Took A Hit Yesterday........

[ehenry]

Been noticing the house not being as cool as normal and that the central a/c has been running way more than usual. I mainly notice the lack of cooling in the early mornings when I get up. I found out that my evaporator was freezing up. Well, I hook my gages up and see that its a little low on freon. I juice it up and its good for a night but freezing up the next night....call buddy with leak sniffer and find that the evaporator is leaking.

$1875.00 for a new evaporator install I'm back cool and comfy again.

 

[Bass Man Bruce]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

Money has a way of leaking away like that!

 

[ehenry]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

I hear ya, Bass Man. What really get my goat is at my old house the unit there was 15 years old when we moved in and we lived there for another 15 and the ONLY problem I ever had with the unit was the evaporator drain pan stopped up once. THats

I built the house I'm currently in nine years ago and this unit has to have a new eveporator already.

Really tourqes me outta shape thinkin about it.

 

[JB]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

Repairmen gotta make a living. If they continued building stuff that would last 15 years they would starve.

Getting nine troublefree years out of a modern unit is waaay ahead of the game.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

Just think, you could have bought about 20 gallons of gas for the boat instead of having a cool house!

 

[ehenry]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

Well, dang, JB. They dont have to be eating lobster and steak every night either ! ! !

I"m a firm believer in maintaining all my stuff. I replace filters every 30 days wheather they need it or not, wash the condensor out twice a year. I try to make it last.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

Hmmmm, my wholesale price on "A" coils range from $120 up to $350 depending on size and or if it is cased or not. Of course your location will have a lot to do with pricing.

Just make sure that none of the lines rub against each other. Some service people will purposely place the lines close enough so that in several years you will be calling them back. Job security is what they call it. I call it a rip off because things like that can be prevented.

When I took my present job, there were many units that the refrigerant lines were placed so that vibration would cause future leaks. Needless to say they don't have our business anymore since I came onboard.

 

[ehenry]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

SS, i'm in mississippi. The heat exchange is in the attic. It was an upflow 5ton cased American Standard "A" coil. I've no clue what the guy paid for it the $1875 mentioned above is the installed price. If i got reamed I guess I just got reamed.

The unit is not freezing up like it was and there are no leaks. The system held a vacume for over thrity minutes.

The only thing I've noticed is.....the house is really cool in the wee hours of the morning say around 1 or 2 a.m. but come around 5:30 or 6 it doesnt seem as cool. The sytems is running and its not frozen up. I did go out and check the compressor unit and the exhaust air come out the top of the unit isnt warm at all like I think it should be when the unit is running. Any ideas on that?? This unit does have an expansion valve.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

Sorry to hear about your "hit" there ehenry. Course 9 years ain't bad. I made it only 5 on mine before an almost $800.00 repair bill . Any how nice to see ya posting here again.

 

[NW Redneck]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

Did you get reamed or RHEEM'd? That's not a bad installed price. Did your guy make sure the evap coil is a proper match (not just brand) to your outdoor unit? If not, it will never run at proper capacity or efficiency. Also the charge may not be correct. Did he properly WEIGH in the correct charge and verrify pressures/temperatures were within spec? Is it the same type of coil? (slab, 'A', 'N' etc) A more restrictive coil will require higher airflow to work properly. Just some things to consider. Good luck!

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

Getting worried now.....mine is 12 years old !!!!!

 

[Vlad D Impeller]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

Todays AC units may run much more efficient and cleaner than those of days gone by, however they lack the quality of the older models.

Mine is 4 years old and i'm probably looking to have a failed compressor soon, so said the repairman, apparently the compressor is having to work much too hard, the amperage is very high.
It would be nice to have it working within the normal parameters, but the repair company would'nt do anything if the unit is actually working, only if the unit completely fails, as per their contract agreement with the warranty company. Go Figure.

My MIL's old Westinghouse unit is almost 30 years old, she replaced the fan motor about 8 years ago, that's it.

 

[Coors]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

At work, they installed a Trane unit, for a 2 story; it ran for 4 days, then the blower unit fell apart; 1 to 4 weeks to get a new squirell cage.
How can you build a defective blower?
Monday or Friday?
And how can replacement parts not be stocked?

 

[ehenry]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

Mine is a Trane unit. American Standard makes Tranes evaprators so it was replaced with what came out. Other than this the unit has run fine. No problem at all. the only thing I wish I'd done different when I built the house what go with two 3 ton units instead of one 5 ton unit. Hind sight is 20/20.


LT, I'm glad to have something to post about. It always does a soul good to commizerate with friends on the goings on in their lives. I'm always reading and checking iboats out. If I have something to say I'll say it. All is well here down in Dixie other than its hot and dry. I'm watering my garden every other day. Ole Jen E. Dawg is still kicking.....if you remember the copper head thread. She and I just got back from a cart ride through the woods to my folks house checking on them.

 

[SgtMaj]

Removed

Removed

Removed

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

DO the math........ will it last 5 years or 10 years? If you break the repair cost down to years of service...... you will find it cheaper per day then drinking a soda per day.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

SS, i'm in mississippi. The heat exchange is in the attic. It was an upflow 5ton cased American Standard "A" coil. I've no clue what the guy paid for it the $1875 mentioned above is the installed price. If i got reamed I guess I just got reamed.

The unit is not freezing up like it was and there are no leaks. The system held a vacume for over thrity minutes.

The only thing I've noticed is.....the house is really cool in the wee hours of the morning say around 1 or 2 a.m. but come around 5:30 or 6 it doesnt seem as cool. The sytems is running and its not frozen up. I did go out and check the compressor unit and the exhaust air come out the top of the unit isnt warm at all like I think it should be when the unit is running. Any ideas on that?? This unit does have an expansion valve.

Like I mentioned it depends on the area and location. You are in the south where AC is a big business. The location is in the attic which makes access even harder. Sounds as if you got a fair price on the replacement.


For the curious, when the outside air temp falls to cool temps, (usually under 60 or so depending on the charge) the suction pressure drops causing the evaporator to start freezing the condesate on the coil. I too get this problem on my bigger commercial units. We use a night time set back to allow the units to use the outside cool air while the evaporator has time to defrost. An anti frost stat can be added to the system to help prevent the evap in frosting over.

BTW, please check you squirrel cage. If the vanes/blades have anything on the leading edge and in the cupped part, it will cut down a large percentage of your airflow. This is also another area that can cause freeze up.

Having a programmable thermostat will also help prevent night time freezing. If you can get it to cycle the compressor so it shuts off buy raising the temp will help.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

Good to hear Ole Jen E. Dawg is doing well.........................hows Mrs.ehenry (Donna) doing?? If I recall she had a tough row to hoe there for a while.

 

[ehenry]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

Donna is doing really well now. Thanks for asking. One year ago on the 18th of June was the day they told us she had cancer. She's been back at work full time since January.

Today is our 26th wedding anniversary and she finally has enough hair for her first hair appointment since it started growing back. Shes excited. Shes always been a long haired gal. Dont know beans about fixing short hair.

The Swamptater has been back living with us this month, taking some summer classes at a community college here before he goes back to start his junior year at MSU. Donna has been real happy about that.

My tomatos are making, snap beans are snappin, peppers are peppin, peas are peain, the pressure canner is cannin and the boat is running good........Life is fine here ! ! ! !

 

[CN Spots]

Re: Took A Hit Yesterday........

DO the math........ will it last 5 years or 10 years? If you break the repair cost down to years of service...... you will find it cheaper per day then drinking a soda per day.

Yeah, but will they let you pay them 50 cents a day for the next ten years?