46 YEAR OLD SEARS CENTRAL AC CAN IT BE FIXED
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2021
- 46 YEAR OLD SEARS CENTRAL AC CAN IT BE FIXED
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Its like listening to a cross between Car Talk and The Sopranos.
Badda Bing! I loved them both too!
@@Longeno55 Same my friend. Same. I like this guy ova hea tu.
The old Sears, whatever happened there....
It's like listening to my friends and family!
Absolutely!!! I never made that connection, but you nailed that!
Gotta love Steve. Doesn't rob anyone. Just gives quality service. Treats everyone the same as long as they pay.
No one else will touch these, but you will, and it especially helps the older generation. Entertaining watching you bring these old beasts back to life and that’s what I like about your channel.
I installed those (Heil) units in the mid 70's. They used pre-charged line sets with self-piercing connectors with O-ring seals. Was a pain if you kinked them. That "odd" fan control you noticed varied the condenser fan speed based on leaving condenser air temperature. Amazing the lifespan of equipment 45 yrs ago.
Yeah. "Lifetime Warranty" was a thing until about the mid 90s.
In Canada they were manufactured by Keeprite sold by sears ,and yes the rectangular units had 2 speed condenser fans .
Interesting. Weirdo home owner here that took an interest to how these things work. How did it determine the temperature leaving the coil? New units would have an electronic circuit board, how did this old unit know to change the fan speed?
@@jeb721 Those units had a temp control beside the condenser coil , when the outside air temp reached a certain temp it went into high speed .
Sears called that fan control The silent sentinel. Was designed to vary the fan speed making the unit quieter
Back when companies still cared about what they made and sold.
sears used to be THE name in quality. It was American pride. Wow, times have changed. sucks kinda.
@@buckchase1 true back then they was the name for quality. why it still working, was made with pride & quality.
You are absolutely right. I have a window A/C made in 1971 it is a Norge made by Fedders. We have been going through a 100 degree heatwave in PA this week and that sucker keeps on chugging. I love the quality of the old units and when they still work. I can understand why HVAC techs don't like working on them though. No Guarantee - change contactor and a week from now the fan motor goes. PPL just have to understand that there is no guarantee with stuff like that.
@@buckchase1 Yeah, now America itself doesn't even exist.
Consumers went for cheaper crap Asian units and the more expensive but lifelong units had to go to compete
Love seeing "old" ACs and other equipment working well. People are so quick to throw-away and replace.
Sadly it's become the American way. Now they are even trying to guilt people into doing it more because climate change porn. Is it really better to junk a 15 yr old car for scrap instead of fixing it then buying a new vehicle electric or not? Think of the energy and resources to build that new vehicle. It would take decades of driving the old vehicle that gets less mpg compared to the new one to make up the difference. It's insane.. go buy a 40k dollar vehicle because it gets 8mpg better.. Zero car payment vs 500$ a month car payment. Insanity
I put one of these in in the mid 70's. Its still working pre-charged line set. Amazing! They were designed for the diy guy. I guess nobody makes anything like this any more. They worked too well. I never thought it would outlive Sears but then, who ever thought Sears would fold?
I had one of these units at my old house. I had an HVAC company replace the furnace, and asked them about the AC. They said they hated those units, Sears installed hundreds of them in the 1970s and the damn things just never broke.
The nerve of this guy calling to have his broken AC fixed ! Now go get me a vacuum :) ~ Classic Steve.
Yes, I will always watch and enjoy Steve. Making the customer feel like crap isn't my favorite part though. "You called me to work on this?" or "if I would've known it was this bad I wouldn't have come"...but the former fire fighter is a tough old bastard so...
I love the North East Culture. All them eastcoasters can take a joke and seem to enjoy Steve
You're right. Extra belaboring for the guy that doesn't vacuum the outside unit. No discount for the guy the does though...
@@jjyemg2397 Yeah I grew up in the PNW so it alwyas feels extremely, like, rude and aggressive to me, but I've come to understand that it's just the culture, everybody just gives each other a hard time, even total strangers, and they don't mean anything by it
thats why i keep coming back to his videos.. they are hilarious!
