The condenser is the big metal box that sits outside your home, usually on a concrete pad or against an exterior wall. Most are square or rectangular, about two to four feet tall, with a fan visible through a grille on top and thin metal cooling fins wrapping the sides. You will hear it hum and feel warm air blowing up out of the top when the AC is running, that is your home's heat being released outside. Inside the cabinet are the compressor, condenser coil, fan motor, contactor, and capacitor. The most common things you can spot yourself are a fan that will not spin, bent or crushed fins, a coil packed with leaves or cottonwood, or the whole unit being dead silent when the thermostat is calling. Keep two feet of clearance around it for airflow. Strange noises or no cooling? Call LA Heating & Air at (818) 660-1062.
