Purl's Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Air Conditioner Repair’

Don’t Push Your AC Over Its Limits!

Thursday, October 3rd, 2019

hand-setting-thermostatYou want to avoid HVAC repair in Fresno, CA as much as possible. Even though fall has now officially arrived, the Central Valley is still experiencing blistering hot days that can reach the 90s. Your home’s air conditioning system has hard work ahead, and if you aren’t cautious about running it, you may drive it into the ground and cause an expensive repair or replacement.

Your air conditioner has limits. For example, the AC can’t lower the temperature in your house to the point where water would freeze. (Not that you would want to.) To help you know how best to keep your cooling system running in good shape at the end of the season, we’re going to look at your central air conditioner’s cooling limits.

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Dirty Sock Syndrome: The Smelly AC Problem

Monday, August 26th, 2019

girl-pinches-noseOf all the troubles you might encounter with your air conditioning system, dirty sock syndrome is the one that triggers the most immediate reaction. It’s right there in the name—it sounds like something you absolutely don’t want in your house!

But what is dirty sock syndrome, and is it actually a significant air conditioning repair problem?

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Why Your Air Conditioning System Isn’t Turning On

Wednesday, June 5th, 2019

man-a-fan-a-planWe’ve written before about the signs to watch for that will warn you it’s time to schedule professional air conditioning repair in Fresno, CA. But no sign is clearer that you have an air conditioner in trouble than when the air conditioner just won’t turn on when you need it.

Please don’t panic if you find you’ve got a non-responsive air conditioning system. In many cases, there’s a simple issue behind it and you won’t need to call for a repair technician. Once you’ve eliminated the basic explanations, then you should turn to an HVAC professional. Do not open up either cabinet of your AC system and attempt to do repairs on your own!

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A Leaky Air Conditioner? Here’s What May Be Happening

Monday, May 20th, 2019

water-dropletsWhen your home’s air conditioning system is running during the summer, you will occasionally hear the sound of water dripping coming from the indoor cabinet. This is normal—you are hearing the sound of the water condensation that collects along the evaporator coil dripping down into a pan beneath it. This water (called condensate) is a standard part of how your central air conditioning system removes heat from the air. Once the water collects in the condensate pan, it leaves the house through a drain and line that leads to the outside.

However, you only want to hear water dripping in the air conditioner. You don’t want to actually see water leaking from the unit and pooling around it. When this happens, it means a problem in the condensate removal system that needs to be fixed.

Below, we’ll look at why you may have water leaking from your AC system.

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Getting Ready to Turn on Your AC for The First Time This Year

Monday, April 22nd, 2019

woman-enjoying-lifeOur summer weather can sometimes arrive abruptly during spring. We’ll switch from cloudy and cool weather straight to the big heat. You want to know that the first time you need your air conditioning system for the year that it will turn on and do its job right.

Before you switch on your AC for the hot weather, go over these recommended steps. They’ll help you prepare the air conditioning system and give it a better start to the season.

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Your AC in a Heat Wave: A Few Things to Know

Monday, September 17th, 2018

sunshine-imageThe heat here in the Central Valley these last few weeks has been … well, there’s been a lot of it. Recording breaking heat. In July, Fresno broke the record of consecutive days with triple digit heat—22 days, starting on July 6, according to the Fresno Bee. The newspaper also predicted the heat might subside in late August. But the heat waves sweeps on and on. We’re still experiencing days peaking in the triple-digits, with other days hovering in the 90s.

We hope you haven’t had to deal with any serious heat-related emergencies (we did a post on recognizing these emergencies) and that your air conditioner is still managing to keep your home cool. In fact, let’s talk about your AC and the heat. There are a few important things to know about running your air conditioner during these extremes.

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How Leaking Refrigerant Affects an Air Conditioning System

Friday, July 6th, 2018

air-conditioner-unit-being-repairedOne of the more common problems that affects residential air conditioning systems is refrigerant leaks. An AC is designed to work with a specific amount of refrigerant, known as the system’s charge. The AC doesn’t use up the refrigerant as it runs, so under ideal circumstances, the refrigerant will remain at the same charge for the life of the system.

But circumstances are rarely ideal. Leaks can occur along refrigerant lines because of corrosion, and this will allow the refrigerant to escape. When the charge of an air conditioner drops, it will have negative effects on the AC, eventually leading to a complete breakdown. Below are the main ways refrigerant loss affects an air conditioning system.

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Duct Sealing Can Improve Your Air Conditioning

Thursday, June 7th, 2018

duct-sealing-with-caulkingDuring a hot summer here in the Central Valley, you’ll want your air conditioning system to work at its best. This means reliable, even cooling around the rooms, and utility bills that don’t rise too high. Standard malfunctions can threaten your AC’s performance, but they aren’t the only danger to the well-working of your air conditioning system. Many people don’t realize that poor ductwork is often a serious problem for cooling systems.

However, there is a solution to this. Even if you don’t think your air conditioning system is performing badly, it may benefit from this same trick. And that trick is—duct sealing.

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What to Do if Your Air Conditioning System Is Leaking Refrigerant

Monday, August 28th, 2017

air-conditioner-units-near-grassRefrigerant loss is one of the major problems an air conditioning system may encounter during its service life. And it’s not only a problem that occurs in aging, over-the-hill ACs. An air conditioning system that’s been in service for around 5 to 6 years can develop corrosion along its refrigerant lines because of exposure to formaldehyde in the air. It’s wise to always watch for indications that your AC, no matter how old it is, may be losing refrigerant to leaks:

  • A decline in cooling capacity
  • Hissing sounds from the cabinets
  • Ice developing along the indoor evaporator coil
  • Short-cycling (i.e. the compressor turns on and off repeatedly over a short time)
  • Hard starting
  • Liquid dripping from the indoor cabinet

These symptoms can point to other problems, but no matter the cause, they need professionals to look into them to see what air conditioning repairs will remedy the problem.

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My AC Is Tripping the Circuit Breaker! What’s Wrong?

Tuesday, June 20th, 2017

During the winter, we looked at how a tripped circuit breaker can occur with a furnace. It can happen with your air conditioning system as well—it definitely has to work hard during our hot summers here in the Central Valley! An air conditioning system is a powerful appliance that draws on large amounts of electricity, which makes it possible for it to demand too much and cause a breaker to trip to protect the circuit. When that happens, the air conditioning system won’t run.

We advise people to always check their breakers when their AC suddenly shuts down. If you run into this situation, but the air conditioner continues to cause the circuit to trip, you have a more serious issue that will require professional air conditioning repair in Oakhurst, CA or elsewhere in the Central Valley.

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