Yea idk how people talk like that, and the customer is basically his worker now. Lol talk about customer service
Made back in the day when things were made to last in the 🇺🇸
I live in a house built in 1961 and the original Lennox furnace lasted 45 years before needing to be replaced.
Nothing lasts in the US anymore 😯
I love When Steve said it’s still holding a charge
@@chrisvig123 nope your lucky with today new units you 15 years out of them .
my furnace is a 70's model, and works absolutely fine to this day. My A/C was installed in 2003, ive got to get a new system next week the compressor is toast, seems like around 2000 to present day is when things started being made to replace and not to last. I was told by an electrical worker that those old transformers you see in some areas are much better than the new ones they replace them with, and that they usually have to replace new ones over and over and the old ones just keep working.
Thank you for making the effort to properly troubleshoot this old unit. I love the old stuff and restore antique machinery as a hobby. These were built to last and be sustainable / repairable for decades unlike the current offerings.
That old compressor sounds like new. Doesn't seem to sound loose or worn at all. Such a nice find that it still works well!
Amazing as well that she has the original paperwork! Got to LOVE it! Thanks again for sharing it.
Steve is wild. "Un Fucking Believable the shit I gotta work on" LMFAO.
The old compressor sounds really good. New units will never come close to the quality of these old ones.
They have new compressors that u can’t hear from 3 ft away and are way more efficient y would u want one of these lol 😂
The meter spins like crazy on those old units, not something you want in the south, okay for a month or two out of the year.
@@Guillotines_For_Globalists I'll take the old one with no hassle for 46 years. Easy call for me.
This unit can't be energy efficient. Yeah, it might have been well built but it's costing a lot in electric.
@@davewilson7255 It ONLY needs to run a few weeks per summer in Mass.
Love the wood grain sides, better let LGR know... :)
its the wagoneer of AC units
Well @lgr
A fellow LGR fan! I always love his enthusiasm and excitement over woodgrain
Bulletproof. Period.
The crap they make these days won't last 25% as long as that beast.
They may have been built great but I bet they could've paid for several new, high seer units with all the money they've overpaid on their electric bills for the last twenty years.
@@SoundingSix Honestly, you're right. Since I fix them and don't pay the bills, I always thought of it in pure mechanical terms. Cheers!👍
That beast only 9 yrs. newer than me 116 degrees in Vegas mucho work for service techs here if u can handle the heat.💪🙏🤔👍
But more efficient
@@SoundingSix I doubt it.
2:40 "Approved for use with copper conductors only" - From the Mid '70's when Aluminum wiring was used in houses....
"used" more like burning down
I was thinking something along those lines. Thanks for the clarification!
@@DGTelevsionNetwork Tell me about it. Our house burned down in 1984. Most likely cause: Aluminum wiring - house was built in 1974.
@@MrBen527 Yeah, the connections were the problem - joining copper and aluminum causes oxide buildup due to dissimilar metals - this oxide is has a resistance, gets hot, and can cause a fire.
Many of those houses built in the 70's with aluminum wire are not around anymore.
I just like how straight-forward Steve is and brutally honest about it..
That’s amazing! The one that came with my house I’m guessing is at least 30
Years old but it still works great! Imagine how many other techs would have said oh you need a new system. Looks can be deceiving! It’s good to see there are people like you who don’t rip off their customers.
In my opinion, this guy is the real deal. He knows how these systems work well enough that he can "guess" what good numbers will be, and he will be right. I don't do AC, but usually the best technical guys you'll find are these ones. He understands exactly how everything here is supposed to work and what he can and can't do to "fudge it."
In my opinion, "rigging" is a valid fix, so long as the customer understands, that's what's being done here. I think he's making it very clear this is what he is doing in those cases. These customers are agreeing to these repairs. He offers them good fixes, the customers don't want them. I think he's showing a very realistic aspect of repair trades.
