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Aircon Capacitor 1/1.5/2.5/3/3.5/5/15/25/35/50/60/70μf from $5.99 Each + Delivery ($0 Brisbane C&C) @ Star Sparky Direct

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  • +4

    Item under $30, call out fee for Sparky, $300 ;)

    • +1

      That amusement may apply to the $3 power-points, but has is gotten so dumbed down in Australian that people are not even supposed to fix their own appliances?

      BTW, is there any practical difference from an aircon capacitor, and those use on motors of other appliances, such as dishwashers or washing machines?

      • +1

        With $3 power-points, you at least know what it does, how do you know when Aircon Capacitor need replacing or what it does ? Lol

        • +1

          The capacitor provides the motor with extra juice to get it to start spinning. It is easy to see if the capacity needs replacing, it will either be cracked or has a hole through it. :)

          • +3

            @geek001: Or bulged

          • @geek001: I turned on an old box/ wall mount AC, then accidentally turned it off, then straight back on.

            Realised it was a dumb thing to do as soon as I did it.

            It's now dead. Well, runs, but no cooling/ heating.

            Whats the chance of it being a start capacitor?

            Figured I loaded the shit out of the compressor doing what I did.

            • @tunzafun001: Hard to say. Are there any error codes showing on the inside unit? Does the fan still spins on the outside unit? If not, is there a buzzing sound like the fan is trying to spin but cant? If the outside unit looks dead, then it is most likely the pcb. That will be beyond my capability to troubleshoot and most likely quite dangerous to try too. Maybe ask @bargaino below.

              • @geek001: Error codes…haha. This is a Pope AC built in 1971! Has a fan speed and temp dial.

                We keep it as a back up (sits hidden behind a large print).

                Our Fujitsu ducted died mid winter. The old girl soldier on like a champ..until i accidentally brushed past the on off switch.

                Compressor load would have been huge. Either the cap (assume it has one) exploded, or the compressor did.

            • @tunzafun001:

              I turned on an old box/ wall mount AC, then accidentally turned it off, then straight back on.

              Which means that it had built up a head of pressure, then you turned it off and on, and sounds like the motor was unable to start the compressor against that head of pressure. It's a fairly common thing to happen, fridges experience momentary power outages during lots of storms (when the lights go out for a second or two, and then come back on). The refrigeration part of your fridge is essentially the same as the refrigeration part of your air conditioner.

              The way fridges handle it, is there is an over-temperature cutout inside the sealed compressor case. Motor fails to start against the head of pressure, motor gets hot from trying so hard, thermal cutout operates and disconnects power until the motor cools down a handful of minutes later. By then the pressure head has leaked away, so the motor starts without difficulty. It's likely your air conditioner uses the exact same technique, it's a cheap and tried-and-tested method.

              Figured I loaded the shit out of the compressor doing what I did.

              Yes, but not to any extent that air conditioners aren't built to handle. It's no different to a momentary power outage while the compressor is running.

              Electrical and electronic devices usually experience their greatest stresses as they are powering up, and that's when yours died. There's a fair chance it's unrelated that it was operating a few seconds earlier.

              Generally, capacitors don't suffer an abrupt failure from usage within their ratings, they just gradually lose their capacitance. So it seems unlikely to be the cap, given that it had worked only minutes earlier. I'd be looking at a fuse or fusible link that has blown, and at the relay and the thermostat that supply power to the compressor. Most mains-powered motors have a fusible link within their windings, as that's where the greatest heat is generated. If that one has blown, the air conditioner's sealed compressor unit will be a write-off, and probably not economical to replace it versus buying a new air conditioner.

              Note also that not all air conditioner motors have a capacitor. If you have an "inverter" air conditioner, it won't have a capacitor, as the controller board generates three-phase power for the motor, and you don't need a capacitor if you have three-phase power.

              • @Russ: Thanks heaps for this reply. Its over 50 years old, so fair chance the compressor was on its last legs anyway. I'll check for fuses, relays etc.

                I just repaired a buggered inverter board (SMPS - caps, diodes and transformer). This thing looks a lot more friendly.

                But probably time to join the big Ecycle bin (if I can find someone to take the old gas).

        • When the motor start capacitor on your ducted aircon lets the smoke out, you'll probably know it needs replacing :-)

        • How do I know? Because I'm not uneducated, and can google when there is a fault.
          The induction motor has been around since Tesla in the 19th century, and requires a capacitor to produce torque when not moving.
          If your induction motor just buzzes and refuses to start, suspect the capacitor. It is a common point of failure.

          And very easy to test with a multi-meter, as seen on OZbargain and sold by Bunnings.
          If you don't have that, give the stuck fan or motor a push to get it turning. (motor may have aslot at one end of the axis for this purpose)
          If it then runs, just can't start, replace the capacitor with like.

          These caps may also be used for power-factor correction, but in that case you'll not notice if they fail.

          P.S. a failed capacitor might have a visible failure of the case, but shouldn't. Especially the metal ones. The purpose of the metal case is to contain failures.

