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Ruud AC Unit Not Cooling cybercat 05-06-2008
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Posted by Red Green on May 8, 2008, 11:23 pm

>
>>
>> Waiting patiently and hoping for good news!
>
> The AC guy just left. As soon as he saw the unit, he said, "I can tell
> you what the problem is, it is out of freon." I said, "Oh, good, then
> you can just fill it up!" He said, "No, that's not good, because I can
> fill it up but it will just leak out again."
>
> He could not tell me how long it would take to leak out again. He
> could tell me that a new system, with new ductwork is going to run
> something like $7K to 9K.
>
> I told him we would have to take our chances and hope the freon would
> last for a while.
>
> He sold me on a $150 per year maintenance plan for both heating and
> cooling, with one check in the spring that includes coil cleaning
> every year. Then a check of the furnace etc. for winter. With this
> maintenance plan, we got a small discount on freon.
>
> Here is what the invoice looks like:
>
> Qty and Service Non HSP HSP
>
> Diagnostic: $99.00 $47.00
> HSP agreement $0 $149.00
> Gas surcharge $10.00 $0
> 1 lb R-22 (1st pound) $ 91.00 $77.00
> 4 Additional lbs R-22 $108.00 $88.00
> 2 Cleaning coils $162.00 $0
> Total $470.00 $361.00
>
> So we paid $361 and this includes a heating check next fall.
>
> Under Work Performed:
>
> Performed service. cool check on system checked volts, amps, coils,
> motors, filter, T-stat, Electrical, Refrigerant, Capacitors,
> superheat, temperature drop, Diagnostic system, very low refrigerant.
> Added 5.04 lbs of R.-22. Diagnose no other problems at this time.
>
> Technician recommends: System upgrade due to age and efficiency. Very
> highly recommend replacing system. Leak search test $35 per 1/4 hour."
>
> Hmmm. Anybody know what the leak search results mean? Did I just pay
> $361 for a week of cool air?
>
> By the way, the unit is beautiful now, he did a great job cleaning it
> inside and out. It looks new.
>
> What say you experts?
>
>

As far as the ductwork, it could be a soaking and it could be necessary.
If it was a poorly designed airflow (turbulence, turns causing air
friction, back pressure) it could indeed benefit a lot in the form of
higher effeciency/less unit work.

How do you know? Someone you have an established relationship with and
trust and/or multiple opinions and/or take a chance with the old
ductwork. For some they skip duct suggestion and it works out just fine.
I guess the ones that it doesn't work out for don't advertise it much.

Posted by Telstra on May 6, 2008, 10:53 pm
The Unit has an Auto re-set Low presure control and loss
of refrigerant charge would cause it to continually stop and
start or short cycle.
It also has a manual re-set High pressure control and loss
of the condenser fan would cause this to stop and lock out
the Unit.
The Unit is 12 years old and if you think of it as a car is it
worth replacing defective parts or is a new model a better
investment. Older models use Refrigerant R22 which is due
to be phased out. New models use Puron ( R410A ). It's a
matter of paying your money and making your Choice

>
>> "cybercat" wrote
>>
>>> Last year the thing stopped cooling. The fan blows fine, but it is just
>>> not very cool. We have NOT had the thing serviced yearly as the
>>> manufacturer suggests, but have been good about changing filters under
>>> the house.
>>
>> 12 years old right? It may need coolant but I cant recall if thats just
>> before they changed the type or not. If it predates the new stuff, you
>> will want to check prices for replacement as you may not be able to get
>> the old style much longer at all.
>>
>>
> Thanks! I will do that. I had no idea about them changing types. I guess
> you can't
> add coolant to the new type?
>


Posted by cybercat on May 7, 2008, 12:15 am

> The Unit has an Auto re-set Low presure control and loss
> of refrigerant charge would cause it to continually stop and
> start or short cycle.
> It also has a manual re-set High pressure control and loss
> of the condenser fan would cause this to stop and lock out
> the Unit.
> The Unit is 12 years old and if you think of it as a car is it
> worth replacing defective parts or is a new model a better
> investment. Older models use Refrigerant R22 which is due
> to be phased out. New models use Puron ( R410A ). It's a
> matter of paying your money and making your Choice
>

Thanks, very good information. I know we need a new one, I
would just like to put off the expense for a little bit.



Posted by Steve B. on May 6, 2008, 11:25 pm
wrote:


>
>Do any of you have any experience that might help me know what to expect?
>
>Thanks.
>

At this point no-one here has any clue what the actual problem is.
Could be as simple as a bad contactor. Could be as complex as a dead
compressor. If you aren't comfortable with what the A/C repair guy
says it is post back here and let us know what he said and maybe
someone can point you in the right direction. Don't be afraid to get
a second opinion if the repair costs seems out of line.

Also realize that your system isn't a spring chicken. If something
major has gone wrong this would be a good time to look at replacing
it.

Steve B.


Posted by cybercat on May 7, 2008, 1:28 am

> wrote:
>
>
>>
>>Do any of you have any experience that might help me know what to expect?
>>
>>Thanks.
>>
>
> At this point no-one here has any clue what the actual problem is.
> Could be as simple as a bad contactor. Could be as complex as a dead
> compressor. If you aren't comfortable with what the A/C repair guy
> says it is post back here and let us know what he said and maybe
> someone can point you in the right direction. Don't be afraid to get
> a second opinion if the repair costs seems out of line.
>
> Also realize that your system isn't a spring chicken. If something
> major has gone wrong this would be a good time to look at replacing
> it.
>

Thank you, Steve. Will do.



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