Condenser Motor Or Capacitor?

[emailaddress]

You just proved my point. The grocery store doesn't charge over $200 for $17 worth of food. They have to play employees, a lease, and tons of other expenses. The mechanics garage tends to charge closer to $60-100 an hour, plus parts marked up maybe 200%. That pays for their employees, training, shop, insurance, etc, etc, etc. You on the other hand are trying to justify (20 minutes of time including driving @ $200+ markup over the part cost) $600 per hour.

I never wrote that the entire repair should cost $17 total, but facts are facts and the fact is I can go to a mechanics garage and get a $10 relay installed for under $100 including parts, so don't pretend a $17 capacitor should cost well over $200 in total, or do pretend it if you like and watch people end up doing it themselves instead the same as you'll find people who work on their car themselves (which I also do).

Yes you should provide for your family and have something left over. So should someone who needs their AC repaired. I'm not telling you what to do, I'm telling you why I did it myself instead. It's something for you to think about while you have time to be on the internet instead of doing a job you might have gotten if the rate was lower. If you were nearby and had advertised or demonstrated lower rates than I'd mentioned, you might have gotten the job repairing mine the first time, then again. If not you then some other guy that did that. Instead you are spending time on the internet - don't talk to me about money.

I hope you got it. You're entitled to charge whatever you want. And lose business if the price isn't right. Do whatever you like, and so will I and everyone else. Now how about you going away? This is not your forum and even if you spend a lot of time in it that doesn't mean you can be an a$$ and tell people to go away.

Well I guess you can tell people whatever you want but don't pretend it'll do more than reflect badly on you. Yeah I'll go away, because this usenet topic has reached it's conclusion, it wasn't meant to be an argument about excessive charges even if it turned that direction.

[KJPRO]

I've opened and relubed all the fans in our HVAC system. Two were clearly squealing and would have failed if I had not, but they are still running fine over 4 years later.

Anyway, made the trip to the local supplier today and picked up a $12 capacitor. That's all it took, fan/motor works fine as does the whole system now. I should've bought two caps while I was there, put one in a drawer as a backup like I do with spare batteries.

One thing I hadn't realized is about 3/4ths of the suppliers around here won't do business with an individual, you have to have a business account with them. Even the place that sold the cap to me had a sign next to their door stating as much. Seems like a shady industry to me, refusing to sell a $12 part so everyone ends up paying over ten times as much. Actually I did work in the HVAC industry years ago doing new residential rough-ins but never dealt with the repair parts/ cost side of the business.

Then quit telling us that we overcharge....

[emailaddress]

Good, but there's nothing cheap-ass about paying what a job is worth. I mentioned a mechanic's garage in another reply, they're not making $600 an hour nor should you. If you can't get enough business to stay afloat then get off your ass and off the internet and do some work.

If you insist on either being overpaid or doing crap work, NOW I'm seeing why you aren't doing work right this minute.

Note that I never claimed all types of repairs should be cheap, but some certainly seem to cost more than they should.

I fixed it. Note that nobody told me it was the capacitor, the self- proclaimed experts have been trolling, telling me to leave, and doing just about anything except indicating the correct solution.

SOmething's very wrong with this picture and it's not me.

[emailaddress]

Nobody said you had to agree but think about it, you're claiming you need this money and yet here you are at the tail end of summer posting on the internet instead of doing jobs. If you can't get the work then advertise more. If there's just not enough work then welcome to the real world where not everyone has the job they wanted, or has more than one job.

This is not a difficult concept, what part about it are you getting stuck on? It's not something I need to know, it's something you need to think about. You (or a fellow HVAC Tech) lost a job because I felt I was overcharged. You (or a fellow HVAC tech) could've made $100 instead of surfing the internet. Don't tell me you have expenses because you (or a fellow HVAC tech) could've been doing a job for someone like me instead. That's $100 more than you'd have surfin' usenet so give it a rest, you're not fooling anyone.

Well now that I've managed to offend 4/5ths of the people here and there's really nothing more to say about the resolution to the HVAC problem, I'll make some people glad and go.

[KJPRO]

You just proved my point. The grocery store doesn't charge over $200 for $17 worth of food. They have to play employees, a lease, and tons of other expenses. The mechanics garage tends to charge closer to $60-100 an hour, plus parts marked up maybe 200%. That pays for their employees, training, shop, insurance, etc, etc, etc. You on the other hand are trying to justify (20 minutes of time including driving @ $200+ markup over the part cost) $600 per hour.

