AC help needed

[bjornolf]

Did they throw some duct tape on the gaps in the duct work to help seal it up a little? I hope so.

That does sound reasonable, but you'll probably end up paying for the labor, which is still gonna run you some serious money.

[CathyCA]

Read your warranty carefully. My warranty actually covered duct work.

[captmojo]

Read your warranty carefully. My warranty actually covered duct work.

I think it has to. It's all part of a whole.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Read your warranty carefully. My warranty actually covered duct work.

I think it has to. It's all part of a whole.

And parts of the whole has holes in them.

[bluebutton]

Did they throw some duct tape on the gaps in the duct work to help seal it up a little? I hope so.

That does sound reasonable, but you'll probably end up paying for the labor, which is still gonna run you some serious money.

Yea, they were cool and both applied some foil tape to the giant holes and also left us more foil tape to apply to the smaller stuff. They also left some compound to smear over the foil tape.

My husband is printing out all the warranty info, I'll take my ninja reading skills and a highlighter and try to figure it all out. Thanks for the tips and tricks.

[bjornolf]

My wife and I just replaced our AC/Heating system last year. And our house was only five years old. Even though the old system was still under warranty, it was a total piece of crap. Since we decided to get a decent system (Carrier instead of Goodman, which is a new name for Janitrol, which guys in the business call "janijunk") instead of just getting the same junk again, we had to pay out of pocket, despite the fact that the system was still under warranty (we'd had to replace several parts on the old one, and though the parts were covered, the labor added up FAST). We ended up paying $7K to replace an AC/furnace that was only a few years old. Ah, well, live and learn I guess.

[CathyCA]

My wife and I just replaced our AC/Heating system last year. And our house was only five years old. Even though the old system was still under warranty, it was a total piece of crap. Since we decided to get a decent system (Carrier instead of Goodman, which is a new name for Janitrol, which guys in the business call "janijunk") instead of just getting the same junk again, we had to pay out of pocket, despite the fact that the system was still under warranty (we'd had to replace several parts on the old one, and though the parts were covered, the labor added up FAST). We ended up paying $7K to replace an AC/furnace that was only a few years old. Ah, well, live and learn I guess.

Just to clarify, Bjornolf, I'm not referring to the warranty on the HVAC system. I'm referring to a home warranty: http://www.ahs.com/homeowners/homewarra ... ty101.html

[bluebutton]

The guys got back to us -- they were able to find one evaporator coil and then he quoted me $1100. I assume that's for labor which indeed does not appear to be covered. However, if we don't put a hold on the coil soon enough it will get sold and then we'll have to convert to a puron system and that'll be $5700, again presumably for labor. That's for the indoor, outdoor units and furnace.

I don't know what brands the contractor uses but the warranty only replaces with 13 SEER equipment. I assume that if we wanted 14+ SEER we'd be paying for that equipment out of pocket. Would it be worth it to even consider that?

We're not sure which way to go and don't really like making a decision under pressure.

[CathyCA]

The guys got back to us -- they were able to find one evaporator coil and then he quoted me $1100. I assume that's for labor which indeed does not appear to be covered. However, if we don't put a hold on the coil soon enough it will get sold and then we'll have to convert to a puron system and that'll be $5700, again presumably for labor. That's for the indoor, outdoor units and furnace.

I don't know what brands the contractor uses but the warranty only replaces with 13 SEER equipment. I assume that if we wanted 14+ SEER we'd be paying for that equipment out of pocket. Would it be worth it to even consider that?

We're not sure which way to go and don't really like making a decision under pressure.

Ask him why the home warranty company doesn't cover this expense. Also, call the home warranty company and ask them why they're not covering this expense.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

I swear! This is the best site IN THE WORLD! There's always somebody who knows something about just about ANYTHING!
Love, Ima

[OZZIE4DUKE]

The guys got back to us -- they were able to find one evaporator coil and then he quoted me $1100. I assume that's for labor which indeed does not appear to be covered. However, if we don't put a hold on the coil soon enough it will get sold and then we'll have to convert to a puron system and that'll be $5700, again presumably for labor. That's for the indoor, outdoor units and furnace.

I don't know what brands the contractor uses but the warranty only replaces with 13 SEER equipment. I assume that if we wanted 14+ SEER we'd be paying for that equipment out of pocket. Would it be worth it to even consider that?

We're not sure which way to go and don't really like making a decision under pressure.

Those prices have got to be for the equipment cost and labor, not just the labor. How much of the cost does the home warranty cover? Figure they are charging labor at somewhere between $75 and $100/hour. If they're getting (much) more than that they are ripping off everyone involved. These guys have some special training, but they are not ophthalmic surgeons replacing your cornea (I tried to pick a profession where I wouldn't offend any of our members... ). For $5700 you should get an entire outside unit (3 or 3 1/2 tons) installed from any vendor in the phone book. Why doesn't/wouldn't the home warranty cover the labor charge? I can see them having a deductible, but they should cover labor.

With a 13 SEER unit you wouldn't qualify for the federal $1500 tax credit. Here's a site that explains what SEER you need depending on the type of system - package, split or central air (I think you have a split heat pump, right? That requires a 15 SEER) http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=t ... s.tx_index Click on the HVAC link a few inches down the page to see the specifics.

