any HVAC guys out there

[CYVADER]

just had central air and a new furnace installed 2 and a half years ago. the central air has given us nothing but trouble-thing keeps leaking the freon or whatever and will stop blowing. finally the company that installed it came out and took the whole unit to there shop for the winter to test it for leaks-so far they haven't found any so they are assuming it's in the lines running into the house or in other words, a wrongful install.

now the furnace is doing the same thing. it's running, but not forcing any air. 2 weeks ago it did this in the middle of the night. i went downstairs and took the filter out thinking it was bad, restarted it without the filter, and it fired right up. put a new filter in and it ran fine for 2 weeks so i thought it was good to go.

wrong-last night it did the same thing. no air forced out of the ducts, but it was running non stop for 5 hours. i removed the filter and it went right off again. this filter is only 2 weeks old and spotless.

i have the guy coming out to look at it again, but honestly i am losing faith in their abilities to fix anything. 2nd time out for the furnace, along with aroun 5-7 times out for the a/c.

anyone have any suggestions/advice for recourse? the guy is really nice and easy to get along with and always comes right out to work on it, but i'm starting to get tired of having to call all the time. 10 service calls in less then 3 years seems excessive.

any advice will be appreciated.

 

[Wesley]

just had central air and a new furnace installed 2 and a half years ago. the central air has given us nothing but trouble-thing keeps leaking the freon or whatever and will stop blowing. finally the company that installed it came out and took the whole unit to there shop for the winter to test it for leaks-so far they haven't found any so they are assuming it's in the lines running into the house or in other words, a wrongful install.

now the furnace is doing the same thing. it's running, but not forcing any air. 2 weeks ago it did this in the middle of the night. i went downstairs and took the filter out thinking it was bad, restarted it without the filter, and it fired right up. put a new filter in and it ran fine for 2 weeks so i thought it was good to go.

wrong-last night it did the same thing. no air forced out of the ducts, but it was running non stop for 5 hours. i removed the filter and it went right off again. this filter is only 2 weeks old and spotless.

i have the guy coming out to look at it again, but honestly i am losing faith in their abilities to fix anything. 2nd time out for the furnace, along with aroun 5-7 times out for the a/c.

anyone have any suggestions/advice for recourse? the guy is really nice and easy to get along with and always comes right out to work on it, but i'm starting to get tired of having to call all the time. 10 service calls in less then 3 years seems excessive.

any advice will be appreciated.

Pay $100 and get another company to check it out and then go back on the original installer that they screwed up. Take them to small claims court for $3000.

 

[CYVADER]

Pay $100 and get another company to check it out and then go back on the original installer that they screwed up. Take them to small claims court for $3000.

right. less then half the cost of installation. that's about what i figured. plus they still have my a/c unit at their shop.

worst part is that it's 100% paid for already, so i can't just break the contract or anything. tried to do the right thing by saving up and just paying all at once and look where that got me.

 

[dtclones]

It sounds like your fan isn't operating correctly. Could be an electrical issue. When you say your furnace is running, what do you mean exactly? Can you hear the fan going? If the fan is working correctly, it should be pushing air through the ducts unless there's something blocking it.

 

[jbhtexas]

What brand?

What is the warranty length on the equipment itself?

Did you buy the system from a factory authorized dealer? If you did, and you can't get satisfaction from the dealer, you might be able to contact the manufacturer's customer service department. That industry is very competitive, and at least some of the manufacturers do not look kindly on poor service from their dealers.

 

[CYVADER]

What brand?

What is the warranty length on the equipment itself?

Did you buy the system from a factory authorized dealer? If you did, and you can't get satisfaction from the dealer, you might be able to contact the manufacturer's customer service department. That industry is very competitive, and at least some of the manufacturers do not look kindly on poor service from their dealers.

Coleman, 10 year warranty. and yes it was factory authorized. thanks for the advice. i think i may contact them. guy has been installiing coleman for over 25 years in the area and came highly recommended, so i don't know if it's just bad luck or what.

 

[CYVADER]

It sounds like your fan isn't operating correctly. Could be an electrical issue. When you say your furnace is running, what do you mean exactly? Can you hear the fan going? If the fan is working correctly, it should be pushing air through the ducts unless there's something blocking it.

it sounds like it's running, but when you put your hand over the vents, there is nothing coming out. they are warm to the touch, but no air is moving and it isn't heating the house, thus running constantly for 5 hours instead of on and off as it heats to the thermostat.

 

[dtclones]

it sounds like it's running, but when you put your hand over the vents, there is nothing coming out. they are warm to the touch, but no air is moving and it isn't heating the house, thus running constantly for 5 hours instead of on and off as it heats to the thermostat.

