[royr]

My A/C went out last night at 7 PM. I looked at my unit and called the people who had put their stickers on there, from previous service calls.
The one that I called that was able to come out last night was All American Air and Electric. The service call was $85 plus whatever he had to do. He came within 30 minutes and tried replacing the starter capacitor. That got the condenser unit running, but he said, "I don't hear the compressor running".
He put his meter/hoses on the freon lines and said it was not charging, so the "compressor was bad".
He said that since my system used R22 refrigerant, they could not replace the condenser unit. He said they are required to install 410A units now, so both inside and outside units would need to be replaced for a cost of $5,500 to $6,000. He wanted me to commit to the install right then.
I told him I would get back to him. He took his new starter capacitor back out since he said it would not fix the problem anyway.
I then went Online to TOTV and found all the glowing reports for Chuck Farrell. I was able to talk to them this morning and they said they would send someone out right away. He said that if I need everything replaced it would be about $3,800. He said that they would try to get it going first if possible.
When the Chuck Farrell tech, Rich, showed up, it took him about 15 minutes to replace the starter capacitor and get the system checked out and running. He said the compressor had overheated when the starter capacitor went bad and a thermal switch had opened up. He said all that the tech from All American would have had to do was run a water hose on the compressor for a few minutes to cool it down. The All American tech did not mention the possibility that the compressor needed to cool off. Incompetence or dishonesty? I don't know.
Since the Chuck Farrell call was a "second opinion" call, he did not charge me for the service call, just $68 for the starter capacitor.
So by researching "Air Conditioner repair" on TOTV and calling Chuck Farrell, I saved up to $6,000. When I thought of how close I came to blowing $6,000 on a new Air Conditioning system that I did not need, I realized how some of the service companies rip off customers who do not know how to effectively shop around before incurring such a big expense. It is easy to see how someone who does not know anything about Air Conditioners could be taken advantage of by these dishonest companies.
Moral of this story:
Always get more than one quote when you are faced with a big repair and in this case,
always call CHUCK FARRELL
mobile 352-16-0192
main 352-787-9497

[ColdNoMore]

Schweet!

[RickeyD]

Originally Posted by royr

My A/C went out last night at 7 PM. I looked at my unit and called the people who had put their stickers on there, from previous service calls.

The one that I called that was able to come out last night was All American Air and Electric. The service call was $85 plus whatever he had to do. He came within 30 minutes and tried replacing the starter capacitor. That got the condenser unit running, but he said, "I don't hear the compressor running".

He put his meter/hoses on the freon lines and said it was not charging, so the "compressor was bad".

He said that since my system used R22 refrigerant, they could not replace the condenser unit. He said they are required to install 410A units now, so both inside and outside units would need to be replaced for a cost of $5,500 to $6,000. He wanted me to commit to the install right then.

I told him I would get back to him. He took his new starter capacitor back out since he said it would not fix the problem anyway.

I then went Online to TOTV and found all the glowing reports for Chuck Farrell. I was able to talk to them this morning and they said they would send someone out right away. He said that if I need everything replaced it would be about $3,800. He said that they would try to get it going first if possible.

When the Chuck Farrell tech, Rich, showed up, it took him about 15 minutes to replace the starter capacitor and get the system checked out and running. He said the compressor had overheated when the starter capacitor went bad and a thermal switch had opened up. He said all that the tech from All American would have had to do was run a water hose on the compressor for a few minutes to cool it down. The All American tech did not mention the possibility that the compressor needed to cool off. Incompetence or dishonesty? I don't know.

Since the Chuck Farrell call was a "second opinion" call, he did not charge me for the service call, just $68 for the starter capacitor.

So by researching "Air Conditioner repair" on TOTV and calling Chuck Farrell, I saved up to $6,000. When I thought of how close I came to blowing $6,000 on a new Air Conditioning system that I did not need, I realized how some of the service companies rip off customers who do not know how to effectively shop around before incurring such a big expense. It is easy to see how someone who does not know anything about Air Conditioners could be taken advantage of by these dishonest companies.

Moral of this story:

Always get more than one quote when you are faced with a big repair and in this case,

always call CHUCK FARRELL

mobile 352-16-0192

main 352-787-9497

Send an idiot to your house knowing they won't correct the real problem and it's a guaranteed upsale.

[MikeV]

I keep a spare capacitor on hand. Mine has failed twice in 4 years. Very simple to change.


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[RickeyD]

Originally Posted by MikeV

I keep a spare capacitor on hand. Mine has failed twice in 4 years. Very simple to change.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Simple yes, but like any capacitor it needs to be discharged before being replaced. Yikes ⚡️⚡️⚡️

[hvacgolfer]

Hate to disagree with the OP, but all that happened was the expense of a new a/c system wasn't saved, only postponed. Nothing changes the fact that R-22 has been taken off the market and the new systems do need indoor evaporator coils compatible with the outdoor units. The point is well taken that there was a price differential between between the two contractors. Some of the price difference could be between the SEER rating, brand of equipment, and scope of work being quoted.

[RickeyD]

Originally Posted by hvacgolfer

Hate to disagree with the OP, but all that happened was the expense of a new a/c system wasn't saved, only postponed. Nothing changes the fact that R-22 has been taken off the market and the new systems do need indoor evaporator coils compatible with the outdoor units. The point is well taken that there was a price differential between between the two contractors. Some of the price difference could be between the SEER rating, brand of equipment, and scope of work being quoted.

R22 is still available albeit very expensive. Drop in replacements can be used in place of R22 at a fraction of the cost. Unfortunately residential contractors are befuddling homeowners into replacing the entire system. R410A systems don't come close to the operating effectiveness of R22 systems. Typically on a 95 degree plus day an R22 system will bring a house down to 71 degrees if desired. An R410A system will have trouble maintaining 77 degrees, given the same tonnage.