raymondj(at)frontiernet.n Guest
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Posted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 12:12 am Post subject: OT: bad circuit breaker? |
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Final report on the air conditioner problem. As I was standing there watching the unit with the amp meter around the wire to the compressor I saw it jump from about 9 amps (which was too high anyway) and saw it jump to 16+ amps and then the breaker opened. The motor is shot.
Thanks to everyone who consulted on this problem.
Quote: | Raymond Julian
Kettle River, MN.
"And you know that I could have me a million more friends,
and all I'd have to lose is my point of view." - John Prine | On 08/24/2013 10:10 PM, rayj wrote:
[quote] Ken,
I've owned it since new and used it in the same application for years. It takes at least 5 min and maybe more for the current to creep up. It puts out cold air when it's running, so I'm guessing it's the compressor motor. I gave it a good cleaning before I installed it this summer and it operated correctly for more than a month. It's a small window unit so if I can't tinker it back to life it'll be less expensive to replace than to have someone work on it. I'll check everything you mentioned. Thanks very much for the advice.
Quote: | Raymond Julian
Kettle River, MN.
"And you know that I could have me a million more friends,
and all I'd have to lose is my point of view." - John Prine | On 08/24/2013 09:51 PM, Ken wrote:
Quote: | --> AeroElectric-List message posted by: Ken <klehman(at)albedo.net> (klehman(at)albedo.net)
Ray
I look for dirty condenser fins, slow turning fan, or dented restricted high pressure line all of which cause high current.
Then I make sure the compressor really is starting and coming up to speed. ie it is not just a bad starting capacitor or start relay keeping the start winding running and tripping the breaker in a few seconds after startup. There are several clues when that happens but it may not be obvious as the compressor does appear to start up.
If I don't own it I then advise replacing the unit.
If I do own it and it is expensive (or I feel like tinkering), I start wondering about it's history and whether there is any moisture in the refrigerant or someone has put the wrong refrigerant in so I evacuate, dry, and put in new refrigerant. Then I'd follow my advice to others in the above paragraph.
Ken
(no expert but I've done some HVAC work)
do not archive
On 24/08/2013 10:06 PM, rayj wrote:
Quote: | I've got the unit out. I'll check, but I'm willing to bet it's the
compressor. I can't imagine the fan consuming that much energy and not
self destructing. And something resets after a short while and the cycle
starts over.
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