What's upsetting you today? - Page 687

it · 06-16-2015, 10:16 AM

Someone's friend's sister died
Someone can't get to the next stage of their life
Someone got a bleeding mouth thingy...

Just to continue the improvement scale: My toast got burned.

(The next person's trouble better not be greater then a broken nail!)

chrisinhouston · 06-26-2015, 08:50 AM

Our central AC went out yesterday! It seems like every other year or so this happens. Usually it's a capacitor or a relay that burns out in the condenser unit outside. We replaced our entire system about 10 years ago with a top of the line Trane system and otherwise it heats and cools great. It's just frustrating because it takes a day for the service call and it always seems to cost $300 or so for parts and labor and it means the house gets pretty hot for a while.

In this part of the country our AC units run just about year round with less use in the cooler months but they still cut on from time to time then. In the summer you figure it probably stops and starts several times per hour, 24 hours a day so those parts get a lot of work.

glatt · 06-26-2015, 09:43 AM

There isn't much to an AC unit. If you have even a little electrical knowledge, replacing a capacitor or relay yourself is a half hour job, and the parts are about $30.

$300 is a fair price though for a tech to come out to your house, have the part in stock in the van, and get the thing up and running again in short order.

You could try to track down the part yourself, but it would probably take a few days. Meanwhile you'll be suffering in the heat.

Typing this post makes me think I should buy a capacitor and relay in advance and just keep them on the shelf so I can do it myself when it happens. We had a relay go out a few years ago because ants built a nest inside it. So that stuff happens. It cost us $300 then, and I looked the part up afterwards and saw it was like $30.

chrisinhouston · 06-26-2015, 09:48 AM

Yes, I've thought about that but it seems to never be the same part 2 times in a row. One year it's the cap., the next it's the connector relay. Last year it was the main circuit board up in the furnace that controls everything. That repair was around $600. I should take a basic course in AC repair.

What is frustrating it that our AC system came with an advertised extended warranty but the installer company didn't tell us we had to mail in a postcard requesting the extended warranty from Trane so we didn't get it. The guys we use now for repairs said they always fill out the card for the customer and send it in as a courtesy and were surprised that the company we purchased the system from did not do that. All this stuff would still be covered except for not sending the postcard.

chrisinhouston · 06-26-2015, 11:51 AM

So I go home to be here a bit in advance of the AC repairman coming and find my home at a cool and non humid 74 degrees..... Called my son at his job, he spent the night here and he said it seemed to cool down after he went to bed last night. I cancelled the service call as I don't think it would have done any good but I have to wonder why it didn't work yesterday. Not sure if the capacitor that starts the compressor can fail intermittently. I figured they just fail. Yesterday when it wasn't cooling the blower in the furnace was going and also the fan on the condenser outside was but I don't think the compressor was running as the insulated copper pipe was not cold, just the outside temperature.

Well at least the service lady said to call them over the weekend if it goes out and that the service call is the same price, $85 as for a weekday.

Sundae · 06-26-2015, 12:03 PM

A silly upset, but I get upset about silly things.
There's a ferry strike directly affecting the ferries to/ from Arran this weekend.
I don't go til Monday, thank goodness. The poor people heading off for the first holiday of the long vac (today is the last day of school for Scottish children) will have their plans very much affected. I will almost definitely not be affected by Monday, but can't help fretting all the same.
Probably because I always have a bit of a mood "crash" after a visit, and my Godfather came to see me Weds-Thurs, so I may be a little more vulnerable than usual.
Still, they have all weekend to sort out their industrial issues, and I have all weekend to keep saying calm-calm-calm to myself.

My sister and family (plus Conor) are booked to go to Tunisia in August. They have more to worry about than a ferry strike. Mum says even if things don't escalate, my sister is now terrified that if they go she's putting all her loved ones in danger. I do feel for her. I wouldn't let the threat of terrorism change my plans (or I wouldn't have back when I was completely well) but then I've been a solo traveller for the last 17 years. She has children and grandchildren to consider.

