Repairing an AMC branded, Gibson manufactured, 9,000 BTU air conditioner from 1970. The machine was in service until around 1988, when I suspect the capacitor started to drift and could no longer start the compressor. It was replaced with a 1988 Carrier International 7,500 BTU, both units I got from the original owner's son. They both utilize R22, and neither have leaked a single iota of it.

The capacitor is a 25 uF for the compressor and 5 uF for the fan. The fan side of the original capacitor was still good, the compressor side measured 18 uF, which is a significant drift from what it's supposed to be.

Gibson was a very high-end make at the time. This is a top of the line machine, built exceptionally well. This is a very rare model, as far as I know, this is the only known instance to exist among collectors.

As is often the case with these older machines, any failure is typically simple; easily and inexpensively repaired. A new capacitor brought the machine back to life, and now it runs as good as it did when new over 50 years ago.

This machine utilizes a Tecumseh B series compressor, which operates around 1,500 RPM, half the speed of most equipment made in the last several decades. Listen closely as it starts up--you can hear the first few individual strokes of the piston as it gets up to speed.

The slower speed results in much longer lifespan as there's less mechanical movement to wear down. These compressors are also extremely high efficiency. During this test, the machine consistently drew less than 6 amps, which EXCEEDS the claimed efficiency standards of the units of this form factor sold today.