Lone Star Cooling and Heating
Get help with AC Tune-Up
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Call (325) 219-0005A pre-season check of the cooling system, indoors and out: coils, drain, electrical parts, motors, airflow and refrigerant readings, with anything worn or out of range found before the first heat wave.
01AC tune-up
A tune-up is usually planned, but a few changes since last summer are worth raising at the visit.
The system has sat mostly idle through the cool months, and parts that weakened last summer have not been tested since. A tune-up runs it under load and checks each component before the building depends on it.
Longer run times for the same comfort often trace to a coated outdoor coil, a dusty indoor coil or blower, or a charge that is no longer right. A tune-up measures each of these so the cause is found rather than guessed at.
Cooling removes moisture as well as heat. A dirty coil, a blower set faster than the system calls for, or equipment larger than the building needs can all leave rooms cool but clammy. A tune-up checks the coil and airflow first.
Grass clippings, seed fluff, leaves and shrubs pressing against the cabinet all trap heat in the outdoor coil. Cleaning the coil and clearing space around the unit lets it shed that heat freely again.
02Item by item
A cooling tune-up works through both halves of the system, because a fault in either one limits the whole.
The filter is checked, the blower and its wheel are inspected for dust, and the indoor coil is examined wherever it can be seen. The condensate pan and drain line are cleared, and the float switch is tested so it will shut the system down if water ever backs up.
With the power off, the coil is cleaned so it can release heat. The capacitor is tested against its rating, the contactor is inspected for pitted contacts, the fan motor and blade are checked, and wiring connections are tightened. With power restored, the system runs while motor current and refrigerant pressures are read.
AC Tune-Up
Serving Abilene, TX.
03What the readings show
Cleaning improves a system. Measuring it shows whether anything is quietly wrong.
Once the system has run long enough to settle, a technician compares refrigerant pressures and line temperatures with what that equipment should produce. A charge that reads low points at a leak, and readings that are off in other ways can point at a restriction in the refrigerant circuit or at weak airflow. The temperature of the air entering and leaving the indoor coil gives a quick view of how well it is working.
Motors and capacitors are judged the same way. A motor drawing well above the current on its label suggests a bearing or winding under strain, and a capacitor reading below its rating is likely to give out under summer load. These parts often still work on the day of the visit, which is why testing finds them when a glance would not.
04Found at the visit
A tune-up handles upkeep. What it finds beyond that becomes a repair of its own.
05Questions
A typical tune-up checks the thermostat, filter, blower and indoor coil, clears the condensate drain, cleans the outdoor coil, tests the capacitor, contactor and fan motor, and tightens electrical connections. It finishes by measuring refrigerant pressures and how much the air cools as it crosses the indoor coil.
Not as a matter of routine. A healthy system holds the same charge throughout its working life. A tune-up measures the charge, and a low reading points to a leak that is worth finding before any refrigerant goes in.
Before the first stretch of hot weather, while the system is not yet needed every day. Servicing it then leaves time to order and fit any part the visit turns up, and the outdoor coil starts the season clean.
What the system is doing, when it started, what the thermostat is set to and what it reads, and whether the outdoor unit is running. The age of the equipment and a photo of its label help a technician arrive prepared.
Lone Star Cooling and Heating
Call Lone Star Cooling and Heating, have us call you, or describe the issue.
Prefer to talk?
Call (325) 219-0005