This morning my heat pump outside unit was not running. Not having any
parts and the parts stores closed I called an Air condition service company.
Fellow came out and found the trouble as soon as he took off the cover
plate. A bad dual section capacitor.

While talking to him I mentioned I knew a lot about electrical work being an
electrician in a large company. He asked me to guess the cost of the
capacitor. I guessed about $ 50 thinking I was allowing for a good a markup.

Turned out it was $ 369. The call to just come out was $ 89. He did check
the refrigerant pressures and temperatures after he go the unit running.
That made the call around $ 468. Everything was OK.

His explination for the high cost of the capacitor is that most people don't
know about parts cost and they use the cost of parts to offset the service
call. Beats charging $ 200 to come out in most peoples thinking.

He did give me a few hints about some things on the unit and said I may want
to get online and order a capacitor and contactor so I will have them as
that is what fails the most.

I did not mind that charge too much as he had to drive about an hour to get
here. I did let him talk me into an extra $ 100 cleaning of the coils and
checking out of the unit as I had not cleaned the coils . I put in the
system about 9 years ago. Altogether he spent about 3 hours here and
probably 2 hours driving, so I don't feel ripped off and have some education
on the unit also.

Here it's $17.50 https://www.appliancezone.com/ShowPr...GdAaAkDT8P8HAQ

On 7/25/2015 10:27 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
This morning my heat pump outside unit was not running. Not having any
parts and the parts stores closed I called an Air condition service company.
Fellow came out and found the trouble as soon as he took off the cover
plate. A bad dual section capacitor.

While talking to him I mentioned I knew a lot about electrical work being an
electrician in a large company. He asked me to guess the cost of the
capacitor. I guessed about $ 50 thinking I was allowing for a good a markup.

Turned out it was $ 369. The call to just come out was $ 89. He did check
the refrigerant pressures and temperatures after he go the unit running.
That made the call around $ 468. Everything was OK.

His explination for the high cost of the capacitor is that most people don't
know about parts cost and they use the cost of parts to offset the service
call. Beats charging $ 200 to come out in most peoples thinking.

He did give me a few hints about some things on the unit and said I may want
to get online and order a capacitor and contactor so I will have them as
that is what fails the most.

I did not mind that charge too much as he had to drive about an hour to get
here. I did let him talk me into an extra $ 100 cleaning of the coils and
checking out of the unit as I had not cleaned the coils . I put in the
system about 9 years ago. Altogether he spent about 3 hours here and
probably 2 hours driving, so I don't feel ripped off and have some education
on the unit also.


I'm sure that you know that saying, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)? A
month or so back I had to have our Central AC serviced as it would not
start up.

Owner of the company came out - same people that installed the now 10 yr
old Lennox system. Removed access plates in the air handler unit
checked relays there and finally traced the problem to my wife's
incessant dusting and cleaning. Seems she had accidentally, slightly
displaced the thermostat unit with timer, etc. from the mounting plate.
(really weird since it continued to properly control the heating
side). A hand removal and replacement of the thermostat and we were
back in business.

As long as he'd come out I asked if he'd give the system a check. He
did and measured the refrigerant level and found it within specs as I
figured it would be. While inside the unit he spied the capacitor of
which you speak. "Looks kinda grungy, let me check it." Out comes the
test equipment and "It's on its last legs. Might as well replace it and
save a service call later this summer or beginning of next year."

Go for it.

He was out at the house for about an hour all told. The total bill was
$98.00

On 07/25/2015 11:27 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
This morning my heat pump outside unit was not running. Not having any
parts and the parts stores closed I called an Air condition service company.
Fellow came out and found the trouble as soon as he took off the cover
plate. A bad dual section capacitor.

While talking to him I mentioned I knew a lot about electrical work being an
electrician in a large company. He asked me to guess the cost of the
capacitor. I guessed about $ 50 thinking I was allowing for a good a markup.

Turned out it was $ 369. The call to just come out was $ 89. He did check
the refrigerant pressures and temperatures after he go the unit running.
That made the call around $ 468. Everything was OK.

His explination for the high cost of the capacitor is that most people don't
know about parts cost and they use the cost of parts to offset the service
call. Beats charging $ 200 to come out in most peoples thinking.

He did give me a few hints about some things on the unit and said I may want
to get online and order a capacitor and contactor so I will have them as
that is what fails the most.