I never wrote that the entire repair should cost $17 total, but facts are facts and the fact is I can go to a mechanics garage and get a $10 relay installed for under $100 including parts, so don't pretend a $17 capacitor should cost well over $200 in total, or do pretend it if you like and watch people end up doing it themselves instead the same as you'll find people who work on their car themselves (which I also do).

__________

Did the mechanic show up at your home???????

Yes you should provide for your family and have something left over. So should someone who needs their AC repaired. I'm not telling you what to do, I'm telling you why I did it myself instead. It's something for you to think about while you have time to be on the internet instead of doing a job you might have gotten if the rate was lower. If you were nearby and had advertised or demonstrated lower rates than I'd mentioned, you might have gotten the job repairing mine the first time, then again. If not you then some other guy that did that. Instead you are spending time on the internet - don't talk to me about money.

_____________

If I have a choice between losing money "sitting at home" vers "fixing your shit" (for under cost) I'll stay home and not worry about putting up with an Asshole!

I hope you got it. You're entitled to charge whatever you want. And lose business if the price isn't right. Do whatever you like, and so will I and everyone else. Now how about you going away? This is not your forum and even if you spend a lot of time in it that doesn't mean you can be an a$$ and tell people to go away.

Well I guess you can tell people whatever you want but don't pretend it'll do more than reflect badly on you. Yeah I'll go away, because this usenet topic has reached it's conclusion, it wasn't meant to be an argument about excessive charges even if it turned that direction.

__________

That's the way *YOU* turned it... not us... ASSHOLE!!!!!!!

[KJPRO]

Nobody said you had to agree but think about it, you're claiming you need this money and yet here you are at the tail end of summer posting on the internet instead of doing jobs. If you can't get the work then advertise more. If there's just not enough work then welcome to the real world where not everyone has the job they wanted, or has more than one job.

____________

Who said I needed money? I just know how to run a profittable business that I don't have to subsidize with other funds. There is a difference that you can't seem to gasp. BTW, might this be my day off, not my shift yet or forbid me to live in a different time zone than you do... Hummm.... so many things that you have overlooked.

This is not a difficult concept, what part about it are you getting stuck on? It's not something I need to know, it's something you need to think about. You (or a fellow HVAC Tech) lost a job because I felt I was overcharged. You (or a fellow HVAC tech) could've made $100 instead of surfing the internet. Don't tell me you have expenses because you (or a fellow HVAC tech) could've been doing a job for someone like me instead. That's $100 more than you'd have surfin' usenet so give it a rest, you're not fooling anyone.

_______

We either charge what it cost and you pay it or you don't and you have to wait till you stumble across a fix. My system runs just fine. If I want to waste money I'll go to the range and not waste my time fixing your shit for below cost.

Well now that I've managed to offend 4/5ths of the people here and there's really nothing more to say about the resolution to the HVAC problem, I'll make some people glad and go.

________

About time.

[Stormin Mormon]

Regardless of all that, you are ignoring that other professionals like doctors will spent more time, even have a staff and place of business, and still manage to charge less.

SM: We can also charge less, if you bring your house in Tuesday at 1:45 and take the cover off the condensing unit, put the condensing unit on the table. Now, turn your head and blow supply air while I put my stethoscope on, and listen to your blower. Did you fill out the form? I can only spend

15 minutes on you, HMO regulations. Now, go get this capacitor filled on the other side of town. No, I don't have capacitors here. Even pharmacy samples. You go drive to the other side of town to get y our capacitor filled.

I'm not saying you aren't entitled to a decent living. I'm saying some repairs are not worth the price often asked even if others are.

SM: Hmm. I say the same thing about cheese burgers, but they don't lower the price for me.

I live in a suburb near a major metropolitan area, there are about 25 HVAC businesses within 10 miles and possibly dozens more independant individuals. Maybe I should have called a dozen and picked based on price.

SM: Good idea. Do that.

[Mark]

It does seem wrong that the HVAC guys have to change $200 for a 5 minute repair with a $17 part, but on the other hand they are not getting rich either...

Yes something is wrong with the system but maybe it's not the HVAC guys. What is wrong with the overall economic system that the HVAC guys must change $200 to make a living?

Why does a band aid cost $200 in the hospital?

Where does that money go?

Mark

[Noon-Air]

Nobody said you had to agree but think about it, you're claiming you need this money and yet here you are at the tail end of summer posting on the internet instead of doing jobs. If you can't get the work then advertise more. If there's just not enough work then welcome to the real world where not everyone has the job they wanted, or has more than one job.

