Got screwed by the AC repairman?

[jriegle]

Late last summer, I felt my central AC was not cooling adequately. The air from the registers was only 10-13 degrees F below room temp and the suction line back to the condenser unit was about room temp (normally it is cold). I had a tech come out and check it. He found it was low on R22 and put some in. Cools great.

Now its cooling season again and the unit is behaving as if it is low on R22. I found this odd since it went for 10 years since last charge up.

I remember that the service port cap, the tech put on was a silvery color, not the brownish colored original one. I figured he dropped the original one and lost it in the grass and put on a spare. I never questioned this. Now, I noticed an oil stain around service ports and suspect it is leaking there. I removed the cap and notice a slight hiss from the low side service port. I also notice the cap the repairman replaced has no rubber grommet to help seal the valve.

While the HVAC service industry is typically honest, It is hard to believe I wasn't somehow duped with the cap switch.

Is this one of their common tricks?

I'm going to call a different company to fill it again and install a new cap.

John

[Joseph Meehan]

If he did not fix, and you can bet if he did not charge you he did not fix, a leak, he took you. They don't use the stuff, so if you are low, there is a leak. Just filling it back up would mean someone coming back again. Maybe he thought you would just keep calling him back each year?

Call some one and let them find and fix the leak.

How old is that puppy? Since it is at least 10 years, and it sounds like it may be a lot more, it may well be time to consider a new one. A good tech can help you make that decision.

[m Ransley]

Did he screw you ? Probably not, so when was the last time you had your regular yearly checkup ,,,,,,,,

;; Answer ;;;;;; Never.... So wake up Dumb Ass, here it is ,,,, your maintenance and repair all in one , Bozo m a F tard

[I-zheet M'drurz]

(snip)

Could be that the cap has nothing to do with it.

As Joseph just said, but allow me to gently rephrase: You have a leak in your system, it's likely it was there the day the guy charged it, it sounds like he did absolutely nothing to tell you about it or try to fix it. He screwed you, but not in the way you think.

Fundamental AC rule: It's a *sealed* system. It does not need charged under normal conditions.

[jriegle]

He only billed me for the R22 charge and time. The way I see it, he is a professional and he used that service port and it leaks the charge. Whether this was intentional or not, I can't say. Either way, I feel he is responsible.

The unit is 27 years old, It runs fine when there is enough refrigerant in it! I can't see replacing it until it has an expensive failure. John

[HeatMan]

27 years old?

Did you know you will probably save enough money in energy costs in a couple of years to replace it now?

[Jeff Cochran]

And you *know* the leak is there? You've tested it?

Then a recharge is cheap compared to the cost of a replacement. Call your new company and see what they do.

Jeff

[American Mechanical]

If he didn't fix the original leak, it's still leaking from your leak. Sometimes when hoses are removed some residual oil is left around the service port. You didn't check to see if the cap he had installed was actually leaking before you removed it so there's no gurantee it was leaking there.

That's entirely up to you, but I can gurantee you that under normal climate conditions you would see a dramatic difference in your heating and cooling bills and in fact your comfort in the home if you would replace it. Newer units provide much better humidity control and comfort control in addition to the operating cost advantage.

- Robert

[Richard J Kinch]

The EPA has a different opinion since the HVAC Tradesmens' Full-Employment Act, aka Clean Air Act.

[American Mechanical]

And what is the EPA's opinion on replacement under the Clean Air Act?

- Robert

[Joseph Meehan]

...

I don't see any evidence that it is the service port. It could be leaking anywhere. However it does appear he did not do his job. It has a leak, it had a leak before he came and that leak needs to be fixed or the system replaced.

You have a unit almost as old as my son. It is time to replace it rather than spend the money to have the leak tracked down and fixed. Keep in mind that today's units are more efficient and the replacement is going to pay for itself in energy savings. They are more efficient now.

Don't try doing the cheap thing and replace only the condenser, replace the system so you get full advantage of the newer more efficient systems

[HeatMan]

Something else. Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees.

For 2 years, I'd go out to a ladies house because she had a leak. It wasn't a regular schedule, just once or twice the first year and once the second year. I did everything to find the leak, pumping it down and putting 200 pounds of nitrogen on the line set and coil. I pulled the coil and sprayed it down with soap solution after using a borrowed H-10(The best electronic leak detector out there). I tried every trick in the book

I gave up. I told her that a nail had grazed the suction side of the line set inside a wall or something. I really didn't have a clue.

Then I took the gauge set off. It seems that the valve core was leaking slightly, just enough to drop the charge to being too low. I replaced the core and we were both happy.

That was almost 10 years ago. I still go out and service her equipment and she still asks about the valve core leak.

[gerry]

Sounds like you have a slow leak. I have a system that needs about 12oz of R22 every year. Nobody can find the leak, and it only seems to leak during the heating season!

Leak detectors, dye... none help.

You didn't lose R22 the first time without a leak. Sounds like the leak is still there. The issue is finding it, the cost of finding/repairing it vs to cost of recharging it vs the cost of a new unit.

gerry

[Markie]

[RB]

In general I agree, but I have a HVAC fellow who is a degreed mechanical engineer who I have personally observed design numerous rather novel heat transfer system. He just prefers the ability to operate his own business and be outside most of time. It makers me feel good as he pulls out a tattered pressure-enthalpy diagram when he charges my air conditioner.

RB

Markie wrote:

[TCS]

aw, come on: tell us what you really think.

[Joseph Meehan]

Just because that's what you do, does not mean the rest of them are like you. Most are professional, know what they are doing and well worth what they receive. Like every profession, there are some who don't measure up, which is why everyone should check out anyone they hire.

[jim]

when you first called him there was a need for freon.. he did not let it get out of the system it leaked out due to a problem(leak in the system)... he just added some freon to the system and it lasted the next year... if he wouuld corrected the leak then you would have been here complaining about the cost of taking the freon out, brazing the leak or putting a new valve on the system and then having to vacuum the system and then putting some more freon in it....

[jriegle]

I don't agree. It is the small minority of scammers who give this and other service based industries a bad name. John

[jriegle]

Impossible. The difference in my electric bill from cooling months to heating (gas) is avg. $37 in the winter and $90 in the summer cooling season - avg. difference of $53 per month. I cool for about 5 months, for a difference of $265 per year, so if I don't run the compresser and just run the blower in the summer, I save a whopping $265 yr!. Installing a major

240volt appliance that draws a few thousand watts will eat into that savings. I doubt I'd save more than $10 per month in the cooling months.

It is not possible to pay for a now unit in two years by not even running the compressor how can I recope the cost of a new AC unit buy running a new one?

I'm sure the HVAC companies would like to believe I can save so much. It ain't so!

John