AC COMPRESSORS|air conditioning and heating by tom durbin|ac repair|dallas|dfw

Tom Durbin AC and Mechanical

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AC Compressors

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The ac compressor is the main motor in the condensing unit. This will be the
large black device that's in the bottom of the outside condensing unit. This is
motor encased inside a welded shell with one of several different types of
compressing pumps. If you read the page on fans motors, you understand a
little bit about the controls that protect this compressor. In my opinion the
compressor could not have too much protection. There are several controls
that I like to see on a compressor. A low pressure freon switch, a high
pressure freon switch, and internal electric overload, and an internal
high-pressure relief valve. This seems like a lot of controls, but without these
controls compressors don't have a very long life. Manufactures have got to
the point where you only see high pressure and low pressure switches on the
higher priced units. Just a tiny bit about each control. A low pressure freon
switch turns the unit off when the unit gets too low on freon to operate
properly. The high pressure switch turns the unit off generally when you have
a fan motor failure. Internal electric overload protector stop the flow of electric
on heat or high amperage, it will normally reset itself. The two internal
controls, being the high pressure relief valve and the internal overload
protector can not be repaired. These two controls are installed by the factory
inside a welded container that houses the motor and compressor pump. This
complete assembly is what is called the compressor. The high pressure and
low pressure freon switches can be field replaced.

Compressor failure.

When a compressor fails it's important to know what caused it to fail. If the
technician cannot determine what caused the compressor to fail. There is a
pretty good chance a replacement compressor would also fail. So when
you're getting prices to change a compressor, what you need to understand
is that enough time needs to be spent with the unit after its running again, to
be able to find the problem that caused the compressor to fail in the 1st place.
This is something that we have to investigate, with years of experience to
assist us in finding out the cause of the failure. Not finding the cause generally
gives you the opportunity to change a compressor again. It might be two
weeks, might be next summer. But if you did not isolate the problem and
correct it, you will get the opportunity to do it over. There are so many things
that can cause a compressor failure that it would be hard to even mention
them all. If you're having a problem like this, feel free to call me I don't mind
talking about the problem and the solutions to it.

Over the last couple years the cost to replace the compressor has doubled.
The wholesale cost of a compressor is gone up so dramatically that it now
becomes a accounting decision. Do I replace the compressor or do I replace
the unit. A compressor will only come with a one-year warranty on the part.
Whereas most units will come with at least a five-year to ten year warranty
from most of the manufactures. The cost difference is generally about 75% for
compressor replacement, of the cost of a new unit. So for a few hundred
dollars more, you divide that out over the warranty period of the new unit and
your money ahead. You should strongly look at this any time you have a
compressor to replace. A new system should always be considered.

My company has one of the lowest compressor failure rates of any company
in town. We take a personal interest whenever a compressor is lost. We try to
inform the customer of all the problems that can arise when changing out a
compressor. Again I want to stress that if you do not find the problem that
caused the compressor failure, it will generally cause the next one to fail also.
There are a lot of additional things that should be done on the compressor
change out. Sometimes it's difficult to try to convince the customer of all the
necessary safety steps you should take to ensure that you don't lose another
compressor. If I were changing a compressor at my own house, I would install
every safety device that I could to try to make this compressor last. Such
things would be a liquid line dryer a suction line dryer and a new run
capacitor, new start capacitor, and possibly acid neutralizer if needed. The
systems initiating contactor is something I would also replace.