Air Conditioning

WTD CAMP - Samples

(546 words)

ADVERSITY EQUALS OPPORTUNITY

'Do it yourself' doesn't always mean doing something by yourself. Often a team approach can work well around the home as well as in business. For example, the other day our household suffered a fairly long and sustained brownout. It was a hot weekend day, everyone home, not that surprising given the conditions. The air conditioner had dropped out and then immediately came back on-line as full power was restored. Initially we thought little of the event until we began to leave the house and discovered the Blower for the heater and air conditioning would not turn off.

NO BIG DEAL

Growing up comfortable with conquering such adversity, my wife and I set out to find the source of the problem. We suspected a wacky fuse problem or something easily remedied with a little detective work. What we found was more questions and the need for more testing. We looked at the thermostat, checked its programming, checked the wires, checked fuses and continued to find nothing as the blower kept on blowing. Now the problem had turned more advanced, as it was most likely component related in the forced air unit itself. At this point, the limitations of my aggressiveness had been reached, yet my wife pressed on. She dug into the main circuit board and carefully removed each wire and tagged it with a piece of tape for later reference. As I watched her work, I gained confidence that even an unanticipated complex problem was achievable with the right attitude and some organization. She had the will to try something new and I had the good sense not to impede her progress.

A WINNING COMBO

Ultimately she easily found visual evidence of a burnt relay on the circuit board and showed me the part. Simple enough to replace - eight solder lugs and a shiny new relay and we 'd be in the cooling business again. Of course adversity reared its ugly head, as that part and that circuit board were not manufactured anymore. The pricey solution by heating professionals was to buy a whole new substitute board. 'Not this time', I thought because I now had the confidence and opportunity to defeat this new problem as a team. My wife and I individually checked around at different surplus electronic shops and parts houses and eventually found not one, but two potential part substitutions.

THE MORAL

With little grief and even less work, we soldered and plugged the part back into the board and tested the system. Our effort had paid off with a total tab of less than $13 versus a new board or the hundreds of dollars likely required to have a heating guy 'save' us on a Sunday afternoon. Untimely, inopportune situations can often lead to positive conclusions by sparking an internal fire to attempt something new. If you don't have the answer, you probably know someone who does or someone who knows where to find that answer. Not all 'do-it-yourself' effort will translate into financial gain or savings. Your true priceless reward will be an enhanced skill-set in perseverance, creative cunning,, and a Can-Do team spirit. You will forever have the luxurious last laugh of knowing you can 'do for Yourself' even if life does unto you first!

William Camp

Your interest and queries are always appreciated!

WTD CAMP, 1257 Whispering Pines Dr., St. Louis, MO 63146 ~(314) 439-5490 ~ [email protected]