Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 11-12-2009, 08:45 AM
 
Location: Colorado
4,306 posts, read 13,422,243 times
Reputation: 4476

Advertisements

I live in a condo that's about 6 years old. My furnace and central heating system is obviously the same age. Yesterday the technician did the service on it and said that I needed two things doing to the system:

Capacitor run (20-40 MFD)
Blower Clean

Can anyone tell me what these things actually are and if they are in fact necessary? I do trust this company but I would like a second opinion before I lay out nearly $500 for the work.


Thanks!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 11-12-2009, 09:45 AM
 
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,307 posts, read 38,657,867 times
Reputation: 7184
I wouldn't let a service tech off the hook without making me understand exactly what was being done and exactly why it was needed. Don't accept someone throwing a bunch of jargon at you - he hasn't told you anything. If he can teach you something about your furnace then he probably isn't full of sh*t. If he gets uncomfortable, says or does anything that impresses you as weird, can not adequately explain himself so that you understand what is going on or simply does not convince you that his services are necessary then you are going to "continue to explore your options."
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-12-2009, 09:59 AM
 
Location: Colorado
4,306 posts, read 13,422,243 times
Reputation: 4476
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimboburnsy View Post
I wouldn't let a service tech off the hook without making me understand exactly what was being done and exactly why it was needed. Don't accept someone throwing a bunch of jargon at you - he hasn't told you anything. If he can teach you something about your furnace then he probably isn't full of sh*t. If he gets uncomfortable, says or does anything that impresses you as weird, can not adequately explain himself so that you understand what is going on or simply does not convince you that his services are necessary then you are going to "continue to explore your options."
Well that was completely unhelpful. As I already said, I trust this company, but I would like a second opinion on whether this work is necessary now. Not a tirade about untrustworthy technicians.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-12-2009, 10:07 AM
Status: "Springtime!" (set 8 hours ago)
 
Location: Jollyville, TX
5,842 posts, read 11,832,516 times
Reputation: 10832
We just had the capacitor replaced on our less than 5 year old unit because it blew. My 15 year old unit has never had the capacitor replaced Is the unit working? I'm not sure why they'd want to replace it unless there some reason to believe it was defective. While the tech was replacing the capacitor, he took the outside unit apart, checked for leaks, and cleaned everything up. We had just had the lines blown out, but he was going to do that for an additional $10. The total cost to have the capacitor replaced and the maintenance was $229. $500 seems high if they are just doing maintenance and not repairs.

I have found that companies vary greatly in what they charge and what they consider "preventative maintenance". I don't know your replationship with this company, but if it were me, I would just say no.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-12-2009, 11:36 AM
 
23,509 posts, read 69,890,838 times
Reputation: 48849
Run capacitors are cheap. I'd say $20 or more would be unreasonable at a parts place. Replacement is usually unscrewing the mount, clipping on the spade lugs and tightening things back up. Blower clean? Huh? Clean out the fan? Use compressed air or a leaf blower to push debris out of the outside unit? Fifteen minutes work that can be handled by a teenager. $50 worth of work, $50 for the truck time, $100 to $150 max. total. $500 is a sucker punch.

Run away from that company or charge the tech $450 for a glass of water and call it even.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-12-2009, 11:44 AM
 
Location: Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
3,035 posts, read 8,315,875 times
Reputation: 5631
Quote:
Originally Posted by chilaili View Post
I live in a condo that's about 6 years old. My furnace and central heating system is obviously the same age. Yesterday the technician did the service on it and said that I needed two things doing to the system:

Capacitor run (20-40 MFD)
Blower Clean

Can anyone tell me what these things actually are and if they are in fact necessary? I do trust this company but I would like a second opinion before I lay out nearly $500 for the work.


Thanks!
500 Bucks??? WOW!! Yes, every 5 years you should have the blower, interior evaporative coil and exterior coils and fins thoroughly cleaned. But 500 Bucks just to replace a run cap and vacumn out a blower motor???

Sounds like you have a run capacitor going on you which can easily happen. But maybe this will help explain the 500 Bucks, read the whole page as the information is lower down Capacitors.

Are you sure that is all they said needed to be done?? No offense with this question but are you a female? My Wife would whoop that Technicians butt in a heartbeat if they tried it on her!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-12-2009, 02:08 PM
 
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,307 posts, read 38,657,867 times
Reputation: 7184
Quote:
Originally Posted by chilaili View Post
Well that was completely unhelpful. As I already said, I trust this company, but I would like a second opinion on whether this work is necessary now. Not a tirade about untrustworthy technicians.
Ok, let me rephrase...

Instead of going with the passive-aggressive route and asking the internet at large, why not call the technician (either on the phone or request that he return to your domecile) and get an explanation from him of the scope of the work, why it needs to be done, whether you can do it yourself, what tools will be involved, what will happen if it is not done, etc. etc. then you can re-evaluate whether or not the company is trustworthy.

By the way...

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en...ed=0CCgQrQQwAw
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-12-2009, 04:08 PM
 
2,229 posts, read 1,677,116 times
Reputation: 623
Quote:
Originally Posted by chilaili View Post
Well that was completely unhelpful. As I already said, I trust this company, but I would like a second opinion on whether this work is necessary now. Not a tirade about untrustworthy technicians.
If you trust the company, then why do you need a second opinion?

The position the other poster took was spot on. If this technician has no problem telling you that you need these things, then he should have no issue of explaining why he came to that conclusion. If you trust him, then he doesnt need to justify it, and you don't need a second opinion.

It is typical for furnaces to be maintained on an annual basis, not every 6. Eitherway, without some understanding of WHAT his reasons were for telling you that your furnace needs repair, I am not sure what you are looking for on the forum.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-12-2009, 05:28 PM
 
Location: Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
3,035 posts, read 8,315,875 times
Reputation: 5631
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcarlilesiu View Post
If you trust the company, then why do you need a second opinion?

The position the other poster took was spot on. If this technician has no problem telling you that you need these things, then he should have no issue of explaining why he came to that conclusion. If you trust him, then he doesnt need to justify it, and you don't need a second opinion.

It is typical for furnaces to be maintained on an annual basis, not every 6. Eitherway, without some understanding of WHAT his reasons were for telling you that your furnace needs repair, I am not sure what you are looking for on the forum.
OP is just looking for assurance that they are not being scammed. It is unfortunate that there are many businesses out there that will think nothing of overcharging if they believe they can get away with it.

Not sure about other areas but in mine, North Texas, annual service generally includes a basic cleaning of exterior unit and interior unit. Basic being a quick vacuuming of the unit, hosing down exterior coils/fins, etc., along with other basic checks. I just can't see where $30 - $40 in parts (Run capacitor), and at most 1 hour time (swap the cap and vacuum out a blower motor only) can equate to $500?

If a thorough cleaning of the air handler (including blower of course), plenums, evap coil (cleaned in place) as well as exterior fins and coils were being quoted then yes it can equate to $500, potentially more. The $500 figure is a bargain for a major cleaning of the system and checkout as well (at least in my area).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-12-2009, 05:33 PM
 
Location: Arvada, CO
13,824 posts, read 29,770,019 times
Reputation: 14417
If the company's van says "ONE HOUR" on the side of its van they can't be trusted.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top