Experience with SunKool

[FLSunshine]

Air Conditioner

[CarlR33]

Recent thread about this company:
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/contractors-services-91/sun-kool-overcharging-331309/?highlight=Suncool

[Stu from NYC]

Even Massey has had problem with turnover. Keep asking for same tech for each 6 month visit and get new guy just out of training each time.

Good experiences but from time to time would like someone with more experience

They have a revolving door.

[dewilson58]

FLSunshine, any relationship to Sunshine A/C???

Jus say'n.


:popcorn::popcorn:

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Why did you return to SunKool after your horrible experience a few years ago, OP? You had posted then, that you'd never go back to them. https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/c-repair-322732/#post1988010

[ThirdOfFive]

No direct experience but a neighbor had Sunkool vans and service people at his house about once very 2-3 weeks for about three months. Then one day in June we saw a Munn's service vehicle there. One time, and I haven't seen any AC service vehicle there since.

[dewilson58]

Why did you return to SunKool after your horrible experience a few years ago, OP? You had posted then, that you'd never go back to them. https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/c-repair-322732/#post1988010

Nice Catch OBB

[FLSunshine]

[QUOTE=dewilson58;2366601]FLSunshine, any relationship to Sunshine A/C???

Ha -no. I've only used SunKool. I've used them for several years and have a maintenance agreement with them.

[FLSunshine]

Why did you return to SunKool after your horrible experience a few years ago, OP? You had posted then, that you'd never go back to them. https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/c-repair-322732/#post1988010

I bought an A/C with them and got the maintenance agreement with them for the new A/C.

[FLSunshine]

Nice Catch OBB

If I were looking for an A/C company, I would hope that I'd find information about the company or customer's experience on this forum. That was the purpose of the post. It's to let you know of my experience with SunKool. It's not to try to trick someone or be dishonest. If you want to use them, go ahead. If you are interested in someone else's concerns then that's why I wrote the post.

[MollyJo]

Oh.My.Goodness. If you use this company again, I would request this tech NOT be sent to your home. Sounds as if he’s a Pot Stirrer…

[Girlcopper]

I've used SunKool air conditioning for several years for both a new air conditioner and maintenance. I've found the past two technicians were newer to the company and I'm not getting the same technician each time. This last technician had a lot to say about SunKool which makes me re-think using them in future.
- The technician arrived early (earlier than I was available) and waited over an hour for me to arrive. I apologized that I wasn't available early and he said the company prohibits the employees from using the A/C in their vehicles to save money. I was shocked that an A/C company prohibits their employees from using A/C in their vehicles.
- I asked him to use booties in the house. He said the company had booties but they are sized for children's feet and don't fit adult shoes. I gave him a pair of booties for my house and future houses.
- He makes $25 per stop (not per hour but per stop). He tries to get as many stops as possible to earn more money but the company will not give him 8 stops.
- There are new government regulations that are requiring a new type of air conditioner at the end of the year. Our current air condition freon will be more difficult to find (he stated it will be liquid gold) after the first of 2025.
- Sunkool is hiring people who do not have any A/C experience and hired someone from Publix who is doing maintenance work. He stated he is concerned about a person using freon and not having experience or a certification. He did state at a company meeting the employees were told all the new employees who do not have A/C experience and are not certified need to get certified by the end of this year.
-HR at Sunkool fired multiple people because they were looking for jobs. Their resumes were on Indeed so their HR called those employees into their office one by one and fired them.
- I asked him about the sticker on the A/C that shows when the A/C was serviced. He stated the technicians have asked for the stickers but the company said it costs too much.
- He had a lot to say about how the company saves money but the owner (daughter) wears Chanel and Prada to work.
- He said the company was initially owned by the father, passed it down to his daughter, and now her son (early 20's) is being groomed to take over the company. He said he was shocked to see the son show up the first day with his shirt unbuttoned and instead of shaking his hand gave him a fist pump and said hey. He said the son doesn't show up for training with the other employees.
- He mentioned how certain employees can go to The Bahamas to "work" but there isn't work there.
- He had a lot of time to tell me about the company because he stated the company wants their employees to stay at homes longer because it looks better for the company.