          • @bargaino: Sure I will buy couple of them and keep them in my toolbox just increase. 😉

            • @boomramada: Not a totally crazy idea, as failure is common.

              Small ones are cheap enough that you can buy a hundred in assorted sizes from Aliexpress. That would be a bit expensive for motor-start caps :)

              P.S. what these actually do (by storing charge) is to shift the phase of an AC voltage. But you don't need to know that to know when they need replacing.

              • @bargaino: P.S. All this assumes you have a old-fashioned aircon with induction motors. I believe modern "inverter" models don't even use them for the fan.

      • Yes, an air con is connected to the 230V mains grid network.

  • DIY install allowed?

    • Absolutely Not .Electrician is required to install this part .

      • +1

        [citation needed]

      • +1

        Why would that be? I can replace a stove element on cooker that is hard wired. I don't think there are any rules specific to aircon electrical work, but I have never done it or had a need to look it up, so happy to be corrected.

        • -1

          You are not aloud to remove a cover of electrical mains appliance or fixed wiring unless you are licensed . Appliances that are not mains powerd are ok 12,24 volt etc .

          • +4

            @spock:

            aloud ….

            Hilarious spelling.

            You talk absolute crap. Any person can repair a device, Still need skills.

            Sorry for being rude… Some people grind my gears…

            • +3

              @BBF: You friend are incorrect i suggest you should find some knowledge before talking utter garbage i suggest you read the laws before you talk crap
              https://www.qbcc.qld.gov.au/resources/article/refrigeration-…

              • @spock:

                You are not aloud (sic) to remove a cover of electrical mains appliance unless you are licensed

                In the same way you are not allowed to open up the back of a computer and perform "unauthorised third party repairs" or whatever the going buzzword is these days. That's a legality to cover themselves so they're not liable for your dumbassery.

                Basically the licence tells you how to do it safely and provides a method of telling other people you have been taught. If you know how to do it safely (not "I think I know") it's fine to do your own repairs. The FBI aren't gonna be knocking down your door when you remove a mains cover lmao

                • +1

                  @pennypincher98:

                  not allowed to open up the back of a computer

                  Opening up the back of a computer does not normally expose mains voltage. the highest voltage you'll be able to achieve will be between the +12V and -12V rails, for a whole 24V DC. That level of voltage is okay for anyone to play with, it falls under the ELV rating (Extra-Low Voltage), which is permissible for the general public. So yes, you are permitted to open up your computer. You are not permitted to open the power supply box, as that WOULD expose mains voltage.

                  The FBI aren't gonna be knocking down your door when you remove a mains cover lmao

                  No, but when your house or something in it catches fire, and the investigation of the cause finds you did unauthorised work, your insurance company won't pay out. And as they typically stand to save tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars if they think you did dodgy wiring, they'll just refuse your claim, and then it's up to you to prove that an electrician did the work.

                  • @Russ:

                    your insurance company won't pay out if they think you did dodgy wiring,

                    Exactly. Works just the same as a warranty in that sense. Your house catches fire because of your lack of electrical knowledge of course they're not going to cover that. What I'm saying is that you'd need to do it precisely how an electrician would. Most people don't have this knowledge, so they call an electrician.

                  • @Russ:

                    No, but when your house or something in it catches fire, and the investigation of the cause finds you did unauthorised work, your insurance company won't pay out.

                    It's probably worth pointing out that in this case the investigation will lead to the AC unit - but there's no way for them to know or even suspect you did "unauthorised work" unless you do something crazy like leave a bunch of exposed wires hanging out or you've clearly done some bodging 😁 You'd have to be very unlucky to end up on this path.

              • @spock: He may not live in a union run state like we Queenslanders do! Here in banana land we even have to call a plumber if the water needs to be turned off (to replace a tap washer for example)….30 cent washer, $100 plumber….as if!!!

            • +1

              @BBF: Arc license says no.

  • +4

    Just a word of caution - Mechatronics Engineer here from before the term was known.

    Capacitors "can" store charge for a very long time so don't touch unless you know what you're doing. It CAN kill. It's worse as it will be a DC vs AC source.

    I must admit that it even caught me out a few months ago where an old PC monitor had been unplugged for days and I removed a blown bulging capacitor only to get a nice little shock from another one that was still on the PCB. It got me again in Jaycar the next day which was even more impressive. Sitting it one a sheet of aluminium foil finally depleted the charge…

    • What about if you wear those rubber garden gloves ? I don’t think electricity can pass through rubber

    • +4

      Sorry, I have to call BS freddo. These things hold a fraction of a joule. Might hurt for a moment, but how on earth is it going to kill you? Please less fear-mongering.
      Did you ever touch the back of a CRT monitor? They could got to 24kV - 100x the piddly amount on the PCB. That hurts!

      • +1

        It depends on the size of the capacitor and of course if you're wearing a pacemaker etc. Consider the latter, there's a reason why you're not meant to mig-weld after having one fitted.

        CRT - yes, many times. I'm 59 years old and have been working in this field since 1986.

        Spark plugs etc - many times.

        I'm considering the lowest common denominator and trying to discourage people from causing themselves harm.