I did not mind that charge too much as he had to drive about an hour to get
here. I did let him talk me into an extra $ 100 cleaning of the coils and
checking out of the unit as I had not cleaned the coils . I put in the
system about 9 years ago. Altogether he spent about 3 hours here and
probably 2 hours driving, so I don't feel ripped off and have some education
on the unit also.

Almost four years ago I had a local HVAC company check out our furnace.
The only thing he could find wrong was that the run capacitor's
capacitance was down somewhat: 3.6uF instead of 5uF. I asked how much a
replacement was: "$80 if it comes off the truck, but if you go to our
office you can probably get one for less." Since I had
replaced a dual capacitor on the A/C for only about $20 a couple of
years previously, I declined to have the capacitor replaced. The new one
I bought online cost $6 + $3 shipping.

Perce

On 07/25/2015 10:45 PM, bob_villa wrote:
Here it's $17.50 https://www.appliancezone.com/ShowPr...GdAaAkDT8P8HAQ




No problem marking up parts a bit but $369 for the capacitor is absurd.


OTOH: If the guy did not itemize the bill and got it running and just
told me "parts and labor" $468...I'd probably say "fine".



Assuming the $89 was both travel and labor though...that on the other
hand is on the low side.



I know that when I used to repair industrial equipment...no matter
what...if the bill came out to less than $500 no one much cared...
just so long as I got them up and running ASAP.

On Saturday, July 25, 2015 at 11:27:37 PM UTC-4, Ralph Mowery wrote:
This morning my heat pump outside unit was not running. Not having any
parts and the parts stores closed I called an Air condition service company.
Fellow came out and found the trouble as soon as he took off the cover
plate. A bad dual section capacitor.

While talking to him I mentioned I knew a lot about electrical work being an
electrician in a large company. He asked me to guess the cost of the
capacitor. I guessed about $ 50 thinking I was allowing for a good a markup.

Turned out it was $ 369. The call to just come out was $ 89. He did check
the refrigerant pressures and temperatures after he go the unit running.
That made the call around $ 468. Everything was OK.

His explination for the high cost of the capacitor is that most people don't
know about parts cost and they use the cost of parts to offset the service
call. Beats charging $ 200 to come out in most peoples thinking.


The problem though is the people who do know the cost of the capacitor,
which is inflated 10X+, are going to go nuts. I would have told him
no way I'm paying it. And it's also kind of interesting that he freely
admits he's taking advantage of people's ignorance. Does this guy change the
prices on the fly? Or does he have all the prices on all the parts
jacked up 10X? If the latter, what would have happened if you needed
3 parts? It would be a $1000 call that should have been $300? Sorry,
but I don't like this guy's business practices. And I'm not swayed by
the fact that he had to drive an hour. How do you know where he was?
He could have been at another customer 15 mins away and/or the next
customer could be 10 mins away. Some customers will be around the
corner, some far away. If he chooses to take the call and serve that
area, then it should be factored in to the min service charge.



He did give me a few hints about some things on the unit and said I may want
to get online and order a capacitor and contactor so I will have them as
that is what fails the most.

I did not mind that charge too much as he had to drive about an hour to get
here. I did let him talk me into an extra $ 100 cleaning of the coils and
checking out of the unit as I had not cleaned the coils . I put in the
system about 9 years ago. Altogether he spent about 3 hours here and
probably 2 hours driving, so I don't feel ripped off and have some education
on the unit also.

Amazing that could take 3 hours. It does support what I was saying
in the thread I posted, that fixing a leak could quickly get very
expensive. What would a guy like this do in that case? And IDK how
the typical customer can protect themselves
from service guys just jacking up prices 10x on all kinds of random parts
and screwing them.

Also, you told him you were an electrician up front. I suspect the
results here could have been far worse if you were a little old lady.

On 7/25/2015 11:27 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
This morning my heat pump outside unit was not running. Not having any
parts and the parts stores closed I called an Air condition service company.
Fellow came out and found the trouble as soon as he took off the cover
plate. A bad dual section capacitor.

While talking to him I mentioned I knew a lot about electrical work being an
electrician in a large company. He asked me to guess the cost of the
capacitor. I guessed about $ 50 thinking I was allowing for a good a markup.

