Talk of The Villages Florida - does A/C unit need yearly "Tune Up"?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by jrref (Post 2437353)

Are you sure it's $22? I saw their advertisement recently for $19.95. I remembe this because this is the same price that Earl Scheib would pant any car, any color in the 1960's.

Those paint jobs were beautiful too! If by chance a fly landed on your car he got a free paint job too and Earl never charged you for that extra touch. Get ‘em in, get ‘em out.

All very good suggestions! As an HVAC repair tech, I replace the contactor and capacitor every year on my unit. The cost for these two items is probably $40-$50. They are probably the two biggest weak links in the system. I also have a contract with a company that I believe my cost is around $50-$75 per inspection. I get three for that package deal. In my opinion, they don’t do a very good job of checking the system out, but they do the things they should do, which is cleaning out the condensate and checking other components. For that price, I’m not expecting much. I am supposed to be a priority customer if I have a need for service. I really only got this as I’m not down there all the time so if I have a problem, hopefully I have someone I can call. I also have a thermostat that I can view from my cell phone and adjust which allows me to see the temperature and humidity in the house. I try to keep my humidity 40% or lower.

They were once trusted

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrf6969 (Post 2437273)

For $100.00 annually, I see it as a no brainer to get this service performed. We use DeSantis as they installed units in both of our homes here in TV.

I used to trust DeSantis, they used to have good service technicians. I had great service technician a year ago. He quit. The next two lied to me. I will use Air FX from now on.
Nothing runs like a Trane, unless it's dead, then it runs like a Trane.

I combine cleaning my coffee maker with cleaning the condensate line. Once a month, I run a pot of 50-50 water and vinegar through the coffee maker and then pour it down the condensate line. Our service guy (we have a service contract) who comes twice a year said this was a good idea but straight out of the coffee maker might be a little too hot so I add a little cold water to the pot before pouring it down the condensate line.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berwin (Post 2437700)

I have discussed this issue with Munn's because they used to recommend using vinegar in the condensate drain. They told me that Carrier only recommends pouring hot tap water into the condensate drain. Nothing else.

Sorry the 247 was only for the capacitor there was the additional charge for the yearly maintenance. I think you misunderstood

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berwin (Post 2437700)

Just FYI, anything acidic or bleach or anything corrosive is NOT supposed to be put down the condensate line because it can damage the air handler coil over time. I know many do this but it's not necessary. Just plain hot water will be fine. Over time your condensate line can get "sludge" buildup of inorganic and organic material. The only thing that's going to flush that out is water and a vaccume on the outside if it gets clogged. There are special "tablets" you can get from Amazon to put in your condensate drain pan that will also work. When you get HVAC service they are supposed to put this additive in the drain pan or condensate line to prevent the growth of mold, etc..

I had a neighbor who used to bragg that he never maintained his HVAC system that he owned for over 20 years. He used to say he never got it serviced and never had a problem. He showed me the condenser and said "look it has a nice fur coat to protect it" and he would change his filter maybe every couple of years. He would get the cheapest filter he could find at Ollies or sometimes use the neighbors old filter they were discarding saying, "it still had more life in it". The only thing he did was he would pour a mixture of Mr. Clean and Top Job, so he said, down the condensate drain to clean it out. When I looked at the end of the condensate line it looked like it was all chewed up and falling apart.

Anyway, when he showed me the system it sounded like it was gasping for air like when you take a fish out of water. Making all kinds of vibrating noises which he said was good because that's how you knew it was working. When I entered his home it smelled of mold, terrible.

So, there are always two extreems when it comes to maintenance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrref (Post 2437717)

Just FYI, anything acidic or bleach or anything corrosive is NOT supposed to be put down the condensate line because it can damage the air handler coil over time. I know many do this but it's not necessary. Just plain hot water will be fine.

Quote:

Over time your condensate line can get "sludge" buildup of inorganic and organic material. The only thing that's going to flush that out is water and a vaccume on the outside if it gets clogged. There are special "tablets" you can get from Amazon to put in your condensate drain pan that will also work. When you get HVAC service they are supposed to put this additive in the drain pan or condensate line to prevent the growth of mold, etc..