Yeah, to me that sounds like your fan isn't working. You're still getting some warm air because the burners are firing and there is a minimal amount of air moving (can't feel it to the touch). There's probably not much you can do besides call a guy to come fix it. Hopefully the guy does it right this time.

 

[CarolinaCy]

Yeah, to me that sounds like your fan isn't working. You're still getting some warm air because the burners are firing and there is a minimal amount of air moving (can't feel it to the touch). There's probably not much you can do besides call a guy to come fix it. Hopefully the guy does it right this time.

This happened in the house we were renting last winter, and it turned out the control board was bad. $350 later and we were back in business.

 

[Jables22]

Yeah, to me that sounds like your fan isn't working. You're still getting some warm air because the burners are firing and there is a minimal amount of air moving (can't feel it to the touch). There's probably not much you can do besides call a guy to come fix it. Hopefully the guy does it right this time.

Sounds to me like the fan is the problem. Next time the service guy comes over- insist that he make sure the fan motor is wired correctly. If it is wired backwards- your fan wheel will rotate backwards. This would still produce some airflow- thus still allowing your burners to fire and not trip out on no airflow.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Our furnace has some kind of sensor that is really touchy. When it's not working, there's a fan noise coming from it full time, but no heat blowing out. Our furnace guy has cleaned it and adjusted it a couple of times, and finally replaced it. He said it was a design flaw with the sensor.

 

[isuno1fan]

At least the guy is being cooperative in trying to remedy the issue. If he can't get it fixed, I'd probably ask him to pay for you to have a 2nd opinion from another outfit. You shouldn't have to front that $100 bucks.

 

[CYVADER]

1st off-thanks everyone for the advice.

2nd, i feel like a *******. apparently there are 2 types of filters-pleated and non pleated. i was using pleated, and the furnace is not set up for pleated filters. that's what was causing the problem.

derp.

 

[kingcy]

right. less then half the cost of installation. that's about what i figured. plus they still have my a/c unit at their shop.

worst part is that it's 100% paid for already, so i can't just break the contract or anything. tried to do the right thing by saving up and just paying all at once and look where that got me.

How much did it cost to have it installed? If I may ask?

 

[fatkid1974]

1st off-thanks everyone for the advice.

2nd, i feel like a *******. apparently there are 2 types of filters-pleated and non pleated. i was using pleated, and the furnace is not set up for pleated filters. that's what was causing the problem.

derp.

I may end up derping myself here later, but I've been in the field for 6 years, I don't by no means claim to know everything. I have never heard of this as a problem. What I have heard of though is a guy installing something wrong and don't want to admit it. They will then tell you it's something completely different, more than likely something that can't fall back on them.

Personally, I'd call someone else. This guy has gotten plenty of your money, and every time he pulls in your driveway he gets at least 50 bucks more.

Also, just asked a coworker about this. He's been in the field for 35 years and thinks it's very questionable. He won't say 100% bs, there is some pretty crazy **** out there, but by no means derp yourself.

 

[kingcy]

I think my system has a 5 year parts and labor warranty and a 10 year parts warranty. You better be sure yours doesnt also.

 

[CYVADER]

that's the thing though-he hasn't charged me for coming out once. he said that the pleated filters restrict air flow in the energy efficient furnace, and that it's trying to suck air through it so hard that it's pulling it tight against the blower, which does flow with my story of not being able to pull the filter out when it was running because there was so much suction against it.

and fwiw, i paid around 8k for the removal of the old boiler, the new furnace, the new a/c unit, and the complete install of new ductwork(there was only window a/c and baseboard boiler heat prior to this)

now you guys are making me a skeptic again...

 

[Wesley]

Yeah, to me that sounds like your fan isn't working. You're still getting some warm air because the burners are firing and there is a minimal amount of air moving (can't feel it to the touch). There's probably not much you can do besides call a guy to come fix it. Hopefully the guy does it right this time.

If it is a fan, what kind of a crap company is he dealing with? That is basic. You can do better.Hauling your AC unit into the shop for the winter is cycrazy.

I sign an annual agreement with Frazier Corp to come out twice a year and make sure everything is working. If it goes bad, it is on them.

 

[CYVADER]

bit the bullet and had another licensed company that installs the same brand equipment come out today.

they said the problem isn't the type of filter, rather the size. the owners manual says it requires a 16x25 filter, and the original installer only made it big enough for a 16x20.

that doesn't sound like much, but it's 80 square inches, or 25% bigger then the current filter.

the manufacturer also say they recommend a pleated filter, not a mesh one like my original installer said.

i'm ******.