AC repair problems

[marie1203]

Two weeks ago I called to get our AC repair because it was not keeping up with the temperature. They came and $180 later said they had to replace the drier, the compressor and rotor locks they also found the system low on freon and added 3lb of it. Friday they came and replace and they found the system low on freon again and put some more. Late friday the AC was still not keeping with the temperature they cam again added freon. Saturday was ok still not keeping up but only 2 degree difference, yesterday it when to the 3/4 degree difference than the temperature set up. I been checking the temperature that the air is blowing and it was 10 degrees higher this morning than it was Saturday night. Today the house was in the 80's 6 degree difference. I call again. Another guy comes and tells me now the coil is liking freon that is why it is low and that is why it doesn't keep the temperature. So now they have to order the part and come replace it. The AC is less than 5 years old all the parts have been under warranty so we gave paid $350 in labor by now. I am just kind of upset because how could they not notice this in the first place? I almost feel that the replacement they did probably weren't needed and now I am going to have to pay another $160. Should I have to pay or should they be liable for their mistake? I mean they have replace both things and the problem that I cal about still isn't fix so I think both of the other things didn't need to be replace. Opinions?

 

[msmayor]

There may have indeed been parts that needed replacing...I doubt they replaced the actual compressor because that would have been a lot more expensive.

When it required refrigerant a second time in such a short span, that's the point at which they should have said it was leaking SOMEWHERE, but its often not easy to find where the leak is. Its not really a mistake per se that they didn't find the leak initially.

 

[disneylove69]

I had the same situation. Every summer it would barely work. It was under warranty and the guy would go in the attic for awhile and then come down telling me something different each time. They even said it was only meant to work in a few rooms? It was a brand new house.....Finally another guy came and said there was a leak and wanted to put a hole in the wall. I said no and turns out it was outside. The freon cost about $299 to fill. Very expensive in California. It will only get about 10 degrees cooler then outside. I was told this was do to state regulation on the new systems.

 

[rbork]

OP. This is a tough situation as I've had experience with considering we just replaced a 7 yr old system. I'd call every season for the past 4 years... either the freon was low or this or that repair. I got tired of it and finally called another company. Actually I called out 4 different companies to dx the last problem. A tech finally told me that they could make alot of money just throwing in parts and it may not fix the problem. Kind of like try a new compacitor $$$, then hard start $$$$, then it may still not work and the compressor will need to be replaced. So I called 4 different companies...I'm tired of dumping $$ into the system Finally called a local man recommended by friends who bid the job and just out of curiosity wanted to try his parts to make sure it was dx right. That was impressive considering he was willing to take the risk on his parts to make sure we got the right thing. Sometimes it's a matter of finding a really good company to deal with.
Regarding the freon leak... only true way to know if there is a leak is to do a leak test...they can be expensive. R22 systems have been "outlawed" so to speak. New systems use a different refrigerant. If the house isn't being cooled and still blowing plain air/ not cooled your fan may be running all the time and that could cause a higher electric bill.
I feel your pain - old hvac only had a 5 yr warrenty. Alot of the new systems come with 10 yr parts warrenty. I just replaced my 7 year old LEMON with a new system. Our home is only 7 years old
Good Luck and hope you get cooled soon.

 

[shortbun]

When they found you low on 'freon' the second time, they should have known there was a leak. Reputable HVAC folks would know this because I even know. I would never allow someone to just keep adding coolant knowing it was leaking into the atmosphere. Now they should test to find the leak, if they haven't, because there are several places it could be. Make sure they're not just trying things because they can get the labor out of you. Ask them for the results of their leak test, specifically where did they find the leak?

 

[Gina]

When they found you low on 'freon' the second time, they should have known there was a leak. Reputable HVAC folks would know this because I even know. I would never allow someone to just keep adding coolant knowing it was leaking into the atmosphere. Now they should test to find the leak, if they haven't, because there are several places it could be. Make sure they're not just trying things because they can get the labor out of you. Ask them for the results of their leak test, specifically where did they find the leak?

That's exactly right -- If your system needs refrigerant, generally there's a problem. And any reputable HVAC repairman will alert you to that. It might be a simple, fixable leak, like somewhere in the lines, but if it's the evaporator coil that's leaking then there's no fixing that (at least I have never heard of a leaky coil being properly fixable.)