The ethics of this company are concerning, especially employees who have never worked on A/C equipment nor have a certification to work on them.
Nothing is odd here. All businesses have disgruntled employees……….some more vocal than others. But if I had one in my house, I certainly wouldn’t stand there and listen to his litany of complaints. I would make it clear I didn’t care and just needed him to get the repairs done so I can get on about my day

[rsmurano]

Munns put in our original hvac system and had them do the 2x a year maintenance. I had sunkool put in a mini split and they did a great job. When I was up for my next maintenance, I had sunkool do both units and since I watch the technician while doing their work, I actually liked what sunkool did over Munns and I’m having sunkool perform my future maintenance. Also, sunkool came in almost $1000 less than Munns and others for the mini split install, and the 2x a year maintenance is cheaper than Munns

[Dusty_Star]

Nothing is odd here. All businesses have disgruntled employees……….some more vocal than others. But if I had one in my house, I certainly wouldn’t stand there and listen to his litany of complaints. I would make it clear I didn’t care and just needed him to get the repairs done so I can get on about my day

Information is power. All companies do have disgruntled employees, but sometimes the complaints are well worth listening to. It is up to us to listen & then separate the valid complaints from the plain grousing. Of course it is also your choice not to listen at all.

[mrf6969]

We have used DeSantis for years. The owner unfortunately passed away about 3 years ago. The Mrs. and the son did not want to run the company, so they sold it to deep pockets, Todd Coons.
I have spoken to several of the employees since the new owner took over and their stories are all consistent. They say it is even a better place to work now as the employees have much better benefits on top of better pay. They got a new fleet of service trucks.
DeSantis much be doing well as I see a brand-new company building on highway 301.
My only point of this reply is that there are really good successful companies out there that are doing good for their employees and thriving.

[retiredguy123]

I don't pay any company for HVAC maintenance because I don't think a technician can do anything to predict or to prevent a failure. The homeowner should pour hot water down the condensate drain every few months to ensure that the drain is working properly, inspect the coils for dirt and debris, and replace the filter at least every 6 months. Most HVAC companies make more money on preventative maintenance agreements than on repairs and replacements.

I would suggest reading the 21-point "tune-up" tasks on the SunKool website. Based on the OP's post, it would interesting if someone would accompany a SunKool technician during a tune-up and require that he perform all 21 tasks that you are paying for. I don't think there is any way that he can perform those tasks 8 times per day. A single tune-up should take at least an hour or longer, plus travel time.

[jrref]

I don't pay any company for HVAC maintenance because I don't think a technician can do anything to predict or to prevent a failure. The homeowner should pour hot water down the condensate drain every few months to ensure that the drain is working properly, inspect the coils for dirt and debris, and replace the filter at least every 6 months. Most HVAC companies make more money on preventative maintenance agreements than on repairs and replacements.

I would suggest reading the 21-point "tune-up" tasks on the SunKool website. Based on the OP's post, it would interesting if someone would accompany a SunKool technician during a tune-up and require that he perform all 21 tasks that you are paying for. I don't think there is any way that he can perform those tasks 8 times per day. A single tune-up should take at least an hour or longer, plus travel time.

I'm not sure I agree 100%.

I do agree for what they do, it's a lot of money. I can do everything they do except check the freon pressures. But I in lieu of that, checking the temperature difference between the Input and output air at the air handler gives a good indication of how the system is cooling.

That said, :
- You need to check the capacitor. It will eventully start to degrade and then fail. When it degrades your compressor and fan motor will work harder. So, you are probably shortening the life of these parts by waiting for the capacitor to just fail.
- You need to check the current draw of the compressor, fan and aux heat coils. When the compressor and or fan motors start to degrade they will not be drawing the specified amount of current. For checking the aux heat coils, the only way is to check the current draw since you can't look at them.
- In addition to just flushing the drain you need to use those air handler pan treatment tablets to prevent build-up of sludge & scum deposits that cause odors, plugged drains, and overflows. I know some people never use them and don't have a problem but these really work.
- You need to check and test the drain overflow float switch. Just because it looks clean doesn't mean its working. Several of my neighbors had floods because they didn't maintain the condensate drain, it backed up and the float switch failed to shut down the unit.
- You need to clean both the evaporator coil in the air handler AND the coils outside at the condensor unit. Eventhough they may not look dirty, if you are not cleaning them at least once a year you are throwing money out the window because your A/C won't be working at top efficiency.

So at the end of the day, there are some maintenance tasks that will help "predict" a degrading unit before it fails and some measures can be taken to prolong the life of your HVAC system.

If you are not handy and can't do these maintenance tasks then you have to get a maintenance contract from your favorite HVAC company. It's also some insurance that you will get fast response from your HVAC company if you have a failure at peak times of the year.

[retiredguy123]

I'm not sure I agree 100%.

I do agree for what they do, it's a lot of money. I can do everything they do except check the freon pressures. But I in lieu of that, checking the temperature difference between the Input and output air at the air handler gives a good indication of how the system is cooling.

