How to keep your A/C running all summer

PHOENIX - In the middle of a hot Arizona summer, not having home air conditioning can be dangerous for the family inside.

Broken down air conditioners are giving A/C repair businesses like Phoenix-based Ace Air record breaking months.

If you think the definition of “sweltering furnace” is a sunny July afternoon outside, then you haven’t been inside Roberta Konzal’s apartment.

“It’s hot,” Konzal shouted as she moved groceries around her apartment. “There is blowing air, but unfortunately it's very hot air."

Her A/C died the other day, so she like thousands of other Arizonans called a service company for help.

Ace Air is one of the many air conditioning businesses getting buried under all the work.

The company’s call takers receive hundreds of requests for service everyday. The massive work load adds up to long days for service technician Mike Lopez.

"The day starts at 6:30 in the morning when we meet at the office and sometimes we don't finish until about 10 p.m.,” Lopez said.

On this day, Lopez is trying to salvage Konzal’s 26-year-old cooling system.

A typical air conditioner can last around 15 years, but not taking good care of it can lead to a much shorter lifespan.

Lopez starts by inspecting the air filters inside the apartment.

“Everything looks pretty clean,” he remarks.

Regularly changing the filters helps an A/C run smoother and longer.

Next, Lopez moves on to the thermostat. If worn out or broken, a simple and inexpensive replacement is all that is needed to save a call to the mechanic.

Unfortunately for Roberta, the problem with her system lies outside with the more expensive parts.

Lopez walks around to the back of the apartment and opens up the air conditioner.

"My main [repair] calls are for capacitors overheating, blowing up or losing a charge," Lopez said.

A capacitor replacement is a relatively easy fix for technicians, but that is still not what is wrong with Konzal’s unit.

After more disassembling and testing, Lopez finds the reason for Konzal’s sweat inducing apartment.

"Basically what happened is the condenser fan motor failed,” Lopez explained. “The bearings locked up on the fan motor causing the compressor to overheat itself."

Konzal’s motor is cooked and needs to be replaced.

A little cleaning every now and then can usually prevent premature failure, according to Lopez.

"Every two to three months just go outside with a garden hose and lightly hose down your coils. Get any debris that's collecting on the coils off," he said.

A quick phone call to a parts supplier and one new motor later, Roberta’s apartment is blowing cold air again, at the cost of a few hundred dollars.

"I’m not happy [it’s broken], but it is 26-years-old, so what are you going to do," Konzal said.

For a list of ways you can keep your air conditioner running all summer long and for many more summers to come, head on over to the air conditioner maintenance section of howstuffworks.com