PSA - if your AC unit stops working

[Nueces River Rat 5528]

Don't forget the overflow switch.  A couple of folks on the old site saved us a lot of money with that advice.  I believe the condensation line had clogged, leading to the drip pan to fill, causing the overflow switch to kill power to the AC.  It took about 10 mins with a wet/dry vac (for the line) and a few scoops of water (from the tray) to fix.  

Pour a half cup of bleach once a month down that line and it helps keep it clean. I learned that a few years back when mine was clogged and the AC guy blew air through it and the mess came out in an adjacent bath tub the drain line was tied into.

[gsoda3 3234]

On 5/4/2019 at 12:03 PM, deadshank said:

So, a/c service contractor should drive out to prospect's house (time and fuel), figure out the problem (time), hope he has the right part (go get it if he doesn't have it and drive back to job-site (potentially more time and fuel)), install (time) and warranty the work (potential time, fuel and parts) for how much?  $30? $50? $75?

What would suit you?  Free?  What is the value you place on  your comfort?  

I own a roofing and sheet metal company.  Minimum charge for work performed is $225.  Period.  I can't count how many times we've gone out to ID a problem (usually a " roof leak" and many times not a roof leak but a plumbing or HVAC issue) and give the HO a price only to hear "that's too much, thanks for letting me know what the problem is, I'll try to fix it myself" or "thanks for letting me know what the problem is,  I'm glad it's not a roof leak, I'll call a plumber...hey,  uh, do  you know one I can call?"  We hand them a $75  invoice for our time  driving out, fuel, crawling around in their hot attic or on the roof  to ID the problem and....."I'm not going to pay that!  You didn't do anything." 

Really?  We didn't?

 

 

you're crying about having to drive to work (time and fuel), figuring out what your job is supposed to be (time), doing your job (more time), and then doing your job correctly (warranty)?  

 

here's the deal.  more often than not, you're going to be better off treating your customers right-  if you're charging someone a couple hundred dollars for showing up to their place and in half an hour swapping out a capacitor, you're not doing yourself a favor.  i've had that happen to me and i paid for him to do it, but when it came time to swap out my entire unit you bet i didn't call him.

 

you say you're a roofer.  we have another friendly roofer on this website.  you can be sure he didn't cry about coming out to give his opinion (for free) on what our situation was.  along with that, he also went above and beyond at other times.  how well do you think that worked out for him?  

 

i understand you don't work for free.  but me saying $150 for a capacitor change is ridiculous isn't crying.  it's a $20 part and takes 10 minutes to change.   the customer knows when he's overpaying. you should try to understand a customer's point of view, it might do you some good.

Edited May 6, 2019 by gsoda3

[F250 28658]

On 5/2/2019 at 7:35 AM, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I told him to send her to her sisters or even a hotel for the night and get more info. It might be a $15 repair. He didn’t listen.

I've done this before, I had a ton of Hilton points so I just sent the family to a hotel for a couple of days until I got the part and was able to install it. This was in July so it was either pay someone too much money to fix it over the weekend or send the family off to wait until I can get the part. It was a blower motor, I ended up spending less than $200 for everything.

 

[deadshank 24651]

9 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

you're crying about having to drive to work (time and fuel), figuring out what your job is supposed to be (time), doing your job (more time), and then doing your job correctly (warranty)?  

 

here's the deal.  more often than not, you're going to be better off treating your customers right-  if you're charging someone a couple hundred dollars for showing up to their place and in half an hour swapping out a capacitor, you're not doing yourself a favor.  i've had that happen to me and i paid for him to do it, but when it came time to swap out my entire unit you bet i didn't call him.

 

you say you're a roofer.  we have another friendly roofer on this website.  you can be sure he didn't cry about coming out to give his opinion (for free) on what our situation was.  along with that, he also went above and beyond at other times.  how well do you think that worked out for him?  

 

i understand you don't work for free.  but me saying $150 for a capacitor change is ridiculous isn't crying.  it's a $20 part and takes 10 minutes to change.   the customer knows when he's overpaying. you should try to understand a customer's point of view, it might do you some good.

I'm not crying about a damned thing.   I'm laughing.  

I asked you what you think is a fair price.  Name it. 

Edited May 6, 2019 by deadshank

[El Diablo 4232]

16 minutes ago, deadshank said:

I'm not crying about a damned thing.   I'm laughing.  

I asked you what you think is a fair price.  Name it. 

I think the point here is that changing out a cap is easy and inexpensive. Paying another man to do the job at any price is stupid.

[deadshank 24651]

1 hour ago, El Diablo said:

I think the point here is that changing out a cap is easy and inexpensive. Paying another man to do the job at any price is stupid.

Sure. If you know how to do it then get after it and change out your own stuff.  In total agreement.  Further, if you don’t know how to do it then expect to pay.  In no way am I saying one should get fleeced in the process.   A reasonable price should be paid.  What is reasonable?

