HVAC yearly maintenance
 

I just moved to the Villages and am finding out that some HVAC companies are changing their plans to only make one maintenance visit per year vs two. I know from experience that the filter at the very least has to be changed at least twice a year so one visit per year is unacceptable. I found Munns and Holliday are still offering twice a year visits at a reasonable price.

Any thoughts or advice on which company to go with?

SunKool is a good option.

Agree with Sun Kool, twice a year maintenance $199. Join the Kool club,gives you priority on emergency after hour calls.

We were with Sun Kool until a year ago when their tech told us we should by a new system for twice what it would cost to repair the part he thought was failing (it wasn't). We had Kalo (sp?) come out when our Sun Kool contract was up (6 months after the "failing" part didn't fail). Without knowing what the Sun Kool tech had said, Kalo said the system was in good shape. We signed up with them. It may have been just an over-protective tech on Sun Kool's part, but we felt a bit uncomfortable with them after that.

we use Munn's, & are very pleased with the service.

We have Chuck Farrell service our A/C annually and I replace the filter at least quarterly. Replacing the filter is about the easiest do it yourself project there is for a homeowner. It takes me about 30 seconds, open the filter door, slide out the old filter, slide in a new filter, and close the door. The only thought involved is putting the filter in with the air flow arrows pointing in the proper direction.

Chuck Farrell is not taking new customers.

Don't count on Munn's to change your filter, guy came out checked everything and said everything was ok, I guess ok means he couldn't find anything to charge me for...... he never even changed the filter, I did after he left, and then I canceled the contract.

We use SunshineAC. Expensive but reliable. Respond within hours to an emergency. Annual maintenance $129 I think.
The filter is very important for the quality of air inside. Very easy to change. No tools required. Should be changed every 3 months not 6 although during allergy season I changed it monthly. Filters are cheap, buy from Lowe’s or Home Depot, I bought a year’s supply.

What size filter are you using? Ours has a 10X20X 4 inch filter and runs 73 dollars for 2 the last time I bought filters on Amazon. That was for a Merv 11 but they ended up sending Merv 13's which run a little more.

maint fee does not include filter

I don't have any maintenance agreement at all. But, annually is not often enough to add vinegar or to flush out the condensate line. I do it every 3 months. I change the filter every 6 months. Those are really the only things you need to do, except to inspect the inside of the air handling unit and the outside coils for dirt or mold. I think it is a waste of money to pay an HVAC technician to come to your house to do anything to a system that is operating properly. They cannot prevent a breakdown. Call a technician when the system fails. Also, don't pay in advance for repair service because you will be stuck with one company who may not be available when you need them.

Honeywell 16” by 25” by 1” filter for a 14 seer trane AC rated for about 2000 sq ft. Our 14 year old AC is working perfectly but was always maintained by Sunshine. The next HVAC we put in will have the special pollen and allergy filter not sure if it has UV but will cost about $750 just for the filter, according to Sunshine.

DiscountFilters.com: Refrigerator Water Filters, Furnace Filters & More

Seco filters I received came from them. They always have coupons making them cheaper than seco link. Good quality filters that fit well

I change my own filter and use Munns. Only the filter needs to be checked more than one a year. They were just here a couple days ago and it was $79.

Many HVAC failures are caused by a blockage of your condensate drain line. This can occur in less than a year, especially if insects, a snake, or other animals get into the drain, which is wide open and exposed on the outside of your house. Mold and other debris can also block the drain.

I would suggest buying a "Drain King 345" on Amazon for $11.90 to flush out your condensate drain. You just connect it to a garden hose and stick it into your condensate pipe inside your air handling cabinet. Much more effective than adding vinegar or hot water.

Munn's was the original installer of our AC, we stayed with them and they have been exceptional to deal with. We also purchased a washable filter and clean that frequently. We also follow Munn's instructions for flushing the drainage pipe.

Many years ago we lost our AC one night during an electrical storm that took out our power. We called them and they sent an emergency crew to the house and got our AC running.

I do believe that any of the companies mentioned on this posting are very good, if you are not good you don't last too long in TV.

I appreciate the suggestion, and they did suggestion I check it periodically - pour a gallon of water down it. The causes you suggest could happen and result in a. 100^ blockage in 24 hours. So doing it every 6 months is not enough. In fact, he suggested we pour a gallon down the drain every month. So, we put it on our schedule - about 2 1/2 minutes total. I can do that too.

Jeff Cabral at (352) 559-9558. Great job at reasonable price. He has a twice a year service plan that includes a clothes dryer vent cleaning!

