The Run Cap Bandit! - HVAC's leading hack!

Photo slide show and video clips:

The Run Cap Bandit.
These are the techs bred by the "Wam Bam, thankyou mam" type of HVAC companies, typically doing residential service.
The companies don't care about training the technicians to do professional HVAC service. All the training is actually all about "sales". - Finding so called "worn parts" to change out and collect that check and move on to the next customer. Many of these companies are paying the techs on COMISSION which meansthat the faster they sell and change parts, the more money they make.

So now it's to the point where these technicians condemn a part, get approval form the customer to "replace" the part and then throw in the new parts as fast as possible. That is where the term "The Run Cap Bandit" came about form us Professional Techs. Rather than removing the old capacitor and isntalling the new one back into the mounting bracket, these hacks often leave the old part in place and wire up the new capacitor and leave it in the box that it was shipped in!!!
Then the next guy who works on the unit has to deal with the mess!

Take a look at some photo and video clips demonstrating why these jackleg hacks give the HVAC a bad name!

Visit http://www.hackfreehvac.com/

Category:

Education

Tags:

• a/c
• air
• conditioning
• conditioner
• hvac
• hack
• Run
• Cap
• Bandit
• RCB
• run
• capacitor
• chainsaw
• charlie

[pfun41]

I had to install a run cap that didnt fit the old bracket today. I never thought to use plumbing strap. Ill have to do that.

[hackfreehvac]

@pfun41

Oh yes, plumbers strap is your friend!

And in a pinch I've cut scrap pieces of sheet metal or whatever I can find to get it strapped in there.

[FlyMIfYouGotM]

This type of workmanship is exactly why I never let anyone work on anything I own. I worked in the HVAC industry as a controls engineer for almost 30 years and a CxA for the last 6 years. I am an Electrical Engineer by training and got my electrical, HVAC and refrigerant license so everything at my home is covered. When I buy a new car I also buy all the factory shop manuals necessary to maintain and do a complete teardown and rebuild if necessary. Shoddy workmanship like this is too common.

[hackfreehvac]

@FlyMIfYouGotM

Good deal on the car manuals.

Many dealer shop mechanics simply throw parts at a problem!

[open369]

if i get a shock from some ass hole replacing parts carlessley ,like this iwill find that person and shuv that cap up his ass so far he will need to borrow my vac pump to get it out.

[hackfreehvac]

@open369

HA HA HA!!!

[reedscuba]

It's not just Arizona. I don't know where they breed these people, but I see this alot in Chicago, six of them just this summer. And I'm just one tech. For them, it's like strap band was never invented. Two weeks ago, I went to a no a/c call and found out they had another company out two weeks before. I open up the electrical panel on the condenser and find the last "tech" had replaced the contactor and not screwed it down! If I catch one of these people, I'm slashing the tires on their truck.

[hackfreehvac]

@mxmike458

Well not sure about your climate, but here it is HOT.

The box holds in the heat that generates in the caps. And they fail often when in the box.

Plus all the ones that vibrate around and rub through the box.

But seriously, after you realized the strap doesn't work on the new cap (it often doesn't) the thing to do is carry metal strap!

I always carried a roll of metal strap right on my tool bag right where my electrical tape went. :-)

It got used often as seen @ 1:30

[9b8]

@hackfreehvac Hmmmm, I recently had a "friend of a friend" that was a retired HVAC tech come out and replace the capacitor and fan motor in our unit. He said the unit had a "triplex" cap in it or something like that, and he split it off into two caps. Though I was thankful that he got it repaired in the midst of hot and humid Florida heat, his tidyness did concern me and made me wonder: is this normal? I looked and saw the capacitor dangling inside the unit! How do you handle this situation?

[bait28]

dude, I went to lake Zurich to do my scrap pickup, mostly HVAC's on this run, couple of heat pumps, and i usually disassemble stuff before loading it onto the truck(got 84 units this time). I open the units up on the truck to place the parts in the right bins and what do you know? the first unit i open, Everything just fell out, a improperly matched cap, a hanging contactor and what looked like the control boards, all just hanging around with burn marks on them. What kind of joke is this?