That said, :
- You need to check the capacitor. It will eventully start to degrade and then fail. When it degrades your compressor and fan motor will work harder. So, you are probably shortening the life of these parts by waiting for the capacitor to just fail.
- You need to check the current draw of the compressor, fan and aux heat coils. When the compressor and or fan motors start to degrade they will not be drawing the specified amount of current. For checking the aux heat coils, the only way is to check the current draw since you can't look at them.
- In addition to just flushing the drain you need to use those air handler pan treatment tablets to prevent build-up of sludge & scum deposits that cause odors, plugged drains, and overflows. I know some people never use them and don't have a problem but these really work.
- You need to check and test the drain overflow float switch. Just because it looks clean doesn't mean its working. Several of my neighbors had floods because they didn't maintain the condensate drain, it backed up and the float switch failed to shut down the unit.
- You need to clean both the evaporator coil in the air handler AND the coils outside at the condensor unit. Eventhough they may not look dirty, if you are not cleaning them at least once a year you are throwing money out the window because your A/C won't be working at top efficiency.

So at the end of the day, there are some maintenance tasks that will help "predict" a degrading unit before it fails and some measures can be taken to prolong the life of your HVAC system.

If you are not handy and can't do these maintenance tasks then you have to get a maintenance contract from your favorite HVAC company. It's also some insurance that you will get fast response from your HVAC company if you have a failure at peak times of the year.
The SunKool 21-point tune-up doesn't say anything about checking the capacitor, adding tablets to the drain pan, or testing the float switch. Other companies don't do these things either.

Also, I don't agree with your last sentence at all. No company that I have contacted will put anything in writing about response times for a repair. They say that it is only a verbal promise. In fact, it locks you into one company instead of many, and it can be argued that it incentivizes the company to not respond quickly if they can attract new customers, and you are already a customer. The last time I needed a repair, Munn's responded within 2 hours on a Saturday. I have no maintenance agreement with Munn's.

[jrref]

The SunKool 21-point tune-up doesn't say anything about checking the capacitor, adding tablets to the drain pan, or testing the float switch. Other companies don't do these things either.

Also, I don't agree with your last sentence at all. No company that I have contacted will put anything in writing about response times for a repair. They say that it is only a verbal promise. In fact, it locks you into one company instead of many, and it can be argued that it incentivizes the company to not respond quickly if they can attract new customers, and you are already a customer. The last time I needed a repair, Munn's responded within 2 hours on a Saturday. I have no maintenance agreement with Munn's.

Well I disagree.

We have Sunshine HVAC and what I described is what they do once a year, every time. For $199/year you join the Confort Club which gives you the benefits I described. The drain tablets I was referring to is what they call their E.Z. Flow Treatment. Here is the link to their web site showing this. Comfort Club | Sunshine Air Conditioning, Inc. (https://sunshineac.com/comfort-club/)

As I mentioned, $199/year is a little much in my opinion but checking with Munz, they charge $179/year so for the $20 difference my choice was to stay with Sunshine who has done a good, consistent job for me. My friend in Fenney has Munz and I watched them do the same maintenance items that Sunshine does for me. Both good companies. As far as response time, that is going to depend on what time of year it is. I'm not saying you won't get good response times without a maintenace agreement but the maintenance agreement suggests that you will be priority and read the web site, there are a lot of other tangable benefits.

I also want to mention, some people want twice a year service but in my opinion, If your system is maintained, once a year is probably good enough. Here in Osceola Hills, the people who have issues such as condensate drain clogs and subsequent floods are those who don't have any professional or DIYer maintenance performed. They just wait for the unit to fail and deal with the aftermath. I've had three neighbors in the past couple of weeks have condensate drain clogs where the float switch failed and they had a very large flood.

[retiredguy123]

Well I disagree.

We have Sunshine HVAC and what I described is what they do once a year, every time. For $199/year you join the Confort Club which gives you the benefits I described. The drain tablets I was referring to is what they call their E.Z. Flow Treatment. Here is the link to their web site showing this. Comfort Club | Sunshine Air Conditioning, Inc. (https://sunshineac.com/comfort-club/)

As I mentioned, $199/year is a little much in my opinion but checking with Munz, they charge $179/year so for the $20 difference my choice was to stay with Sunshine who has done a good, consistent job for me. My friend in Fenney has Munz and I watched them do the same maintenance items that Sunshine does for me. Both good companies. As far as response time, that is going to depend on what time of year it is. I'm not saying you won't get good response times without a maintenace agreement but the maintenance agreement suggests that you will be priority and read the web site, there are a lot of other tangable benefits.

