The outside fan on the compressor and coil unit has suddenly become very noisy and the fan is going very fast. I called Sears for service as it is on a prepaid maintenance contract but they can't come for 8 days. I have turned it off so no a/c. Is it OK to turn it on as it will be fairly hot in the coming days? Should I restrict use if it can be turned on? Unit is a Kenmore 30mce-

My feeling is that if they can't come any more quick than 8 days, run the thing, and if they have a bigger problem when they finally get there, that is their problem. The flaw in that argument is that if something is wrong, the more you run it, the more likely it will fail and leave you without any A/C. I think some of those units, the fan runs faster when it is working harder. What you are hearing could be normal. You might shut the power off and try turning the fan by hand. If it turns smoothly and doesn't wobble, chances are nothing is wrong, run it.