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Replies: 40
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TigerNet Champion [113620]
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Do you have an HVAC maintenance plan?
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:43 PM
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WifeofGreenr called HVAC company to check out our downstairs bedroom, air BARELY flows through the vent, wondering if there is a problem. Well, no problem, just poor design in construction. It is the extra bedroom so we are not redesigning the entire ductwork. We will just go grab a ceiling fan.
Anyways, we had the option to pay $100 today for the diagnostic OR a $250 maintenance plan (non-renewing) for the next 12 months which includes two visits, one when heat turns on and one when AC turns on. We went with that, felt like a decent thing to do since we were already in for $100.
Got me thinking, is this common? Is this something we SHOULD be doing? System is maybe 3 years old, house was less than 12 months when we bought it, IIRC.
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TigerNet Grandmaster [198576]
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Yes. After my system turned about 16 years, I got on a plan.
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:46 PM
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Running good. 219 a year
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Tiger Titan [48000]
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See in this scenario it makes sense. Not for a 3 yr old unit though IMO.***
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:50 PM
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TigerNet Grandmaster [198576]
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Yes, it is now over 22 years old.***
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:52 PM
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Tiger Titan [48000]
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Check this. And it's not even going to sound believable. I have 2 units.
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:55 PM
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1 cools the bottom 2 floors, the other cools just the 3rd floor.
The one that cools the bottom 2 floors is like 10 yrs old.
The one that cools the 3rd floor is a 1992 model.
Yes, might very well be looking at a new unit this fall. Also may YOLO it and rock it again next summer. We'll see.
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TigerNet Champion [113620]
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Mom had that luck until it all went to hell. Old York units for YEARS, like
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:58 PM
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1992 until 2020ish, then they died and she spent ALOT fixing it. Then we sold the house. The AC units weren't the only thing to die there.
That sounds fucked up but I am leaving it in there
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Orange Immortal [62601]
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We moved into our last house in 2007 (just moved out). It had two units,
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:40 PM
[ in reply to Check this. And it's not even going to sound believable. I have 2 units. ] |
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one for each end of what was a long, ranch style house. One unit was installed in 2003, and we were told we were good for a long time with that one. The one on the other end was installed in 1992 and looked like a rusty boat anchor; we were told to be prepared to replace it any day. Wayull, we had to have the newer one repaired several times, and freon added every year for the past 6 years straight. Boat anchor never needed a single recharge and ran like a champ until it died suddenly in 2021. When they put athe new one in, they laughed and said "Don't expect this one to last 30 years!".
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110%er [4055]
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CU Medallion [20192]
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Annual cleaning, especially of coils & condensate drain , is not a bad thing.
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:49 PM
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Especially given the pollen and leaves.
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Tiger Titan [48000]
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Even twice annually. $6 can of coil cleaner at the Walmart per cleaning.***
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:51 PM
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TigerNet Grandmaster [198576]
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Obed said that stuff is bad for it.***
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:54 PM
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Tiger Titan [48000]
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I know. And I trust what he says. I know 2 dudes that each own HVAC
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:59 PM
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biz and they don't seem to think it really matters. They did, however, STRONGLY advise against using any sort of abrasive chemicals like degreasers or soap not diluted enough.
That said, maybe alternating coil cleaner/water every other cleaning is a good way to go. I'm reasonably sure an HVAC tech ain't gonna clean it with pure water but I could be wrong on that.
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TigerNet Grandmaster [198576]
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He mixes something with water. I was watching one time.***
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:01 PM
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CU Medallion [20192]
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Strong acidic or caustic cleaners can be corrosive to coils & refrigerant tubing
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Aug 1, 2024, 3:09 PM
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Dilute sufficiently to achieve a neutral pH … like follow directions and rinse thoroughly.
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Tiger Titan [48000]
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Dang. Low air flow due to poor design?
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:49 PM
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That's crap.
Not me but I know peeps on those plans, and know a couple of small biz HVAC folks that sell them.
The plan SHOULD include cleaning once annually. The rest of the visit is to just check the vitals, make sure you have enough freon, etc.
I personally ain't paying that for that. You can clean an outdoor unit for like $6 and about 5 minutes of time.
Apart from that, there isn't that much that can go wrong. A capacitor is probably the most likely thing to go but if you can trubbleshat that and replace yourself, you're in it for probably under $25. Last one I bought the actual part was I think $12. An HVAC dude will prolly fix it for free if on the "maintenance plan" but will get you for like $100 for the part.
This maintenance plan setup is a newer phenomenon, and it ain't to really serve the people and keep 'em happy. I'm sure it was introduced at some annual HVAC convention on how to develop an additional stream of annual recurring revenue.
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TigerNet Grandmaster [198576]
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With my plan, you get service first before the peons.
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:51 PM
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But I haven't needed it.
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Heisman Winner [81761]
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I had one on my last house bc both units were over 20 YO
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:50 PM
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When I purchased it. The man had to show up plenty to fix things so it was completely worth it. On a side note my Dad just had to completely replace a 4 YO unit at the lake house and if he had that insurance plan it would have saved him a lot of cash.
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Tiger Titan [48000]
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You talking about a home warranty or a maintenance plan for HVAC?
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:51 PM
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Sounds like you are describing a home warranty to me.