Of course, my sister's worries are nothing compared to those caught up in the carnage, but I don't know them.

glatt · 06-26-2015, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisinhouston

the blower in the furnace was going and also the fan on the condenser outside was but I don't think the compressor was running as the insulated copper pipe was not cold, just the outside temperature

That's weird.

chrisinhouston · 06-26-2015, 02:42 PM

After being home about an hour the house started warming up and it is evident the AC has gone off again. I checked the unit outside, the fan is running but it's not producing hot air as when the compressor is doing it's thing. I can hear a short hum from the area where the capacitors and relay contacts are every few minutes like it's trying to kick on the compressor but not succeeding. This is a pretty high end unit with a 2 speed compressor so their are 3 capacitors, one for fan and 2 for the compressor, also 2 relay contact assemblies. My hunch is one of the caps or contact relays is blown. I wouldn't know which one to replace, I don't have a voltage meter that measures microferads which you need to check the capacitors.

Called back to the AC service company but now they are booked until Monday. Called another place that said they might fit it in today or no later then Saturday morning. Guess we will spend another night at my mother in laws on the guest bed.

This sucks.

glatt · 06-26-2015, 02:58 PM

Pain in the ass. I didn't hear a humming when my relay was on the fritz with the ants. It was more like an ineffectual clicking. You don't have ants crawling all over the unit, do you?

footfootfoot · 06-30-2015, 03:10 PM

Certain person is now on FB and we have, not surprisingly, 30 something mutual friends. I don't want to know any more about her life than I do so I'm not going to friend her but it irks the shit out of me that she's now there. (And how nauseatingly fawning over her they are.)

I really feel like I need to move out of town or state.

xoxoxoBruce · 06-30-2015, 03:11 PM

Just move off basefook.

Undertoad · 06-30-2015, 03:39 PM

Facebook IS nauseating fawning. New FB users are unaware that they are only reaching 10-20% of their friends with their stuff, and many of them go way overboard at first. You may rest assured that, now, other people are getting tired of her shit.

Block everyone you don't like by selecting the "don't show me posts from this person" feature.

DanaC · 06-30-2015, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Block everyone you don't like by selecting the "don't show me posts from this person" feature.

Does the other person know you've blocked them?

Undertoad · 06-30-2015, 04:01 PM

No they don't

I was gonna say even if you're friends, but I'm not sure about that. I know you can unfollow friends and they don't know about it.

it · 06-30-2015, 04:19 PM

Exactly! FB friends aren't people you want to follow, they are people who you are socially obligated to let them feel like you are part of their lives without actually wanting any real interaction with them.

So you guys have the same attitude towards FB as me.... I'd say let's be friends but...

06-26-2015, 12:03 PM	#10296
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	A silly upset, but I get upset about silly things. There's a ferry strike directly affecting the ferries to/ from Arran this weekend. I don't go til Monday, thank goodness. The poor people heading off for the first holiday of the long vac (today is the last day of school for Scottish children) will have their plans very much affected. I will almost definitely not be affected by Monday, but can't help fretting all the same. Probably because I always have a bit of a mood "crash" after a visit, and my Godfather came to see me Weds-Thurs, so I may be a little more vulnerable than usual. Still, they have all weekend to sort out their industrial issues, and I have all weekend to keep saying calm-calm-calm to myself. My sister and family (plus Conor) are booked to go to Tunisia in August. They have more to worry about than a ferry strike. Mum says even if things don't escalate, my sister is now terrified that if they go she's putting all her loved ones in danger. I do feel for her. I wouldn't let the threat of terrorism change my plans (or I wouldn't have back when I was completely well) but then I've been a solo traveller for the last 17 years. She has children and grandchildren to consider. Of course, my sister's worries are nothing compared to those caught up in the carnage, but I don't know them. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

06-30-2015, 03:10 PM	#10300
footfootfoot To shreds, you say? Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet! Posts: 18,449	Certain person is now on FB and we have, not surprisingly, 30 something mutual friends. I don't want to know any more about her life than I do so I'm not going to friend her but it irks the shit out of me that she's now there. (And how nauseatingly fawning over her they are.) I really feel like I need to move out of town or state. __________________ The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs

06-30-2015, 03:11 PM	#10301
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Just move off basefook. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

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06-16-2015, 10:16 AM	#10291
it Banned Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 772	Someone's friend's sister died Someone can't get to the next stage of their life Someone got a bleeding mouth thingy... Just to continue the improvement scale: My toast got burned. (The next person's trouble better not be greater then a broken nail!)

