pump. I mentioned it here and said I'd come back to it. So, I'm back.
As I mentioned previously, the Pump died and I put it off till the next morning. After the sun came up, I killed all power to the heat and AC systems, grabbed some tools, and went to attack the beast.
Couldn't have asked for a nicer day. It was pretty warm (50's), and humid (million percent) too. Aside from beating on the beast, I also had to step carefully in the garage in my many passings. With the warm, wet air hitting the nice cold concrete, the floor turned into a swimming pool.
Close to 2 hours into the project, taking off panels, checking to make sure there wasn't any stray juice going to the system (you'd be surprised about that one...even having installed and worked on it several times, I don't take any chances), then getting to all the components and checking them, it was official, the motor died. And apparently it was a long and painful death. No readings across any windings, and it smelled fried (fried motors have smell you never forget).
Called the supply house I get all my stuff from and they had a universal replacement (no one carried this particular motor any more...too old), so I headed down. When I got there, the motor they handed me had the wrong RPM, that was quickly fixed.
When we opened the "proper" motor, two things caught my attention. So I mentioned it to my buddy at the shop, "G, you know, that shaft is close to 12 inches long. The old motor's is only 3 inches."
G: Hacksaw. Take it right down to the right height for ya.
Me: Okay. But do you have anything with longer wires? These are only a little longer than the shaft, and I need to get them almost 30 inches away.
G: Oh, just cut off the terminals, strip 'em, splice 'em, and tape them up real good.
M: Hanging out there in the rain and weather...
G: Uh huh.
M: Dude. You're on drugs.
G: Nope. Been clean a while now.
Smart ass
M: G, we went through the same training. We've even worked together for a while. On enclosed wiring you can get away with that, but outside? Exposed? C'mon!
G: Want to buy some water-tight terminals then?
M: No. I have some. I was just hoping you had a motor with the proper length wires.
G: Nope. Don't make one.
Damn.
When I got home, I spent a fair amount of time cutting the shaft to the right length (soft steel my foot). Then, a few more hours standing on my head, inside the outdoor unit, installing the motor, splicing and hanging the wires so they were protected and weatherproof (I used waterproof wire nuts, liberally wrapped in tape).
Finished, I threw power back to the system and rechecked all the electrical to make sure the system was powered up. Then I hit the thermostat to make sure I had the rotation correct (yep, it's a reversible motor, with the connections outside, of course). AND.....
No thermostat.
Well, yes, I have a t'stat. Just I forgot the newer, digital, programmable ones have a safety lock-out. If you lose power, they have a timer that prevents the system from coming on for the amount of time power was off, less one hour. Keeps you from killing a compressor that gets too cold for the oil to circulate properly.
It is almost 60 degrees out, and the "smarter than you are" t'stat won't let me check my handy work. The system's been off for HOURS. It'll be way late, and plenty dark, before I can check it at this rate.
But wait! There is an override for the system. I've used it before. I just can't find the instructions.
Now, I'm on the phone with the t'stat maker to talk to a tech support person. (kind of funny really. "tech support" for a thermostat. Whoda thunk?) He didn't have an accent, but I could hear him flipping pages in a manual the whole time we were on the phone. (yes, by this time, if he had said, "have you tried rebooting it?" I'd have gone through the phone after him)
Get the info I need, and cheat the system. The planets were finally in alignment, the thing works. And just in time, they said it was going to get cold again, and it was.
And all that entertainment for under $100. (that surprised me. I anticipated closer to $300)
Repairs happen.
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