Home HVAC maintenance

[BobTheHawkHater]

Question for the home owners on CF ...

My dad always had a company come out every spring and summer for a yearly air conditioner / furnace check. I used to do this years ago but prices for a yearly agreement started getting out of control. Plus they were always trying to sell me on some maintenance item I didn't think was necessary (my capacitors were always about to go it seems). The benefit was they said being on a yearly contract would guarantee priority, middle-of-the-night service if my furnace broke down in the winter -- that actually came in really handy a couple of times over 10 or 15 years.

Is this just a waste of money? Should I maybe still do this but only once every 2 or 3 years? A friend who owns a plumbing company says its a rip off and his strategy is just to skip all of that and just wait for something to break (but change the furnace filter and spray off the air conditioner yourself regularly).

What do you do for your own HVAC maintenance beyond the easy stuff that takes no HVAC expertise?

 

[cycloner29]

What do you mean by prices getting out of control? What price do you consider it being out of control at?

 

[JW3]

Had our check up just yesterday. Definitely worth the $300 per year when today's temperature forecast is 113!

 

[DSMCy]

I just renewed with Lozier and it was ~$240. That will cover this fall and next spring maintenance checks.

I think I get 15% off repair parts with that agreement, plus like you said I get bumped up in line if I call in with an urgent service request.

I like the piece of mind that someone is going through my HVAC twice a year to make sure things look good.
Also nice to have some service history with a company so I'm not scrambling to figure out who to call when something breaks.

That's all worth a few hundred dollars a year to me.

I'll add that I do some preventative maintenance myself. I keep my condenser cleaned off in the summer and change filters myself, but that's about all.

 

[AgronAlum]

I haven't had anyone come out since the free year I got when the AC unit was replaced 4 or 5 years ago. I'll spray down the coils and change the filter. I'll generally fix everything myself outside of a recharge or complete replacement.

For AC you can generally diagnose most things by looking at the system startup, wiring and the capacitor. Same with the furnace. Watch the startup sequence and see where it fails. Generally that's the part you're after. Youtube is awesome.

 

[BobTheHawkHater]

What do you mean by prices getting out of control? What price do you consider it being out of control at?

Ok, now I'm feeling like a boomer ... it was getting into the $250 per year range and I felt that I wasn't getting that much value from it. I guess I need to recalibrate my out-of-control scale.

 

[83cy]

I'm a wait till it's broken kind of guy. I change the filter every 6 months and thats it. Going on year 12, knock on wood.

 

[NickTheGreat]

My HVAC guy tells me it isn't necessary. The only real advantage is from a scheduling perspective. As in, you realize you have a problem before everyone else in town does.

He recommends doing the obvious DIY things like filters, and cleaning off the condenser outside.

 

[AgronAlum]

I'm a wait till it's broken kind of guy. I change the filter every 6 months and thats it. Going on year 12, knock on wood.

While I agree with the system, I can't imagine what your condenser unit looks if it hasn't been touched in 12 years. I spray ours down at least once but sometimes twice a year.

 

[MJ29]

We're with Green's Appliance. Around $240/year gets me furnace check in the fall, AC check in the spring, inspection of five appliances (for us, it'll be dishwasher, fridge, stove, washer, and dryer), waiver of afterhours charges, etc. It's worth it for us because we are not super handy and would not be able to diagnose things on our own.

 

[Jdk]

I just renewed with Lozier and it was ~$240. That will cover this fall and next spring maintenance checks.

I think I get 15% off repair parts with that agreement, plus like you said I get bumped up in line if I call in with an urgent service request.

I like the piece of mind that someone is going through my HVAC twice a year to make sure things look good.
Also nice to have some service history with a company so I'm not scrambling to figure out who to call when something breaks.

That's all worth a few hundred dollars a year to me.

I'll add that I do some preventative maintenance myself. I keep my condenser cleaned off in the summer and change filters myself, but that's about all.

