AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

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puma guy
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AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#1

Post by puma guy »

My 3 year old 5 ton AC quit working yesterday evening. I have a little knowledge and figured it was a shorted/grounded compressor, which is covered by the 10 year warranty. The original installer came today thank goodness and sure enough it was a grounded compressor. Part is covered but compressor labor is $850 and he said freon is burned so will need a flush, freon, and dryer plus labor for that. How is this firearms related you may ask? All totaled cost 1200 bucks! Won't be getting any new guns! :lol:
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Tex1961
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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#2

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Like them or hate them, we have a Homeowners protection plan.. Costs about $75.00 per month... Ours is a little on the high end but it's the gold plan and covers our pool.... 18 year old house, I guarantee It's paid for itself over and over.... I've replaced 2 water heaters. Cost me $75.00. Replaced a $750.00 pool pump, $75.00... Fridge, washer, dryer... Worth every penny as far as I'm concerned....
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Mel
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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#3

Post by Mel »

puma guy wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 2:46 pm My 3 year old 5 ton AC quit working yesterday evening. I have a little knowledge and figured it was a shorted/grounded compressor, which is covered by the 10 year warranty. The original installer came today thank goodness and sure enough it was a grounded compressor. Part is covered but compressor labor is $850 and he said freon is burned so will need a flush, freon, and dryer plus labor for that. How is this firearms related you may ask? All totaled cost 1200 bucks! Won't be getting any new guns! :lol:
Sounds to me like you need a new HVAC guy. My Guy warranties everything, including labor for 5 years. Plus the 10 years on the compressor.

My original unit lasted a little over 21 years.
Last edited by Mel on Thu Apr 30, 2020 6:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#4

Post by ELB »

puma guy wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 2:46 pm My 3 year old 5 ton AC quit working yesterday evening. I have a little knowledge and figured it was a shorted/grounded compressor, which is covered by the 10 year warranty. The original installer came today thank goodness and sure enough it was a grounded compressor. Part is covered but compressor labor is $850 and he said freon is burned so will need a flush, freon, and dryer plus labor for that. How is this firearms related you may ask? All totaled cost 1200 bucks! Won't be getting any new guns! :lol:
Wait until you have to replace the whole shebang. They be pricey!
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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#5

Post by philip964 »

My 10 year old AC uses some outdated illegal freon. When it starts leaking, I'm going to be in for a shock. People said to buy a jug last December, but I didnt get around to it.

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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#6

Post by Tex1961 »

philip964 wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:25 pm My 10 year old AC uses some outdated illegal freon. When it starts leaking, I'm going to be in for a shock. People said to buy a jug last December, but I didnt get around to it.
When ours went out about 3 years ago freon was already going for over $100.00 per pound... It was cheaper to just get a newer unit with the new freon... I'm glad we did... Our Home shield covered about $1500.00 and our electric bill has almost been cut in half...
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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#7

Post by puma guy »

Mel wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:07 pm
puma guy wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 2:46 pm My 3 year old 5 ton AC quit working yesterday evening. I have a little knowledge and figured it was a shorted/grounded compressor, which is covered by the 10 year warranty. The original installer came today thank goodness and sure enough it was a grounded compressor. Part is covered but compressor labor is $850 and he said freon is burned so will need a flush, freon, and dryer plus labor for that. How is this firearms related you may ask? All totaled cost 1200 bucks! Won't be getting any new guns! :lol:
Sounds to me like you need a new HVAC guy. My Guy warranties everything for 5 years. Plus the 10 years on the compressor.

My original unit lasted a little over 21 years.
All I can do now is be very pragmatic and pay the piper. The warranty is for all parts for 10 years through the manufacturer, not the AC guy. As I looked up my warranty I saw the manufacturer offers an extended warranty, but the installer didn't inform me nor was is apparent when I registered my unit. It uses the new environmentally approved freon so that's some consolation; could have been R-22 which is eleventy million dollars a pound
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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#8

Post by johncanfield »

R22 is a more efficient refrigerant than the current R410a which has to operate at a higher pressure. My HVAC guy said new evaporators don't last as they used to due to poorer build quality and the higher pressures.
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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#9