I hope you're able to get it taken care of properly and quickly!

 

[marie1203]

When they found you low on 'freon' the second time, they should have known there was a leak. Reputable HVAC folks would know this because I even know. I would never allow someone to just keep adding coolant knowing it was leaking into the atmosphere. Now they should test to find the leak, if they haven't, because there are several places it could be. Make sure they're not just trying things because they can get the labor out of you. Ask them for the results of their leak test, specifically where did they find the leak?

The leak was supposed to be in the drier, and they said the compressor was rusted and leaking around the rotor locks too. All that was replace. Then yesterday came the owner of the business and he said he could see a leak in the coil so he said the parts should be under warranty like the other parts that were replace and we have to pay to have it installed, possible another $160 that will bring our total to $510 of labor . I did do research before hiring them and they never had a complain and are members of the BBB they been in business over 15 years. Thanks for all the advice I am still not sure where to go from here. If I should just let them replace the coil or call someone else? There is a leak somewhere because when the freon is filled the AC does work for a few days until it gets low again. We tried turning it off, but one of our cats has allergies and it makes it so bad for her she started chewing her tail so we have no choice but to try to have it working.

 

[3boymthr]

DH is an HVAC repair guy; from the repair person's perspective - I can tell you what he has told me - that sometimes he'll think he has a problem fixed and what happens is he'll fix one thing and the next thing goes shortly after he's fixed it, especially if the problem is from rust. They are in there and they are jostling around the parts and that causes some of the rust to flake off and then when they get it started again the vibrations of the unit cause the final bits to rust thru. It's a cascade effect. He talks about this happening all the time - with both AC and heating units. When this happens sometimes the cheapest option is to replace the unit. Since it's under warranty you may want to investigate having this done. Call the manufacturer to see what you're options are.

 

[Roger001]

There are many professional AC repair professionals. By combining the resources of service and repair, you will be able to constraint your overall expense into this high demand home resource. Any homeowner can benefit from the exceptional possibilities of investing into AC repair to meet their air-conditioning needs.

 

[Madison'smommy]

2 years ago, one of our units was not cooling , and was found to be low on freon. They "could not find a leak", but filled with freon and we had no problems all summer. Then last summer it was not cooling off again. They sent someone out, and after doing some more looking they needed to replace some type of coil in my attic (is this what you are talking about). Since then, we have had no problems, and this year it is cooling off wonderfully. Our house is only 5-6 years old, so when all this was done it was still a "new" unit.

 

[erincon23]

We're going through this too -- last summer, the house wouldn't cool at all. Called the guy we'd been getting service through -- someone my DH knows through the chamber of commerce -- he came out while I was at physical therapy with DS15 -- but I was reachable (DS18 was home). This guy put several pounds of freon in and charged us $400 without getting an approval first -- DH had been out of work and he knew money was really tight! I understand that you think this is what it is, but ask first! That lasted for two days! So obviously there's a leak in the system somewhere, but I'm not letting that guy back in the house.

So now we don't have working A/C and just went through a major heat wave! The DH of a friend came out to check the system (he's a certified AC guy) and said the coil may be leaking but he has repaired coils before. He said because of all the new government regs, the cost of units has gone up tremendously -- he said it will cost about $6000 for a 5 ton unit!!! if we have to go that direction (and if that's the case we'll be buying room units instead). Does that sound right to anybody?

And did anybody see the Dateline expose on repairmen a couple of weeks ago? Make sure your repairman isn't just walking around in circles in your garage or basement...

 

[msmayor]

The problem with A/C leaks is they can be very hard to actually locate. Sure, your coil may be leaking...but you also may have a leak in one of the lines that runs from the coil to the compressor outside.

We had our unit replaced about three years ago, but we opted to replace the furnace at the same time to "match" them. Both were the same age, so for a few reasons it made sense even though the furnace was operating OK.

1. The units have the most efficiency when they are matched together

2. Replacing only the A/C would have required extra sheet-metal work around the coil to get the proper fit on top of the blower. If the furnace then needed replacing a few years down the road, all that sheet metal work would need to be re-done to fit it properly to the new unit.

3. Best price - by replacing both together we only paid minimally more in labor costs for the installation and got a bit of a discount.

Total cost to replace both our furnace and A/C was $6,800.