Loading…
1
A 20 year tech in Spokane told me to stop guessing at compressor amps and use the curve, changed my whole diagnostic flow
I was chasing a no-cool fridge last month and had already swapped the start relay and the cap, still pulling crazy amps on my clamp. The older guy who runs the counter at the supply house in Spokane heard me complaining and asked if I was checking my readings against the compressor performance curve. I said I usually just go by feel, and he kind of smiled and pulled out a laminated curve chart for that exact model and showed me my 4.2 amps was actually right in the normal band for those pressures. That hit me hard because I had been about to tell the customer the compressor was shot and price out a $600 job that was not needed. Turns out the real issue was a restriction in the cap tube and a dirty condenser coil, maybe 45 minutes of cleaning and a recharge. Since then I keep a printed curve sheet for the common compressors on my cart and I write down the suction and head pressure next to my amp reading every time. Has anyone else had a counter guy call them out like that, or am I the only one who was skipping the curve chart?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
haydenhayes9h ago
A $600 compressor quote for a dirty coil and a cap tube restriction is wild. The part that gets me is the 4.2 amps sitting right in the normal band the whole time, so you were about to condemn a good compressor based on a gut feeling. That laminated chart the Spokane counter guy pulled out basically saved you a comeback call and the customer a pile of money. Writing the suction and head pressure next to the amp reading is the right move, since amps alone don't tell you much without knowing what pressures they're running at. Guys skip the curve because it feels like extra work until it burns them once, and it sounds like this was your once.
2