coils. With that in mind, I removed the guard around the unit. I'm not sure when the last time I cleaned these but they were very choked up with dust and crap. The condenser coils don't have the advantage of a filter. That makes cleaning them fairly important since they suck up all the debris a yard can generate. Lack of air flow kills efficiency, and in this case, may have contributed to a burned-up fan motor. 

With everything cleaned up, the unit is cooling like a champ. Not bad for a 20-year-old contractor grade Tappan. I think it's time to start planning for a replacement. At 20 years I'm probably on borrowed time, even with doing my own repairs. 

Any preference on cleaning materials? Garden hose and one of those straightener combs?

In reply to johndej :

I used a soft brass wire brush and a hose. It's what I had. 

There are sprays that are advertised for cleaning coils but I've never used them. I also do see them removing the dust and matted crap. Those are going to have to be mechanically removed. 

Mine froze up solid the week of July 4th.  Popped the sides off like Toyman! shows and rinsed it with a garden hose on mist.  My unit sucks in all the lent from the dryer vent, so it gets dirty fast.  Let the lines unthaw and haven't had any issues since. 

Interesting.  I will have to check my unit out (careful there) because I never have.

Perfect example of why I have a maintenance contract with the local HVAC company. I don't have the know-how to work on that kind of stuff.

Doesn't hurt the contract also includes a big discount on parts/service, and no extra charge for after time fees. That was a big help a few years ago when the better went to visit family in Florida, and I was here in Oklahoma in July with a broken AC unit.

Mine gets cleaned once per year right after cottonwood season.  Remove the fan blast with the most powerful nozzle I can find for my garden hose, blow all the dirt from the inside to the outside.  My outside fan has had zero problems for 15 years, the inside dedicated AC fan died once.