Weak AC Rant

455 Bravo Uniform

455 Bravo Uniform

Final Approach
Joined
Aug 18, 2015
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KLAF
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455 Bravo Uniform
Home Airfield
KLAF
No, not a weak AC; It’s a weak rant about AC.

Why can one not find anyone to simply replace a dead compressor on a home AC unit? Two companies so far want to sell me a whole new system for $13-15k. They quote the compressor replacement right at 50% of that.

I’ve found an original replacement compressor for right around $1k, and 30 lbs of R22 for $650. I’d gladly pay a few hundred dollars per hour for labor. But that would upset the AC price fixing cartel.

Been in the environmental industry for almost 35 years. Coming up with new refrigerants and replacing units every 15 years does more environmental harm than just fixing the old stuff.

There is no shortage of business for the AC companies, so I can’t negotiate jack. 99% of people just bend over and take it, so I guess I have to also.
 
Surely there’s an independent contractor somewhere who’d do it… finding them is the trick though.
 
I don't know how things are in LAF these days, but down here in water-scarce suburban sprawl hell we have a glut of shade tree HVAC folk we are able to contract to do these part-troubleshoot jobs, and it saves quite a bit of money. FB local and nextdoor apps have been a solid way to find contacts for these local shade tree types. We're still running the original R22 system installed in my cracker jack American cardboard box when it was originally glued together circa 2005.

Don't give up, resist, be petty if you have to.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
I’d gladly pay a few hundred dollars per hour for labor.
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Hourly labor rates don’t make the profit that the whole job does, so as others indicated, you’re unlikely to find anything much beyond a one-man shop to do it.

I’ve had a couple of Realtors in the past who have been able to point me in a good direction, so if you’ve know any of them it might be worth asking.
 
Precisely why I replaced my own HVAC unit last summer. I was replacing a 25yr old package unit, so in my case I didn't need to do any refrigerant work because package units come pre-charged. However, the cheapest quote I got for a replacement was $10K for a 2.5T unit. I replaced it myself for under $2.5K. HVAC has become such a racket.
 
HVAC is being bought up by private equity and being squeezed for all it’s worth. Sales guys over techs. Finding a decent company is very difficult.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
Why can one not find anyone to simply replace a dead compressor on a home AC unit?
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Mainly factory warranty issues and various business strategies. Look for someone who advertises "handyman" services in your area. Most should provide the services you are looking for. All the ones in my area will piece meal HVAC work along with appliance work, etc.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Precisely why I replaced my own HVAC unit last summer. I was replacing a 25yr old package unit, so in my case I didn't need to do any refrigerant work because package units come pre-charged. However, the cheapest quote I got for a replacement was $10K for a 2.5T unit. I replaced it myself for under $2.5K. HVAC has become such a racket.
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I got a quote once for $13k to put a 18k mini split in new construction when we were at the studs stage (so no fighting to run lines, etc). The compressor was to go on the outside wall immediately behind the inside unit, so dead simple.

I got so PO'd at the pricing that I bought a nitrogen tank, torch, silver brazing, fittings, vacuum pump, gauge set, got my EPA certificate and then installed it.

My cousin joined me in it and we've now done about 8 of them across our homes/rental homes/parents/etc. Both mini splits and full split units.

If he had quoted me something reasonable, like $400/hour, I would have never gone out and done it, but they wanted their $1000/hour so to heck with them.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
I’ve found an original replacement compressor for right around $1k, and 30 lbs of R22 for $650. I’d gladly pay a few hundred dollars per hour for labor. But that would upset the AC price fixing cartel.
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HVAC is the bane of my existence as a facility manager.

And just where did you find R22 for that price??? Last time I needed R22 for a system it was $100/lb, and I had a system that held 120 pounds!
 
midwestpa24 said:
HVAC is the bane of my existence as a facility manager.

And just where did you find R22 for that price??? Last time I needed R22 for a system it was $100/lb, and I had a system that held 120 pounds!
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IMG_7096.jpeg
 
My realtor had a guy, HVAC day job, freelance on his own time. I'd have never found him on my own,though.
 
I reached out to a couple guys. They were skittish about working on an R22 system, mostly to do with concern about follow-up calls if something went wrong down the line. One of those guys was a seasoned tech who did side jobs. I talked with him for about 20 minutes.

I ended up getting quotes from 3 companies of varying levels of “their best advice” plus, compressor-only replacement.

Compressor and refrigerant quotes ranged from $6,558 to $7,852.

Heat-pumps, retaining my own gas furnace were $7,680 to $10,936, with the upper end eligible for a $2,000 tax credit.

Entire HVAC replacement ranged from $10,300 to $13,561.

Only one company of their own volition suggested they could just replace what I had with AC-only. $6,000.

I figure we’ll pay for furnace replacement as soon as this winter or if it dies later. Also, without heat-pump running the compressor most days of the year, perhaps the AC will last a bit longer.

I fought, maybe not hard enough, and lost.
 
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