Air Conditioner trouble.

[ryan42]

My central air went out last night.The guy come out today and told me it was my aircondtioner compessor.He said it will cost me 1,200 dollars.Does anybody know if thats fair or not?

[geds]

How much to replace the hole unit for a more efficient one?

[Bobitis]

Get a couple more opinions.

Compressors are expensive and have to be shipped by truck (no UPS, Fedex or Postal). A compressor for a drinking fountain can run 350 bucks.

It's one of those things ya gotta have, so people hose ya for it.

[shorter260513]

the compressor will run pretty high then you have to think about the entire system need to be vacumed (remove all freon) the compressor replaced and recharged with new freon and oil I also would check into a new system if it is a fairly old unit if the compressor went out the fans could be next

[wv hillbilly]

how old is it? if it is more than 10 yrs. old you should consider replacing the whole unit
i had the same thing 5 years ago. i replaced our unit at a cost of $3000.
just me but it seems high
i might add that was the unit in the attic and the one outside

[hstout1143]

I bought my whole 5 ton unit with heater 6-7 years ago for about that price and spent another $600 having everything installed and that's in Los Angeles. I would get more estimates and think about a more efficient one if the seer rating is low.

[Appliancedude]

Call around. If you dont trust him call someone else. I charge upwards of $600 to $700 for a refrigerator. So for an AC unit, that sounds ok to me, but I don't do AC. I've done a few window AC units and they are a pain. Lots more work. So to me it sounds ok, but honestly I really don't know

[Awtoman]

If the run capacitor is bad, the compressor will not run. $20 part plus labor, but you could change it yourself. What kind of compressor failure did he say you have?

Tom

[Awtoman]

If the compressor is bad, that figure is in the ballpark.

Tom

[ryan42]

Originally Posted by Awtoman

If the run capacitor is bad, the compressor will not run. $20 part plus labor, but you could change it yourself. What kind of compressor failure did he say you have?

Tom

The capacitor is blown and he put a new one on it and the fan kicked right on but he said the compressor didnt come on.Its full of freon.He didnt tell me what kind of compressor failure it was.He wants me to turn it on my homeowners and say it was hit with lightining.I thought that sounded dishonest. This is the guy my dad called and sent out my dad uses him all the time. Although a few years ago my unit stopped on the inside and he came out looked at it and said I had a bad circuit board (It was burnt) without putting meters on it he said the whole thing was bad and wanted to turn it in on insurance.I ended up calling my wifes cousin and he came out put the meters on it and said just a bad board.I took him to a distributor and paid 90 bucks and it ran like a top.Bad thing is I would call the cousin again but hes dead.damnit

[mjp28]

Originally Posted by ryan42

The capacitor is blown and he put a new one on it and the fan kicked right on but he said the compressor didnt come on.Its full of freon.He didnt tell me what kind of compressor failure it was.He wants me to turn it on my homeowners and say it was hit with lightining.I thought that sounded dishonest. This is the guy my dad called and sent out my dad uses him all the time. Although a few years ago my unit stopped on the inside and he came out looked at it and said I had a bad circuit board (It was burnt) without putting meters on it he said the whole thing was bad and wanted to turn it in on insurance.I ended up calling my wifes cousin and he came out put the meters on it and said just a bad board.I took him to a distributor and paid 90 bucks and it ran like a top.Bad thing is I would call the cousin again but hes dead.damnit

WHOA!!! If you haven't already RUN and get another qualified person to look at this again!

My central AC was put in 1988 and I still haven't replaced the compressor. Run/start capacitor, fan, that's about it....I also have HVAC protection (because I can not do it myself with my bad back and hip) and it cost me $0 for the repairs.

"IF" your compressor is truly bad and older than 10 or 20 years I'd consider a new one....let us know if you got another opinion.

[Iron Eagle]

Ryan, my unit went out too. To replace the coil- $300+-. Upto 10 pounds of freon- $80 per pound. Total, OUCH! Can't do it. We have a window unit that is really helping! We would love to have the central air up and running, but it is big bucks.

[ryan42]

Originally Posted by Iron Eagle

Ryan, my unit went out too. To replace the coil- $300+-. Upto 10 pounds of freon- $80 per pound. Total, OUCH! Can't do it. We have a window unit that is really helping! We would love to have the central air up and running, but it is big bucks.

