Los Angeles Air Conditioning Compressor

There is usually little in between on whether an air conditioning unit works or doesn’t. The heart of any air conditioning unit is the Compressor. It is what allows the unit to function properly and deliver that cool air we all are accustom too. The compressor on an air conditioner is usually misunderstood by most consumers today.

Your Los Angeles air conditioning experts are here to try and change that. We like to provide our customers with the knowledge to fully understand the cool systems they have in their homes if they want too. The compressor is a pump driven by an electric motor. The pump has valves and pistons inside that are kind of like your car engine.

Scroll compressor: Set of spirals (more efficient because there are no reciprocating parts.)

Rotary compressor: Acts like a vane pump. These are usually found in window units because they are common in smaller air conditioners vs larger systems.

Residential air conditioners are usually hermetic (the motor and the part that pumps is built into one box called a can.) The can is where you can find the electric motor. The refrigerant flows over the motor windings to cool it as it runs. Varnish covers the insulation of the motor windings so that it doesn’t react with the refrigerant. If it becomes acidic it will eat the windings and the motor will burn out. A smaller problem would be for the circuit breaker or fuse to blow. If that doesn’t happen than the motor will continue to run and ruin the refrigeration system. A system that is short of refrigerant will overhear the motor a system that is overcharged can flood the compressor causing “liquid slugging.” A bad crankcase heater will also cause damage due to liquid. This is not as much a problem on smaller systems but will destroy larger units or systems with a lot of refrigerant charge.

If the hermetic compressor fails the only way to fix the system is to replace it.

If the run capacitor fails the motor will not start and draw excessive current than it should and over heat (tripping) it’s internal protector (also known as an “overload”). If it doesn’t have a start capacitor it probably should. Especially if it has problems starting under load. If the cooling coil is replaced with one that has a thermostatic expansion valve as opposed to capillaries or an orifice. You may think that the compressor is bad because it won’t start. Scroll compressors do not need start components but they DO need and anti restart timer or they can run backwards if the power is interrupted. A rotary compressor can do the same thing under certain conditions.

There are many different brands of compressors out there today. For example: Bristol, Tecumseh and Copeland, Manurope, Trane, Danfoss, Aspera, Dunham Bush, Carlyle (Carrier) and York. You can view these brands online, some of them even have Facebook pages like us. We post the latest tips and tricks for everything Heating and Los Angeles air conditioning.

Do you have more questions about compressors? Give a certified Los Angeles air conditioning expert a call today at +1(800)321-9494.