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Is air leaking through these holes on hvac normal?Noticed air leaking through these marked holes. Is this normal? Should...
09/03/2026

Is air leaking through these holes on hvac normal?
Noticed air leaking through these marked holes. Is this normal? Should I seal these? If so, with what?

System leaking refrigerant at compressor fittingDo you think this repairable? HVAC tech said they had to replace compres...
09/03/2026

System leaking refrigerant at compressor fitting
Do you think this repairable? HVAC tech said they had to replace compressor to fix leak, but said it is right at the fitting of the compressor..

Replace compressor or new system?I have a compressor going bad on a 6 year old Rheem 2 ton unit. Should I replace the co...
09/03/2026

Replace compressor or new system?
I have a compressor going bad on a 6 year old Rheem 2 ton unit. Should I replace the compressor with a guy on FB marketplace for 2.5k, install a new system with a local company for 5-6.5k, or install a Mr cool heat pump DIY for 3.3k ?

Replaced capacitor after the heat pump stopped working fan wouldn't turn on, now it's turning on but the air is blowing ...
09/03/2026

Replaced capacitor after the heat pump stopped working fan wouldn't turn on, now it's turning on but the air is blowing cool not cold
When my heat pump stopped working and fan wasn't spinning I opened it up and saw that the capacitor was bulging, so I figured that was the issue. I replaced the capacitor today and the unit turned on and fan was spinning. But after 7 hours with the thermostat set to cool the air is still blowing but the temperature on the thermostat still says 84. What would you do next? Aside from wait for the hvac guys to come out.

Note: It has been 98 degrees all day today if thst matters, thanks!

New HVAC (2 months old) — plumber + his HVAC guy say it’s missing a P-trap and causing air in the house, installer says ...
09/03/2026

New HVAC (2 months old) — plumber + his HVAC guy say it’s missing a P-trap and causing air in the house, installer says it’s fine. Who’s right?
Installed a new HVAC system in my condo about 2 months ago through Company A. System has been running fine, no issues I’ve noticed day to day.
Unrelated to the HVAC, I had a plumber come check the apartment for a possible moisture issue elsewhere. Very thorough guy — while he was here he looked at the HVAC setup and said it wasn’t installed correctly. He video-called his HVAC contact on the spot, showed him the setup, and that guy agreed.
Here’s what they’re describing:
• There are two vertical pipes near the unit. Pipe A comes down from the furnace/coil and currently just runs open at the top — no trap.
• Pipe B is a second pipe at the bottom open at the top after cutting pipe A and they said that one is fine to leave open.
• Their recommendation: cut pipe A after it goes down, install a P-trap there, tie it into the floor drain via a T-connector along with pipe B, and cap the top of pipe A with a removable cap (not left open).
• Their reasoning: without the trap, air is moving through the line, and it’s causing more condensation/moisture in the house — which ties back to the original moisture issue I was trying to diagnose.
I called Company A (the original installer) to ask about this. They came out, looked at everything, and said it’s installed correctly, working perfectly, no changes needed — and that air coming out of the pipe sometimes is normal for this setup.
So now I’ve got two independent guys (plumber + his HVAC contact) saying it needs a trap, and the original installer saying it’s fine and that’s just how it works.
Photos of the setup are attached. Would appreciate opinions from anyone in HVAC/plumbing — is an untrapped open condensate line actually normal in any configuration, or does this need the fix they’re describing? Trying to figure out who to believe before I pay for work that may not be needed (or skip work that actually is needed).
Thanks in advance.

Honestly asking: HOW IN THE WORLD is this thing still running!?Pretty sure my grandparents put this in around the 60s/70...
09/03/2026

Honestly asking: HOW IN THE WORLD is this thing still running!?
Pretty sure my grandparents put this in around the 60s/70s. Outdoor unit is about 30yo, I call it the rust box because the cage has disintegrated into dust, but it's still working so they won't replace it.

I'm in an apprenticeship 6 months now, and all the units we've worked on, I've never come across something this old that works as well as it does. They never have PMS, the filter was at least 6 years old, yet it still keeps going.

The common answer here is going to be well, "things were made to last back then". But I genuinely want to know what exactly it is that keeps this thing going. Because the amount of units that I've replaced that aren't even 10 years old, this thing blows me away and I just want to understand it better so I can do some PM on it. But at the same time I'm afraid to just jump in and start cleaning it up for fear it will tank itself.

Thoughts?

Bad Capacitor?I noticed our AC wasn't running so I went to look at the condenser unit and all I heard was humming. The f...
09/03/2026

Bad Capacitor?
I noticed our AC wasn't running so I went to look at the condenser unit and all I heard was humming. The fans were not turning. I pulled the breaker outside the house.

Doing some googling. One suggestion was a bad capacitor. It said if the capacitor was bad there would be a bulge on it. I took this picture. It looks bulging to me but wanted to get some other input. Thanks for the help.

Update: $20 at HD and about 20 min to install. Fired right up. Thanks for the help.

C wire doesn’t let me affix the new T5 Honeywell thermostat to the wallHelp. I really wanted to upgrade my old thermosta...
09/03/2026

C wire doesn’t let me affix the new T5 Honeywell thermostat to the wall
Help. I really wanted to upgrade my old thermostat. We wanted a smart one. We had to get a c wire but we can’t fit the c wire inside the wall and if it sits outside on the wall we can’t install the thermostat to the wall. Any ideas what I should do?

I tried to find a smaller c wire that would fit inside the wall but they all look to be this too big size. Hope this makes sense. Appreciate any help or advice.

Loud "purrrr" coming from vents, am I cooked?Incessant purring coming from my vents.Time for a new furnace?Need to reduc...
09/03/2026

Loud "purrrr" coming from vents, am I cooked?
Incessant purring coming from my vents.

Time for a new furnace?

Need to reduct my whole house?

Just a little dirty
09/03/2026

Just a little dirty

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