Central air was not working well,then after service it gets worse

16 years ago

Service tech came and determined the unit needed refrigerant..at a cost of 454 BUCKS!!! ok, perhaps that is the going rate...Then he says he has bad news, the compressor is shot..I said it was running during the period of time he was adding refrigerant, and he even noted the sound was now better from the compressor...at an additional cost of 2500 bucks they could replace the compressor, but there is no guarantee that the issue of refrigerant would not rear it ugly head at some point in the near future...He added dye to the refrigerant, and at an additional cost of 400 bucks they would come back in 30 days to check for leaks..Now i live in on the east coast, and everything seems much more expensive, but am i getting taken? Should the compressor problem been determined prior to adding refrigerant? He says no... thanks to all you insightful people for any response..

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Comments (5)

bama_dude
16 years ago
Sounds like a moron to me.I am also not a fan of any dye in the system.Most manufacturers will void the warranty if they know about the dye.They make state of the art leak detectors for that.I would call another company and see what they find.
bob_brown
16 years ago
At $454 you were hosed and put up wet. Even for the east coast in DC. Charging $400 to use a $5 dye load is also kinda high. This is the reason that I do not like the attitude of HVAC workers in America. When the government required a license to test or add freon, it screwed the public in more than one way. Last year was a fiasco if you needed a new system. Honest installers were quoting systems at a 7x installation markup. This was absurd, but many people accepted inflated pricing. This is the same as inflated costs of gasoline and electricity.
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qdognj
Original Author
16 years ago
should the compressor issue been found prior to adding the refrigerant? If so, i stop payment asap tommorrow..
deweymn
16 years ago
compressor issue is a non issue at this time. Stop payment.
deweymn
16 years ago
Service tech came and determined the unit needed refrigerant..at a cost of 454 BUCKS!!! ok, perhaps that is the going rate...Then he says he has bad news, the compressor is shot..I said it was running during the period of time he was adding refrigerant, and he even noted the sound was now better from the compressor..

/for this part, let's say you come to a unit and find that by putting guages on the system while it is running, it is low on refrigerant. You must also check for airflow problems as this will alter guage readings. If it is real low, one would have to assume a leak. So, you inform customer and if okay, you pressure test the system or use a leak detector to find the leak. The refrigerant is escaping somewhere, (that is, if guauges indicated a leak, i.e. loss of refrigerant. Lets now say the unit was not too low on refrigerant and a leak is suspected and wasn't found in a visual looking over of the system. One could just add some refrigerant and let the customer know that if the unit is low again (low/no cooling), then a leak test of some sort would be advisable. Time 1-1 1/2 hrs at the going rate and 1 to 2 lbs of freon ($20 a lb?).

One would have to have a good running compressor in order to fill the unit. Normal way would be to vapor fill (assuming R-22) and test superheat/subcooling at this time. Also, a indoor coil check would have been part of initial inspection as well as a filter check. If one added liquid freon (jug upside down) one could damage the compressor by letting liquid enter into the compressor where only vapor should be. You can't compress liquids, only vapor. That would damage the compressor and you would hear a different noise. (rod knocking sound) That is a rough version of a service call I would do. I did add dye for one company as that was their policy. It shows up visually a month later on most leaks. Leak detectors are better to use. Dye sucks.

.at an additional cost of 2500 bucks they could replace the compressor, but there is no guarantee that the issue of refrigerant would not rear it ugly head at some point in the near future..

//Depending on the age of the unit, you would be better off dealing with them on a new outside unit and indoor coil. That is, if you can trust them. Besides, one would have to pressure test the unit after putting in a new compressor. Also, during that testing, a vacuum is pulled once or twice. Loss of that vacuum means a leak and has to be found/repaired. Be it in the new braze joints or old leak. It has to be found. Could be in the indoor coil and not repairable.

That tech is either new or not well trained. Probably both. He needs more training, which companies are sadly unwilling to do.

I hope you can set up a meeting with a service manager and get this straightened out. Maybe this company will back up their work, maybe not. Stopping payment will get their attention. Check BBB and other references to see who they are.

Central air was not working well,then after service it gets worse

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bama_dude

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Central air was not working well,then after service it gets worse

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bama_dude

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