It's kinda like cars. If you have this situation, you can tell a customer you can bypass their heater core if it's leaking, but they'll have no heat. The car will still run and drive.
We have an Arcoaire unit that is 29 years old and it just keeps humming right along. It had what I believe to be the factory original condenser fan motor replaced last summer because it gave out on us. Otherwise it is all original and just keeps going strong.
So, I know nothing about nothing in this video... but I cannot stop watching. Feels like I’m literally there with them.
They claim the new units are more environmentally friendly. I'm not sure how friendly new appliances / ac / heating units are when you have to replace them every 5 years.
Average life is 15-20 years and they are 100% recyclable. The difference in energy consumption will pay for a new unit in that time period.
@@sethborman7844 around 90% recyclable but yes they pretty much pay for themselves and they can last longer than 20 years
Aww come on Steve, you love these kind of challenges. It's built like a tank, just dust it out, clean the coils, replace the contactor and caps and check the charge. It'll run for another 20 years!
lets see a pro press fitting hold a charge for 75 years...
I really hope your not using pro press for refrigerant...😂
@@MaximuMechanical yes . If your hvac guy is using a pro press that might be a sign
That old beast has been around longer than I have.
Those woodgrain panels slay me. "Introducing the new 1975 Central Air Conditioner lineup from Sears. Now you can have wood paneling in your living room, on your station wagon, and on your condenser unit".
Are my eyes seeing this right, it has a simulated wood grain?
Yep, so it'll match the Wagon Queen Family Truckster!
Whirlpool, Heil (sears) made 4 variation of this unit all were olive green with automatic fan speed controllers. If you look in the summer 1980’s sears catalog this unit cost around $600, it was the top of the line unit.
Totally mid-'70s, that wood grain! Sears - where America shopped. And to think someone up in Massachusetts bought central air back then - they were early adopters.
You always knock the old shit but it's better.
Yea but they’re like an old chevy it refuses to die .
46 years old and still quieter than a Goodman. It ain’t a leaker, momma!
I've told numerous friends over the years... "Working air conditioners don't leak." I'm okay with a "gas n go" but the customer should know the system is compromised.
My dad had an old R-12, 3-ton Rheem A/C unit on our house that ran just fine for almost 50 years, like this one! It got regular maintenance checks, and the only part he ever had to replace was the condenser fan motor...damn cheap thing only lasted 40 years. Finally changed out the whole unit to help sell the house when he moved, but it was still cranking away...
Quiet running unit, don't make them like they used to.
What’s even more special is it had that “ O Ring” type like set on that unit “ like Rotor lock” and it wasn’t leaking. I changed many of those line sets back in the day.
That thing is as old as I am, and runs 1000x better than me too. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
I hear ya, I don't run that well anymore either.
I remember when sears started selling that model unit. It came with a free velvet Elvis with purchase.
Finally, a "third hand" that wasn't a pain in the ass!!
That was quality back then.
46 years old and still working great, you will never find a unit made today that will last like that. And they say we have advanced, bullshit!
Everybody commenting on how quiet the unit is, the compressor is installed outside the condenser in a steel enclosure. Keeps the noise from being funneled up the fan area. Only Lennox still makes equipment this way today... RHEEM still did until a few years ago... only way to quiet compressor noise now is with a compressor blanket... no comparison.
I enjoyed working on those back in the day. That variac for the fan speed control was always a fun repair.
We had one of these old Sears units hooked up to our double wide mobile home, only ours was a self contained unit with the flex ducts on the back.
I believe it was a 1980 or 1981 model, but that was the best air conditioner I’ve ever seen. I remember going to Sears as a kid and would see these units sitting out on the showroom floor.
@Stephen Martin Do you happen to have any photos of that unit? I sure wish they’d make them like that again but I know they never will.
I wish they’d put hour meters on those compressors. If they had done that then ours probably would have registered 1 million hours or more. Many days in the summer, ours would come on around noon and it wouldn’t shut off until well after sunset. I’ve never seen a unit take the abuse ours did, and just keep right on going.
