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Mike, Swamp Cooler maintenance is not difficult but, but it is required more often than A/C (with the exception of changing filters in A/C).
The point, you could have gotten by cheaper, if you got someone out in 3 hours, then I would not be overly concerned. I could have come out, probably next week and I would have moaned and groaned how I hate doing it...
There should be reputable people nearby who can do a good job.
Rich
I have a maintenance (twice year change over) contract with TLC and they've been
very good about scheduling, prompt arrival, etc., etc.
I have an excellent handyman who is also a friend and I'm sure we could have diagnosed
and done it ourselves, but as you pointed out, it would not have been a three hour deal.
Last summer I had the displeasure of installing one of those motors after I paid over a buck and a half for it, and wound up on the roof with a friend from 10 pm to almost 1 am. Some of the screws on the housing actually busted off, and the fusilage had to be retapped to put other screws into it. The housing was rusted and all bent up. Bottom line: we converted to refrigerated air this past year. Best $5000 bucks I've ever spent.
I'm so so tempted to switch to AC but just can't get over the thought of high bills from PNM. Besides I'm saving for a new kitchen/bathrooms and that would delay that.
Here is a standard response I have made up to those that think they are
overcharged on service calls for anything. You as a homeowner can do anything you please in/to your home. You can run into Home Depot, grab some stuff and go to town. The service organization has offices with the same expenses as you do on your home but on a higher level. They are required by law to adhere to and pay for the regulations and inspections you don't have to. They have vehicles with the same expenses as you do but on a higher level. Their employees have to be trained, certified, licensed, bonded, insured, supplied with tools and parts, vehicles and of course there are the benefits. You of course can destroy anything you own without these added expenses and don't have to commute to do so. I always enjoy my rendition of a certain advertisement. "You can't do it and we'll make thing worse" Seriously folks, the next time you become a DIY, think about how much it really costs you in time, labor and parts. Sitting on the internet looking for parts costs a business an hourly wage. As a disclaimer, no I have never owned or worked for a service organization. I did a business travel study once for a company and I almost didn't turn it in. Wow, I was costing them a bunch of money every month!
... next time you become a DIY, think about how
much it really costs you in time, labor and parts. ...
I know people that can fix pretty-much anything. They claim
that working on their car's is "free" but unless a person really "gets-off"
on (*) getting dirty and taking parts on/off, etc, their time has a value.
Time spent doing yard work (*) has a value.
Time commuting (*) has more value than wear/tear on my car which
exceeds the cost of gasoline. Time is worth more than both.
(*) At that point, it's meditation and not time if you really enjoy these
things. There are all kinds of things/crap that I do that would appear to
another person as a total waste of time thus prompting the comment
"You have too much time on your hands!" -- feh
I completely understand and agree with the above posts but TLC are known for being of a higher price than their competitors. Are their higher prices worth it? I have no idea I do not use them.
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