Okay here's the scoop on the AC maintenance, DeSantis andMunns are both too highly rated reputable companies. If you use the one inch filters you should change them every one to two months it takes minutes and they cost just a few dollars depending on the mirv rating from several reliable blogs it appears you need mirv of 8-11. 11 will remove virtually all pollen and dust particles and is at least 50% better than eight but of course more expensive. The other thing you should do at least wasley is make sure the water drain pipe is cleaned with vinegar or a light solution of bleach / water followed by a flush of your hose. If you have the thick 4-inch filters some of them are washable and others may need to be replaced 3 - 6 months

Weuse Munns, and are happy with them. Two visits a year.

What does "wasley" mean?

Milking TV-ers
 

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Change the filter, pour the vinegar down the condensate drain and check the coils. Takes about 5-10 mins total.
I think a lot of these companies make big bucks (in total, do the math) doing very little on "maintenance". It's like they either use fear and uncertainty to get TV-ers to pony up for maintenance contracts, in the hope they get some piece of mind. I agree with you, no way for them to prevent or anticipate a break down. This is life, things can and do break, no matter how much we would like to prevent it.

Filters are not cheap for the houses with carrier south of 44. My house is 2 years old. They aren’t standard and cost approx 50 each cartridge type

Those filters only need to be changed once per year.

Weekly

Try ACE Hardware for a brand called Flanders. They also sell several other brands and they know which ones will fit the Carrier units. I think the Flanders filters are about $18 for the 16x20x4 inch size and about $32 for the 19x20x4 inch. Those nominal sizes will fit most Carrier units in The Villages.

Flushing the drain with a hose is a good idea, but most condensate drains do not have a hose connection. The "Drain King 345", sold on Amazon, allows you to screw it onto a hose and push the rubber end directly into the condensate pipe. Very easy.

Your circumstances may be different, but my condensate line has never been cleaned more than annually and has never presented a problem.

As a person who grew up in the trades, as well as having a father-in-law owning an HVAC company, I don't immediately see the need for an HVAC maintenance contract.

Then again, if you have mobility issues or just never have been a DIYer at home, there may be value and "comfort" in having someone look at your HVAC once or twice a year.

As others said, changing the filter, cleaning the drain, and inspecting the coils, are most of what it takes to maintain HVAC.

There are other things consider in my opinion -- has the flow from the vents decreased, is the temperature not maintaining as it did in other seasons, has an animal been in your attic (real thing, animals can destroy ducts in attic), has a gardener kinked your high or low pressure line from the compressor, are your outdoor coils bent? These are some of the things that can degrade your HVAC experience.

I did a maintenance agreement for a year on a previously-owned home with a 15 year old HVAC system. In each visit, I was pressured to replace the system -- even though it worked fine and they even said it worked fine. I didn't renew the contract and the unit worked for a few years longer before, inevitably, expiring.

All HVAC systems, like us Villagers, will eventually breakdown and fail.

Until it does!

There's only ONE answer to this post and the above is 100% correct.
Any HVAC company gives service on weekends with quick respond after hours even without a service contract.

SAVE your $$$$ or adopt me........:clap2:
Change the dam filter, keep the water discharge clear w/vinegar every 3 months.

Munn’s
 

We’ve had Munn’s Heating and Air Conditioning service our HVAC twice a year from the beginning. They were also the HVAC sub-contractor when our house was built. They serviced the furnace on one visit and the A/C on the other. Filter replacements when needed.

We use Munn's. They were out here a couple of weeks ago. When the appt was set up I was asked if they should bring a filter or if we had one. Cost is about the same either way so I asked them to bring one and change it, which they did.

We have been happy with their service and would recommend them.

kathy

I don't know where you buy your filters, but you can save a lot of money by buying your own filters. In my case, the Munn's filter is $50 vs the ones I buy at ACE Hardware for $18. You can save even more money by buying filters online.

I just renewed my annual SunKool contract. They come twice a year. I check my filter monthly and usually change it whenever necessary. I check it every month and also pour water down the condensation line to be sure it’s flowing unobstructed

Taking this a step further, most common failure is the run/start capacitor.

The fans will run but no cooling because the compressor fails to start.

Relatively easy to change so if handy, good to have a spare on hand.

I agree, but I have read several checklists for regular maintenance service, and have never seen one that will replace the capacitor to prevent a future breakdown. It is interesting that the SunKool list says that they will wash and "wax" the outside unit. Really?

NordicPure has supplied all my filter needs for years. Their prices are normally very reasonable. Shop AC Furnace Air Filters - HVAC, Furnace and Replacement AC Filters