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Ha. We're a little north of there and were dealing with screaming hvac condenser fan motor yesterday. I ordered another motor and a start capacitor but it'll be

Ha. We're a little north of there and were dealing with screaming hvac condenser fan motor yesterday. I ordered another motor and a start capacitor but it'll be a few days before they're in. Once the motor cooled enough to be handled, son #3 disassembled it, smoothed out the shaft and applied some super sticky grease. Motor spins freely but only starts sometimes. I've got a construction fan on top, blowing up for now.

toomuchtodo 1y ago
Do you need assistance?
- WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
  That's nice of you. Thank you. It's just a condenser fan motor and replacing the (budget) dual run cap with an AmRad. Hardest part is threading the motor lines back thru the conduit after forgetting to pull a line first. I was uncertain whether the cap's tolerance difference mattered. Existing is half rubbed off and shows something like ?0/-5% and replacement is ±16/±16%. But #3 knows caps and says we're good.
  - JamesSwift 1y ago
    You generally want to get a lower tolerance (so +/- 5% is better than +/- 6%). I assume the Amrad is a Turbo 200, but if not then I would recommend the Turbo 200 if you cant figure out a suitable replacement. Titan HD is a good "traditional" alternative though. I keep a Turbo 200 as a hotswap in case of emergency and then order the Titan HD as a long term replacement when needed.
    - WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
      > I assume the Amrad is a Turbo 200 ... Titan HD is a good "traditional" alternative though. Not Turbo 200. Amrad model I got is USA2226. Trane OEM is CPT00659 so, ±6%. My new AmRad is actually +10/-5%. Pic in the listing is fuzzy and taken 2013. It probably says +10%/-10%, not 16/16. Regardless I have a 10/5. I appreciated your feedback tho.
      - JamesSwift 1y ago
        As long as its compatible you are good. Amrad is a good brand.
mindslight 1y ago
Jumper the fan so it just stays on all the time, at least during the day? Be aware with the fan on top, sucking air gives much less cooling capacity than blowing air (the intake flow is mostly laminar). I had an oil burner motor that would occasionally fail to start up. Subtle rough spot on one of the bearings, so if it stopped in that exact place it didn't have the torque to start spinning.
- WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
  > Jumper the fan so it just stays on all the time, at least during the day? As of today the fan isn't starting and the external fan draw isn't spinning the blades any more. Bushings are at least part of that. We've got a replacement cap to try anyway but the motor won't be in until Thur. > Be aware with the fan on top, sucking air gives much less cooling capacity than blowing air Gotta work with what we got. It's enough to stave off thermal locking. The house has 2 units and we're setting that stat higher and supplementing with fans.
  - mindslight 1y ago
    oh, I think I understand better now - the job of the fan on top blowing upwards was to keep the unit's fan spinning or otherwise help it start moving.

toomuchtodo 1y ago

Do you need assistance?

WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
That's nice of you. Thank you. It's just a condenser fan motor and replacing the (budget) dual run cap with an AmRad. Hardest part is threading the motor lines back thru the conduit after forgetting to pull a line first. I was uncertain whether the cap's tolerance difference mattered. Existing is half rubbed off and shows something like ?0/-5% and replacement is ±16/±16%. But #3 knows caps and says we're good.
- JamesSwift 1y ago
  You generally want to get a lower tolerance (so +/- 5% is better than +/- 6%). I assume the Amrad is a Turbo 200, but if not then I would recommend the Turbo 200 if you cant figure out a suitable replacement. Titan HD is a good "traditional" alternative though. I keep a Turbo 200 as a hotswap in case of emergency and then order the Titan HD as a long term replacement when needed.
  - WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
    > I assume the Amrad is a Turbo 200 ... Titan HD is a good "traditional" alternative though. Not Turbo 200. Amrad model I got is USA2226. Trane OEM is CPT00659 so, ±6%. My new AmRad is actually +10/-5%. Pic in the listing is fuzzy and taken 2013. It probably says +10%/-10%, not 16/16. Regardless I have a 10/5. I appreciated your feedback tho.
    - JamesSwift 1y ago
      As long as its compatible you are good. Amrad is a good brand.

mindslight 1y ago

Jumper the fan so it just stays on all the time, at least during the day? Be aware with the fan on top, sucking air gives much less cooling capacity than blowing air (the intake flow is mostly laminar). I had an oil burner motor that would occasionally fail to start up. Subtle rough spot on one of the bearings, so if it stopped in that exact place it didn't have the torque to start spinning.

WarOnPrivacy 1y ago
> Jumper the fan so it just stays on all the time, at least during the day? As of today the fan isn't starting and the external fan draw isn't spinning the blades any more. Bushings are at least part of that. We've got a replacement cap to try anyway but the motor won't be in until Thur. > Be aware with the fan on top, sucking air gives much less cooling capacity than blowing air Gotta work with what we got. It's enough to stave off thermal locking. The house has 2 units and we're setting that stat higher and supplementing with fans.
- mindslight 1y ago
  oh, I think I understand better now - the job of the fan on top blowing upwards was to keep the unit's fan spinning or otherwise help it start moving.