re: Reminder, now is a good time to pick up a spare capacitor for your HVAC

Do you know how to check a capacitor to see if it is bad - very easy, numerous YouTube videos - you need a multimeter with a capacitance setting - many multimeters have this, but not all. Of course if it puffy/swollen it’s bad.

Two things that kill capacitors more than anything - heat and voltage spikes. Though you can’t do anything about heat, one can install a surge protector on the HVAC disconnect to mitigate issues with voltage spikes/fluctuations.

Lastly, cheap Chinese capacitors have the most problems. Many HVAC techs on professional HVAC forums I peruse like the American made AmRad capacitors which come with a 5-year warranty, they are only $20-30, just a little more expensive. But there are some other manufactures that make better capacitors with 5-year warranties, Powerwell being one.