Replacing part of A/C system - 500 bucks?!?!?!?!?!?!

[Ryan]

The past couple of days, I could tell that my A/C unit was struggling to cool my house (unit was running constantly, could only cool the house to 80 degrees). I started inspecting my unit, and found water in the drip pan. At that point, I shut the system off for 12 hours, thinking that maybe the unit had frozen up.

I live in a 3 year old townhouse, so the unit is fairly new. I've been having a local company do my cleaning and servicing, so I called them and they sent a tech out today. They found a freon leak in the near the evaporative coils (?), and showed the unit to me - there was lots of corrosion around the copper tubing. The tech told me he could recharge it until they could get the part, but replacing the part would cost about 500 bucks all together.

Does this sound right? Is the A/C trying to screw me?

 

[Ryan]

Alright - added a message body

 

[Lumathix]

Are they proposing to replace the entire evaporator coil? If so 500 isnt bad.

 

[Kelemvor]

Didn't you have a warranty on it if it's only 3 years old? Call the company that it was purchased from and who installed it.

 

[Lumathix]

If they're just talking about cleaning it, repairing the hole and recharging your system, then 500 might be a bit steep.

 

[Lumathix]

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Didn't you have a warranty on it if it's only 3 years old? Call the company that it was purchased from and who installed it.

I think typically the warranty on all the interior equipment is 1 year.
The condenser outside usually has a longer warranty.

*edit* I'm talking manufacturer's warranty of course.

 

[Linflas]

I assume you are talking about the A frame at the furnace. $500.00 sounds like a decent price to me, when they thought the one in my house was bad they were talking around $900.00.

 

[funboy6942]

I know the evap coil in a car is a high $$ part to repair, I would have to assume a larger counterpart for a house would be as well, depending on where it is, how to get to it, and recharging the system.

Any reason as to why there is so much corrosion an a fairly new part? And I would always go for the second opinion.

Also if you let it thaw out and turn it back on does it kick out super cold for time and then freezes up again? If so it may be the a part like the defrost timmer on a fridge. If its not working right it will freeze up, let it thaw and it will work again till day or two freezes up again. HVAC guys are snakes and would def get a few est before going with the one. Hate to think he did something to your pipes to make them look as though they are corroded.

But again, let it sit, and try it later, my old ac system on my trailer would ice up like a solid block, have to let it thaw, and drain all the water out. Too much humidity now come to think of it allowing the moisture to build up on the coils will freeze your system up too. May want to get a dehumidifyer, and make sure the drain holes for the ac are clear too allowing what ever builds up to escape.

Just some thoughts, 3 years seems like a very short time to me to have the system break and have corrosion on the coils.

 

[Ryan]

Originally posted by: funboy42
I know the evap coil in a car is a high $$ part to repair, I would have to assume a larger counterpart for a house would be as well, depending on where it is, how to get to it, and recharging the system.

Any reason as to why there is so much corrosion an a fairly new part? And I would always go for the second opinion.

Also if you let it thaw out and turn it back on does it kick out super cold for time and then freezes up again? If so it may be the a part like the defrost timmer on a fridge. If its not working right it will freeze up, let it thaw and it will work again till day or two freezes up again. HVAC guys are snakes and would def get a few est before going with the one. Hate to think he did something to your pipes to make them look as though they are corroded.

But again, let it sit, and try it later, my old ac system on my trailer would ice up like a solid block, have to let it thaw, and drain all the water out. Too much humidity now come to think of it allowing the moisture to build up on the coils will freeze your system up too. May want to get a dehumidifyer, and make sure the drain holes for the ac are clear too allowing what ever builds up to escape.

Just some thoughts, 3 years seems like a very short time to me to have the system break and have corrosion on the coils.

When I switched the system on last night, the air was just cool, not cold as usual. I also checked all the drains, and made sure they were all clear.

 

[Ryan]

Alright - I asked them for an explanation of the charges, and they told me that what I was paying for was the service for today, and the cost to replace the evaporator coil (the coil will be replaced for free by the manufacturer, but they will not cover any associated costs). So basically, I'm paying 500 bucks for the shipping both ways, the labor to install it, and other costs (freon, etc)........just seems a little much. I have a friend who used to work for an A/C repair business, and he's going to give me a second opinion later tonight...

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: Lumathix
If they're just talking about cleaning it, repairing the hole and recharging your system, then 500 might be a bit steep.

Depends on market demand. Every year as it heats up, my buddy sees a spike in service calls.
This is why a service contract can be a good thing... a tech comes out when it's slow, finds things that will fail when it's hotter than hell, and fixes them when you don't need the A/C and things aren't back ordered. Costs less I think in the long run, especially when it's a commercial space.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: Lumathix

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Didn't you have a warranty on it if it's only 3 years old? Call the company that it was purchased from and who installed it.

I think typically the warranty on all the interior equipment is 1 year.
The condenser outside usually has a longer warranty.

*edit* I'm talking manufacturer's warranty of course.

i have a trane unit. 10 yr warranty.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: Lumathix
If they're just talking about cleaning it, repairing the hole and recharging your system, then 500 might be a bit steep.

Depends on market demand. Every year as it heats up, my buddy sees a spike in service calls.
This is why a service contract can be a good thing... a tech comes out when it's slow, finds things that will fail when it's hotter than hell, and fixes them when you don't need the A/C and things aren't back ordered. Costs less I think in the long run, especially when it's a commercial space.

this is true most of the time. my best friends dad owned his own AC company for years, he has said the same thing. when i got mine replaced, it was not in the warm up season, so i ended up getting a 25% knock off the price, made for an easier to deal with hassle. still was expensive tho.