The tablets help prevent growth in the pan itself and might help in the line. Certainly, the tablets will prevent anything from growing in the pan and running into the line.

Note that there are warning against using bleach-based tablets as they could cause corrosion.

The idea behind using vinegar is to lower the pH of the water in the line to kill any "sludge" and keep it from coming back.

Hot water will also help to kill growth in the line. The chlorine in our water might have a beneficial effect as well. Just doing something is a lot better than doing nothing and hoping for the best.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2437740)

That theory anticipates evaporation from the vinegar in the line making its way back up to the evaporator coil in enough concentration to cause corrosion.

Not all manufacturers and service companies believe there is a significant chance of this happening.

- A small amount of white vinegar (1/4 cup) is more likely to mix with the water in the line than it is to evaporate and come back up
- In normal operation, there will be be a significant amount of condensation flowing down the line further diluting the vinegar or pushing it out entirely
- The volume of air flowing through the evaporator coils is immensely larger than any vinegar fumes that might come back up the drain line.

The tablets help prevent growth in the pan itself and might help in the line. Certainly, the tablets will prevent anything from growing in the pan and running into the line.

Note that there are warning against using bleach-based tablets as they could cause corrosion.

The idea behind using vinegar is to lower the pH of the water in the line to kill any "sludge" and keep it from coming back.

Hot water will also help to kill growth in the line. The chlorine in our water might have a beneficial effect as well. Just doing something is a lot better than doing nothing and hoping for the best.

I hear you, but this is what the general school of thought is it on the subject. From what I understand, the tablets dissolve in the drain pan then get rinsed into the condensate line as the AC runs coating the line and preventing scale and other buildup.

If you are uncertain what to use, you can call Carrier and see what they recommend since they will know for sure what's good and not good.

Very helpful, thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrref (Post 2437254)

You are going to get responses that say yes, "I do it myself", all the way to I've never serviced my system and it's still going strong for 20 years.

The facts are:
1) You need to pour some hot water down the condensate line one a month.
2) Over time the start capacitor will start to wear out and need replacing.
3) You need to clean the outside condenser and inside evaporator coils at least once a year.
4) You will need to change the filter probably every 6 -12 months.
5) The freon level needs to be checked at once a year to make sure you don't have a leak.
6) You want to check the current draw on the Fan and Compressor once a year.

So, can you do this stuff yourself?
Yes for #1, #4, and maybe #3 & #6 but not #5 and #2 needs explanation.

For #2, Yes, you can wait for your system to stop running and go on Amazon and purchase and install a new start capacitor. But as the capacitor wears out, it puts additional strain on the compressor potentially shortening its life, so you want to test it and change it when it starts going out of spec... And yes, if you have a reputable HVAC company, they will tell you when the start capacitor is out of spec and recommend you change it. Also, there are the cheap $20 Chinese capacitors, and the more expensive $60+ American Made capacitors on Amazon. The Chinese ones will not last as long and you will be spending more money in the long run vs getting the better American made capacitor.

Unless you have the special gauges and know about refrigeration, #5 is not a DIY task. But with a sealed system you shouldn't be leaking any freon and you want to check the freon charge to make sure you don't have a leak. When you have a significant leak, the system will eventually just blow hot air. Generally, your HVAC system could develop a very small leak and freon will leak out over time.

Generally, most Villagers have a maintenance plan with a reputable HVAC contractor here in the Villages. But there are a significant number who do maintenance themselves and many who just ignore their system until it stops running.

So, does yearly maintenance prevent failures? Yes and no. You can prevent start capacitor failures, premature compressor and fan failures and leak failures, condensate drain failures, but no maintenance plan is going to guarantee no failures over time.

My opinion is, if you don't want to get caught in the heat of the summer with no A/C then get a maintenance contract with your favorite HVAC contractor. Talk to your friends and neighbors and see who they use. Avoid the "chuck with the truck" guys. If you like to gamble, then do nothing or DIY knowing that you are leaving out some critical checks.

Hope this helps.