        • -1

          Except motor start/run capacitors just mirror the AC voltage level. They just change the phase for the motor to start. So the chances of it being disconnected at +/-300V is less likely than it being disconnected at a safe voltage.

      • +2

        They are dangerous, but unless you touch the circuit on each side with a different hand it's unlikely to kill you. Maybe if you had a weak heart or was standing at height, or were stupid enough to work on it while it was still connected to mains power.

        Or here's a scenario. Say your working on one the old window units, the big heavy sob's from the 70's, or god forbid, the behemoths from the 50's. It's located at chest height. You pull it out from the wall half way, just enough to exposure some of the parts, but still balancing the weight on the wall with your hand on it to steady it as you poke around to see if there are any obvious signs as to why its not working.
        You go to touch the circuit board, make contact with one of the traces going to the 450v cap, and it gives you a big zap that slows down your perception, turning everything into bullet time as pain radiates through your arm. You instinctively pull back to get away, but your hand locks around one of the cooling pipes, and you end up pulling the whole AC unit out as you fall backwards. 60kg of copper and steel fall 1.6m onto your left shin bone, shattering it and your lifelong dream of becoming a professional Irish dancer. Unable to deal with the harsh reality, you throw yourself off a cliff just 1 year later.

        • unless you touch the circuit on each side with a different hand

          Even then, absolutely not from a small capacitor. Microfarrads means milliamps for milliseconds. Do the maths.
          A defibrillator pumps hundreds of joules into your chest.

          But if working on live AC wires, keeping one hand in your pocket is good practice.

          • +1

            @bargaino:

            A defibrillator pumps hundreds of joules into your chest.

            You're just making up numbers. Most non-hospital defibrillators have a top setting of 200J, and that is only used if the lower settings don't work.

            It's a lot easier to stop a heart, or start an arrythmia that kills you hours later, than it is to start a heart. Minor zaps can kill.

            keeping one hand in your pocket is good practice.

            Little bits of advice like that give a false sense of security to people who don't know better. As I'm sure you know, there's a lot more to not getting zapped than just working one-handed.

            • +1

              @Russ:

              Little bits of advice like that give a false sense of security to people who don't know better. As I'm sure you know, there's a lot more to not getting zapped than just working one-handed.

              Confucious says man with hand in pocket feels cocky all day

          • @bargaino:

            Microfarrads means milliamps for milliseconds. Do the maths.

            Probably should just skim over that, but you're mistaken. Although the conclusion you've drawn (capacitors won't kill or seriously injure) is basically correct so it doesn't really matter much

            However, any other readers should know it takes as little as 30milliamps across the heart to disrupt normal heart beat. Its not about damaging the tissue per say, but rather about introducing an electrical disturbance that disrupts the rhythm of the contraction/release cycle of heart tissue. That's called fibrillation, and it means the heart may still be beating but not in a way that effectively moves blood around.

            • @outlander:

              as little as 30milliamps across the heart to disrupt normal heart beat.

              Yes, but for how long? I realise the difference between the two types of electrocution - massive tissue damage vs fibrillation.
              Perhaps a single joule applied directly to the heart could cause the latter, but between the hands? Let alone between finger and ground?

              However, thanks, i checked my maths and found a big error. oops. 30mA could theoretically be sustained for 20ms or longer.
              Best not to stick a capacitor in your chest during open-heart surgery? :)

    • When I worked as an apprentice mechanic many eons ago, the head mechanics would always catch out the noobs by charging up an old condenser (similar to cap) from a distributor via a plug lead and yelling out "catch" to them, throwing the charged condenser. Always gave the recipient a good whack in the hand.

      • Imagine said mechanic was standing on a ladder with a A/C compressor housing open to change the capacitor and the resulting consequences of them falling back etc.

        That's why I urge caution…

    • Sitting it one a sheet of aluminium foil finally depleted the charge…

      Be careful with that, you can short an electrolytic capacitor down to zero volts, then leave it alone for a few minutes, and it will build up enough voltage again to zap you. See https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/282972/capac…

  • +2

    I actually need a capacitor for my ceiling fan (not sure how but it kills a cap every 2 years) but these are the same price on eBay with free shipping.

    • Indeed. Fixed one of a Vornado recently and bought some of these. Similar price.

    • ceiling fan (not sure how but it kills a cap every 2 years)

      Do you always start it on the highest speed ? I heard somewhere that powering on with the low speed causes this, but not sure if true 😁

      • Almost always start it on high speed, especially since high speed is more like medium as the cap starts to wear.

  • How to safely discharge an AC or motor run/start capacitor? Connect the terminals of a wired soldering iron to the terminals of the capacitor (ie. discharge capacitor thru a load). Directly shorting the capacitor can cause the capacitor to pop or damage adjacent circuit components.

  • +1

    I think this thread is filled with pros. As a semi-pro, if your AC isn't working, please call a service tech instead of trying to replace a capacitor.
    There is a higher chance of you might be fried something else by misdiagnoses than anything else. Or Perhaps burn down the house.

    Even sparkies can't get things right at times.

    Plus I wouldn't even call it a deal.

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