06-26-2015, 08:50 AM	#10292
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	Our central AC went out yesterday! It seems like every other year or so this happens. Usually it's a capacitor or a relay that burns out in the condenser unit outside. We replaced our entire system about 10 years ago with a top of the line Trane system and otherwise it heats and cools great. It's just frustrating because it takes a day for the service call and it always seems to cost $300 or so for parts and labor and it means the house gets pretty hot for a while. In this part of the country our AC units run just about year round with less use in the cooler months but they still cut on from time to time then. In the summer you figure it probably stops and starts several times per hour, 24 hours a day so those parts get a lot of work.

06-26-2015, 09:43 AM	#10293
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	There isn't much to an AC unit. If you have even a little electrical knowledge, replacing a capacitor or relay yourself is a half hour job, and the parts are about $30. $300 is a fair price though for a tech to come out to your house, have the part in stock in the van, and get the thing up and running again in short order. You could try to track down the part yourself, but it would probably take a few days. Meanwhile you'll be suffering in the heat. Typing this post makes me think I should buy a capacitor and relay in advance and just keep them on the shelf so I can do it myself when it happens. We had a relay go out a few years ago because ants built a nest inside it. So that stuff happens. It cost us $300 then, and I looked the part up afterwards and saw it was like $30.

06-26-2015, 09:48 AM	#10294
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	Yes, I've thought about that but it seems to never be the same part 2 times in a row. One year it's the cap., the next it's the connector relay. Last year it was the main circuit board up in the furnace that controls everything. That repair was around $600. I should take a basic course in AC repair. What is frustrating it that our AC system came with an advertised extended warranty but the installer company didn't tell us we had to mail in a postcard requesting the extended warranty from Trane so we didn't get it. The guys we use now for repairs said they always fill out the card for the customer and send it in as a courtesy and were surprised that the company we purchased the system from did not do that. All this stuff would still be covered except for not sending the postcard.

06-26-2015, 11:51 AM	#10295
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	So I go home to be here a bit in advance of the AC repairman coming and find my home at a cool and non humid 74 degrees..... Called my son at his job, he spent the night here and he said it seemed to cool down after he went to bed last night. I cancelled the service call as I don't think it would have done any good but I have to wonder why it didn't work yesterday. Not sure if the capacitor that starts the compressor can fail intermittently. I figured they just fail. Yesterday when it wasn't cooling the blower in the furnace was going and also the fan on the condenser outside was but I don't think the compressor was running as the insulated copper pipe was not cold, just the outside temperature. Well at least the service lady said to call them over the weekend if it goes out and that the service call is the same price, $85 as for a weekday.

06-26-2015, 02:42 PM	#10298
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	After being home about an hour the house started warming up and it is evident the AC has gone off again. I checked the unit outside, the fan is running but it's not producing hot air as when the compressor is doing it's thing. I can hear a short hum from the area where the capacitors and relay contacts are every few minutes like it's trying to kick on the compressor but not succeeding. This is a pretty high end unit with a 2 speed compressor so their are 3 capacitors, one for fan and 2 for the compressor, also 2 relay contact assemblies. My hunch is one of the caps or contact relays is blown. I wouldn't know which one to replace, I don't have a voltage meter that measures microferads which you need to check the capacitors. Called back to the AC service company but now they are booked until Monday. Called another place that said they might fit it in today or no later then Saturday morning. Guess we will spend another night at my mother in laws on the guest bed. This sucks.

06-26-2015, 02:58 PM	#10299
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Pain in the ass. I didn't hear a humming when my relay was on the fritz with the ants. It was more like an ineffectual clicking. You don't have ants crawling all over the unit, do you?

06-30-2015, 03:39 PM	#10302
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Facebook IS nauseating fawning. New FB users are unaware that they are only reaching 10-20% of their friends with their stuff, and many of them go way overboard at first. You may rest assured that, now, other people are getting tired of her shit. Block everyone you don't like by selecting the "don't show me posts from this person" feature.

06-30-2015, 04:01 PM	#10304
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	No they don't I was gonna say even if you're friends, but I'm not sure about that. I know you can unfollow friends and they don't know about it.

06-30-2015, 04:19 PM	#10305
it Banned Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 772	Exactly! FB friends aren't people you want to follow, they are people who you are socially obligated to let them feel like you are part of their lives without actually wanting any real interaction with them. So you guys have the same attitude towards FB as me.... I'd say let's be friends but...

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