Hot hot hot and no air con.

[Bugsinrugs]

We spent the fourth at my son’s house in the Bay Area and his air conditioning worked. When we got home the inside of our house was 93 degrees. Set the thermostat to cool but the condenser didn’t come on. Long story short after a couple days of trying to figure it out I called in the big guns. Ants under the contactor. Never thought of that. It showed power just not 240. Now I know what to look for. A $100 lesson. Nice to have a relatively habitable house again.

[GH85Carrera]

Our Koi pond pump quit. It is plugged into a GFC plug on a riser in an outdoor box. I opened that box and it was full of tiny little black ants and their eggs. The only good news was they don't bite. That bad news is it was right next to a large Russian Sage bush my wife planted after the fact. It was right in my way. I started going back on the wires in the conduit and had to go back 5 or 6 feet to find good wires that the insulation was not eaten off by the ants. I put down a lot of ant bait to kill off any nearby ant nests.

Not as bad as house AC. I could run a heavy duty extension cord to it to run the Koi pond pump for the interim.

[Bugsinrugs]

Tech recommended baby powder in the power box . He said ants won’t cross it. Worth a try.

[Evans, Marv]

We've been lucky. It's 103 in the sun and 98 in the shade here. We open windows at night, close them in the morning, and some times have to put the AC on for a short time in the early evening. I did have to have an HVAC guy out a few years ago for a fuse problem I couldn't find. The fee then was $120 to show up.

[red 928]

I spend most of my time a block from the beach
or near the top of a mountain but I still
consider AC a necessity.
First world problem to be sure.

So, I've have to call AC guys out three times in my life and
two of those times all it needed was a contactor.
That's how I learned that the contactor is always the
second thing to check (after the fuses),
and a person should always have a spare on hand
to keep from having to make "the phone call".
Besides, a contactor will last forever if it knows
you have a spare.

Unfortunately
that lesson cost me quite a bit more than $100.
IIRC one time was during a big heat wave and the
first crook quoted $300 to replace a $15 contactor
that would take 15 minutes tops.

I paid his $75 show-up fee and sent him packing.
In hindsight that was a probably a bad move (and he knew it).
It took me two days to get another
AC guy to show up but he only charged $175
and that included the show-up fee
At the time I didn't know where to get the right contactor
or how to install it, but I learned.

And that was back when a dollar would buy a
whopper with cheese.
(insert old man yelling at clouds)

[Bugsinrugs]

I had replaced my contactor about 6 years ago. I checked the voltage but wasn’t smart enough to realize I was only getting 180 volts on the feed side. Technician popped the top off the contactor and found all the dead ants. Quick clean up and $100 bucks and he was on his way. I just ordered a spare contactor per his recommendation.

[Evans, Marv]

I replaced the contactors on my two units a few years ago. That's in a span of about 15 years of service. I checked them and saw the contacts were burnt and decided to replace them.

[Scott Douglas]

My brother had a problem with his A/C recently. It was 105* at his house and it wouldn't start.
$401 later he had a new capacitor and cold air flowing again.

Those A/C guys seem to know when they've got you over a barrel.

[Baz]

I have central air.

But I learned a long time ago to have backup.

So I also have a 6K BTU window unit in place year round.

Plus....another just like it still in it's box....as back up.

I also have a larger window unit (12K) sitting in it's box that I can deploy in 15 minutes in addition to the 6K unit, should the need arise.

Along with a portable generator, I'm set if we get a power outage.

Or if it's just an issue with my central system......I have something to use as backup....to buy time to effect repairs.

You have to have backups and contingency's for certain things. AC is one of them if you live in Florida.....

[Tobra]

Borax and hot cocoa mix powder, 50:50 is good for ants

[Scott Douglas]

There is a type of chalk you can buy that works too. No mixing, easy to store, easier to use.

[stevej37]

Diatomaceous earth....and it's inexpensive.

[Bugsinrugs]

It’s funny on things we need for spares. Hoping we never need them but I have 3 generators. Just in case!

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

There is a type of chalk you can buy that works too. No mixing, easy to store, easier to use.

I have one more left my mom gave me years ago when they sold them in some funky store in Chinatown. I hear they still sell them at the local swapmeets for a couple dollars. Use that chalk once, only a tiny line about 1/2" long is needed right across their patch, and go and have lunch. Come home after lunch, all gone, they carry off their dead and the evil chalk back to the nest and they all get kill. We rub that chalk once every 5-8 years below the door way. No more ants and no traces of them near the house. Boric acid works too but do get the puffer and don't over do it. Got rid of roaches in my building after going through three or four exterminators. roaches came right back about three months with dirty tenants.