I also want to mention, some people want twice a year service but in my opinion, If your system is maintained, once a year is probably good enough. Here in Osceola Hills, the people who have issues such as condensate drain clogs and subsequent floods are those who don't have any professional or DIYer maintenance performed. They just wait for the unit to fail and deal with the aftermath. I've had three neighbors in the past couple of weeks have condensate drain clogs where the float switch failed and they had a very large flood.
Note that my comments were about the SunKool 21-point tune-up, not about the Sunshine company. They two different companies. SunKool lists 21 tasks the they perform every 6 months, but they do not mention the capacitor, the float switch, or a condensate drain additive. And, I don't know of any HVAC company that will guarantee in writing to respond to a repair call within a specific time. When my HVAC unit fails, I want to be able to call any company who is available to respond immediately.

[jrref]

Note that my comments were about the SunKool 21-point tune-up, not about the Sunshine company. They two different companies. SunKool lists 21 tasks the they perform every 6 months, but they do not mention the capacitor, the float switch, or a condensate drain additive. And, I don't know of any HVAC company that will guarantee in writing to respond to a repair call within a specific time. When my HVAC unit fails, I want to be able to call any company who is available to respond immediately.

No worries.

My response was just to indicate the maintenance items that must be included yearly. If your HVAC company is not checking the capacitor for example, then you need to find another company. I agree, I never see a full list of maintenance items published but a reputable company will do all the maintenance items I listed. As far as response time, you are correct. They can't publish they will be at your home in 1 hr. for example. All they can state is you get "priority". When I asked about this the answer was you will get a slot before a customer that doesn't have a maintenance agreement.

I also want to further explain why its a bad idea to wait for the HVAC to break and then fix it. One item that fails over time, as I mentioned, is the capacitor. Heat is the main reason why they fail over time. So if your condensor unit is in the shade most of the day your capacitor may last longer than a unit thats baking in the sun most of the day. When the capacitor starts to degrade, the compressor and or the fan motor will start drawing more current than it should leading to overheating and potentially shortening the life of your unit. One of the ways to guard against this specific problem is to check the capacitor with a meter and replace it when it's reading out of tolerance. You can also check the current draw on the compressor and fan motor as well to see it the capacitor is degrading. This is just one of many items that need to be checked to try and prevent a failure. I agree, maintenance is probably one of the main money makers for these companies but here in Florida where A/C is a necessity, its something you have to do. Hope this helps.

[HORNET]

Had ### experience

[retiredguy123]

No worries.

My response was just to indicate the maintenance items that must be included yearly. If your HVAC company is not checking the capacitor for example, then you need to find another company. I agree, I never see a full list of maintenance items published but a reputable company will do all the maintenance items I listed. As far as response time, you are correct. They can't publish they will be at your home in 1 hr. for example. All they can state is you get "priority". When I asked about this the answer was you will get a slot before a customer that doesn't have a maintenance agreement.

I also want to further explain why its a bad idea to wait for the HVAC to break and then fix it. One item that fails over time, as I mentioned, is the capacitor. Heat is the main reason why they fail over time. So if your condensor unit is in the shade most of the day your capacitor may last longer than a unit thats baking in the sun most of the day. When the capacitor starts to degrade, the compressor and or the fan motor will start drawing more current than it should leading to overheating and potentially shortening the life of your unit. One of the ways to guard against this specific problem is to check the capacitor with a meter and replace it when it's reading out of tolerance. You can also check the current draw on the compressor and fan motor as well to see it the capacitor is degrading. This is just one of many items that need to be checked to try and prevent a failure. I agree, maintenance is probably one of the main money makers for these companies but here in Florida where A/C is a necessity, its something you have to do. Hope this helps.
I agree that it could be a good idea to replace the capacitor if you know that it is about to fail. It would interesting to find out how many HVAC companies actually replace the capacitor during a routine maintenance visit, and how much they charge the customer. I doubt that Sunkool ever replaces the capacitor because checking it is not even on their tune-up list.

If others, who have an HVAC maintenance agreement, have had the capacitor replaced, please post and include the cost they paid for the capacitor.

[FLPartTimer]

We have had sunkool for over 15 years. We are due to schedule our 6 month check up next month and was surprised our regular tech was no longer there when we had our winter check up. by the sounds of this I need to know who not to request at my house lol.

[retiredguy123]

We have had sunkool for over 15 years. We are due to schedule our 6 month check up next month and was surprised our regular tech was no longer there when we had our winter check up. by the sounds of this I need to know who not to request at my house lol.
In 30 maintenance visits, have they ever recommended that you replace the capacitor? And, do you know if they have ever tested the condensate drain pan electronic float switch to see if it operates? If not, why not ask the guy to test these critical components?