Hey all,
I'm curious if anyone can help me figure out whether the HVAC techs messed up or whether it is just bad luck. Overall, let me preface this by saying that thus far I had a positive experience with the company and they haven't tried to upsell me on anything.
In short, my AC stopped working. HVAC guys came over. They replaced the capacitor. After they replaced it, they heard a loud pop. Ultimately, everyone who was there agreed it was a power surge. However, the ACT seemed to be working. In fact, it did work for the next couple of days, so we figured the surge protectors worked.
Then, 2-3 days later, the AC stopped working. Specifically, the fan outside would run, regardless of whether the AC was on or not. So, I called the same company. At first, they noticed that the contactors were jammed "on," which explains why the fan would run regardless of whether I turned the AC on or off. However, after replacing that, they found a hole in the coils for the refrigerant on the inside air handler unit (inside HVAC unit). That coil in particular MAY have been rubbing up against a distributor, but the timing seemed a bit too coincidental.
Ultimately, the technicians said I'll have to replace the coils (possibly the inside unit since the coils can be very expensive apparently), which I don't doubt since I saw the hole in the coils myself and they said they'd send me an estimate for both options.
A few other notes (not sure if they mattered): when they first came out the second time, they right away offered me a 10% discount. When they left, they just waived the fee because "I've been through enough" and would have to get my coils/unit replaced. Before leaving, one of the supervisors or older techs (who drove by to find out why there were so many issues popping up with our AC) said that when the contactors got jammed, that may have caused too much pressure to build up in the coils which may have blown a the leak in the coils. That seems to be the running theory.
For what it is worth, the company is local, and has great reviews (all 5 stars). Before the coil leak was discovered, we talked about how other companies tried to upsell or even trick customers. I never got that feeling from them. At the same time, replacing the coils and/or inside unit is a big investment. I guess I am wondering:
Could the power surge after replacing the capacitor have caused the contactor to jam and stop the AC from working 2-3 days later?
If so, and I guess this is the biggest question: when replacing the capacitor, is a power surge just bad luck, an honest mistake, or negligence?
Again, considering the horror stories I hear, I don't want to punish the guys for being pretty transparent. At the same time, I don't want to be taken advantage of. So, not sure what to do.
Thanks so much for all your advice in advance!
I'm curious if anyone can help me figure out whether the HVAC techs messed up or whether it is just bad luck. Overall, let me preface this by saying that thus far I had a positive experience with the company and they haven't tried to upsell me on anything.
In short, my AC stopped working. HVAC guys came over. They replaced the capacitor. After they replaced it, they heard a loud pop. Ultimately, everyone who was there agreed it was a power surge. However, the ACT seemed to be working. In fact, it did work for the next couple of days, so we figured the surge protectors worked.
Then, 2-3 days later, the AC stopped working. Specifically, the fan outside would run, regardless of whether the AC was on or not. So, I called the same company. At first, they noticed that the contactors were jammed "on," which explains why the fan would run regardless of whether I turned the AC on or off. However, after replacing that, they found a hole in the coils for the refrigerant on the inside air handler unit (inside HVAC unit). That coil in particular MAY have been rubbing up against a distributor, but the timing seemed a bit too coincidental.
Ultimately, the technicians said I'll have to replace the coils (possibly the inside unit since the coils can be very expensive apparently), which I don't doubt since I saw the hole in the coils myself and they said they'd send me an estimate for both options.
A few other notes (not sure if they mattered): when they first came out the second time, they right away offered me a 10% discount. When they left, they just waived the fee because "I've been through enough" and would have to get my coils/unit replaced. Before leaving, one of the supervisors or older techs (who drove by to find out why there were so many issues popping up with our AC) said that when the contactors got jammed, that may have caused too much pressure to build up in the coils which may have blown a the leak in the coils. That seems to be the running theory.
For what it is worth, the company is local, and has great reviews (all 5 stars). Before the coil leak was discovered, we talked about how other companies tried to upsell or even trick customers. I never got that feeling from them. At the same time, replacing the coils and/or inside unit is a big investment. I guess I am wondering:
Could the power surge after replacing the capacitor have caused the contactor to jam and stop the AC from working 2-3 days later?
If so, and I guess this is the biggest question: when replacing the capacitor, is a power surge just bad luck, an honest mistake, or negligence?
Again, considering the horror stories I hear, I don't want to punish the guys for being pretty transparent. At the same time, I don't want to be taken advantage of. So, not sure what to do.
Thanks so much for all your advice in advance!
source https://hvac-talk.com/vbb/threads/2239542-Did-the-HVAC-techs-mess-up-or-was-it-just-bad-luck-(Capacitor-gt-Contactors-gt-Coil-Leak)?goto=newpost
No comments:
Post a Comment