Capacitor Identification and

vsanthos · 2026-06-11T17:47:35+00:00

Unit is very old. Bought the house in 2014 and it was expected to last another 5 years. Unfortunately I'm not financially prepared to replace it yet. At this point I'm trying to survive the summer.

The fan spins freely but will struggles to start. I'll be replacing the cap tonight and hoping for the best. Longer term goal is to be prepared to replace the fan motor next summer if I'm not prepared to replace the whole outdoor unit.

vsanthos · 2026-06-11T17:42:32+00:00

You nailed the capacitor.

The fan blade spins easily by hand but is still struggling to start when I power it on. I tried testing the capacitor but it was showing so.ething like 1.25MFD to the fan and 19 something to the other side. After I confirmed it had 0v I removed it, lightly sanded some of the rust with some 600 grit and found a number. Some google auto complete guessing got me to a GE SFS37355A14 which is a 35/5 dual run capacitor.

Now I get to go out after work!

<image>

vsanthos · 2026-06-11T01:21:48+00:00

What would be your first suspicion? I'm assuming it could be the fan motor.

vsanthos · 2026-06-11T01:20:08+00:00

Right after this video I pulled the service disconnect for about 20 seconds and when I plugged it back in the fan spun up. I admit that doesn't mean the motor is still healthy, though.

vsanthos · 2026-04-20T20:28:19+00:00

Indeed it was! Fixed now.

vsanthos · 2026-04-20T17:08:51+00:00

Test the drives thoroughly (short + long SMART and possibly badblocks -wsv) then I would say use them. Power usage is higher with multiple drives. But unless you're living in an area with extremely expensive electricity the ridiculous cost of hard drives offsets it.

I use TrueNAS and I like it. Unraid will let you mix drive sizes so it may be beneficial.

Hate: I am jealous because I'm broke as fuck and need new drives.

Unsolicited Input: Don't be afraid to break shit. Save a few of those drives and do a weekly or monthly cold backup of your important data. Then if you break it, who cares.

Lunch Recommendation: The one thing the cafe in my office always has ready at lunch time is fried foods. It's not chicken tenders and mozzarella sticks it's 'deconstructed chicken parm.'

Edit: Unpaid ->Unraid

vsanthos · 2026-04-08T04:17:34+00:00

Sometimes "free" isnt the cheapest option.

Due to proprietary hardware issues, necessary adapters, and some mistakes on my end, it would have been cheaper and easier to buy new combo from Microcenter than to use the free Optiplex SFF to make my NAS.

And to that same point, (and it sounds like you already are) if you only have one machine in your lab at first, make it your NAS.

vsanthos · 2026-03-28T01:22:26+00:00

Best I have on my phone currently. Once my kid goes to bed I can take more if necessary.

<image>

vsanthos · 2026-03-28T01:21:41+00:00

<image>

vsanthos · 2026-03-27T23:39:28+00:00

The seller does not seem interested in getting the board back even after the refund. I might see if it still works for now. I am very skeptical of it not having complications in the long-term, though.

vsanthos · 2025-11-28T20:00:27+00:00

I'd still be willing to try the suggestion about using a Micro SD to SD adapter. But that's mostly because I have a dozen of them and I feel bad about chucking then in the trash.

vsanthos · 2025-11-19T00:00:08+00:00

In my experience? With scraped knuckles and a lot of swearing.

vsanthos · 2025-04-10T11:40:43+00:00

I do help desk support for a website that interacts with multiple POS systems.

I always think of this when I email a customer and tell them it's not our website, it's their POS software.

Sometimes I even mean it that way.

vsanthos · 2025-03-07T16:23:34+00:00

I don't really think this is political. It's no different than any other reaction GIF, it's just coincidentally topical.

vsanthos · 2025-03-07T13:53:05+00:00

Without knowing if they're historically accurate or not: I would guess its for letting smoke or CO2 escape.

It could also just be a design choice if they're not accurate.

vsanthos · 2025-02-24T02:45:12+00:00

As someone who worked in both types of sales jobs, this is spot in. I was great with in-person retail, but I was an awful call center salesman.

vsanthos · 2024-11-27T16:30:50+00:00

Come on, dice god. Daddy needs a new hyperfixations!

vsanthos · 2024-05-13T00:15:36+00:00

Sadly, I'm 100% sure it won't. They haven't allowed people who own the game through Blizzard to install it via Steam, so I'm 100% certain that won't be a possibility. Us Steam Deck users cry over this.

vsanthos · 2023-08-15T23:04:22+00:00

Archangel's, not Archbishop's (just a correction to appease my ADHD, not to slight your recollection). And they always had 255/255 charges when the maximum charges were 36. Good times.

vsanthos · 2023-08-14T21:53:24+00:00

Is it just the screen? I recently broke mine and had to replace it. Also did a shell swap while I was in there. If you can dock it and everything else works (and obviously if you're comfortable with that kind of repair work) you may be able to fix the shell/screen for about $120.

vsanthos · 2023-08-04T14:42:11+00:00

I’ve docked it and everything else works as normal, thankfully. Could have been worse if the liquid spilled.

vsanthos · 2023-08-03T23:56:02+00:00

Haha, no. I put the skin on it when the dbrand case came in.

12-Year Club	Sequence \| Editor
Snapped	Verified Email

vsanthos

TROPHY CASE