Air Conditioner Breakdowns
 

Do air conditioners breakdown frequently in The Villages?

Sista, I have a feeling that the reason nobody replied to your question is because if they tell you they don't have problems with their a/c, then they might jinx it, and their a/c will stop working. At least that's my opinion.

Our five year old unit went down this spring - a lizard got onto the control board and was fried and shorted the board. The repair guy had a spare board in his truck - he said it happens often. He recommended putting moth balls near the controller, lizards don't like the smell of the moth balls.


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Well, I moved into my house in January 2000 - the house was actually built in 1998. I have the same a/c that was here then. I made a BIG mistake in signing a contract with a company to service my a/c every six months. Well, when the "warranty" was out on the original unit, they (this big mistake company) came out and told me that I needed a new unit (they said that my unit was leaking oil and the coils were bad) and wanted $7,000 for one. When I told them no I couldn't afford that, they brought the price right on down to $3900. Well, I thought about it and knowing I had a Trane and have had them before in Florida I decided to call the people who installed it - Sushine Air Conditioning Inc. and asked them if it was possible that I now needed a new unit. They told me that if I needed a new unit - it definitely would not cost more that $2500 for everything but they wanted to come out - free of charge, to check the whole system over. They found out that the Big mistake company was not securing the cap for the coolant thus my house didn't seem to stay cool like it should and they also said there was no way at all that my unit could be leaking any kind of oil. They also said that my unit was "filthy" and it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in over a year (and the big Mistake company was supposed to be cleaning it every six months). Well, to end this dialog, I have Sunshine come out every six months - they clean the unit and if there are any concerns they tell me. It is still working fine and they only thing they have ever suggested that I do is perhaps - but not necessary, get a digital thermostat. If you need someone to check out your system, I suggest you call either the people who put it in or Sunshine. If you call Sunshine, tell them that Monica Carter told you to call - they know I am a very, very satisfied customer and I am sure you will be too.

Where is the controller located - inside or outside? I'm trying to picture where to place the moth balls.

Outside with the lizards.

Find the small control wires on the AC unit and remove the cover plate to expose the control panel (it is a 2 x 3 circuit board). Put some moth balls near it. Replace moth balls annually.



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Probably no more than anywhere else in warm climates....UNLESS it is one brand which the Developer put in lots of homes and then finally stopped installing.

Go to the search box and type in the word 'Trane".

As in anywhere USA the AC systems have failures. The only great benefit is there are many service company's to call. They all respond well since the villages is there life blood. When the house is new a few failures do happen. But year 2 to 10 are mostly trouble free. Maintenance needs to be done. The villages warranty can direct you to the unit installer for this, I would suggest you stay with the original installer.

I have a 3 year old Trane and I thought they were a top brand. One day it stopped cooling and I called the original installer. Seems I have (had?) a low leak involving the freon. Several neighbors have had minor problems of one sort or another with these units. Someone said earlier that they quit installing Tranes in TV. Does anyone have more informaion?

Tom W, I can tell you that the cottage homes being built now have the Carrier brand.

Our place is ten years old and one Sunday it seemed that the a/c ran constantly. I called our contractor Sunshine A/C and someone came out and checked everything out (so he said) and comes in to tell us the "bad news." It seems that there's a blockage in the pipes under the house and we should consider having this fixed for about $2500!!!!

We told him that we would think about it as he said this will run ok for awhile. When someone quotes that much, one seeks a second opinion, yes? But of course. I checked out TOTV as to who seemed to be highly recommended and it happened to be Chuck Farrell - 352.516.0192

We called him early evening and said he would be over as soon as he finished a job in about an hour. By this time it was 9 pm and on a Sunday. What a guy!!

We told him the whole story and he checked the system out and said it seems to be running just fine. He couldn't imagine anything getting into the piping under the house and suggested to wait as long as it was running fine now. He didn't charge us anything for the call, however, if I ever do need the service, he's the one who will get our business.

Now, there's a real fair, ethical very pleasant guy. What a pleasure to deal with someone so honest. This happened about four months ago and the a/c has been ok. Chuck also said that if something does go wrong, there's no way that it's going to cost you big bucks. I then told him that I should get a maintenance contract with him. He said that he doesn't believe in contracts as they're nothing but moneymakers and it's better and less money for his customers to be charged each individual call for general maintenance or if and when whatever problems arise.

There are a number of peeps here in TV that can confirm this man's honesty and integrity by just reading the threads written about Chuck Farrell.

Hope this helps.....barb1191

Thanks Champ and Barb! I am gong to wait and see if I need further service, if so I will call Mr. Farrell. I just get the feeling with another company that I am not a customer but only a profit generator.

Sounds like an issue for the Property Owners Assn to look into. Ours is a Trane... 3 yrs old .... 2 freon coil leaks already!b

We had problems with our Trane, installed in 2006. It developed freon leaks last year and the year before. We have a service warranty with an a/c company, and they fixed the leaks free of charge, but still...

It appears post #4 and post#11 make it a draw as far as Sunshine Air is concerned.

Whether we are buying Cheerios or A/C repairs it is wise to do a little shopping.

When your Trane goes out, check first the 3 amp fuse in your air handler. Chuck Farrell replaced mine and gave me an extra just in case it happens again. All these storms we're having can blow the fuse.:wave:

Update
 

Just had the A/C guy from Trane to the house. Found several pin hole leaks in the coil. Freon leaking out. Replaced with 2 lbs of freon. Will cover it under warranty. Will take 4 to 6 weeks for part. Live in the Alandale Villas in the Village of Duval.

Air Conditioning Concerns in Patio Villas
 

The Carriers are now experiencing leaks in the lines under the slabs. Our PV is 30 months old and the AC quit. SunKool and TV Warranty Dept said that the warranty expired 6 months ago. now having the line run through the crawl space. Service call, testing and new line installation $1,000. Both the TV Warranty folks and SunKool say that we're getting a deal. Apparently the original lines under the slab are inside of a pvc pipe and the joints aren't sealed, allowing moisture to enter, which leads to corrosion. The unsealed pvc connect apparently meets code. How do you spell collusion???

Sounds like you need to talk to someone like the above mentioned Chuck Farrell.

Note his comment regarding repair costs of AC units!

Also, there is a thing called latent defects that have a ten year warranty period.

Two years ago in old our house in Norcal, the upstairs shower pan started leaking after 9 1/2 years - we sent the builder a letter, they sent an inspector who concluded that it wasn't a maintenance issue and they sent out a crew to repair the shower and the 1st floor ceiling sheet rock.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latent_defect

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A very lage number of Trane evaporator coils (inside unit) failed and were replaced free by the original installer. There was a problem with corrosion resulting from two different metals in contact with each other. The units failed within the first couple of years...no problem since.

Air Conditioners
 

We live in a Villas neighborhood that is just over ten years old and not a week goes by that someone isn't replacing an air conditioning unit.These units had a ten year warranty,curious isn,t it?And yes they are all Tranes.

When it comes to replacing central air units after 10-15 years is just normal anything more is gravy, at least thats the way it has always been in our experience whether we lived in southern Virginia or Pennsylvania, so it only has to more so in Florida. We always had ours serviced semi annually and kept routine maintenance up but when they run as much as they do its just a matter of time.... plus they are get so much more efficient that it only makes sense to replace.

I have heard of several neighbors with a/c failure. They were all Tranes.....

Carriers in Hadley.