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TigerNet Champion [113620]
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Ya, mine offers no insurance, just 20% off for repairs, etc
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:56 PM
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which I am sure they mark up 19.99% for the maintenance plan folks.
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Heisman Winner [81761]
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Top TigerNet [29640]
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Re: Do you have an HVAC maintenance plan?
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Aug 1, 2024, 12:53 PM
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I do - about $300 for 2 visits.
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Ultimate Tiger [36728]
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They basically just clean your coils (you can do this with a hose)
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:04 PM
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and check your gas. The latter you don't really need unless you feel it's not cooling.
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Tiger Titan [50275]
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Man yall city folks will fall for every traveling salesman story ever invented
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:12 PM
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An AC maintenance plan?
You mean a sprayer and water hose?
What all maintenance issues do yall have?
A capacitor is easy to change. Just make sure you discharge it first.
Fan motors are also very easy to change.
Once you start messing with compressors and boards, you might as well buy a new one anyways.
Yall are weird
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TigerNet Grandmaster [198576]
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Mine hooks something up to my furnace once a year and tunes it up
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:17 PM
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Got it running a lot quieter and more efficient somehow. Added some part to it for cheap. Also, when you live in a city you get faster service with the plan.
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TigerNet Champion [113620]
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Heisman Winner [87430]
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For a room the size of a shed***
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Aug 1, 2024, 2:47 PM
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Heisman Winner [84149]
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Yeah they've tried to sell me on that before. Butt Tickle_it is one smart
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:15 PM
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analist and did the maths on it. Showed said maths to tech and how it wouldn't work out. Then there was no more conversations on it. Like my HSA, I'll pay as I go.
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Ultimate Clemson Legend [104208]
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Meh, i check the ducts every spring and fall.
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:17 PM
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Tape up any holes, etc. Every spring I spend $8 on some coil cleaner spray. Clean the coils. About it.
Really, cleaning coils helps the most. It made at least a 4 degree difference back when we were at 104 degrees and the upstairs AC wasn't keeping up. Next day 103, and it held at 74 as requested.
Just remember, they won't offer you anything they won't make bank on.
Best thing we ever did was register our HVAC with the mfg. When we closed on our house in 2012, the builder actually registered our HVAC with the mfg for us, as a service. He said they had a 10 year warranty and we needed to register to qualify.
We've replaced the coils in 2 units, and a compressor, ALL covered under warranty, only paid labor. Maybe $500 maintenance in 12 years. Couple of three or four grand had we purchased the parts.
Of course our time under warranty is up, so next big problem we may end up buying a new unit. Last problem would have been 60% of buying a new unity, but for the warranty.
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Tiger Titan [50275]
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I spent about 3 hours under my house fixing leaky duct work
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:21 PM
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made a huge difference.
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Ultimate Clemson Legend [104208]
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yeah, we've been lucky on our ducts.
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:23 PM
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Had a few big problems a year or two into the house, nothing (big) for the past maybe 10 years. If there is a down duct you will know it easy. I check the temp coming out of all vents before going to explore the ducts. If one vent is off more than a few degrees, I check that one carefully.
Helps to have 100% easy access to all ducts in the crawlspace underneath. Attic, MAJOR PITA to get to some ducts.
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Heisman Winner [87430]
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Oculus Spirit [41753]
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An engineer asking of maintenance is a good idea?
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:32 PM
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What are they teaching you kids these days?
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Clemson Conqueror [11512]
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Re: Do you have an HVAC maintenance plan?
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:37 PM
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Daughter of purchased such a plan. Thought it was a good idea because it'd probably be the only time the filter gets changed.
First two visits they found issues that needed repair. Started to wonder about it, but 3 visits since have been without incident.
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TigerNet Champion [113620]
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I was bracing myself for repairs today that would have been in the $1ks range
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:40 PM
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so him saying he saw no problems was a relief.
When he offered $250 today instead of the $100 diagnostic fee and that included 2 more maintenance visits, I jumped at it. I just assumed that any time they look at it, they are going to find SOME problem.
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Ultimate Clemson Legend [98261]
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I assume they just clean the coils and check the refrigerant level?
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:48 PM
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I don't have a plan.
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Orange Phenom [14603]
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My HVAC maintenance plan = keeping a start capacitor on hand.
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:43 PM
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Saying this guarantees I’ll need a loan from Obed for a repair next week but a start capacitor has been the culprit with nearly every HVAC issue I’ve ever had.
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Heisman Winner [87430]
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Heisman Winner [79013]
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I got something in the spring. Company came and checked everything out and
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Aug 1, 2024, 1:49 PM
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gave it a good, real good cleaning. They will come back again in the fall. It wasn't very expensive and didn't cost much more than the one time visit.
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Ultimate Clemson Legend [99922]
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That's a negatory, Dummy.
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Aug 1, 2024, 2:23 PM
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When they do the 'free visit,' they are going to find something wrong with your H&A.
Funny thing is, you've already given them 125 bucks for each visit.
My plan is to call my son who is a pro at H&A.
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Legend [6966]
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Yes
Aug 1, 2024, 3:11 PM
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Whenever the temp goes from 78 to 80, I suck out the drain line and clean my filter
HTH
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Orange Elite [5292]
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Sounds like you've never had your AC go out on a friday after 5 on a
Aug 1, 2024, 4:29 PM
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weekend.
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Replies: 40
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