Thankfully we never had the issue that yours had, but it sounds like yours paid for itself 100 times over.
I’ve got copies of the original catalog pages from when Sears sold those units. I believe they offered those particular units from 1978 to about 1988. Give or take a little bit.
I always wanted to walk over and look at them on the showroom floor at our Sears store in Greenwood, Indiana. Those were the days.
That is one of the quietest condensing units I've ever heard. Once that compressor built up pressure it was a gentle hum
Those old Whirpool machines were top notch. Look at the neglect and still purring like a kitten!
I had a 3.5 ton model of this unit in my house...sounded like an Evinrude running at full throttle!
Bet that unit cost a fortune in the day. That is closer to industrial quality than consumer quality, as demonstrated by running condition 46 years later.
My mothers house has that same unit. The original invoice from Sears says it cost $2300 installed in 1979
@@diani748 inflation calculator says $2300.00 item in 1979 costs 8,528.22$ today. I paid 54 benjamin$ for a 3 ton 410a fujitsu/rheem with furnace last week. Nothing's cheap.
💯
I have an old Janitrol from the 70's. Had a tech come out to service HVAC system. I was ready to buy a new a/c unit, he said my old unit could still be running after my new one stops working. He said won't be as efficient., but it will keep going for a few dollars more per month than having a new expensive system installed that's only gonna give me more maintenance issues and probably last about 8 years. He showed me how to properly clean it, and said " if it ain't broke, than don't fix it." He earned my respect and future business if it ever fails.
Exactly.
Kenmore. Solid as Sears. We had a dehumidifier in our basement that had 4.5 ft of water in it. It was floating and still running !! Until the fire department had the power cut to the entire block.
Awesome sounding compressor. What a beauty
Just a contactor on a 45 year condenser Steve, they don't make stuff like they used to anymore. Great video and fix, be safe and keep the video's coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1975, that's back when sears still had good quality hvac and other household products!
You realize sears never made anything right? They buy from companies and rebrand it Craftsman, Kenmore, S&R series electronics, and so forth. My Kenmore water heater was made by State Industries. My Kenmore washer and dryer was Whirlpool. My sears LXI series TV was made by Sanyo.
@@NY411Info Yeah, but I remember back in the day their appliances were made pretty good! Not like today with parts made of plastic that breaks!
@@b.powell3480 Yeah I agree, I'm still using my Kenmore/ Whirlpool washer and dryer. My stove is a Kenmore as well, Made by GE.
Now Sears doesn’t exist. That’s gonna keep running. Sears shoulda stayed American made.
@@NY411Info So who made Craftsmanship? I don't doubt your claim even though they built houses but I'm interested as I have a collection of old Craftsman tools both power and hand. Sears even bought some of my tools when they gave a shit for their display cases.
Guy: I was a fireman. Steve: I don’t care.
I can’t believe he said that! This dude is the limit. Cracks me up. If I talked that way to my customers out here in the Midwest; I wouldn’t have any customers. Those east coasters are tough
@@davehumphrey4075 right Im from Illinois its a trip. Fun to watch
Dave Humphrey Steve is at the point in his career where he could prob just hang up the hat right there on the spot. It was just plain rude to put it that way though.
Because, as we all know, listening to every customer's life story is what he gets paid to do... ;)
@@islandtime1402 this is so true I have sold more jobs listening to old peoples stories than knowledge.
Hats off to that old beast. And to the AC unit too.
Had one just like that stopped working. Removed the cover to discover a family of mice had moved in. Eviction notice served (mouse traps) cleaned everything with contacts cleaner, enjoyed that unit for several more years before it died of old age.
I service an old heat controller condenser for an old couple in my town. This thing was made in the 70s and has a huge recip compressor (it’s a four ton unit) and a huge start capacitor. Aside from the evaporator being leaky, the damn unit runs just fine.
Worked for Sears Service starting 1972. I remember when these were new. Good units.
Dude still has all the original paperwork. Why am I not surprised..lol
The system at my work building is 1989, and shes still hustling along. Running 24/7 . its a Trane I believe.
