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Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

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Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#371

Post by Scoundreller »

refurb wrote: post #134
cbanek wrote: post #17

This is when smart gets stupid. I'm a bit worried about this with my nest and other smart devices, but even with normal air conditioners there are a few stupid simple problems that will cost you hundreds of dollars! A couple of weeks ago my AC blower fan stopped working, the compressor would run. I went up and found out that the capacitor was bad, and took a picture of it, buying a replacement. Took about 15 minutes…

I did something similar for a clothes drier. The thing was ancient (mid-80’s) but was fantastic. It was huge and you could dry maybe 3 comforters under an hour. It stopped heating and it turned out there are solenoids that control the natural gas flow. Quick disassembly (back when products were made for easy repair) and swapping out two $8 solenoids from Amazon and I was back in business.

Gas hot water heaters will often foul the flame detection sensor over time.

Simple YouTube video to unscrew the thing, sand off the crud and back in action.

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#372

Post by quickthrowman »

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #353
cbanek wrote: post #17

This is when smart gets stupid. I'm a bit worried about this with my nest and other smart devices, but even with normal air conditioners there are a few stupid simple problems that will cost you hundreds of dollars! A couple of weeks ago my AC blower fan stopped working, the compressor would run. I went up and found out that the capacitor was bad, and took a picture of it, buying a replacement. Took about 15 minutes…

Everyone reading this should find out what capacitor they need and buy one off Amazon, they're all I've done this repair myself, it takes maybe <15 minutes and is almost impossible to mess up. Even if you were find spending a couple hundred dollars to have someone come out and do it, you'd still go hours at least without AC. Which depending on the time of year can be miserable.

Please don’t suggest buying electrical parts off Amazon, that’s criminal negligence. On second thought, please do not give any electrical advice on the internet.

Buy it from McMaster Carr or Grainger, please!! If you do this repair yourself, short the contacts of the capacitor (ideally with a correctly sized resistor) to discharge it before handling it so you don’t electrocute yourself.

Start caps: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/motor-starter-capacitors/

Run caps: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/run-capacitors/

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#373

Post by nucleardog »

klausa wrote: post #159
athrun wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was thinking of doing the same but IR control only allows for unidirectional communication with the unit. Since there's no feedback mechanism, how do you solve for when the state of the unit(s) gets out of sync with HomeAssistant's?

(not OP) It just doesn't matter that much in my experience. If an issued command didn't work, it's easy to tell anyway (it's hot/cold), and you can just repeat it. HomeAssistant also has bits of special handling for items that don't communicate their state back, called "assumed state". For the rare times I want to control my AC when being away from home, I have an air monitor nearby. I can just check if the temperatu…

Yeah there’s very few edge cases, imo, where you need the feedback.

I have home assistant controlling an air conditioner in one room. (Well, mostly Node-RED.)

Every couple minutes it checks the temperature in the room and makes a decision on whether to call for cooling and tells the AC to turn on or off.

If it’s already on and cooling and it tells it to turn on… it’s a no-op, nothing happens. If it tells it to turn on and the command doesn’t go through… the room will stay warm so it will try the same thing in a couple of minutes. Same thing the other way (turning it off).

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#374

Post by datavirtue »

jamesholden wrote: post #198
dclowd9901 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I made my daughter’s bed from scratch out of anger and spite toward IKEA.

I have some freak brain (and IKEA experience) which usually let's me do IKEA pretty well. What was it that happened in your case? I'm curious what brought you to that point.

I bought a bed that when built according to instructions would end up broken. I tried to blame my son, then I dug in on the details. Absolute garbage. Through it in the box,sort of, hauled it back in and demanded my money back. While I was waiting in line I was staring at signs exclaiming the policy about no refunds. Dude saw the look on my face and didn't say one word, just gave me money back. I ordered a replacement from Amazon made out of steel.