This is not a difficult concept, what part about it are you getting stuck on? It's not something I need to know, it's something you need to think about. You (or a fellow HVAC Tech) lost a job because I felt I was overcharged. You (or a fellow HVAC tech) could've made $100 instead of surfing the internet. Don't tell me you have expenses because you (or a fellow HVAC tech) could've been doing a job for someone like me instead. That's $100 more than you'd have surfin' usenet so give it a rest, you're not fooling anyone.

Well now that I've managed to offend 4/5ths of the people here and there's really nothing more to say about the resolution to the HVAC problem, I'll make some people glad and go.

------------- Sorry to bust your bubble, but there is not a whole lot that I can *DO* until Gustav has cleared out....still getting hit with feeder bands and have a bunch of calls stacked up for tomorrow once Gustav has moved on... until then, I have a housefull of college kids to ride herd on so they don't wreck the place.

[Don Ocean]

Most so-called white collar workers are not as well educated-trained and do not have to get their hands dirty after driving to your local. The $200 covers license, insurance, a livable wage for the tech, a couple of thousand a year to send him in to code and new equipment update training.. Carrying about $35,000 in test etc equipment in the highly insured van. Not to mention te large inventory on board. The average start up of a HVAC company can run from $250,000 upward and the initial failure rate is high. It is a 24 hour a day business. It takes training to know what to fix and quickly. When it is 119 in the shade, you want it fixed fast. There are 30 other people waiting. Did I forget to mention those damned Vans with a full load wallow along at about 8 to

12 mpg depending on weather etc.

Fine..Go without! I only work for paying customers and I cherish them. As does my family as we live comfortably on the wages they provide. Now that your in a snit.. Don't go kicking the Dog! It isn't anybodies fault, but the draw of the cards and your whiny attitude.

[Noon-Air]

Depending on the brand and the part number on the coil, some wholesale costs are as high as $800 or more for a resi evap coil...TXV is extra. This is part of the reason that it can be over $2,000. for a coil replacement. Then there is the travel time to pick up the coil, filter drier(s), the additional refrigerant, the 4 hours of the techs time to do a coil replacement *correctly*, etc.

[Shaun]

Noon, cost was $107, had price list in my hand as was gonna replace my A/C that weekend, 900 is a gouge IMHO

[Don Ocean]

Good God! I hope his kid never gets sick.

>

[Don Ocean]

Those bearings don't require lubing. Metering the device without breaking it more is the way to go. Hell, You could have just stuck an Oscope on it and rung it with a generator. An ohmmeter is a ridiculous method of checking for a few shorted windings. The cost of rewinding that would far exceed just replacing it. Guess what.. If you had did just that, it would be up and running now.

[Noon-Air]

Ok, the coil was $107... then add the following... Expansion valve filter/drier(s) torch silver brazing rod vacuum pump and oil micron gauge gage manifold digital thermometer PVC pipe and fittings

5 hours of tech time administrative time and book keeping licenses business insurance the truck the trucks inventory and special tools truck notes truck insurance truck maintenance and repairs Phones advertising computer internet fees

and a host of other costs and expenses......Now... explain again to me how $900 is a ripoff?? We charge what we have to charge to stay in business. BTW... that $15 pizza from Domino's only costs them $1.25 to *make*. I suppose you think thats a rip too??

When your on your second career and have 12 as a business owner, then come run your mouth boy.

[Don Ocean]

Standard TXV retails for $78.00 all by itself. My Wholesale of a standard coil is about $250 for a small cased unit without TXV.

>

[Noon-Air]

Hush now...let the poor sucker go buy a cheap assed Fasco motor and see how long *that* lasts. There is a reason I pay $75 for top quality motor and install it with a 1 year replacement guarentee. Last year I install a half dozen of those cheap fasco pieces of shit, because the supply house had run out of the good ones, and had to do warranty replacement on every single one within 6 - 10 months. Every one either burnt up or the bearings locked up or both. But the OP can go do what he wants.... just don't call me when the motor you took out has 3 wires and the new one has 5 and you can't figure out how its supposed to be hooked up.

[What a maroon]

Why is everyone arguing with these fucktards still? No matter what you tell them we are crooks. Stupid damn halfwits just will never get it.

[Shaun]

107 with tev

[emailaddress]

Fact #1: They will fail sooner if not relubed after a few years. Fact #2: Two such motors in turn began making significant squealing noises from the bearings after roughly year 8 of service. Fact #3: Relubed, the squealing stopped and they continue to run fine at the 15 year mark.

Don't relube yours if you don't want to. This isn't my first home, not first HVAC system, I've never had a fan failure and always relube. Do with that info whatever you like.