I swear by this product with roaches.

https://www.amazon.com/Harris-Silverfish-Killer-Powder-Included/dp/B079J5XF31/ref=sr_1_5_pp?crid=3G64JRXQLGC3P&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ovPtkGi9FS-clhd_xlpvQvnDQ38t0xliVuNQJ66hZXZGnGNj9g_7UjxABNmFA 4BfrGG7z8ftp-ADLoisHOP7ReD-sUXDhSvTrnMfxUV3KgZJmexZhUI2EmPuK_0qwRYVkyYbhUXMv9 3omvoqhgiao-taxxh0574EXz1w9uuAJqj8zoLkDypFQiWKtm7bMrbQSSxJqvEX eQW0ZjcgL_BHYdmGqN3q7pSsAlHQc-EMedEbiWpYkfClN-kq_Uvrl2qWDvB7c5AK3R12yeFzYKiJzngmd3kreGMtCt6isa_N 7r0.MLxm4sEpTW5Ef9As_ZslapB2ocborojgzWkNeeVbBfk&dib_tag=se&keywords=boric+acid&qid=1720649818&sprefix=boric+acid%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-5

[A930Rocket]

Our AC system is 10-11 years old. To get a few spare parts, what do I look for when I open the compressor?

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

My brother had a problem with his A/C recently. It was 105* at his house and it wouldn't start.
$401 later he had a new capacitor and cold air flowing again.

Those A/C guys seem to know when they've got you over a barrel.

Extremely common repair. That's a $50 part at most? They are in it to make a living, though.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

Our AC system is 10-11 years old. To get a few spare parts, what do I look for when I open the compressor?

Clean it to inspect it, inspect it to repair it, repair it to improve it.

Spares:
Start capacitor for condenser fan motor and evap coil fan motor.
Duty rated contactors for Compressor and Fan motor.

Regular maintenance:
Clean your condenser and evap coils.
Keep the evap coil fan blades clean.
With power off, check the alignment, wear & spring back on the contactor arm along with the condition of the contacts.

[Bob Kontak]

[QUOTE=3rd_gear_Ted;12281581]Spares:
Start capacitor for condenser fan motor and evap coil fan motor.


Is the evap coil fan the furnace blower fan?

[HobieMarty]

This stuff works very well.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[rnln]

Look,
the link don't work. Can you take pics of the chalk please? We are suffering with ants, flees (guessing), and spider. I spray them multiple times but still get itch

Originally Posted by look 171

I have one more left my mom gave me years ago when they sold them in some funky store in Chinatown. I hear they still sell them at the local swapmeets for a couple dollars. Use that chalk once, only a tiny line about 1/2" long is needed right across their patch, and go and have lunch. Come home after lunch, all gone, they carry off their dead and the evil chalk back to the nest and they all get kill. We rub that chalk once every 5-8 years below the door way. No more ants and no traces of them near the house. Boric acid works too but do get the puffer and don't over do it. Got rid of roaches in my building after going through three or four exterminators. roaches came right back about three months with dirty tenants.

I swear by this product with roaches.

https://www.amazon.com/Harris-Silverfish-Killer-Powder-Included/dp/B079J5XF31/ref=sr_1_5_pp?crid=3G64JRXQLGC3P&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ovPtkGi9FS-clhd_xlpvQvnDQ38t0xliVuNQJ66hZXZGnGNj9g_7UjxABNmFA 4BfrGG7z8ftp-ADLoisHOP7ReD-sUXDhSvTrnMfxUV3KgZJmexZhUI2EmPuK_0qwRYVkyYbhUXMv9 3omvoqhgiao-taxxh0574EXz1w9uuAJqj8zoLkDypFQiWKtm7bMrbQSSxJqvEX eQW0ZjcgL_BHYdmGqN3q7pSsAlHQc-EMedEbiWpYkfClN-kq_Uvrl2qWDvB7c5AK3R12yeFzYKiJzngmd3kreGMtCt6isa_N 7r0.MLxm4sEpTW5Ef9As_ZslapB2ocborojgzWkNeeVbBfk&dib_tag=se&keywords=boric+acid&qid=1720649818&sprefix=boric+acid%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-5