After all your good advices, I went and had my A/C replaced with a brand new TRANE XL14i series, 4-ton, 15SEER unit....it's a split system unit.
anyways, the installation was less than desirable, and I am kinda upset to be honest...but they have my money and nothing I can do :-(
anyways, the where the top of the handler connects with the air duct into the attic, there are small air leaks I can feel with my hand on 3 of the 4 sides...Is this normal?? I am going to call him tomorrow to come and re-do the whole thing, but I just want to know if I should re-do it, or this is normal to expect a certain amount of leakage?
GOD, I am soooooo upset! trying to save a few bucks and went with the cheaper of the official "TRANE comfort" installers in my area.
You must live in a world of hell. What ever happened to giving people the benefit of the doubt? In your mind you've already had them refusing to correct any problems, not that this is a major problem to begin with. Most people would've never known about the insignificant leakage. Most coil boxes will leak small amounts of air from around the cover. Yes, I've been back to eliminate leaks of about 1 cubic foot per day, and I didn't mind doing it, but I did shake my head in wonder at the man that had to live with that woman.
I apologize, but I completely disagree....if I had paid $1200 for the unit + installation is one thing, but when I pay premium money for a top of the line unit, with one of the very few CERTIFIED "comfort TRANE" installers in the area, I expect at the very least a good initial install.....a leak down the road is understandable, but 3 of the 4 sides leaking air significantly right after a brand new installation is not acceptable.
I work as an engineer at a telecom firm, and I don't think any of you would be happy if I said "you are taking things too seriously, being unable to use your cell phone or communicate in an emergency is totally expected half the time.....I deal with it all day"....there is a certain degree of profesionalism that you expect from people when you pay money.
"[...]there are small air leaks I can feel with my hand [...]"
This didn't imply "significant air leaks" to me. Now in case you aren't aware of this, this isn't a perfect world and we don't necessarily have time to spend running our hands around every concievable point of air leakage; instead we seal the ususual points of leakage and move on. If in turn the customer finds enough air to flicker a candle they may think that the world is coming to an end. I say they can get their heads out of thier asses, people have not only HVAC in New Orleans, but don't even have houses, and yet a "small" air leak is a major problem to this person.
The adult response to finding a "small" air leak is to call back and say, "Hey, I've got some air leakage around the plenum, would you be kind enough to re-seal it for me". Likely answer "My apologies, these things sometimes happen. We'll be more than happy to take care of it for you and thank you for calling." Now on the off chance that they get a response other than this THEN they can bitch about it. Until then they can take it to alt.home-moaner.
There should be no leakage. If they won't fix it just get some of that duct mastic and fix it yourself. But they will probably fix it if you ask them to.
Sorry, had to google post for a minute due to local connection problems. I didn't realize that you were the OP. Had I realized this I would've said something more along the lines of "Here's a quarter!" Yes the coil box/air-handler junction should be sealed, but sometimes it may occur that a new installer has been helping and forgot to tape it. Shit happens. That's what warranties are for. Call back like an adult and say what I suggested you say above. See what happens. If you call and act like a psychotic raving lunatic about something this f****ng insignificant then you'll likely be treated as a psychotic idiot. Even so I'll bet they come out and seal it. Go ahead, prove me wrong.
Or, maybe the adult thing to do on the part of the A/C guy was to turn it on and run it and check for leaks all over the area he worked on. This SHOULD ALWAYS be done and if not then the A/C guys skimped on the job. You sorry contractors always blame the customer for asking for a job well done. You guys need to get your heads out of your asses and do the work you get paid for and shut the hell up.
Maybe he should have, but you weren't listening. The installer isn't usually the company, just some guy who the company hired. In most companies there is a constant turnover in the installer department, and that's because it's an extremely difficult, tiresome and thankless job. You don't get the creme de la creme to come f*ck with sharp-edged metal and fiberglasss insulation in 1foot crawl spaces and 140º attics unless you're real lucky. We have two long-time top-notch installers who I'd put up against any others, and on occasion even they miss something. Hell on occasion I miss something, and I'll bet on occasion every f****ng body misses something. Get your f****ng panties out of a wad and grow a person inside.
BTW, the OP needs to know that the entire pre-existing duct system is most likely leaking 10-20 times or more the air as these small gaps at the coil box, and unlike the leakage in the A/H closet where there are no energy losses, those in the attic are like tossing dollar bills out the car window. Sleep well OP, and shut up Bad Example. You're just a an ignorant troll with nothing better to do than bang on mommy and daddy's computer.
To every homeowner in hearing range: Call the company first and ask for relief. Bitching in advance may get it done, but I can assure you that honey is sweeter than vinegar. Keep it in perspective will you? We get inundated with raving lunatic complaints about things that were not real problems, some that are not problems at all, and in no case have we ever refused to take corrective action. IOW we would have done it even if you had been intelligent and mature in your approach, eh?
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