i say even if you need a new outdoor unit, refrigerant lines, and the inside
coil, You DON't need new ducts. And the three items imentioned should run
you about 3k installed. Been there, done that 4 times.

s


"cybercat" wrote in message
. com...

"cshenk" wrote

Waiting patiently and hoping for good news!

The AC guy just left. As soon as he saw the unit, he said, "I can tell you
what the problem is, it is out of freon." I said, "Oh, good, then you can
just fill it up!" He said, "No, that's not good, because I can fill it up
but it will just leak out again."

He could not tell me how long it would take to leak out again. He could
tell me that a new system, with new ductwork is going to run something
like $7K to 9K.

I told him we would have to take our chances and hope the freon would last
for a while.

He sold me on a $150 per year maintenance plan for both heating and
cooling, with one check in the spring that includes coil cleaning every
year. Then a check of the furnace etc. for winter. With this maintenance
plan, we got a small discount on freon.

Here is what the invoice looks like:

Qty and Service Non HSP HSP

Diagnostic: $99.00 $47.00
HSP agreement $0 $149.00
Gas surcharge $10.00 $0
1 lb R-22 (1st pound) $ 91.00 $77.00
4 Additional lbs R-22 $108.00 $88.00
2 Cleaning coils $162.00 $0
Total $470.00 $361.00

So we paid $361 and this includes a heating check next fall.

Under Work Performed:

Performed service. cool check on system checked volts, amps, coils,
motors, filter, T-stat, Electrical, Refrigerant, Capacitors, superheat,
temperature drop, Diagnostic system, very low refrigerant. Added 5.04 lbs
of R.-22. Diagnose no other problems at this time.

Technician recommends: System upgrade due to age and efficiency. Very
highly recommend replacing system. Leak search test $35 per 1/4 hour."

Hmmm. Anybody know what the leak search results mean? Did I just pay $361
for a week of cool air?

By the way, the unit is beautiful now, he did a great job cleaning it
inside and out. It looks new.

What say you experts?