[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by jrref

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]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

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.

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]

Originally Posted by jrref

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.

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]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

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]

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[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by jrref

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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?