Awe Steve has a helper holding a flashlight in day time
Ed David😂
Love calls like this; old iron that just needs a little TLC - fun to keep em going another year.
Got a Carrier model 38TXA036 that is now 21 years old. We have a contract where they come out twice a year to check the system. It still looks great and works. I'm praying I can get many more years out of it since quotes on new systems with a furnace are well over $10k nowdays.
Great work man, now if you only put the back cover back on same way it came out I would have given you a like.
Thats amazing , now units may last 10 to 20 years , an old beast for sure , Great save Steve !!!!!!!!!
I had the EXACT same unit. I finally had to replace it last summer.
My Pops installed that same unit in their home in either 1974 or 1976, it was still running 5 years ago when we sold their house.
Bet you the new one fells a lot better and saves energy
@@nightmareinaction629 correct!
My parents had an old Carrier Unit from the late 50s in their home that ran for years. Had to get rid of it as the casing was rotted away, but it would cool like no other snd had a distinctive hum to it. Not the most efficient, the lights would dim when it fired up.
My parents had one of these from 1972 until 2008 or 09. I used to stick little pieces of pine bark mulch under the cover to make it quiet. My father spun a new fan hub out of 6061 in 1996 because something got loose. Oh yeah, the American Standard furnace was replaced with another at the same time (stupid multi speed, high velocity blower. I miss the turbine startup sound of the original beast)
Wow… pretty cool they have original manuals 😯
Most of us say "heading off to work", Steve says "heading off to challenge" lol.
WOW!! Loved this video. 1975?! And the thing is quieter than a brand new one. I wish we can go back to how things used to be.
Usually if they're loud they're not charged properly or broke.
Congrats on 150000 Steve. Great accomplishment.
Heil-Quaker, Whirlpool made a lot of these for Sears Roebuck.
I’ve seen some Whirlpool units that look just like this.
According to the model number on the paperwork this was made by Keeprite. It's a Carrier brand along with Heil so you were close.
@@Samthe17 We had a heil just like this. Unfortunatly it was a lemon and was replaced at 8 years old with a Trane which is still going 30 years later.
I sold my house in NV two years ago and it still had the rooftop Rheem A/C from 1991 that still worked. Maintenance works.
I think it's not too shocking. Mine is seven and has never been serviced and works fine, but I do spray it down with a hose every year and clean the coils out, change the filters.
The old one was 13 and had done the same but was stolen for copper.
You know it's old when it says, "Copper conductors only"
That condenser was actually built by Heil for Sears. I worked on lots of them here in Chicago, there very good units. Most had hard start cap on the compressor, they were high efficiency in 1975 @8 seer, and had double coils. So washing the outside will do little good. Most today are a train wreck like you had, but don't bet against it they will prove you wrong lol
Do you still work on them in Chicago area? Or know anyone who does? Guess who has one -
I’m a super tech, so I already know everything possible there is to know about AC repair. I watch Steve’s videos to learn how to communicate properly with the customer and let them know exactly how I feel about their equipment. This is where Steve is truly a Master Service Tech!
Got the same unit running strong from 83. Record heat wave going on and she's running overtime!
LOL, I like the woodgrain on the side!
For real what a blast from the past. That unit is quiet!!!
Yup, as if someone would actually construct an AC condenser cabinet out of wood. The 70’s loved the faux wood grain on everything.
Love it ! " you call me out to work on this, guy!?" 🤣🤣
Sears unit that may outlive the store. It still is a thing in the South Shore Mall (as of 2023).
My moms neighbor has one of those Heils that was installed in 1976. Still runs strong today.
We have 2 heatpumps from the mid 1980's, still working fine. One was recently recharged (refrigerant) & a new cap.
I rented apartment and the unit was 32 years old, and since day one it couldn’t get below 78 , I called the landlord and told me units supposed to last 40 years and nothing was wrong with it, this was a weird apartments cause it was 4 building three were owned by one person and one was owned by a different person and I lived in a different building first when I moved in with a brand new unit and that sucker get 65° I moved into that another building cause it was nicer but Landlord sucked said 78 was perfectly fine. My power bill was doubled from the other apartment to.
