Need HVAC help

It isn't rubbing anywhere is it? You don't hear any rubbing or anything of the sort do you? The only reason I suggest that is whenever you tap it, it starts turning.

I think I'm just going to call someone to come look at it.

A buddy is a HVAC tech. He said most problems seem to run in spurts. One day he will replace a dozen capacitors. Another day all he will be doing is cleaning out the condenser coils and unplugging evaporator drains.

IIRC his service call fee is $90 plus parts and I forget what he charges per hour when on a call.

A capacitor is under $20 if you do it, expect to pay around $150 to have a HVAC tech do it.

Mine quit year before last, after about fifteen years of faithful service with no maintenance. Repaired once by HVAC guy who replaced capacitor with "heavy-duty" capacitor, said it was often needed fr older units like mine.

Quit again the following spring. I replaced the capacitor he had put in, which was the standard duty capacitor that was original equipment, with another "heavy duty" capacitor from a nearby HVAC supply house, which was also the exact same spec's as the one it was replacing (I'm beginning to think they are all "heavy duty", as I can't find any regular duty or light duty ones listed anywhere). That one also got it going for a couple weeks, then it quit again, and when I checked the circuit that time, it was the relay (which is now called by a different name, "initiator" or "instigator" or somesuch, but it still just connects the 120V line to the compressor motor using the 24V power from the thermostat.

That repair was good for about a week and the compressor motor finally died with a squealing noise that made it obvious that it had been the real culprit all along and I had just been fixing the weak links in the circuitry that were failing because of the increased draw from the failing old motor.

Hot weather was upon us by that time, and I had no desire to put a bunch of money into a major repair of the central air when I'd be replacing most or all of the rest of that system anyway in a few years, so I ran up to the nearest Lowes and bought two window units that were narrow enough to fit our casement type sliding windows, and quickly put them in and we had sufficient cooling for the rest of last summer and I put them back in this spring and they're still doing the job quite well.

It depends on the individual situation whether that solution works better or not. We're an older couple with limited traffic in and out of the house, and really only need two areas to be really cooled during the hotter part of the summer, and one window unit in the master BR at one and of the house and another in a dining room near the other end gets the job done. Supposedly it's less efficient to do it that way, but I think that comparison is made based on the total cooling power needed for the whole interior to be made comfortable at all times during the cooling season, and that we are actually spending less on electricity by only cooling the one or two ends of the house that need it at the time.

I know I sleep better knowing that any failure for whatever reason in my cooling system can be remedied with another trip about ten miles up the road to Lowes and another $240 window unit 8^)

I have replaced capacitors twice. Once the fan would not turn and the last time it would turn, but not at high speed. Each time my HVAC buddy has told me to up the capacitor size and I am now at the max for my unit.

He said that when the industry went to the smaller capacitors he sees them fail all the time. He said when they were the size of a coke can they lasted the lifetime of the unit most times.