Just Looking

[Rosemary Carlson]

I am not a home inspector but I found a llink to a thread in here about old GE air conditioner condensers and I wanted to follow it. We have a 1983 GE air conditioner that has operated without any issues for 35 years. Today it went down so we are doing a little research to find part numbers.

[Brian Hannigan]

Welcome to InspectionNews!

Thank you for registering and posting your message here.

If there is anything I can help you with please let me know.

InspectionNews has many Member Benefits available to you. Some save you time, others save you money and some do both!

Make sure you view the list of Member Benefits at: http://www.InspectionNews.net/home_inspection/MemberBenefits

[Jerry Peck]

We have a 1983 GE air conditioner that has operated without any issues for 35 years. Today it went down so we are doing a little research to find part numbers.

My recommendation is that, for a 1983 air conditioner, you replace it instead of trying to repair it.

What you have is essentially like an old gas hog car ... and do you still drive an old 1983 gas hog car?

If you do, by all means, try to repair that old air conditioner, if not, treat it the same was as you would your car when it dies - replace it (cars are usually before they die, which is good).

Think of it as having gotten 36 years of service out of an appliance which was likely designed to last maybe 10-15 years with average use.

The old saying of 'They don't make them like that anymore.' applies ... there is a reason they no longer make them like that, and reason #1 is the old Freon refrigerant was not good for the environment, and we all live in that environment; reason #2 is that the new system will be much more efficient and cost less to operate. I am sure other will add additional reasons for replacing it.

The above said, though, I do know someone who drives, as their every day car, an old 1983 car ... it is a 1983 Rolls Royce Corniche ... and it outlooks any modern car parked next to it ... so maybe the 'old gas hog' analogy does not always apply.

He used to buy a new Cadillac every year, then one day he was in a Rolls Royce dealership with a friend of his and the salesman started talking to him, asking how often he bought a new car ... the salesman convinced him that it was far less expensive to buy one Rolls Royce and drive it for life, which is what he is doing.

[Rosemary Carlson]

Thanks Jerry,

While I am well aware that modern HVAC systems are much more efficient, we tend to subscribe to the view that you don?t replace something that is working. My husband has traced the problem to a malfunctioning capacitor. Hopefully, it won?t be more complicated than replacing that. Knock on wood, in all these years, we have never had to add Freon.

I had to smile at your analogy to old gas hog cars. Our vehicles are from 1965, 1991, 2001, and our newest is 2016. Again, if they work, we keep them. 😁

Thanks for responding to my post, though. I know you are right about efficiency, but the middle of a hot summer in Oklahoma is not the time to buy a new system. We will revisit that in the fall, or if it ends up that the system has greater problems than we think.

Appreciate your info,

Rosemary





My recommendation is that, for a 1983 air conditioner, you replace it instead of trying to repair it.

What you have is essentially like an old gas hog car ... and do you still drive an old 1983 gas hog car?

If you do, by all means, try to repair that old air conditioner, if not, treat it the same was as you would your car when it dies - replace it (cars are usually before they die, which is good).

Think of it as having gotten 36 years of service out of an appliance which was likely designed to last maybe 10-15 years with average use.

The old saying of 'They don't make them like that anymore.' applies ... there is a reason they no longer make them like that, and reason #1 is the old Freon refrigerant was not good for the environment, and we all live in that environment; reason #2 is that the new system will be much more efficient and cost less to operate. I am sure other will add additional reasons for replacing it.

The above said, though, I do know someone who drives, as their every day car, an old 1983 car ... it is a 1983 Rolls Royce Corniche ... and it outlooks any modern car parked next to it ... so maybe the 'old gas hog' analogy does not always apply.

He used to buy a new Cadillac every year, then one day he was in a Rolls Royce dealership with a friend of his and the salesman started talking to him, asking how often he bought a new car ... the salesman convinced him that it was far less expensive to buy one Rolls Royce and drive it for life, which is what he is doing.

[Jerry Peck]

... we tend to subscribe to the view that you don?t replace something that is working. My husband has traced the problem to a malfunctioning capacitor.

'If it's not broken, don't fix it" ... but ... it is broken. :D

If it's a capacitor, sure, replace it.

I have done that TOO.

But when it's something major, yeah, replace it.

I also have an old car, which happens to be a 1983.

But it's not a daily driver anymore (was until 4 years ago when I finally 'retired' 'retired') ... a 1983 Jaguar XJS V-12. Rarely drive it now.

What is your 1967 vehicle? (I had a 1967 Jaguar E-Type 2+2 ... aka 'XKE' ... 35 years ago.)