A/C Failure

Three days ago my air conditioner died. It was running fine when I turned it off, but when I turned it on again, nothing ran—neither the compressor nor the fan. They would hum, yes—run, no.

I deduced the unit had a bad start capacitor. The motors, being single phase a/c induction motors, require a start capacitor. A single phase motor needs a start capacitor to make it begin turning, but the start capacitor is no longer needed after the motor begins turning. To verify my suspicion, I powered on the unit’s fan, stuck a screwdriver blade through the front air vents and into the fan and gave it a push. The fan picked up speed and began running normally. Yep, bad start capacitor.

I opened up the unit, thinking that perhaps I could replace the start capacitor myself. The wires on the a/c power cord were terminated with insulated push-on terminals that plugged onto spade lugs on the capacitor and the thermostat. The wire going to the capacitor was probably the culprit. I thought maybe I could take it off and clean it. But that was not to be; the push-on wire terminal and the capacitor’s spade lug had rusted together. I couldn’t separate them.

At this point I had several options to repair the unit. But there was also a downside to repairing it. One, it would take a while and I would definitely need help moving the unit, and I hate to lean on my friends more than I have to. Two, the unit is 24 years old and therefore likely to develop another problem in the near future. In fact, it already has another problem—the sheet metal wall separating the inside components (fan and evaporator) and the outside components (fan motor, compressor, condenser) has rusted through in several places. Three, the unit’s inside surfaces and all surfaces of the squirrel-cage fan are thoroughly coated with a mixture of kitchen grease, dust, dirt, pollen, mold, and whatever else happened to be in the air over the past 24 years. The nasty goop is like a black, greasy tar coating everything.

So I opted to buy a new a/c unit. I needed an 18,000 Btu unit that would fit an 18 inch tall window opening. After visiting all the local sellers online and then in person, I could not find a suitable unit. So I had to order one. I ordered the new unit on May 23. The store’s website informed me that it would arrive at the store on May 30.

Meanwhile, it is shaping up to be one of the hottest weeks on record for this time of year—possibly the hottest week. Yesterday’s high temperature was 92°. Tomorrow is supposed to hit 96°. Am I worried? Not at all. I know I will be uncomfortable, but I don’t think it’s going to kill me. If the heat becomes too much, I can spend a few hours at a friend’s house. Or I can spend a few hours at Mickey D’s, sipping Coke and reading a book. Or I can spend a few hours at a local bar, nursing a beer or two. Things will work out. One way or another, they always do.