Home Page link

Leaking Unit

Home| Search | About
Login Password
Register Now! Lost Password?

HVAC Discussions - Heating, ventilation and air conditioning. 

Page 1 of 2       1 2 > last >> Bookmark this page:  YahooMyWeb Yahoo!  Google Google  Windows Live Favorites Windows Live  del.icio.us del.icio.us  digg digg  Add to Netscape Netscape
Subject Author Date
Leaking Unit lamimsltd@gmail.com 07-27-2006
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Posted by lamimsltd@gmail.com on July 27, 2006, 11:53 pm
This is the second time in 2 years that I had to fill my 3 ton unit
with 7 lbs of freon. I was charged 300 dollars. Was this excessive?

I was told by a repairman that he would have to charge me 97.00 per
hour to find the leak and that it would take over 6 hours to do. His
final assessment is that it would be easier to have the unit replaced
because I have a cheap Carrier builders model that would be nearly
impossible to repair. He wants to charge 4500 for a Ducane 4 ton unit.
He says that a 3 ton unit is too small for my 2500 sqaure foot
townhouse.

I have been trying to reasearch the internet to find any truth in what
he is telling me but details on pricing is hard to find.

I live in Illinois and only use it during super hot days.


If anyone has any comments I would love to hear it.

Thanks


Posted by PJ ;-) on July 28, 2006, 2:45 am
lamimsltd@gmail.com wrote:
> This is the second time in 2 years that I had to fill my 3 ton unit
> with 7 lbs of freon. I was charged 300 dollars. Was this excessive?

It depends on the time the tech took getting to site and works on site.
Domestic top ups vary greatly between tech as far as price goes.
>
> I was told by a repairman that he would have to charge me 97.00 per
> hour to find the leak and that it would take over 6 hours to do.
This seems excessive. However finding a leak can be time consuming.
Have a general look yourself. Look for oil leaks (however small) as
they are a good indicator of gas leaks. If you can locate the leak
this could save time (read money). A small system (10.5kW) should only
take a couple of hours max and maybe another couple to repair and top
up.

> His
> final assessment is that it would be easier to have the unit replaced
> because I have a cheap Carrier builders model that would be nearly
> impossible to repair. He wants to charge 4500 for a Ducane 4 ton unit.
> He says that a 3 ton unit is too small for my 2500 sqaure foot
> townhouse.
Lazy option by tech. To correctly size new unit, a heat load needs to
be performed. Sight unseen I cannot be precise on adequacy of current
unit size. However, based on experiance, the current unit is
undersized, as is the unit you have been quoted. This of course
depends on zoning (if any) as well as other factors.

Best to find a good (read not usually cheap or small) service tech.

>
> I have been trying to reasearch the internet to find any truth in what
> he is telling me but details on pricing is hard to find.
Best of luck based on the attitude/experiance of some on the net.

>
> I live in Illinois and only use it during super hot days.
>
>
> If anyone has any comments I would love to hear it.
>
> Thanks


Posted by daytona on July 28, 2006, 7:17 am
about right

> This is the second time in 2 years that I had to fill my 3 ton unit
> with 7 lbs of freon. I was charged 300 dollars. Was this excessive?
>
> I was told by a repairman that he would have to charge me 97.00 per
> hour to find the leak and that it would take over 6 hours to do. His
> final assessment is that it would be easier to have the unit replaced
> because I have a cheap Carrier builders model that would be nearly
> impossible to repair. He wants to charge 4500 for a Ducane 4 ton unit.
> He says that a 3 ton unit is too small for my 2500 sqaure foot
> townhouse.
>
> I have been trying to reasearch the internet to find any truth in what
> he is telling me but details on pricing is hard to find.
>
> I live in Illinois and only use it during super hot days.
>
>
> If anyone has any comments I would love to hear it.
>
> Thanks
>



Posted by Noon-Air on July 28, 2006, 7:39 am

> This is the second time in 2 years that I had to fill my 3 ton unit
> with 7 lbs of freon. I was charged 300 dollars. Was this excessive?

no

> I was told by a repairman that he would have to charge me 97.00 per
> hour to find the leak and that it would take over 6 hours to do.

under normal circumstanses, it shouldn't take much more than 2 hours to do a
leak search and find the leak. (hint - he needs to start at the evap coil)

> His final assessment is that it would be easier to have the unit replaced
> because I have a cheap Carrier builders model that would be nearly
> impossible to repair.

Maybe so... but hard to say without a whole lot more information.
FWIW, Carrier had some problems with leaky coils.

> He wants to charge 4500 for a Ducane 4 ton unit.
> He says that a 3 ton unit is too small for my 2500 sqaure foot
> townhouse.

Have a complete Manual J heat load/loss calculation done, then a Manual D to
make sure that you ductwork will support the higher air volume from the
bigger a/c.

> I have been trying to reasearch the internet to find any truth in what
> he is telling me but details on pricing is hard to find.

Good luck... its just not there.

> I live in Illinois and only use it during super hot days.

ok

> If anyone has any comments I would love to hear it.

You might want to find a real tech, not just a low-bid equipment sales
person.

> Thanks
>



Posted by Bubba on July 28, 2006, 4:24 pm
On 27 Jul 2006 20:53:29 -0700, "lamimsltd@gmail.com"

>This is the second time in 2 years that I had to fill my 3 ton unit
>with 7 lbs of freon. I was charged 300 dollars. Was this excessive?
>
Define, "Excessive".

>I was told by a repairman that he would have to charge me 97.00 per
>hour to find the leak and that it would take over 6 hours to do. His
>final assessment is that it would be easier to have the unit replaced
>because I have a cheap Carrier builders model that would be nearly
>impossible to repair. He wants to charge 4500 for a Ducane 4 ton unit.
>He says that a 3 ton unit is too small for my 2500 sqaure foot
>townhouse.
>
Gezzhus H Christ man. Pick up the damn phone.
Call 3 reputable hvac contractors. Explain the leak situation and
pricing and see what they say.
Impossible to repair? Whats so impossible about replacing a leaking
Carrier evaporator coil? (Oops, I guess I let the secret out about
Carrier)
$4500? Thats fine. Now what did the other 3 reputable hvac contractors
say about replacing your system and their pricing?
3 ton is too small for your house but a 4 ton is better? Cool. Sounds
great. NOW, how is he going to modify all of your ductwork to handle
the additional 400CFM of air your system will need?
Oh my. Someone needs to make a few phone calls and do a little
homework.
Bubba

>I have been trying to reasearch the internet to find any truth in what
>he is telling me but details on pricing is hard to find.
>
>I live in Illinois and only use it during super hot days.
>
>
>If anyone has any comments I would love to hear it.
>
>Thanks

Page 1 of 2       1 2 > last >>
Similar ThreadsPosted
AC water leaking July 16, 2007, 4:03 pm
Leaking evaporator coil September 1, 2006, 11:13 am
6 yo lennox leaking freon May 27, 2007, 5:58 pm
Refrigerant evaporator leaking May 31, 2007, 9:38 pm
Trane a.c. evaporator leaking. August 17, 2007, 6:46 am
Comfortmaker system leaking freon August 23, 2006, 12:23 pm
Bryant Plus 90 Gas Furnace Leaking Water November 24, 2006, 10:54 am
Best service strategy for leaking Puron A/C system? July 27, 2006, 4:13 pm
Large commercial hot water heat exchanger leaking November 9, 2007, 4:49 pm
Size of A/C Unit July 1, 2006, 3:22 pm

Contact Us | Privacy Policy

XML SitemapXML Sitemap