Turned out it was $ 369. The call to just come out was $ 89. He did check
the refrigerant pressures and temperatures after he go the unit running.
That made the call around $ 468. Everything was OK.

His explination for the high cost of the capacitor is that most people don't
know about parts cost and they use the cost of parts to offset the service
call. Beats charging $ 200 to come out in most peoples thinking.

He did give me a few hints about some things on the unit and said I may want
to get online and order a capacitor and contactor so I will have them as
that is what fails the most.

I did not mind that charge too much as he had to drive about an hour to get
here. I did let him talk me into an extra $ 100 cleaning of the coils and
checking out of the unit as I had not cleaned the coils . I put in the
system about 9 years ago. Altogether he spent about 3 hours here and
probably 2 hours driving, so I don't feel ripped off and have some education
on the unit also.





Goodness, gracious. I've got to raise my
prices, if people really pay this. Thanks
for the head up.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 7/26/2015 7:26 AM, Unquestionably Confused wrote:



Owner of the company came out - same people that installed the now 10 yr
old Lennox system.

As long as he'd come out I asked if he'd give the system a check. He
did and measured the refrigerant level and found it within specs as I
figured it would be. While inside the unit he spied the capacitor of
which you speak. "Looks kinda grungy, let me check it." Out comes the
test equipment and "It's on its last legs. Might as well replace it and
save a service call later this summer or beginning of next year."

Go for it.

He was out at the house for about an hour all told. The total bill was
$98.00

When you find someone like that, yo keep them. If you ever need a new
unit, I know who you will call.

"trader_4" wrote in message
...

The problem though is the people who do know the cost of the capacitor,
which is inflated 10X+, are going to go nuts. I would have told him
no way I'm paying it. And it's also kind of interesting that he freely
admits he's taking advantage of people's ignorance. Does this guy change
the
prices on the fly? Or does he have all the prices on all the parts
jacked up 10X? If the latter, what would have happened if you needed
3 parts? It would be a $1000 call that should have been $300? Sorry,
but I don't like this guy's business practices. And I'm not swayed by
the fact that he had to drive an hour. How do you know where he was?
He could have been at another customer 15 mins away and/or the next
customer could be 10 mins away. Some customers will be around the
corner, some far away. If he chooses to take the call and serve that
area, then it should be factored in to the min service charge.

This was not just a one man company,but part of a larger company that does
heating and air servicing. They seem to have a standard of 5 levels of
repair charges from what he said and on the billing paper. Each one goes to
a higher price. They list the 5 levels and what is included on the bill but
not the prices. He did what they call a level 2 . That would include the
capacitor, contactor, or transformer. That is the 2 nd lowest charge range.
It would have interisting to see what the breakdown of charges would have
been if he replaced the capacitor and contactor.

He did tell me that the company thinks that they should have a billing
charge of around $ 200 per hour to make the kind of money they should after
expensives.

While talking with him, he told me the area he lived in and I know that is
over an hour to my house, but he probably did not come from home. I asked
him what roads he was comming down so I could give him good directions.

This is one of the things that happens at the worse times. Found out about
the air not working about 9 oclock on a Friday night. Too dark to look at
the outside unit that was not running. No parts places open that I know of
on Saturday. Temperature in the low 90's. Wife complaining about being hot
and did not want to wait 2 days.

One thing about this fellow is that he seemed honest in what he was saying
and not BS ing me.

I do plan on taking his advice and ordering a capacitor and contactor on
line . Should be able to get both shipped to me for less than $ 50. That
way I will be prepaired if it craps out on me again of a Friday night.

"bob_villa" wrote in message
...
Here it's $17.50
https://www.appliancezone.com/ShowPr...GdAaAkDT8P8HAQ

Thanks Bob. I plan on getting a capacitor and contactor on line to have
around as a spare. The origional capacitor lasted about 9 years, but hard
telling how long the replacement will last. Could go 20 years or 2 years.

On 2015-07-26, philo wrote:

No problem marking up parts a bit but $369 for the capacitor is absurd.

Appliance and HVAC repair ppl can be quite the rip artists.

We had a person sent out from our local Sears mail order center to
look at my mom's 5-6 yr old failed Maytag refrigerator. I'd been
doing my own appliance repair for yrs, so knew the approx value of
many components. This guy wanted to charge $350+ for a evaporator fan
motor. He then pitched a deal where we'd only pay $75 for the fan
mtr, but slip him a check for another $100.

