[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by Michael 61

I just hired a handyman to do this and paid less than $100.

But don’t you have a tankless water heater in Richmond? She’s talking about a 40 gallon water heater tank.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Yes, it is for a 40-gallon electric water heater. Personally, I think it is a good price. Most homeowners could not even lift and remove the old tank. And then, you need to do the electrical and plumbing work to hook up the new one, including an expansion tank. I would gladly pay $875.

I usually emptied the electric water heater before I removed it. It’s simple job if and “BIG IF” you can do it and have skills.

[Blueblaze]

Originally Posted by jlejsek@sbcglobal.net

Total rip off. I have my HVAC company up north on a monthly contract of $20. They do a Spring and Fall clean and check on my AC and furnace and flush my tank for $240 yearly. Get away from that person!

Now THERE'S a total ripoff. $20/month to LOOK at your systems twice a year and flush a hot water tank every year that never needs flushing? Wow.

In my 70 years, I've owned at least 10 hot water tanks, most of them over 20 years old by the time I sold that house. Never in my life have I flushed a hot water tank or had one fail on me.

Here's a clue for how to save yourself the cost of three TV streaming services a year: Watch what he does, and then do it yourself next time.

The only useful thing you will see him do is blow the dust off your heating coils and check for debris in your A/C compressor outside. The most useless thing will be the H/W tank flush. The most damaging will be the A/C coolant check, which loses a little coolant every time they do it, thereby guaranteeing them a chance to sell you some $50/oz coolant every few years.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

Now THERE'S a total ripoff. $20/month to LOOK at your systems twice a year and flush a hot water tank every year that never needs flushing? Wow.

In my 70 years, I've owned at least 10 hot water tanks, most of them over 20 years old by the time I sold that house. Never in my life have I flushed a hot water tank or had one fail on me.

Here's a clue for how to save yourself the cost of three TV streaming services a year: Watch what he does, and then do it yourself next time.

The only useful thing you will see him do is blow the dust off your heating coils and check for debris in your A/C compressor outside. The most useless thing will be the H/W tank flush. The most damaging will be the A/C coolant check, which loses a little coolant every time they do it, thereby guaranteeing them a chance to sell you some $50/oz coolant every few years.

Refrigerant for my old A/C was $125 pound. I thought they was pumping liquid gold into it.

[Normal]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

Refrigerant for my old A/C was $125 pound. I thought they was pumping liquid gold into it.

In some cases…the government banned certain types of refrigerants (Freon) because of environmental concerns. After R 12 was banned R 134 took its place. This made R 12 much more valuable. Most compressors on AC units couldn’t handle the new refrigerant so R 12 was the only option or just buy a brand new AC. Condensation rates and expansion valves weren’t compatible with transient mixes.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Normal

In some cases…the government banned certain types of refrigerants (Freon) because of environmental concerns. After R 12 was banned R 134 took its place. This made R 12 much more valuable. Most compressors on AC units couldn’t handle the new refrigerant so R 12 was the only option or just buy a brand new AC. Condensation rates and expansion valves weren’t compatible with transient mixes.

As I understand it, the production of the old refrigerants was banned, but not the recycling of those refrigerants. So, when an older HVAC system is replaced, the old, obsolete refrigerant is reclaimed and resold as a recycled product. There is a good supply of the older refrigerants still available for purchase.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

$250 for a service call and an hour of a plumber's time. Seems about typical. The question is, why would you pay someone for a pointless, unneeded procedure that you could have easily done yourself with a garden hose and access to Google, if you were that worried about it.

If Village Plumber did something to trick you into paying them to flush your water heater, then shame on Village Plumber. But I can't blame them too much for taking your money if you called them up and asked them to do it.

In my experience, charging $250 to flush out a water heater is not typical, whether it is done by a plumber or not. It is overcharging.

[Normal]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

As I understand it, the production of the old refrigerants was banned, but not the recycling of those refrigerants. So, when an older HVAC system is replaced, the old, obsolete refrigerant is reclaimed and resold as a recycled product. There is a good supply of the older refrigerants still available for purchase.

Yes, remember in the mid 80s the old practice for repair was to vent all the Freon to the air, fix, vacuum and refill. Reclamation receiver equipment wasn’t/still isn’t cheap and loss of Freon was the original symptom to malfunctioning ACs. This made it less and less of a possibility to even repair systems. R 11 Chillers are a whole different story.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Normal

Yes, remember in the mid 80s the old practice for repair was to vent all the Freon to the air, fix, vacuum and refill. Reclamation receiver equipment wasn’t/still isn’t cheap and loss of Freon was the original symptom to malfunctioning ACs. This made it less and less of a possibility to even repair systems. R 11 Chillers are a whole different story.

I could be wrong, but I think it may now be illegal to vent the refrigerant to the air, and HVAC companies need to account for the refrigerant they remove from old systems.