Carelessness can be expensive

[disneysteve]

Feeling stupid right now. I was doing some yard work, including clearing the overgrowth around our air conditioner. I knew there were wires there and thought I was being careful but still managed to snag one in my clipper. Off went the AC. I called our HVAC folks and they have availability to come out today so just waiting on that. I know it will cost us at least $79 for the diagnostic plus whatever the repair itself runs. I'm hoping it isn't too terrible since it's just the one wire that needs replacing but we shall see. Thankfully it isn't super hot today (or else I wouldn't have been out doing yard work) but we still need our AC. It isn't that cool.

[Fishindude77]

Just put that on your list of .... "Dumb stuff I'm not going to do again".
My list is getting lengthy

[disneysteve]

Just put that on your list of .... "Dumb stuff I'm not going to do again".
My list is getting lengthy

Yeah I think we all have one of those lists. It's not really dumb the first time, as long as you don't do it again. Then it's super dumb.

[myrdale]

My advise would be see if they can run the new wire through a piece of conduit or flex hose. $100 for materials is worth it to protect that wire in the future.

[ua_guy]

I was going to say...I'm surprised to hear it sounds like the wiring wasn't run in conduit to begin with. Would be worth doing while the unit is disconnected.

[crazyliblady]

I was going to say...I'm surprised to hear it sounds like the wiring wasn't run in conduit to begin with. Would be worth doing while the unit is disconnected.

I agree. I was going to suggest something like those cable protector things to protect and keep cables together, but probably sturdier.

[disneysteve]

I’m going to see if I can get some kind of protector around the wire. At the very least I’ll probably got some orange paint and paint the wire so it doesn’t blend in with the vines. It’s just a gray wire.

[myrdale]

Even PVC pipe would be better than nothing.

Another thing to keep in mind is what type of current we are talking about.

The control wiring coming from your thermostat might be in the range of 24 V. I wouldn't lick it, but other wise it is pretty innocuous.

The wiring for the blower or fan is probably 120 V. That will bite.

The compressor wiring may be 240 V. If you get cross ways with that, it will eat your lunch!

One of the prongs on my multimeter has a chunk burned out of it from where I grounded something out while checking a capacitor or relay or some thing of the like years ago in my AC. It serves as a nice reminder to be careful every time I use it.

[disneysteve]

Another thing to keep in mind is what type of current we are talking about.

The control wiring coming from your thermostat might be in the range of 24 V. I wouldn't lick it, but other wise it is pretty innocuous.

The wiring for the blower or fan is probably 120 V. That will bite.

The compressor wiring may be 240 V. If you get cross ways with that, it will eat your lunch!

This was a control wire. Thin gray wire. I'm sure I can cover it with something to better protect it.

[Like2Plan]

How much did it end up costing you to repair? And, more importantly, how long was the AC down?

[disneysteve]

How much did it end up costing you to repair? And, more importantly, how long was the AC down?

AC was down for less than 4 hours and it cost a little over $300 and was worth every penny.

[jenn_jenn]

Ack “stupid tax” is never any fun!

I had some stupid tax myself this week and I try to remind myself we’re only human. Mistakes happen!

Glad the damage was minimal and was resolved quickly!

[bjl584]

I've lost count of how many things I've broke or ruined due to carelessness.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Ack “stupid tax” is never any fun!

I had some stupid tax myself this week and I try to remind myself we’re only human. Mistakes happen!

Glad the damage was minimal and was resolved quickly!

oh like speeding 30 miles in a 25 mile zone and getting ticket from a stupid camera?

[myrdale]

I have a case today where other peoples carelessness is expensive for me!

I ordered several pieces of computer network equipment from Ubiquiti. One of these items is a 24 port POE network switch (a fancy router), roughly $380. UPS decided to ventilate the box during delivery. The hole through the shipping box, carried through the product box, and left a gouge in the case.

Ubiquiti issued an RMA, but it's costing me $50 to ship it back to them (via UPS). I'm looking into getting reimbursed by UPS for shipping, but I don't know if that will happen or not.