It was my mom's fridge and repair so I deferredy to her wish to go for
the deal. If it had been up to me, Ida had the guy's job! Sounds
like the OP stumbled upon yet another douche-bag repairman. 8|

nb

On 2015-07-26, trader_4 wrote:

The problem though is the people who do know the cost of the capacitor,
which is inflated 10X+, are going to go nuts. I would have told him
no way I'm paying it.

Been there, wore out that t-shirt. It's a major problem in the
hi-tech industry.

I usta maintain/operate a lotta hi-tech equipment. One unit had a 10
turn 100K pot go bad. I pulled it and noted it was an insanely
heavy-duty component. Bakelite casing, machined brass end-caps, ball
bearings, etc. This sucker woulda survived a drop from the space
shuttle!

I went to our local emergency electronics outlet (Fry's) and found a
similar potentiometer, only made entirely of plastic and about 1/5th
the size/wt of the original. IOW, realy cheap ($10). I compared this
with the price of of a replacement part from the equip mfr ($110). I
decided to go with the OEM part, despite the higher price. What I got
a week later from the mfr was the cheapo plastic Fry's pot at 1000%
mark-up! I sent it back and bought the same part from Fry's and saved
$100. Ripoff dirtbags!

nb

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...

Turned out it was $ 369. The call to just come out was $ 89. He did
check
the refrigerant pressures and temperatures after he go the unit running.
That made the call around $ 468. Everything was OK.

His explination for the high cost of the capacitor is that most people
don't
know about parts cost and they use the cost of parts to offset the
service
call. Beats charging $ 200 to come out in most peoples thinking.




Goodness, gracious. I've got to raise my
prices, if people really pay this. Thanks
for the head up.



This is in the middle of North Carolina where the average working mans pay
might be form $ 10 to $ 20 per hour.

When I called for service, the woman on the phone told me it was $ 89 to
come out and check the problem. Any actual repairs would be extra. Most
older men like me are not going to argue too much about the price of things
if it will keep their wife happy.

From some of you other postings it seems like you have not been charging the
going rate in many areas.
I remember when you could get a doctor to come to the house for a couple of
dollars (which would be about half of a days pay back then. Now I doubt any
average person could get a doctor the the house.

On 7/26/2015 8:02 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 7/25/2015 11:27 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
This morning my heat pump outside unit was not running. Not having any
parts and the parts stores closed I called an Air condition service
company.
Fellow came out and found the trouble as soon as he took off the cover
plate. A bad dual section capacitor.

While talking to him I mentioned I knew a lot about electrical work
being an
electrician in a large company. He asked me to guess the cost of the
capacitor. I guessed about $ 50 thinking I was allowing for a good a
markup.

Turned out it was $ 369. The call to just come out was $ 89. He did
check
the refrigerant pressures and temperatures after he go the unit running.
That made the call around $ 468. Everything was OK.

His explination for the high cost of the capacitor is that most people
don't
know about parts cost and they use the cost of parts to offset the
service
call. Beats charging $ 200 to come out in most peoples thinking.

He did give me a few hints about some things on the unit and said I
may want
to get online and order a capacitor and contactor so I will have them as
that is what fails the most.

I did not mind that charge too much as he had to drive about an hour
to get
here. I did let him talk me into an extra $ 100 cleaning of the coils
and
checking out of the unit as I had not cleaned the coils . I put in the
system about 9 years ago. Altogether he spent about 3 hours here and
probably 2 hours driving, so I don't feel ripped off and have some
education
on the unit also.





Goodness, gracious. I've got to raise my
prices, if people really pay this. Thanks
for the head up.


OK confess. How much to fix an AC window unit that quits running after
about being on for 15 minutes?

--
Maggie

"notbob" wrote in message
...
Been there, wore out that t-shirt. It's a major problem in the
hi-tech industry.

I usta maintain/operate a lotta hi-tech equipment. One unit had a 10
turn 100K pot go bad. I pulled it and noted it was an insanely
heavy-duty component. Bakelite casing, machined brass end-caps, ball
bearings, etc. This sucker woulda survived a drop from the space
shuttle!