The amount of electrical savings you'll get for buying a 15 instead of a 13? Some, but probably not earth shattering without the tax credit, but that gives you $1500 right there. How long are you planning to be in the house? It could take you 5 to 10 years to recoup the difference in cost to you in just electricity. Putting a PowerwoRx e3 in at the same time would also help save on electrical costs, and would help protect the new AC (and everything else in your house) from lightning damage and ugly power wave forms See the link below.

[bjornolf]

My wife and I just replaced our AC/Heating system last year. And our house was only five years old. Even though the old system was still under warranty, it was a total piece of crap. Since we decided to get a decent system (Carrier instead of Goodman, which is a new name for Janitrol, which guys in the business call "janijunk") instead of just getting the same junk again, we had to pay out of pocket, despite the fact that the system was still under warranty (we'd had to replace several parts on the old one, and though the parts were covered, the labor added up FAST). We ended up paying $7K to replace an AC/furnace that was only a few years old. Ah, well, live and learn I guess.

Just to clarify, Bjornolf, I'm not referring to the warranty on the HVAC system. I'm referring to a home warranty: http://www.ahs.com/homeowners/homewarra ... ty101.html

No, no, I get that. I should have been more clear. I just meant for them to be careful is all. And get a good brand as the replacement, even if they have to pay a little out of pocket.

[CathyCA]

My home warranty covered all labor.

[bluebutton]

Yea. I'm going to call the home warranty people tomorrow. The numbers we hear from the guys don't seem to make any sense. It was 5700 this morning and then 6400 in the afternoon. Like Ozzie said, labor can't be THAT much.

It's too bad things have to feel this wonky--I liked the guys yesterday, I just really don't like opaque numbers, hand waving, and a hard sell to decide NOW what we're going to do.

A thousand thank yous for all y'all's generous wisdom.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Check your in box, I sent you a PM.

[bjornolf]

Yea. I'm going to call the home warranty people tomorrow. The numbers we hear from the guys don't seem to make any sense. It was 5700 this morning and then 6400 in the afternoon. Like Ozzie said, labor can't be THAT much.

It's too bad things have to feel this wonky--I liked the guys yesterday, I just really don't like opaque numbers, hand waving, and a hard sell to decide NOW what we're going to do.

A thousand thank yous for all y'all's generous wisdom.

If the difference of $700 is for the labor, then it totally makes sense. Replacing an entire central heating and air conditioning system takes a couple days, and is a two man job at least. If it's during the heat of summer, some guys will charge extra cause it's miserable work then too. I could easily see that costing $700.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Yea. I'm going to call the home warranty people tomorrow. The numbers we hear from the guys don't seem to make any sense. It was 5700 this morning and then 6400 in the afternoon. Like Ozzie said, labor can't be THAT much.

It's too bad things have to feel this wonky--I liked the guys yesterday, I just really don't like opaque numbers, hand waving, and a hard sell to decide NOW what we're going to do.

A thousand thank yous for all y'all's generous wisdom.

If the difference of $700 is for the labor, then it totally makes sense. Replacing an entire central heating and air conditioning system takes a couple days, and is a two man job at least. If it's during the heat of summer, some guys will charge extra cause it's miserable work then too. I could easily see that costing $700.

AC contractors bitch and moan about how hot it is in attics, rooftops and so forth, all the way to the bank. They live for hot summers and cold winters - that's when business is best. If the temps stayed in the upper 60's to low 70's all the time (Like say, San Diego), they'd all go broke. If the worker bees bitch and moan too much, they find themselves looking for a new job.

Yes, replacing the outside system takes a day or so, replacing the duct-work could take considerably longer, depending on how it was originally run in the house.

[bluebutton]

Well I called in and I figured some stuff out but not all of it.

The warranty actually covers parts and labor, but it has a 5 page list of NCIs--Non-covered items. Some of it is disposing of everything properly any duct modification etc.

Looks like we kind of just nickle and dimed to about $1K just for the evaporator coil disposal and getting the duct work done right. The big jump in price for a complete replacement comes because they consider the complete replacement an upgrade so they only cover part of it. But at a quoted price of $6K, I'm wondering if we can just tough out the leak until October/Nov and find our own guy and buy our own HVAC unit and break even or do even better with the tax credit. Do y'all think that prices will go down in the fall? If we could replace everything for $3-4K I think we'd let the warranty company do it. But my husband's co-worker just replaced their system without a warranty for $6K. For the same price, we might as well have more control and go it alone.

[DevilAlumna]

For another data point, we replaced our furnace a couple years ago, with a new gas furnace & electric heat pump (Trane), plus a couple extras (programmable thermostat, needed some electric work to support the heat pump) for around $6700.

[captmojo]

Well I called in and I figured some stuff out but not all of it.

The warranty actually covers parts and labor, but it has a 5 page list of NCIs--Non-covered items. Some of it is disposing of everything properly any duct modification etc.

Looks like we kind of just nickle and dimed to about $1K just for the evaporator coil disposal and getting the duct work done right. The big jump in price for a complete replacement comes because they consider the complete replacement an upgrade so they only cover part of it. But at a quoted price of $6K, I'm wondering if we can just tough out the leak until October/Nov and find our own guy and buy our own HVAC unit and break even or do even better with the tax credit. Do y'all think that prices will go down in the fall? If we could replace everything for $3-4K I think we'd let the warranty company do it. But my husband's co-worker just replaced their system without a warranty for $6K. For the same price, we might as well have more control and go it alone.

Life is too short to make yourself suffer, if you don't have to.