I see HOs get ripped off all the time.  It’s disgusting.   Likewise, I see HOs become completely detached from reality when it comes to having work done on their houses.  They will attempt to dictate how much something should cost because they “looked it up in the internet” and have no clue as to the reality of their particular situation.  I understand their defensiveness and distrust as they may have been burned before.  Some, however, are just cheapskates and if the shoe was on the other foot would come unglued at the idea is someone else questioning what they get paid or what they charge for the services they provide   

Who knows?  Interesting topic on Surly that I live every day. 

[gsoda3 3234]

2 hours ago, deadshank said:

I'm not crying about a damned thing.   I'm laughing.  

I asked you what you think is a fair price.  Name it. 

reasonable price?  $75.  cost of part is $15, labor is $60 for half an hour's work.  

[El Diablo 4232]

1 hour ago, deadshank said:

Sure. If you know how to do it then get after it and change out your own stuff.  In total agreement.  Further, if you don’t know how to do it then expect to pay.  In no way am I saying one should get fleeced in the process.   A reasonable price should be paid.  What is reasonable?

I see HOs get ripped off all the time.  It’s disgusting.   Likewise, I see HOs become completely detached from reality when it comes to having work done on their houses.  They will attempt to dictate how much something should cost because they “looked it up in the internet” and have no clue as to the reality of their particular situation.  I understand their defensiveness and distrust as they may have been burned before.  Some, however, are just cheapskates and if the shoe was on the other foot would come unglued at the idea is someone else questioning what they get paid or what they charge for the services they provide   

Who knows?  Interesting topic on Surly that I live every day. 

You acknowledge the point and then continue to belabor the straw man you concocted. Oddly defensive.

[Quagmire 2146]

reasonable price?  $75.  cost of part is $15, labor is $60 for half an hour's work.  

Agree with that price . Funny my ac guy was just out today, I pay 150 a year for a PM twice a year.

He said one of he capacitors tested low and probably needed to be replaced. He wanted 150 to do it. He was already here and I had already paid for the trip charge so that is moot. 150 bucks for 15 dollar part and about 10 minutes of labor.

[deft 6772]

Hamilton Electric Works on airport is a good supply house. I bought a new condenser fan motor from them back in 13 and saved myself who knows how much money.

[Fudge Nuggets 19118]

My air conditioner shit itself this weekend.  One changed capacitor later and we were up and running.

Great thread, would recommend.

[Austinvines 309]

Upstairs AC stopped working last night and moving the thermostat selector to “Fan” won’t do anything. Could this be a capacitor issue as well or something more?

[Jkwellborn 6649]

Fans have capacitors too. But yours is most likely in the attic. Makes it a pain in the dick.

[gsoda3 3234]

49 minutes ago, Austinvines said:

Upstairs AC stopped working last night and moving the thermostat selector to “Fan” won’t do anything. Could this be a capacitor issue as well or something more?

when a/c is "on" is air coming out of your vents?  if air's coming out but it's warm/hot, that's probably the capacitor on your outdoor unit that's blown.  

[Austinvines 309]

Noticed there is water in the pan under the attic unit. Getting a shop vac and will try and clear the drain with bleach.

[Austinvines 309]

Thank god! Check the pan for water if the fan being set to ON doesn’t do anything.

[Knoxtnhorn 5928]

Sorry if this question sounds extremely basic.  

My father's ac has a puddle of water below it.   I'm guessing the condensation line is clogged.  The ac is currently working, so the overflow switch hasn't been triggered (assuming it has one).  I could fix this in 30 seconds at my old house; however, the setup at his house is different than mine.  My ac was located in the attic with the overflow pan in plain site.  His ac unit looks similar to the picture I got off the googles (below).  The condensation pipe comes out of this box and, by all accounts, is clear and working properly.  From what I could see, there is no access to the overflow tray (again, if it has one) without unscrewing the bolts to the unit.  The only access to this unit is the flap at the bottom to replace the filter.  

For reference, my ac looked like this:

 

My parent's ac unit looks like this:

[Jkwellborn 6649]

Blow out the condensate line. It’s easier with an air compressor. You can do it with your mouth. Pour some bleach down it to keep shit kilt.

 

Make sure their line is level or even draining down hill. But since this is a new problem, start with my first idea.

[LaunchPad 10]

This thread is a saver once again.  My fan stopped spinning so I manually started it with a screw driver and it kicked on and stayed on.  This indicated that my dual capacitor was trashed.  Now just need to find AC supply in Dallas tomorrow to buy a new one.  Any recs?

[Nice Guy Eddie 13391]

Reminds me that I haven’t poured bleach in the condensation line in too long.  Dammit.  

[Quagmire 2146]

This thread is a saver once again.  My fan stopped spinning so I manually started it with a screw driver and it kicked on and stayed on.  This indicated that my dual capacitor was trashed.  Now just need to find AC supply in Dallas tomorrow to buy a new one.  Any recs?

Grainger is only place I know that sells them locally, or order one on amazon

[LaunchPad 10]

5 hours ago, Quagmire said:

 

Grainger is only place I know that sells them locally, or order one on amazon

 

Found a place in Garland called Open To Public HVAC parts.  As a reference.  I was quoted over the phone $223 to replace the capacitor plus a $93 service call.  They also tried to sell me some kit that was $500 something all for the special price of $999.  The part cost $43 and is easier to fix than changing the batteries in some of my 3 year olds toys.