I went to our local emergency electronics outlet (Fry's) and found a
similar potentiometer, only made entirely of plastic and about 1/5th
the size/wt of the original. IOW, realy cheap ($10). I compared this
with the price of of a replacement part from the equip mfr ($110). I
decided to go with the OEM part, despite the higher price. What I got
a week later from the mfr was the cheapo plastic Fry's pot at 1000%
mark-up! I sent it back and bought the same part from Fry's and saved
$100. Ripoff dirtbags!


Too bad the OEM part was not really the OEM part.

The best rip off story is one that I read in the paper about 20 years ago.
A military electronic unit had a bad diode that could be bought for less
than $ 1 anywhere and less if looked around for. As the supply depot did
not have any , they went to the manufactor of the equipment. Said they did
not have any and the maker of the diodes said they did not have any but
would have to make some. I don't recall the price, but it cost them over $
50,000 to make as this is abatch type process and they can't make just one,
but have to make over 1000 of them. Just as wanting a piece of cake, you
can't make just one piece, you have to cook the whole thing.

On 2015-07-26, Ralph Mowery wrote:

Just as wanting a piece of cake, you can't make just one piece, you
have to cook the whole thing.

Not necessarily.

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recip...recipe=2002953

I still have a brand new OEM pot, the heavy-duty brass/ball-bearing
version. It was sent to me, free of charge, from a large electronics
parts house. It was pretty much, "Yeah, we got tons of 'em. Here's
one for free." I don't recall if they required a min purchase, as I'd
already repaired the mass spectrometer with the cheapo pot.

nb

On Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 7:39:05 AM UTC-5, philo wrote:
On 07/25/2015 10:45 PM, bob_villa wrote:
Here it's $17.50 https://www.appliancezone.com/ShowPr...GdAaAkDT8P8HAQ




No problem marking up parts a bit but $369 for the capacitor is absurd.


OTOH: If the guy did not itemize the bill and got it running and just
told me "parts and labor" $468...I'd probably say "fine".



Assuming the $89 was both travel and labor though...that on the other
hand is on the low side.



I know that when I used to repair industrial equipment...no matter
what...if the bill came out to less than $500 no one much cared...
just so long as I got them up and running ASAP.

Many HVAC companies know they have customers by the balls and will charge them what ever gives the customer immediate relief. I witnessed the owner of a service company laughing about selling an elderly couple a new furnace/AC system when the only thing wrong with their existing AC was a loose blower door which killed the power at the air handler. Me, my brother and our friends in the service business would often help people on a fixed income with their HVAC and other problems by donating time and materials. The family and friends of the people we helped would call us later and gladly pay full price. It's ironic how that works out. There are some really good people who've helped me since I got ill and I tell everyone to go to them for their service needs. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Service Monster

"notbob" wrote in message
...
On 2015-07-26, Ralph Mowery wrote:

Just as wanting a piece of cake, you can't make just one piece, you
have to cook the whole thing.

Not necessarily.

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recip...recipe=2002953

I still have a brand new OEM pot, the heavy-duty brass/ball-bearing
version. It was sent to me, free of charge, from a large electronics
parts house. It was pretty much, "Yeah, we got tons of 'em. Here's
one for free." I don't recall if they required a min purchase, as I'd
already repaired the mass spectrometer with the cheapo pot.

I have seen this before and tried it, Works fine. I did not use the Angle
food mix, but think I just use only Devils food mix as I like chocolate cake
best.

"Ralph Mowery" wrote in message
...
This morning my heat pump outside unit was not running. Not having any
parts and the parts stores closed I called an Air condition service
company. Fellow came out and found the trouble as soon as he took off the
cover plate. A bad dual section capacitor.

While talking to him I mentioned I knew a lot about electrical work being
an electrician in a large company. He asked me to guess the cost of the
capacitor. I guessed about $ 50 thinking I was allowing for a good a
markup.

Turned out it was $ 369. The call to just come out was $ 89. He did
check the refrigerant pressures and temperatures after he go the unit
running. That made the call around $ 468. Everything was OK.


As a follow up, I got on ebay and did a search and found some capacitors and
contactors and have them on the way. Total cost was about $ 35 total for
both pieces.

If the thing holds out for a week I should be in good shape on that. Now I
have spares , I doubt I will ever have to replace either of those.

All this must be part of Murphy's law.

On Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 10:04:34 AM UTC-5, Ralph Mowery wrote:
"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...

