[retiredguy123]

One thing that has not been mentioned is that most new HVAC systems come with a 5-year labor and 10-year parts warranty. And yet, the company who installs it wants to immediately sell you a 6-month or annual maintenance program. Even if I did want them to check the system periodically, which I don't, I certainly wouldn't pay for it until the warranty expired. And, not having a maintenance program does not affect the warranty.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

One thing that has not been mentioned is that most new HVAC systems come with a 5-year labor and 10-year parts warranty. And yet, the company who installs it wants to immediately sell you a 6-month or annual maintenance program. Even if I did want them to check the system periodically, which I don't, I certainly wouldn't pay for it until the warranty expired. And, not having a maintenance program does not affect the warranty.

While I don't necessarily disagree, a plugged drain line will not be covered by the warranty and if a capacitor fails in the middle of summer the 10-year warranty is going to be little consolation while you sit and stew waiting for the repairman to arrive.

I'm on the fence about the checkups. I had them for a while, then I didn't, now I'm thinking about it again. For me it's a relatively small price to pay for some peace of mind.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by jrref

For those who believe that a yearly HVAC check-up and service is not needed are foolish. Why? Because the tech can find components such as the capacitor going out of spec which will put more strain on the compressor and shorten the life of your system. Also, cleanig the coils, inside and out, will make the system run more efficiently saving you money over time. They also measure the current the inside and outside fan motors are drawing, and test to make sure your Auxillary heat coils, which most have, are working properly. Also testing the coolant will let you know if you have a leak. Typically, you A/C should never need coolant unless there is a leak somewhere. Again, running your A/C with low coolant eventhough it's still cooling in your opinion will shorten the life of your system. There is no way to know unless you test the various items. Your HVAC system is not an item you should forget and don't do any maintenance untill it fails. In the long run you will be spending more money.

All this said, you need to find a company such as Sunshine, Munns, and other larger companies that don't need to resort to these scams to stay in business. And if you are one of those who are able to change the capacitor yourself, all you need to do is when the tech says it needs replacement, tell them you will do it next time around and do it yourself after he or she leaves. Just remember get the US brand capacitor such as this brand from Amazon which is what your HVAC company uses and not the cheap Chinese knock-offs. The cheap Chinese capacitors are less reliable and wear out faster especially in our hot Florida weather so in the long run it's not worth the savings. You get what you pay for.

Amazon.com

Good advise.

One more advantage of some service contracts you you get priority service, important on an especially hot day and demand for service is high.

[Michael G.]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

I'm on the fence about the checkups. I had them for a while, then I didn't, now I'm thinking about it again. It's a relatively low price for some peace of mind.

I feel our HVAC systems are the most important appliance in ANY Florida home.
And when replacing your unit, service, or parts, don't go "cheap" on yourself, use the top-notch like Munn's, Sun Kool etc. etc.

My Advice, and your welcome.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Altavia

Good advise.

One more advantage of some service contracts you you get priority service, important on an especially hot day and demand for service is high.

I have never seen a maintenance agreement that guaranteed any priority service in writing. It is just a verbal promise. If you rely on one company to provide priority service, you may be disappointed when you need them to show up and they can't.

A few years ago, my AC stopped working on a Saturday morning in July. I called Munn's, and the problem was repaired within 4 hours. No maintenance agreement.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

My experience:
Woke up very early one morning to an unexpectedly warm house. Thermostat said cooling was on, air handler was moving air, but outside unit wasn't running. Checked the float in the drain tube to find it was full of water - drain tube was plugged. A few minutes outside trying different things to clear the drain got things working again.

After that I started running a gallon of hot water through the line on the first of the month. While I am working in that closet, I also look for leaks around the hot water heater and tap on the expansion tank to make sure it still has air in it. Simple enough to remember to do on the first of the month and haven't had a drain problem since.

Signed up for a maintenance plan to check the system. Tech came and cleared out the line, cleaned the coils, and confirmed it was working properly. Two or three visits later the tech advised that the capacitor was reading low and should be replaced. He offered to do it for somewhere between $80 and $150 (don't remember exactly but was less than $200). I declined the offer then changed it myself (being very careful) for about $30.

On the next visit the capacitor tested good. This seemed to surprise the tech which makes me think they might refer to their past records before they arrive.

Observations:
1. It is far easier to pour a gallon of hot water down the drain tube than to try to unplug it at 3AM.
2. The technicians don't always find something wrong on every visit
3. These technicians appear to be fairly honest - they didn't try convince me to pay them to replace the capacitor the first time and they acknowledged it was working properly the next time (after I had replaced it myself)
4. The annual checkups are not absolutely necessary if you keep up with regular maintenance.
5. If you don't have annual checkups or don't pay to have the capacitor replaced then it would be wise to have a spare on hand - Amazon delivers quickly but a house becomes uncomfortable even faster

Yes, it would be nice if a maintenance plan included replacing the capacitor every couple of years - the part is inexpensive and the cabinet is already open. Unfortunately, I have not heard of a plan that includes this.

