Tracking Capacitors and Contactors on HVAC Trucks

Why these two parts leak money

They are small, they look alike, and techs grab two “in case.” One goes in the unit. The extra lives in a door pocket until it is forgotten. The ticket might get one capacitor. The van lost two.

Supply houses also mix sizes in similar boxes. Without a photo and a part number on the scan, the 40/5 and the 45/5 trade places all summer. Dispatch thinks Truck 6 is covered. It is not.

One SKU per size, no “assortment” bins

Do not create a part called “caps mixed.” Create 35/5, 40/5, 45/5, 50/5, 5 MFD, 7.5 MFD — whatever you actually sell. Min stock per size per truck. When 45/5 hits zero, that is a reorder, not a mystery.

Print the MFD on the label in large type. The tech in a hot attic should not need reading glasses and a guess.

Scan out both parts if both left the bin

If the tech takes two capacitors to the pad, both should be on the job — one installed, one returned. Returns are inventory too. A “return to van” scan puts the unused cap back on the truck count.

FleetStock supports use and return on the scanner. That is how you stop the door-pocket graveyard without a lecture at Friday meetings.

Compare job scans to invoices weekly

Export parts used by job number. Sit with the office for thirty minutes. Every job that used a capacitor should have a capacitor on the invoice, unless it was warranty. The gaps are cash.

Shops that do this for four weeks usually find more money than the annual software bill. That is the whole argument for truck-level scanning.

Set summer min stock before the first heat wave

In May, raise capacitor and contactor mins on every van. In September, drop them. If you wait until the first 98-degree Tuesday, you will buy emergency stock at retail and still miss calls.

Use last summer’s usage if you have it. If you do not, start scanning now so next May is a data decision, not a panic buy.

FAQ