Lightning strike v Air Con.

[johng]

10 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

They have to minimize the cost. 

My cynical mind suggests that they make much more profit  supplying replacement boards..or total replacement systems  

IE:  built in obsolescence. (via proxy gecko and ant attack )  

[brianthainess]

19 minutes ago, johng said:

In the latest aircon adverts they advertise as a feature "anti geckos"

I wonder (only very slightly) why they don't "pot" their circuit boards

(pot is to encase in a waterproof resin as found on many automotive components)

I've found Geckos only get inside the indoor unit not Outside. 

[johng]

3 minutes ago, Dazinoz said:

This causes a problem with heat dissipation.

 

I would say a well designed board should have minimal heat and if unavoidable then  provide a heat sink  exposed from the potted board

again  I suspect that there are many built in failures and obsolescence's

[Yellowtail]

3 minutes ago, johng said:

My cynical mind suggests that they make much more profit  supplying replacement boards..or total replacement systems  

IE:  built in obsolescence. (via proxy gecko and ant attack )  

 

What do you think the margin on the boards are? I've been here for about 25 years, I have seven AC units now, and I've never had to have a board replaced. 

 

My three Carriers are 5-year 100%. 10-year compressor. What do you think a service call costs Carrier? 

 

It's also a repeat customer issue. 

 

I think "planned obsolescence" is about making people want the new model, not building a POC that goes south two weeks after the warranty expires. 

 

If I had to replace and expensive board a couple times, I'm done with that brand. 

 

 

[Yellowtail]

9 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

I've found Geckos only get inside the indoor unit not Outside. 

The Geckos get inside the cat, but end up outside at some point...

[johng]

2 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

I've found Geckos only get inside the indoor unit not Outside. 

I've never had one in mine   "but never say never"  

I suppose they can crawl up the evaporation water outlet  and find their way indoors like the cockroaches     I put  a U bend  in my water outlet  and think it works to prevent insects/geckos  but maybe  promotes a bit more of the slimy goop that causes the pipe to block up and flood the bedroom at dead of night

I also have a drip pan under the air con to catch any  condensation leaks in the dead of night.

 

[brianthainess]

Oh and I'll tell you another thing, my ceiling fan that has not worked for years, now works on low speed ??

[brianthainess]

23 minutes ago, johng said:

I've never had one in mine   "but never say never"  

I suppose they can crawl up the evaporation water outlet  and find their way indoors like the cockroaches     I put  a U bend  in my water outlet  and think it works to prevent insects/geckos  but maybe  promotes a bit more of the slimy goop that causes the pipe to block up and flood the bedroom at dead of night

I also have a drip pan under the air con to catch any  condensation leaks in the dead of night.

 

I have 2 that live somehow behind the indoor unit, I have a hose fitted to the drain pipe outside, and when in the past I've had water dripping inside,  I have filled my lungs and blown into it, out came a slimy dead 'gecko'. You should not be getting any leaks at all, that would indicate your drain pipe is blocked, or the inside 'condenser' needs cleaning. 

 

[StevieAus]

On 10/16/2024 at 5:41 AM, degrub said:

At the very least the ground/earth ( and probably Neutral) potentials were elevated as the earth absorbed the 30-60,000 amps of current nearby. Computer controller boards and their power supplies usually have very limited resistance to an elevated earth voltage. Solid state inverter units are another example.  A surge protector on the power input to the device can help. Lots of possibilities with a close strike. If some of the current passed along over the outer surface of the building, then all bets are off , particularly anything on the balcony. And you do get a magnetic field effect from that amount of current nearby. Structural steel can be magnetized by a hit and cause deflection of a compass when held close by. You can get similar effect from an arc welder, or so i am told 😉.

 

So what did the techs find ?

I think you are spot on with your comments, about a year ago a tree directly outside our house was struck by lightening, this resulted in the power board and some other component in one of our two washing machines being rendered useless.

The laundry is outside and about twenty metres away from the tree neither were in use but both plugged in.

[Yellowtail]

36 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

I have 2 that live somehow behind the indoor unit, I have a hose fitted to the drain pipe outside, and when in the past I've had water dripping inside,  I have filled my lungs and blown into it, out came a slimy dead 'gecko'. You should not be getting any leaks at all, that would indicate your drain pipe is blocked, or the inside 'condenser' needs cleaning. 

 

Not to nitpick, but the inside condenser is called the evaporator.

[Sigmund]

Wouldn't a surge protector prevent such situations from lightning or voltage surges on home appliances ?

[Yellowtail]

Just now, Sigmund said:

Wouldn't a surge protector prevent such situations from lightning or voltage surges on home appliances ?

Not if the spike comes through the ground, I think. 

[Sigmund]

1 hour ago, johng said:

My cynical mind suggests that they make much more profit  supplying replacement boards..or total replacement systems  

IE:  built in obsolescence. (via proxy gecko and ant attack )  

Which is why maybe IMHO, if I may, it could be a good idea to get the unit cleaned by the Somchai's, at least once a year ?

[johng]

4 minutes ago, Sigmund said:

Which is why maybe IMHO, if I may, it could be a good idea to get the unit cleaned by the Somchai's, at least once a year ?

Getting the unit cleaned is a good idea for efficiency/ electricity cost,

ants, geckos,cockroaches  don't really care..they just seem to like the EM fields.

[johng]

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

I have filled my lungs and blown into it, out came a slimy dead 'gecko'. You should not be getting any leaks at all, that would indicate your drain pipe is blocked, or the inside 'condenser' needs cleaning. 

Agree 100 % you should not be getting any leaks but T.I.T

I have done the full lung blow  and thought it worked but didn't

better is a full lung pressure washer blow for quite a while..the slime/mould that grows in the evaporator  water pipe is quite resilient  dead gecko,cockroach and ants included.

[Dazinoz]

49 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Not to nitpick, but the inside condenser is called the evaporator.

Unless its a reverse cycle AC the it is an evaporator in cooling mode and a condenser in heating mode.

[degrub]

3 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Not if the spike comes through the ground, I think. 

MOVs work in both directions. Key is to have them across each possible pairing of wires on the input. 
 

See the V-I plot for positive and negative voltage.

 

https://components101.com/articles/metal-oxide-varistor-mov-overview

 

[Mindful Spender]

On 10/16/2024 at 4:27 AM, HappyExpat57 said:

I recently took a trip to Pattaya when lightning hit at or near the hotel I was staying at. Though there were no signs of burning, the power supply to the laptop died, the usb-c to HDMI cable died, and I had to rebuild the laptop. Sh!t happens.

rebuild the laptop, suuuuurrrreeeee

 

[HappyExpat57]

On 11/7/2024 at 10:01 PM, Mindful Spender said:

rebuild the laptop, suuuuurrrreeeee

 

Which I did. Turns out the USB-C which usually accepts a connection regardless of orientation now only works if you plug it in one way. I marked the top with a Sharpee so I know which way works. Never saw THAT before!