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#375

Post by michaelt »

consteval wrote: post #347
yurishimo wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe they moved? In my experience, IKEA furniture that isn't solid wood (more and more of it is heading that direction to their credit) tends to not make it more than 1 move. I just got done (mostly) reassembling a wardrobe. It's a bit more wobbly around the edges. I'm not sure if it's because I didn't put the shelves back in the exact spots (wasn't thinking and didn't label them during disassembly) or if it's somet…

This "trend" of furniture being made of composite materials makes no sense to me. They're obviously so much weaker. I've had nightstands that sway like a tree in the summer breeze. Furniture today though doesn't feel much cheaper. Even the "luxury" brands these days, who charge big bucks, sneak in composite.

>This "trend" of furniture being made of composite materials makes no sense to me.

Solid wood is expensive, in a lot of the world.

And for furniture, you can't do a good job with cheap wood - if it twists or bows the doors won't close right, or the drawer will be tight. Need a hole in a particular position, but there's a knot? You're going to have a bad time. Wood with loads of knots doesn't look great. And of course, some types of wood cost a lot more than others.

Chipboard with veneer, though? It's super cheap. You can have any colour you like. It machines consistently, with no knots or checks like that. The response to temperature and humidity is even and consistent. If you need more strength, you can just order thicker boards. Sure, you can't leave it outside in the rain - but so what?

The main downside to flat pack furniture is a lot of people don't manage to assemble it right. A nightstand will end up in an awful state if the person who assembled it forgot to nail the back on properly, or used a short screw where a long screw was called for, or put a part in the wrong way around.

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#376

Post by aledalgrande »

SOLAR_FIELDS wrote: post #44
Nursie wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The great thing about Australia is that that is probably illegal here. We've got some pretty fucked up protectionist rules about what you can and can't do in/to your own home. It's nuts. Now, nobody is actually watching most of the time, so you're usually fine, but it's as stupid as being illegal to replace a tap or existing light fitting. Every so often state governments review the rules and get swamped by trade ass…

Reminds me how, in USA, it’s the only civilized nation I’ve been to where you must have a prescription to purchase contacts and glasses. Everywhere else I’ve been will just sell you whatever magnification you need at the pharmacy. Obviously there is some acceptable line here, but I think the States handles this decently well enough. In Austin where I live you can get what is called a “homeowners permit” in a lot of c…

Canada enters the room

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#377

Post by aledalgrande »

hunter2_ wrote: post #122
labcomputer wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But how would you know what to order if you don’t have a prescription? Trial and error? I guess that might work if you have a simple correction (no astigmatism).

Getting a prescription when you don't know what you need makes sense. Getting one just because your last one has expired (1 year) is the off-putting aspect.

Exactly. Mine hasn't changed for years, but I still need to pay this tax.

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#378

Post by JohnFen »

bitcharmer wrote: post #240
redact207 wrote: post #6

I love that this man resurrected his blog after 10 years just to write this. Anger and spite are strong motivators.

I love it too but this only becomes worthwhile if you manage to promote this post in social media somewhere. If you don't already have a strong social media presence or don't personally know anyone who does you can forget about it. And here on HN you really have to get lucky, post at the right time and hope the flagging gangs don't get you.

I could not disagree more. This sort of thing is a public service. Even if only a dozen people find it valuable, it can be exceedingly valuable to them. It's worth putting this sort of thing on your website for that reason alone.

Re: Air Con: $1697 for an on/off switch

#380

Post by bloomingeek »

cyberax wrote: post #98

Ugh. The whole "smart aircon" industry needs a good-sized asteroid wiping them out of the existence. There is a very real need for modern variable-speed units, and vendors just keep fucking it up by using proprietary protocols locked into their ecosystem. TRANE in the US is similar. And this is really annoying because variable-speed pumps solve all the problems with short cycling and oversized systems.

Also there's the variable-speed furnace/AC fan. These heavy bastards, with an add-on brain, are very expensive when they go bad. In my case, the brain part was fine, but the fan motor died. They wouldn't sell me just the motor, just the combo for $900US! And, if I install the combo, it voids the warranty. (I did install it, I'm the homeowner not a repairman.)

I was also told if my unit was a Trane, they weren't allowed to sell me the combo! (My unit is a Goodman.) What a rip off!

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