HVAC problems (house, buyer, contractors)

[jaydes]

House is really hot in mornings. Told the compressor is kicking off, got quoted $895 for new compressor or $1000 for whole new unit. DO these prices sound accurate?

[HoustonRonnie]

Originally Posted by jaydes

House is really hot in mornings. Told the compressor is kicking off, got quoted $895 for new compressor or $1000 for whole new unit. DO these prices sound accurate?

From my view, those are on the low end. Get second opinions, however, as it's not always the compressor.

Just sayin'...

Ronnie

[City Love]

$1k for a new unit is extremely cheap. What size is it? Is the unit old?

[davidtk]

If you have time, I'd get a second opinion as suggested above. It could be a lot of different things, and AC contractors are really bad about throwing money at the problem.

[kixette]

i agree that those prices are VERY low... i deal with only industrial, so we have different requirements... however, that is very cheap. What type of refrigerant will it use? Split System, Package Unit - what kind of unit is it? If it is a unit that uses ozone-depleting ODS whatever - R-22, R-123, etc. then that could explain the cheapness.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

I had two people come over last month, my AC was cooling, but the house was muggy, and had high electric bills last year. Both gave me estimates, prices from 10-15K. One guy said my heat exchanger was good, and said maybe only the AC portion, so this brought down the price to 6-8K.

So, I thought about it, then went up to the attic myself to check things out, make sure all was good... and low and behold, the coils in the attic were clogged by about 2/3. I purchased a coil cleaner for five dollars, took a water hose and sprayer up there and cleaned out the coils.

Night and day difference, my AC is functioning normally, I did not need a new AC system. What was funny is both tried to sell me on a 14 SEER at the low end, and 16 on the high, and if I wanted extreme, an 18 SEER. But what blew my mind is that one of the guys knew I already had a 14 SEER out there, the other guy did not bother to check.

I'm not accusing the AC business of ripping people off, nor these two, but you would think they would have tried to diagnose the problem than just telling me my system was old and needed to be replaced.

So, I got off for a cheap five dollar can of coil cleaner, and my time, plus hauling a water hose to my attic... your mileage may vary.

[buzzpost]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

I had two people come over last month, my AC was cooling, but the house was muggy, and had high electric bills last year. Both gave me estimates, prices from 10-15K. One guy said my heat exchanger was good, and said maybe only the AC portion, so this brought down the price to 6-8K.

So, I thought about it, then went up to the attic myself to check things out, make sure all was good... and low and behold, the coils in the attic were clogged by about 2/3. I purchased a coil cleaner for five dollars, took a water hose and sprayer up there and cleaned out the coils.

Night and day difference, my AC is functioning normally, I did not need a new AC system. What was funny is both tried to sell me on a 14 SEER at the low end, and 16 on the high, and if I wanted extreme, an 18 SEER. But what blew my mind is that one of the guys knew I already had a 14 SEER out there, the other guy did not bother to check.

I'm not accusing the AC business of ripping people off, nor these two, but you would think they would have tried to diagnose the problem than just telling me my system was old and needed to be replaced.

So, I got off for a cheap five dollar can of coil cleaner, and my time, plus hauling a water hose to my attic... your mileage may vary.

I had the same type of problem last year. There are some good ones out there, but FWIW I think the majority of them are just crooks. I guess they figure they don't need your repeat business if they walk away with a cool 10 or 12K.

Bastards.

[kreeyax]

That's something I don't understand, in my last house I had my HVAC system serviced twice a year for 9 years but never did they clean the coils. Seems like something that would be included in the service or at least suggested for an additional fee.

[davidtk]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

...I'm not accusing the AC business of ripping people off, ....

You're too nice, because I think the vast majority of these guys are terrible. My brother is a commercial A/C contractor, but he'll do residential work for friends and family. I can't tell you how many times someone will get an A/C guy to come out, then my brother goes in for a second opinion and the first guy was completely off base and trying to charge for unnecessary repairs.

Just one story: a friend was selling her house and the buyer's A/C inspector said the coils needed to be replaced because they were leaking. My brother goes in and it turns out the inspector never even took the panels off the unit where the coils are located. My brother uses a sensor to check for leaks and of course everything is fine.

[jaydes]

it seems compressor is not coming on correctly, i noticed it does blow cold inside sometimes, times it doesnt i go outside and its blowing cold air outside the unit. i switch it off leave off for a while switch back on and it usually corrects itself blowing cold air inside again and emitting hot out like it should. had 2 different techs come out one says could be compressor other says nothing is wrong with compresser it was low on freon. had freon recharged but still seeing the problem. HUMMM wonder if coils need be cleaned in attic.... so annoying you would think one of these techs would know exactly whats wrong,but they dont. Its only getting hotter