HVAC complaint

[Turn2]

You guys have your AC on already?

One day. Today might be the second. Air it out overnight and early morning, then close up and pull the shades. The difference in our home from '07, when trees were 6', to now when the tree SW of our home is 25'+, is significant. My wife is cold even when the heat index tops 100, so...

Soon, when the humidity becomes unrelenting the AC be locked on save for those breezy nights after a strong cold front.

 

[clone4life82]

Capacitors actually do degrade and lose capacitance over time, especially in cases where they are consistently exposed to high temperatures. The problem lies with the fact that condenser capacitors are the easiest scam for HVAC companies to run on unsuspecting homeowners. They never even have to go inside.

You literally can buy a new one for $10-15 on amazon (get it the next day), unscrew the panel on the condensing unit that covers it, unplug the current capacity and plug in the new one. The main thing I’d worry about with doing this is to make sure not to touch the ends of it as it’s essentially a battery.

 

[isufbcurt]

One day. Today might be the second. Air it out overnight and early morning, then close up and pull the shades. The difference in our home from '07, when trees were 6', to now when the tree SW of our home is 25'+, is significant. My wife is cold even when the heat index tops 100, so...

Soon, when the humidity becomes unrelenting the AC be locked on save for those breezy nights after a strong cold front.

Yeah once it's going to be a long string of hot/humid days we will turn it on. We really like the windows open with the breeze and fresh air, so if it is just one hot day we aren't going to turn it on just for one day.

 

[ackatch]

You guys have your AC on already?

Allergies have been killing me this year - so we've been running the AC off and on since March I think. I'd love to save the money and not run it, but our electric bill is the smallest utility bill we have some I'm OK with it. Electricity is dirt cheap in Iowa compared to where we lived in Minnesota... water on the other hand... yeesh.

 

[AgronAlum]

You literally can buy a new one for $10-15 on amazon (get it the next day), unscrew the panel on the condensing unit that covers it, unplug the current capacity and plug in the new one. The main thing I’d worry about with doing this is to make sure not to touch the ends of it as it’s essentially a battery.

You can discharge them with a metal screwdriver with an insulated handle. Just wiggle it between all the terminals.

 

[CHim]

It appears that I have a short in my HVAC system (based on my research and initial troubleshooting) the fan just keeps running without responding to thermostat changes.

Definitely not speaking from experience but make sure the fan didn't get set to "On" in lieu of "Auto" on the thermostat before you start buying parts.

 

[wxman1]

Definitely not speaking from experience but make sure the fan didn't get set to "On" in lieu of "Auto" on the thermostat before you start buying parts.

Ended up cycling things a little more this morning and it seems to be working normally now....I hate this crap.

 

[ruxCYtable]

The old me would have gone in like Tony Soprano. Now that I'm old and mellow, I'd let it go. Write a factual, emotionless review and see if they contact you to make it right. If not, don't use them again.

 

[BigTurk]

For anybody wondering, no matter what they tell you, this is what a tune up is. Spray cleaner and rinse your condensor, if you are lucky do the same on the evap coil, check the delta between intake and outlet air, and pretend like they know how to check capacitance and then tell you it's time for a new capacitor. That's literally it. You can do the same with a can of coil cleaner and a grill thermometer.

The only upside to a tune up is if there is the rare occasion that if your cooling delta isn't to spec they might be able to check refrig levels and top off while on site. This isn't very likely though. In this case the first thing they will recommend is either an evap coil replacement or a whole new system.

Would that be also true for a Heat Pump?

 

[Gorm]

Ordered a can of that cleaner. Gonna clean here this weekend.

 

[CyPhallus]

Would that be also true for a Heat Pump?

I really don't have enough experience with heat pumps to say for sure if the same would be true.

 

[CyPhallus]

Ordered a can of that cleaner. Gonna clean here this weekend.

Only thing to be cautious of is make sure you really rinse it all out with plenty of water after you let it do its thing. After that you will be a certified HVAC tuner upper

 

[Pope]

The old me would have gone in like Tony Soprano. Now that I'm old and mellow, I'd let it go. Write a factual, emotionless review and see if they contact you to make it right. If not, don't use them again.

I hear you, and I did calm down a bit over the last 24 hours. The HVAC company called me back this morning and I had a very calm conversation with them.

I prefaced it all by reminding them that in the last 3 years, I've given them more than $20,000 to install 2 ACs, 2 furnaces, and 2 water heaters (for my home and my son's home), and that I've been a member of their home care club these last 3 years.

Then I reminded them that their tech came to my house 2 weeks ago to do the annual checkup on my AC unit (this annual checkup is covered by my home care club membership).

I explained that since they hadn't called me back after I reported the problem Friday evening, I managed to solve it on my own. I explained the problem was caused by their tech when he came to my house 2 weeks ago. After checking out the outside AC unit, he reinserted the breaker switch into the power box upside down.

They apologized profusely and said they would have a conversation with the tech. I told them to not be too harsh on him because he was very nice and professional, he just forgot to put the breaker switch back in correctly before he left.

They apologized some more and said they would send me a restaurant gift certificate for $100. I guess I'll believe it when I get it.