The Miracle of Air Conditioning Repair
It was as simple as this.
On Saturday evening, at 7:30 pm, I noticed that the air coming from the vents in the house was not cool. Checking outside, I found that my compressor was not working. Browsing through the yellow pages, my wife located and called an air conditioning repairman, and put me on the phone. He did a brief Q&A with me, and determined that he was indeed needed. Soon, Mr. Dillon arrived. I talked to him and watched him work in the dark of my backyard. After replacing the 9-yr-old capacitor, we went inside to enjoy the air conditioning and some water while he wrote out the bill and I wrote out a check. By then, it was about 9:30 pm.
Nothing in particular is especially miraculous about this story, to those who live in this culture, economy, and time of ours. But in the wider context of human experience, there are many layers of amazing facts in this story:
I have air conditioning.
I have central air conditioning.
I can call a man on Saturday night at 7:30 pm to repair it.
He shows up and cheerfully completes the repair within 2 hours.
The repair costs me the equivalent of about 4 hours of my work.
Wow.
Comments (15)
Clyde Owenthal
Yes, but to get to your house he used public roads. Which means none of that would have been possible without our intrusive and expansive government.
Published: May 23, 2005 9:34 AM
Curt Howland
One more WoW, if, during the question time, he helped you discover a problem that you the fixed yourself, you would not have been charged for bothering a professional at 7:30 on a Saturday night.
Clyde is correct to contrast the efficient and polite interactions of voluntary market participants with the ugly, inefficient "services" offered by Big Mommy government.
Published: May 23, 2005 9:46 AM
Fidel the infidel
Yes but 10 bucks says he repaired it wrong and you will have to call him back within 3 weeks.
Published: May 23, 2005 9:53 AM
Michael A. Clem
I'm sorry, Clyde, but you're assuming that there would be no transportation if government hadn't provided it.
Published: May 23, 2005 10:35 AM
Nathan
So roads would not exist without government? I guess we need more government then for places with really bad traffic.
Published: May 23, 2005 10:36 AM
nonetoday
Which came 1st, the often traveled dirt path owned and maintained by no one, or the paved surface that was poured across it?
Without the gov paving the paths, we could have had some really good mudding-pothole-jumping cars created and produced by now. Which is exactly what one needs to get around on todays pothole-used up-bumpy paved roads.
Published: May 23, 2005 2:22 PM
Bob from Seattle
This made me think of Robert De Niro's outlaw air condition repair man character in the movie Brazil.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0783225903/
Published: May 23, 2005 3:07 PM
Scott Brenner
I think the more amazing element of your experience is the water you shared with the repairman. Acces to clean water more than any other single factor illustrates the difference between the affluent world and the billion plus ppeople who's health is compromised daily by limited access to clean drinking water.
Published: May 24, 2005 10:37 AM
nellie
I think my starting capacitor is bad. I took it out and it is bulged out at the top and rusted. The compressor does not come on and I am not getting voltage at the compressor. The fan does come out at the vents.
Would it pay me to replace the starting capacitor and what kind of money am I talking about to replace it? General ballpark figure.
Thanks
Published: March 31, 2006 6:44 PM
nellie
My compressor will not come on and I think is because of a bad starting capacitor. When I check the voltage at the compressor- there is none. I took out the starting capacitor and it is bulged out at the top and also rusted. Is there any other way to check for a bad staring capacitor other than purchasing one? How much -ballpark figure- would I be talking about to buy it?
Published: March 31, 2006 6:50 PM
Elby
Air Conditioning Troubleshooting
Due to the enormous competition in the market of air conditioners, each brand spends millions of dollars in researching and perfecting new items every summer.Friedrich air conditioners have created a money-saver feature, ...
Elby
Published: January 12, 2007 12:02 AM
Elby
An air system is the only way to go and air conditioning is important to the long-term durability of your home. Air conditioning can add heat, moisture and humidity to the air of your home. You should know what size air conditioning system is needed. Some air conditioning units are generally quiet enough to be installed under a window or near a patio, so sleeping or the entertaining of guests is not disrupted. Centralized air systems are in the vast majority of "newer" homes.
Elby
Published: January 12, 2007 12:32 PM
Laura Norton
I googled "Sam Dillon" and "Air Conditioning" and found this blog.
I called Sam not because my AC was broken but because I was talking to a friend about my high Entergy bill and she suggested I have someone check my AC. It was working fine, but maybe it could work more efficiently. I found Sam in the phonebook. Today, a day after Sam's $80 visit my house won't go below 80 degrees. It's 1 in the morning and the AC is working it's heart out to get me to 80. Nothing was wrong with AC before - or at least it worked.
Fidel was right on.
Published: June 30, 2007 1:10 AM
Ra-Jac Air conditioners and Heaters
In response to Nellie,
Yes a capacitor that is bulging on the top is the classic sign that it needs to be replaced. Be careful handling them as the acid that leaks out when they explode can be toxic. The price can vary widely depending on brand and size but a close guess would be somewhere between 20 and 75 dollars for the part. Also be sure to get the right one as an incorrectly sized on can do damage.
good luck
D.
Published: February 20, 2008 5:22 AM
aluminum window repair
how about windows?
Published: August 24, 2008 9:16 PM