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.

Los Angeles Air Conditioning Jokes!

It is officially Summer! Los Angeles air conditioning experts came across some funny jokes. We thought we’d share them with you to kick off the season of heat and LA air conditioning. Enjoy!

A customer was continually bothering the waiter in a restaurant; first, he’d asked that the air conditioning be turned up because he was too hot, then he asked it be turned down because he was too cold, and so on for about half an hour.
Surprisingly, the waiter was very patient, walking back and forth and never once getting angry. So finally, a second customer asked why didn’t they just throw out the pest.
“Oh I don’t care.” said the waiter with a smile. “We don’t even have an air conditioner.”

And another…

An engineer died and reported to the pearly gates. An intern angel, filling in for St. Peter, checked his dossier and grimly said, “Ah, you’re an engineer; you’re in the wrong place.”
So the engineer was cast down to the gates of hell and was let in. Pretty soon, the engineer became gravely dissatisfied with the level of comfort in hell, and began designing and building improvements. After a while, the underworld had air conditioning, flush toilets, and escalators, and the engineer was becoming a pretty popular guy among the demons.
One day, God called Satan up on the telephone and asked with a sneer, “So, how’s it going down there in hell?”
Satan laughed and replied, “Hey, things are going great. We’ve got air conditioning and flush toilets and escalators, and there’s no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next.”
God’s face clouded over and he exploded, “What? You’ve got an engineer? That’s a mistake; he should never have gotten down there; send him up here.”
Satan shook his head, “No way. I like having an engineer on the staff, and I’m keeping him.”
God was as mad as he had ever been, “This is not the way things are supposed to work and you know it. Send him back up here or I’ll sue.”
Satan laughed uproariously, “Yeah, right. And just where are YOU going to get a lawyer?”

Do you have any Los Angeles air conditioning jokes? Feel free to post them on our Facebook page! You can also leave a comment and the Los Angeles air conditioning crew will check it out!