[HRSchenker 2257]

5 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Reminds me that I haven’t poured bleach in the condensation line in too long.  Dammit.  

Aaaaand fuck. I have never poured bleach in the condensation line. Am I destined to get lung cancer?

[Jkwellborn 6649]

Aaaaand fuck. I have never poured bleach in the condensation line. Am I destined to get lung cancer?

Probably. But not from that.

[Not that Bob 734]

Compressor and its fan come on but no air from ducts. So I'm gathering fan compressor...but it's intermittent. Sometimes air to ducts, sometimes not. Any thoughts on intermittent?

[Jkwellborn 6649]

Capacitor on the fan motor in the air handler (indoor unit). Yours is probably in the attic.

Tripped breaker on the air handler.

Door loose on the air handler.

Control board on air handler going bad.

Thermostat going bad or needing a battery.

Does the condenser (outside unit) come on when you turn the thermostat to cool and run it down? Does it do it every time?

[immamac 42492]

30 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

Capacitor on the fan motor in the air handler (indoor unit). Yours is probably in the attic.

Tripped breaker on the air handler.

Door loose on the air handler.

Control board on air handler going bad.

Thermostat going bad or needing a battery.

Does the condenser (outside unit) come on when you turn the thermostat to cool and run it down? Does it do it every time?

This just happened to me. Step down transformer made my whole low voltage side fail. The 4 things above are the most likely, but an easy way to know if it's thermostat related is if you go to the thermostat and check voltage on the blue wire. Should be 12v

[RPM 26185]

Blower motor took a dump overnight. Woke up and the house was hot as hell and I could smell burnt electronics. Blower motor still turns, but no start. Outside unit running fine. Got a guy coming out tomorrow morning.

[Deej 76508]

As far as bleach down the drain line, my a/c told me to use white vinegar. Bleach can damage the line, eventually. Seem right? 

[Jkwellborn 6649]

As far as bleach down the drain line, my a/c told me to use white vinegar. Bleach can damage the line, eventually. Seem right? 

It could, but you’d be dead and gone or the unit will have been replaced before it does.

[RPM 26185]

$125 later... fried relay and wiring. Lucky it didn't start a fire, actually. Probably $10 -15 in parts, but I wouldn't have known if that was all that was wrong. I was thinking fried blower motor.

On the bright side, it's below 90° inside the house for the first time in 36 hours.

[RPM 26185]

OK, update on the a/c saga. 10 minutes after I posted that, it quit cooling. Turns out there was a leak, too. He comes back the next day and "Yep, it's got a leak. But I didn't bring the shit to fix it."

WTF?

Have to wait another day because I had to go to work. That's another night of sweating my ass off. This morning a different guy shows up and he's one of the guys that installed my system in '08. He has me up and running in 20 minutes AND charges me less that the first guy that fixed the relay. If I ever have another problem, I'm requesting him and no one else.

Right now I'm stress testing this bitch and see how fucking cold I can make this house.

[Jkwellborn 6649]

Lol. I hope that was a buddy deal. Because you need a new ac guy. He should have checked the refrigerant when he got it running. He should have the stuff on the truck to test for a leak and I would guess keep a bottle of the most popular flavors around to do that at one trip. He wanted another service call out of the deal.

[Updawg 2260]

A lot of them don't carry freon on the truck since it's so expensive. Either it gets stolen or management doesn't trust them with it

But he should have tested it and noticed the leak on the first visit. I'd be pissed. If it's a fairly big company I'd call and bitch and try and get some sort of compensation for wasting a day.

[RPM 26185]

39 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

Lol. I hope that was a buddy deal. Because you need a new ac guy. He should have checked the refrigerant when he got it running. He should have the stuff on the truck to test for a leak and I would guess keep a bottle of the most popular flavors around to do that at one trip. He wanted another service call out of the deal.

To be fair, the compression system wasn't a problem on the first visit. It was strictly a blower issue and it was cooling after he fixed that. The not cooling was an issue that didn't present itself until after he left. I do have problems with him not being prepared to fix a simple leak on the 2nd visit. I was his first call of the day. 

Not happy, but it could have been a lot worse. 

[Jkwellborn 6649]

If it was leaking enough to quit cooling 10 minutes after you posted that, it had a leak when the relay went out most likely. He could have hooked a set of gauges to the thing to check everything else after it was running. He should have those on the truck at the least. That would have told him it was low on refrigerant.

[RPM 26185]

2 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:

If it was leaking enough to quit cooling 10 minutes after you posted that, it had a leak when the relay went out most likely. He could have hooked a set of gauges to the thing to check everything else after it was running. He should have those on the truck at the least. That would have told him it was low on refrigerant.

Again, the cooling wasn't an issue at first. Until the blower went out it was a nice cool 72°. Did the blower going out cause the leak? Yup. Was it cooling to spec when he left? Yup. If he stayed another 10 minutes would we had known there were issues? Yup.  Should he have had his shit ready when he came back? Yup. Was the 2nd guy a better repairman? Yup.