The AC is working again.

It went out last summer. I lived with it and never really bothered to fix it. I had more important things to do like gardening. However, a few nights this year have been nearly unbearable trying to sleep when the humidity is in the 80-90% range. So, I did what had to be done.

A little searching online and talking to people who know about these things, I found that it was probably the capacitor in the outdoor unit. The fan would run if I used a screwdriver to start it. Otherwise it would just sit there and hum with no fan running to cool the condenser. I took the back panel off the unit and exposed the guts.



Well, there's only one thing labeled capacitor.



I removed the wires after labeling them with tape. I also took these photos and a few others to remind myself of how it was attached, just in case. I learned this lesson the hard way early in life.

The capacitor was blown. See the bulge on the top at the front near the ring?



Unfortunately, I had to drive all over town to find one. Lowe's doesn't carry them, but a guy I work with recommended a place. I went to the electrical supply company. Nope. Try Goodman's. Well, those people are just a shop window and a warehouse. They offered to come out and fix it for the low, low price of $149, plus parts. The next place only had a 440VAC unit. Mine is a 370VAC. Ok, I'll try another HVAC repair company. Same thing, only 440VAC capacitors. Both told me I could use it, but I wanted the same part, not something else. I've learned those lessons early in life too.

The last place I went gave me the same story, you can use the 440VAC. That's why we only stock those. No one carried the 370VAC capacitors because they aren't as common. So why not just replace it with this one? It'll work. Well after being told this three times, I decided to throw caution to the wind and install it. It only cost $18, plus tax. It works. If only it were warm enough to turn the air on. It's 64 degrees.

No heat

I woke up around 5am to the smell of burning. I'm not sure what really woke me up, maybe the cat. The smell in the air reminded me of the fumes created when I use a heat gun to strip paint from the old wood trim. I listened for noises and heard nothing. I could tell the house was cold even from under the covers.

I got up, got dressed and checked the indoor HVAC unit in the basement. Sure enough, the fan was running at about half speed. The transformer I replaced last summer was buzzing a lot louder than normal. I switched the breakers off and built a fire in the basement heater.

A little research on google tells me I need to either replace the capacitor for the fan blower's motor or the transformer. I'm going to try both since I have to drive almost an hour to find the parts I need. Wish me luck.

It's 18 degrees. The sun is just beginning to peek through the trees out back. The high today should be a whopping 34 degrees. Tonight, we should see temps in the low teens. There's still snow on the ground from Sunday. And I'm out of firewood. Just great.

12:50pm - 27 degrees in the sun. 54 indoors. The heat is back on after replacing a $3.84 relay on the blower motor. I also replaced the transformer that has been buzzing since it was replaced last year. Apparently it's supposed to buzz as this one does too. The temperature is slowly rising.

Bought some seeds at Wal-Mart from their 20 cents rack. Mostly veggies.