Need HVAC Service Recommendation

Yingpin · May 11, 2015

I wanted to see if anyone can provide me some advice or a reference for having some service done on our AC Condenser? We had brand new inside and outside units installed in January 2013. On Saturday I noticed the unit was running and the temp would not drop below 77 degrees. The outside unit is making a rattling noise (similar to what a bad bearing would sound like) and will shut itself down before dropping the temp.

Goodman only offers a 5 year PARTS ONLY warranty. I will have to pay to diagnose and repair the issue which has me worried. Any solid recommendations? I am located in the White Marsh Area.

Thanks, Eric

spicedcrab · May 11, 2015

Sounds like the unit is low on freon, you have a leak, whoever installed it must have messed up with one of the soldering joints. You need to find the leak, re-solder, and re-charge the system.

trickg · May 11, 2015

spicedcrab said:
Sounds like the unit is low on freon, you have a leak, whoever installed it must have messed up with one of the soldering joints. You need to find the leak, re-solder, and re-charge the system.

We're dealing with an AC issue at the moment too, and my Freon isn't just low - it's pretty much non-existent. My HVAC guy, who I trust and have been using for a while, told me that if you had a good idea where the leak is, and the system is new enough, then fixing the leak is one thing, but if you don't know where the leak is, it can be tough.

In our case, we're opting to replace both the coil and condenser, upgrade both and move to a system that is not an R22 system. At this point, it's the smart money. The current system was a cobbled thing done by a company who I will never ever use again. I don't think it ever fully ran right. If I invest in the new system, I'll have two fairly new heating/cooling systems in a 2-zone house, both under a decent parts warranty, and hopefully it will be a headache I don't have to worry about for a while.

Boondock Saint · May 11, 2015

I've used Air Tech since I've moved into the area and had them replace my heat pump last summer. All smiles on my end.

Yingpin · May 11, 2015

Would I be able to see the leak and where is it likely to be? Estimate on Freon charge $300-$400???

trickg · May 11, 2015

R22 Freon is running about $60/lb. I would have needed about 10 lbs to charge the system, and we had no idea where the leak is. R22 is being phased out by the government too, so that's a consideration too.

If you don't have an obvious leak, tracking it down (especially if it's somewhere in the coil) can be problematic.

Last summer we dealt with this too - I was bout 5lbs shy last summer so we charged it and got us through the summer, but I pretty much knew this was going to be a bigger problem this year.

shooterhyde · May 11, 2015

If your system was installed in 2013 it's most likely R-410a not R-22.

Anchor Mechanical does work in that area and they deal with a lot of Goodman equipment.

trickg · May 11, 2015

shooterhyde said:
If your system was installed in 2013 it's most likely R-410a not R-22.

Anchor Mechanical does work in that area and they deal with a lot of Goodman equipment.

That's another reason I'm going ahead with the upgrade and replacement of my system - the system I'm replacing is R-22, and the new will be R-410a. It was going to happen sooner or later, and at this point I don't want to throw good money after bad.

rseymorejr · May 11, 2015

Yingpin said:
I wanted to see if anyone can provide me some advice or a reference for having some service done on our AC Condenser? We had brand new inside and outside units installed in January 2013. On Saturday I noticed the unit was running and the temp would not drop below 77 degrees. The outside unit is making a rattling noise (similar to what a bad bearing would sound like) and will shut itself down before dropping the temp.

Goodman only offers a 5 year PARTS ONLY warranty. I will have to pay to diagnose and repair the issue which has me worried. Any solid recommendations? I am located in the White Marsh Area.

Thanks, Eric

That noise sounds like either a bad condenser fan motor or maybe a bad capacitor keeping the compressor from starting (or a wire burned off the compressor)

Yingpin · May 12, 2015

My family friend who installed it suggested that it could be the fan or the capacitor but he could not tell for sure.

I am so angry that this is a parts only warranty but I guess that is the norm.

Robert · May 12, 2015

It is indeed, BUT Most HVAC contractors offer extended warranties that cover large portions of the labor and material costs.

Did the installing company not offer you this? (It's in every one of our contracts (the option for extending the warranty)).

rseymorejr · May 12, 2015

Yingpin said:
My family friend who installed it suggested that it could be the fan or the capacitor but he could not tell for sure.

I am so angry that this is a parts only warranty but I guess that is the norm.

The installer should offer a labor warranty there is also a 10 year parts and labor warranty available for Goodman/Janitrol that was pretty reasonable.

If a family friend installed it maybe he did it cheap with no labor warranty?

Yingpin · May 12, 2015

I think you are right that he gave us a pretty good deal on the install and maybe did not include the labor warranty as an option. It was not offered when he installed it and I should have been more aware to ask about those things. My experience was with a 25 year old unit that never gave us any trouble and I thought that I would never have to worry about it again. Learning the hard way on this. I actually didn't even realize that you had to register (within 60 days) the unit to be eligible for the 10 year parts warranty, and by failing to do so, I was not eligible for the labor warranty that was I think $50 to $100. The things you learn the first time around....

Yingpin · May 13, 2015

Just an update. I had a guy come out today and he said that it had zero Freon in the system. He could not find a "leak" but did say that there was a connection on the inside unit (brass) that was not as tight as he would recommend as well as one of the caps on the outside unit was not on tight.

Anywho, he charged me for 8lbs of freon at like $44 per lb. My total bill was $361.....

RIGGS · May 18, 2015

Thats not bad for 8lbs. We charge $99 for first 2lbs and 49 per lb after that. Offer the tech a cold one and he may only charge ya for 2 lbs.

PJDiesel · May 18, 2015

That's not a bad price, especially if it holds. I was just up at a rental property dicking around with an outside unit, luckily I had a buddy with me who's real smart with mechanical shit, we (he) found a wire pulled off near the capacitor, I'm thinking the tenant hit it with a weed eater.

Saved me a few hundred bucks I'm sure.

Need HVAC Service Recommendation

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