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johncanfield wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 4:42 pm R22 is a more efficient refrigerant than the current R410a which has to operate at a higher pressure. My HVAC guy said new evaporators don't last as they used to due to poorer build quality and the higher pressures.
Yep! R410 and all the new freons are less efficient than R12 and R22. I had replaced my evaporator a few months before I had to get to the new condensing unit. The new evaporator is rated for R410. When the guy removed the old evaporator he commented that it was the best coil he'd ever seen in a residence. He showed me how the flow was split into several individual passes going into the coil. That coil was installed in 1974.
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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#10

Post by cirus »

After listening to you guys talk about what you pay for home repairs I thank God I'm an electrician and have been around construction all my life. I've replaced water heaters, ran gas lines, installed my septic system, replaced dishwashers, installed home standby generators, ran and repaired water lines in the ground and house, changed out toilets and sinks, laid wood flooring and of course do all my own electrical . Ive even laid stone around my gas fireplace.
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FL450
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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#11

Post by FL450 »

philip964 wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:25 pm My 10 year old AC uses some outdated illegal freon. When it starts leaking, I'm going to be in for a shock. People said to buy a jug last December, but I didnt get around to it.
there is a drop in replacement for R22
4 somthing
I have it in mine but most dealers want to see you a whole new unit so they can make more money
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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#12

Post by 03Lightningrocks »

FL450 wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 7:27 pm
philip964 wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:25 pm My 10 year old AC uses some outdated illegal freon. When it starts leaking, I'm going to be in for a shock. People said to buy a jug last December, but I didnt get around to it.
there is a drop in replacement for R22
4 somthing
I have it in mine but most dealers want to see you a whole new unit so they can make more money
No, that is not the reason. That drop in refrigerant turned out to create some serious issues in many of the units it was put it. We tried some years back and learned the hard way. We no longer offer it. It is not worth listening to someone complain about how the system we put the garbage in burned up or just flat out did not cool as well. If a person needs freon in an R22 system it is ripping them off if we don't tell them they need to upgrade it. Count yourself lucky if your system is still cooling properly. You are the 1 out of ten that had it work.

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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#13

Post by howdy »

To change out the compressor, you must recover the old Freon and ANYTIME you open up the system, you replace the dryer. He has to put in either the old or the new Freon so there should be no labor charge there. He has to install a new dryer so I would think that would be part of the compressor warranty. He can do this job in about an hour or less so $850 is a complete ripoff. He has to pull the system down to a vacuum so I would discuss the "flush" with him. Charge for the new Freon should come with the warranty if the old compressor was the cause of the bad old Freon. I had an AC license many years ago and my information is also many years old. Just some info to help you have a discussion with your AC tech.
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Re: AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

#14

Post by 03Lightningrocks »

howdy wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 7:56 pm To change out the compressor, you must recover the old Freon and ANYTIME you open up the system, you replace the dryer. He has to put in either the old or the new Freon so there should be no labor charge there. He has to install a new dryer so I would think that would be part of the compressor warranty. He can do this job in about an hour or less so $850 is a complete ripoff. He has to pull the system down to a vacuum so I would discuss the "flush" with him. Charge for the new Freon should come with the warranty if the old compressor was the cause of the bad old Freon. I had an AC license many years ago and my information is also many years old. Just some info to help you have a discussion with your AC tech.
The manufacturer warranty on a compressor does not include refrigerant or driers ( a burn out will need 2, suction and liquid line drier). Only the compressor is supplied under warranty. Pulling the system into a vacuum will not remove the burnt oil that is in the system That sludge and oil will contaminate the new refrigerant and lead to another burned out compressor if not flushed out. The sludge and burned oil can also restrict the metering device at the evaporator coil and can also clog up the new liquid line drier. Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt. Usually when one of my darned installers does not flush out the system properly. 1200 dollars for what is described is actually right in line with the going rate for legitimate HVAC companies. As long as they do what they say they are doing. Which I have no reason to believe they won't. But I don't know about every company in Texas. If you only knew the expenses involved in operating an HVAC company. I am paying 26K per year in liability insurance alone. Then we have all the other insurance costs on top of that. Vehicle insurance runs around 30K. Service technicians are in VERY short supply and will command at least 30-35 dollars per hour. I could go on but I think you can see my point. That 1200 dollars has to help cover much more than just the simple costs of labor and excluded materials.
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