Shortly after buying our house in May 2019, both ancient heat pumps (a 3 ton and a 2 ton) failed within weeks of each other. The home warranty people replaced both condensing units (with low end Goodmans) but we had to pay for new evaporative units to handle the new r410a refrigerant.
We have since had annual checkups and this year the tech found the 3 ton unit low on refrigerant (required 2 lbs added) and an obstruction involving the "piston" in the 2 ton unit. He didn't think there was a leak so we allowed him to add the refrigerant to the 3 ton unit and in the process discovered they use an "installed" cost per pound which seemed really excessive to me. I don't remember that from when I last had refrigerant added to an AC unit but that was over 7 years ago so maybe they've changed from a parts charge plus labor to an "installed" cost. The tech recommended keeping the 2 ton unit shut off until it is repaired. So the 2 ton unit still has a parts warranty but that does not cover refrigerant and the tech says the entire refrigerant charge must be removed and replaced with new in order to fix the obstruction. That means when I look at the calculation Trane suggests to determine repair or replace (age of unit X cost of repair is under(repair) or over (replace) 5K) I probably should consider replacing. And it's this installed cost of refrigerant that is by far the greatest expense of the repair! Anyway, if I get it repaired, I'm wondering if I can expect a similar obstruction failure again or are these just typically one-time flukes? Would replacement have to include the evaporative part again or just the condensor unit? Thanks in advance for any guidance.
We have since had annual checkups and this year the tech found the 3 ton unit low on refrigerant (required 2 lbs added) and an obstruction involving the "piston" in the 2 ton unit. He didn't think there was a leak so we allowed him to add the refrigerant to the 3 ton unit and in the process discovered they use an "installed" cost per pound which seemed really excessive to me. I don't remember that from when I last had refrigerant added to an AC unit but that was over 7 years ago so maybe they've changed from a parts charge plus labor to an "installed" cost. The tech recommended keeping the 2 ton unit shut off until it is repaired. So the 2 ton unit still has a parts warranty but that does not cover refrigerant and the tech says the entire refrigerant charge must be removed and replaced with new in order to fix the obstruction. That means when I look at the calculation Trane suggests to determine repair or replace (age of unit X cost of repair is under(repair) or over (replace) 5K) I probably should consider replacing. And it's this installed cost of refrigerant that is by far the greatest expense of the repair! Anyway, if I get it repaired, I'm wondering if I can expect a similar obstruction failure again or are these just typically one-time flukes? Would replacement have to include the evaporative part again or just the condensor unit? Thanks in advance for any guidance.
source https://hvac-talk.com/vbb/threads/2244212-Repair-or-Replace?goto=newpost
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