On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 12:30:30 -0600, "Bob"
wrote:

I know a little bit about a lot of things, but I drop dead dumb
about AC units and really need some good advice.

Last night our central AC/heat pump quit cooling and I found the
unit was frozen. The unit was installed when we had the house
built; it's in its eleventh year. Has generally worked reasonably
well, but have had several service calls in the last four or five
years.

We had a service man out here today. He seemed to know what he was
doing but he bad-mouthed everything about the system. He had

I hate that style. It really turns me off.

several issues:
- Inside air handler is not the same brand as the outside unit and
he doesn't know if they are matched.

He may not have an encylopedic memory or memorize all the specs for
all brands, butthat

- The return air ducts are not big enough, one is 16 inches and he
said it should be at least 18 and preferably 20 inches. The other
in the master bedroom is 9 inches and he said that was okay.
- There is a Freon leak in the inside unit, which caused the system
to loose Freon which caused the freezing problem.

Not surprising.

His recommendation was to replace both units and install a 20 inch
return duct from the hall filter.

He would not put Freon in our unit so it would cool because he said
it was not legal.

Why not? If he's going to make a big claim like that, he ought to
have a good reason.

Because it's leaking? So find the leak.

He said he and the company he works for could
loose their license. But, if I'd give $2,000 down on a new unit, he
would put Freon in for us.

For 2000 dollars, I'll come there and put freon in it. What city do
you live in?

I asked if was not legal to put in Freon and he could loose his
license, why would he do it if I gave him money down. His answer,
which I believe is true was that by giving him $2,000 down, that we
would go ahead and put in the new unit. Otherwise, we might not.
That is their business policy, which they are entitled to,

Not the lying part, they're not entitled to.

but as a
consumer, it just struck me wrong somehow.

As an honest person, it's wrong to refuse to fill up something because
it's illegal and then fill it up if you put 2000 dollars down on a new
one. Is there an exception for that?