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Recent HVAC issue. Contractor came to house, installed 5 lbs of R-22 for $95 each Plus 2 hours labor at $95. With tax, the bill was $697.06. His write-up stated, "found suction service valve leaking, corrected charge, but system needs this part to stop leaking", "Price on repair, $800 includes labor, part, solder, and refridgerant".
This is in Franklin County, NC
Any thoughts, input, experiences, referrals on above?
They like to charge the big bucks for R22 because it's being phased out. Even though there's plenty available. He charged you top dollar to fix the leak (valve) and recharge.
Because there are loads of R22 equipment out there alternatives have come to market.
Prices were found to vary widely between HVAC companies so it pays to shop around for the best prices. You could try asking for a partial refund if you feel that you were overcharged as the person in the story did...it never hurts to ask and all they can do is say no.
To change a suction valve, $800, I can't tell you how ridiculous that charge is. Seriously. Like $650-$700 over charged. You got robbed on R22 too. This is the reason I got an EPA 608 license. I seriously feel for the non-educated consumers.
Why didn't you just fix the valve at the same time? It appears he'd charge you for the refrigerant again. It would've only been $100 more than you paid initially and everything would've been fixed...
They like to charge the big bucks for R22 because it's being phased out. Even though there's plenty available. He charged you top dollar to fix the leak (valve) and recharge.
Because there are loads of R22 equipment out there alternatives have come to market.
That is propane and not SNAP approved to put in residential systems. There are huge fines, by huge I mean tens of thousands of dollars, if found doing that.
That is propane and not SNAP approved to put in residential systems. There are huge fines, by huge I mean tens of thousands of dollars, if found doing that.
Extortion. 'Not approved' means you're paying through the nose. Bend over.
Thank you all - great info. I watched the video as well.
Solution: I called other HVAC company in town, their labor rate was few dollars less, but more importantly, they charge $50/lb for R-22 vs. the $95/lb from other.
Regarding logistics of things in first place - this is a rental property & went through management company. Haven't rec'd an answer yet as to why not do this as an overlapping item at the time.
Extortion. 'Not approved' means you're paying through the nose. Bend over.
Oh it is absolutely ridiculous and mind boggling.
The thing that kills me about not allowing R290 to be used in home ac units:
1) It's 100% green. It's a naturally occurring gas that has no synthetic chemicals in it
2) It's cheap and plentiful
3) It's about 20% MORE EFFICIENT than R22
4) It's already used throughout many other countries as a replacement for R22 when R22 began the phase out (Europe and Asia)
5) The "new" refrigerant, R410a, has a greater Global Warming Potential (GWP) than R134a, which is now being phased out due to its effects on the environment. In other words, look for 410a to be phased out when the patents expire and a "new" gas is patented, requiring replacement of your equipment once again
The big "con" is it's flammable. Well my thoughts are YES IT IS. And it's already used in our homes and in fact IGNITED in ovens and furnaces. And of course the other con is the fact that it's not SNAP approved by the EPA, and like I said comes with insane fines and possibly even federal jail time. It's no joke.
For cars R134A was promoted as the green savior. Guess what it's being phased out for a new green savior. In France Mercedes has been told they can't sell cars with an alternative refrigerant. This alternative?? Propane based. Similar to what was used 75 years ago.
It's all a con. Personally I would have no problem charging my home AC with one of the R22 alternatives. I burn natural gas for heat I see no problem with a small amount of propane in the AC.
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