Awesome tech. Good call on not opening the schrader valves. As old as it is it could cause a leak.
That compressor hum sounds so comforting.
My Neighbor just replaced a 1973 Sears unit last year and it was still working fine as well.
Wow 46 years Good AC and you did a Awesome job
This is awesome! Good for you Steve it’s better to keep the old stuff going
Man could work on not making the customer feel bad. Our hvac job is to work at dirty unit that are not always sunshine and rainbows part of the job man but could work on the way you talk to customers lol
CCH keeps liquid refrigerant from mixing with the oil on off cycle.
I came across a Carrier installation manual even in its original envelope in mint condition on a dinosaur of a unit. It has hand drawn pictures and vintage old style font lettering. It's black-and-white (beige) with blue coloring. I still have it even though I know it's not worth anything but it's like finding an old beer can in a wall.
Back when I lived in apts I had a trane unit die after 25 years. The tech found a full set of service notes and schematic inside and treated it like gold, because the complex had hundreds of these and mine was the first they found them.
I HAVE A CARRIER OPEN COMPRESSOR THAT WAS INSTALLED IN 1898 AND IT STILL RUNS
Wait wait wait, you mean 1998 right? 😳
Great videos sir, I really respect you and i hope and wish you will keep making these great videos.
“Got a vacuum?”
“Where’s that vacuum?!”
3:04 “I’m gonna get my vacuum and blow this shit out.”
I almost died laughing.
Steve saves the day again. Great video.
And here I thought the 25 year old York I had in my townhouse was amazing that it still cooled perfectly when I sold it last year…this is far more amazing than that!
I had the same exact unit. Replaced the capacitor and fan motor one time, sold the house but was still going strong.
Lady: you think its worth more with it's original paperwork?! 😆
WOW 😲 thats amazing. Even the manuals were kept. Thanks for this video! Enjoyed it
Steve is one in a million 👏. Saved this 46 year old unit from the landfill. No way anyone else but Steve would've got this guy going again.👍
Funny thing is every town had a bunch of Steve's 20 years ago. Now they are all in Florida.
Not everybody is going to trash a unit just because a contactor went bad. Thats just an ordinary maintenance item -- obviously, as he had a replacement with him.
@@CognitiveDisonance Interesting reply. I agree. Do you have a background in hvac?
that's our wonderful society telling every kid to go to college and then you won't have to get your hands dirty you can make a good living in trades, but nobody wants to do it they get a worthless college degree and make no money to pay back the thousands that they spent on crap degrees and you can never get rid of that debt even bankruptcy won't get rid of it.@@rustyshakleford5230
Had a 35 year old Goodman HVAC. Ran great. Just couldn’t hold a charge anymore. All I had to do was change the capacitor out every now and then. My new Goodman i don’t have those kinds of expectations. For most things I don’t have those kinds of expectations anymore.
Your a good guy, most guys would be like you need a new system.
Wow what a very old Sears AC unit. Was designed to be installed by the home owner with precharged line sets. This was the Sears Silent Sentinel unit, was considered their best at the time. I think either ICP or Whirlpool made this unit. Great units for the time. Also you disconnected the crank case heater. Are you for sure it's not a self regulating one? I hsve seen those where when it gets warm out the crank case heater will shut off as it has a self regulating thermostat. The heater keeps the compressor oil soft and keeps it from slugging.
A classic example of, "They don't make them like they used to."
Do you mean Steve or the ac? ;-)
Hahaha....Both.
Lol well every a/c tech would be out of a job if things didnt break
Made at the time when things were built to last in the USA!
Love the old stuff! I'll bet that contactor would still be working if it hadn't gotten chitmonked.
That's when Heil/ Temp star made them for Sears. Alot of those old units are still out there. Sometimes you'll see them where that plastic grill will be broken or replaced with something else.
Unbelievable, great vid Steve!