I also have an hvac company come out each late fall and late spring for the check on the ac/ furnace 240$ total for the 2 checkups replacing weak capacitors is well worth it this spring had 2 capacitors replaced and the increase in airflow through the vents is a big improvement also on this checkups I get so much off on replacement parts and any emergency they give you a bump up in quick response!!

 

[83cy]

While I agree with the system, I can't imagine what your condenser unit looks if it hasn't been touched in 12 years. I spray ours down at least once but sometimes twice a year.

I do spray it off every couple of years, but it stays pretty clean surprisingly.

 

[Agclone91]

The first year we bought our house I paid to have somebody come out. For the summer check they just cleaned the condenser coils and the drain line inside. For furnace check they just cleaned the drain line again and the flame sensor. I quickly realized that they were doing very little from a preventative maintenance standpoint, so I do it myself now. I figure that the discount they were going to give me on parts would never pay itself back versus the 200 per year it was going to cost to have them come "check" the equipment.

 

[BobTheHawkHater]

I also have an hvac company come out each late fall and late spring for the check on the ac/ furnace 240$ total for the 2 checkups replacing weak capacitors is well worth it this spring had 2 capacitors replaced and the increase in airflow through the vents is a big improvement also on this checkups I get so much off on replacement parts and any emergency they give you a bump up in quick response!!

I wonder how much these capacitors could degrade over the course of a year. I almost feel like having them come out once every two years would be enough and pocket you an extra $240 every other year.

 

[ianoconnor]

We use Modern Heating and Air - $189/yr for spring/fall, plus they just added plumbing this year and do a free plumbing inspection too.

 

[FallOf81]

I haven't had anyone come out since the free year I got when the AC unit was replaced 4 or 5 years ago. I'll spray down the coils and change the filter. I'll generally fix everything myself outside of a recharge or complete replacement.

For AC you can generally diagnose most things by looking at the system startup, wiring and the capacitor. Same with the furnace. Watch the startup sequence and see where it fails. Generally that's the part you're after. Youtube is awesome.

Good for you .... but I'd guess this applies to 2% of the population. That may even be a stretch.

 

[cyfanbr]

Personally don’t see how to justify the cost of a tune-up every 6 months other than for peace of mind. I guess getting preferencial treatment for emergencies could be nice, but is it really worth the cost when an event like that may happen once or twice in your life? Keep in mind that only time you will need preferential treatment is when everyone has an issue at the same time, so likely a major weather event.

I’ve lived in my current house for 7 years and the HVAC unit is probably about 12 years old. AC quite working right after my first year at the house and about a month or two after my new home warranty expired. Called the AC company and they were here same day. Found a coil leak. Told them to recharge the system with coolant instead of replacing the coils. I put some sealant over where they told me the leak was and haven’t had an issue since.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Ok, now I'm feeling like a boomer ... it was getting into the $250 per year range and I felt that I wasn't getting that much value from it. I guess I need to recalibrate my out-of-control scale.

That seems awfully high to me too for something that you could probably do yourself (with a couple good youtube videos, if necessary)

 

[cycloner29]

Ok, now I'm feeling like a boomer ... it was getting into the $250 per year range and I felt that I wasn't getting that much value from it. I guess I need to recalibrate my out-of-control scale.

We pay the $180/year for spring and fall maintenance. Preferred member so we don't get charged a service call if something does happen. I was told that using a filter with fewer pleats in it allows for more air flow throughout your house. I try and change my at least 2-3 times a year. With just two of us at home now, we don't get the dust like when we had our kids and daycare kids running about.

Your post did remind me to get an appointment set up. I'm 3 weeks out.

 

[JM4CY]

Would strongly suggest finding a friend or a friend of friend who works for a local HVAC company. Lot's of times those guys will moonlight and you can pay them cash. Find one you trust and you will save a ton of money. My furnace guy would say those yearly fees are stupid and most low-level maintenance you can do yourself.