Im waiting on another guy.I hear ya iron eagle I put the window units in this morning.Im not letting it get me down I am taking a trip to bobskis friday and theres nothing gonna stop that for sure.Ill deal with it when I get back.

[Insulation Tim]

As mentioned by others, if the old unit is approaching 10 years, price an entire new system. The SEER ratings are so much better these days, that you should see a positive impact on your electric bill.

I have a 2 story 3000 sf home that I replaced the inside and outside (AC and Furnace) about 4 years ago for around $ 5K.

The drop in my KWH was remarkable and the house keeps so much cooler.

[gdmoody]

Do some shopping around before you decide on one guy. $1200 from one guy might only be $800 (or less) from some one else.

My system went out in April and I had several estimates and the difference in prices was amazing, it ranged from $5200 to $6900 for pretty much the same service. I went with the $5200 deal from a fellow who only advertised by word of mouth and got a whole lot more, than the other places were offering, for a whole lot less. I had extra vents installed and another "return" put in my bedroom for that same $5200 and the other companies wanted $2000 on top of the complete unit installation.

[bobski]

ask him to try to turbo boost it to see if he can unseize it.

[TheGunClinger]

Originally Posted by ryan42

The capacitor is blown and he put a new one on it and the fan kicked right on but he said the compressor didnt come on.Its full of freon.He didnt tell me what kind of compressor failure it was.He wants me to turn it on my homeowners and say it was hit with lightining.I thought that sounded dishonest. This is the guy my dad called and sent out my dad uses him all the time. Although a few years ago my unit stopped on the inside and he came out looked at it and said I had a bad circuit board (It was burnt) without putting meters on it he said the whole thing was bad and wanted to turn it in on insurance.I ended up calling my wifes cousin and he came out put the meters on it and said just a bad board.I took him to a distributor and paid 90 bucks and it ran like a top.Bad thing is I would call the cousin again but hes dead.damnit

That alone tells me he is dis-honest and is blowing the smoke you know where.

[Appliancedude]

Originally Posted by ryan42

He wants me to turn it on my homeowners and say it was hit with lightining.I thought that sounded dishonest.

Um yea its dishonest. And I don't even see the point. In fact it might get it denied because it was an "act of God".

1 Do you have homeowners insurance?

2 Does it cover your central air?

If both answers are yes, CALL THEM NOW!!!!!!

Do not tell them you had this yeahoo out looking at it. They will send out their contractor to look it over. I do work for most home warranty companys. They will get you fixed up right. If the compressor is bad it doesn't have to be a specific reason for failure. All they care about is what failed and that "YOU" didn't cause it.

[gvw3]

Ryan my son is certified in HVAC. He never worked in the field just went to school for it. When we see you at bobski's Friday he would know what you should do. I think $1200 is about fair. I was going to swap mine out last year and the part was $700. He is out right now so I can't ask him.

[Fast Forward]

Your Lucky I just replaced an entire system,,,4700.00

[bobski]

the freon alone is worth 400.00. 1200 sounds about right.
ask him to recycle your freon!!!!!!!!!!
they dont vent it, they put it in a bottle when they empty it. make sure they put it back in!
if your system is old, getting that old freon r12??? is not cheap. most will upgrade your system to r410??? if they do, SELL THEM YOUR OLD FREON for credit.

[Appliancedude]

Originally Posted by bobski

the freon alone is worth 400.00. 1200 sounds about right.
ask him to recycle your freon!!!!!!!!!!
they dont vent it, they put it in a bottle when they empty it. make sure they put it back in!
if your system is old, getting that old freon r12??? is not cheap. most will upgrade your system to r410??? if they do, SELL THEM YOUR OLD FREON for credit.

If the compressor is a burn out the freon is unusable

[ryan42]

Originally Posted by bobski

ask him to try to turbo boost it to see if he can unseize it.

He said he did he called it a hot start probably the same thing.He did this by putting a bigger capacitor on it to try and it didnt work.Is that how you do it?

[ryan42]

Originally Posted by gvw3

Ryan my son is certified in HVAC. He never worked in the field just went to school for it. When we see you at bobski's Friday he would know what you should do. I think $1200 is about fair. I was going to swap mine out last year and the part was $700. He is out right now so I can't ask him.

Ill just bring your son home with me and he can fix it.lol

[Gun Geezer]

If he replaced a capacitor and the fan ran, I would be skeptical because the fan motor uses a separate start and run cap. Get someone who knows how to do electrical trouble shooting on HVAC.