I'm surprised the tech was surprised the year later when he saw the capacitor was good after seeing it was goinig bad the year before because they see immediately the capacitor is now one of the cheap Chinese knock-offs vs the American made ones they all put in unless it's a small HVAC company looking to save money.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by jrref

I'm surprised the tech was surprised the year later when he saw the capacitor was good after seeing it was goinig bad the year before because they see immediately the capacitor is now one of the cheap Chinese knock-offs vs the American made ones they all put in unless it's a small HVAC company looking to save money.

Well, I imagine it's because an aluminum can with three connections on top looks exactly like another aluminum can with three connections on top.

I wonder if there is any data on how much longer the American made capacitors last compared with the "cheap Chinese knock-offs." Are you paying more for longer life or are you just paying more?

The high-quality, American-made capacitor that I removed worked well for about ten years. If the cheap Chinese knock-off that I installed only work for five years and I need to replace it again I will still have saved about 1/3 the price of the expensive product.

BTW: I wonder how many are going to go out and purchase the item you linked in the post above only to find out it is not the right part for their system.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

I feel our HVAC systems are the most important appliance in ANY Florida home.
And when replacing your unit, service, or parts, don't go "cheap" on yourself, use the top-notch like Munn's, Sun Kool etc. etc.

My Advice, and your welcome.

I find it amusing that Sun Kool lists a 21-point tuneup on their website. It says nothing about the capacitor, but they will wash and "wax" the outside unit.

[mtdjed]

Originally Posted by Ski Bum

The problem with this story is the story. How much did said neighbor pay for the yearly check up? If it was $19.95, that isn't much to put toward the cost of replacing the capacitor. If it was $199.95, then you have a point. But at this point, you only have a story.

Call it a story if you want, but it is standard fare. I did not ask what the Check Up fee was because I knew it was not $19.95. For the record , it was $130.

[J1ceasar]

The villages and they want to make money

[lpkruege1]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

Have a neighbor who called one of The Villages larger Air Conditioner installers for a yearly checkup. Don't know how much neighbor paid for the checkup. However, neighbor was told by service rep that Capacitor readings indicate that a new capacitor was likely needed before current capacitor failed. A price of $225 was verbally quoted.

I know that a capacitor costs between $10 to $20. If service rep was reading Capacitor, he already had the panel off. That meant he had to simply, disconnect power, discharge capacitor (Screwdriver between contacts), remove one bracket screw, disconnect 3 wires, remove old capacitor and simply install new capacitor. You can replace capacitor in about same time as it takes to check capacitor readings.

Since capacitors are one of the most frequent items to fail, are inexpensive and easy to replace, why don't we as the customers expect or force this abuse to stop.

Check UTUBE

Funny but it was exactly $225 what I was charged by DeSantis to change out the failed capacitor. Don't get me started about the rest of the failures of a 4 year old Trane HVAC system.

[Michael G.]

Originally Posted by J1ceasar

The villages and they want to make money

You got that wrong.

It's "they" that makes the money "from" the villages.

[Paper1]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

Have a neighbor who called one of The Villages larger Air Conditioner installers for a yearly checkup. Don't know how much neighbor paid for the checkup. However, neighbor was told by service rep that Capacitor readings indicate that a new capacitor was likely needed before current capacitor failed. A price of $225 was verbally quoted.

I know that a capacitor costs between $10 to $20. If service rep was reading Capacitor, he already had the panel off. That meant he had to simply, disconnect power, discharge capacitor (Screwdriver between contacts), remove one bracket screw, disconnect 3 wires, remove old capacitor and simply install new capacitor. You can replace capacitor in about same time as it takes to check capacitor readings.

Since capacitors are one of the most frequent items to fail, are inexpensive and easy to replace, why don't we as the customers expect or force this abuse to stop.

Check UTUBE

Thank for posting, great piece of info Village home owners should know. Capacitor replacement is a cash cow for the AC service industry.

[DonnaNi4os]

The capacitor is like the battery. I’ve had mine changed twice in five years

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by jrref

I agree 100%. These $20 capacitors you get on Amazon are Chinese knock-offs and don't last as long as the "good" american made ones. These cost about $60-$70 and is what the HVAC company installs. Even so, with labor, you shouldn't be paying any more than $125 ish to have it replaced. True, it's a DIY project but not easy enough for just anyone to do.

As someone mentioned, you can read the capacitor and know when it's starting to go bad and although the A/C might still run, it's putting more strain on the compressor which will shorten it's life. So waiting for the A/C to fail due to the capacitor is counter productive.

I was able to find the exact same US MADE capacitor the tech installed on my repair. He even left the the box it came in with all of the info. It only cost $33.95 delivered (vis Prime).

Here's a link to the capacitor I bought (as a spare): Amazon.com