Turned out it was $ 369. The call to just come out was $ 89. He did
check
the refrigerant pressures and temperatures after he go the unit running.
That made the call around $ 468. Everything was OK.

His explination for the high cost of the capacitor is that most people
don't
know about parts cost and they use the cost of parts to offset the
service
call. Beats charging $ 200 to come out in most peoples thinking.




Goodness, gracious. I've got to raise my
prices, if people really pay this. Thanks
for the head up.



This is in the middle of North Carolina where the average working mans pay
might be form $ 10 to $ 20 per hour.

When I called for service, the woman on the phone told me it was $ 89 to
come out and check the problem. Any actual repairs would be extra. Most
older men like me are not going to argue too much about the price of things
if it will keep their wife happy.

From some of you other postings it seems like you have not been charging the
going rate in many areas.
I remember when you could get a doctor to come to the house for a couple of
dollars (which would be about half of a days pay back then. Now I doubt any
average person could get a doctor the the house.

$89 for a service call is very reasonable anywhere. I know a fellow here in town who is good and doesn't rip people off but he charges $100/hr and guarantees his work. He's a dealer for American Standard HVAC systems which owns Trane and a lot of their parts are the same. I like Trane and American Standard equipment because it's well designed and very high quality. A contractor or supply house grade system like Goodman will work just as well and last a long time if properly installed and regularly serviced. Keeping them clean is the most important thing to consider to extend the life of any AC system. I had to tell customers to turn off the AC system when the grass was being cut to keep the dirt and grass from being sucked into the condensing unit. Most people are smart enough to understand the concept once you explain it and the reason for it. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Cool Monster

On 7/26/2015 10:51 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 7:39:05 AM UTC-5, philo wrote:
On 07/25/2015 10:45 PM, bob_villa wrote:
Here it's $17.50 https://www.appliancezone.com/ShowPr...GdAaAkDT8P8HAQ




No problem marking up parts a bit but $369 for the capacitor is absurd.


OTOH: If the guy did not itemize the bill and got it running and just
told me "parts and labor" $468...I'd probably say "fine".



Assuming the $89 was both travel and labor though...that on the other
hand is on the low side.



I know that when I used to repair industrial equipment...no matter
what...if the bill came out to less than $500 no one much cared...
just so long as I got them up and running ASAP.

Many HVAC companies know they have customers by the balls and will
charge them what ever gives the customer immediate relief. I witnessed
the owner of a service company laughing about selling an elderly couple
a new furnace/AC system when the only thing wrong with their existing AC
was a loose blower door which killed the power at the air handler. Me, my
brother and our friends in the service business would often help people
on a fixed income with their HVAC and other problems by donating time
and materials. The family and friends of the people we helped would call
us later and gladly pay full price. It's ironic how that works out. There
are some really good people who've helped me since I got ill and I tell
everyone to go to them for their service needs. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Service Monster


I gladly hire people like you and your brother. Last winter when I was
very ill confined to a bed my bathroom tub had a bad faucet drip that
was getting worse, so we called a plumber we'd used before and he did a
wonderful job of replacing the faucet with a brand new one we'd bought
about a month before I took ill. We were going to replace it ourselves,
but just didn't have the time.

It took a couple hours to fix, but he only charged us a minimum charge
to do the job. Not only did he do that, but he made sure he didn't do
anything to disturb me while working because I was only about 5 paces
away in the bedroom resting from being ill. What he did took a big
worry off my shoulders because I feared the faucet would totally fail in
the middle of the night at some point. He didn't charge an arm and a
leg, and he did it with class, too.


--
Maggie

"Uncle Monster" wrote in message
...
$89 for a service call is very reasonable anywhere. I know a fellow here in
town who is good and doesn't rip people off but he charges $100/hr and
guarantees his work. He's a dealer for American Standard HVAC systems
which owns Trane and a lot of their parts are the same. I like Trane and
American Standard equipment because it's well designed and very high
quality. A contractor or supply house grade system like Goodman will work
just as well and last a long time if properly installed and regularly
serviced. Keeping them clean is the most important thing to consider to
extend the life of any AC system.

I had to tell customers to turn off the AC system when the grass was
being cut to keep the dirt and grass from being sucked into the condensing
unit. Most people are smart enough to understand the concept once you
explain it and the reason for it. ^_^

Good hint on turning off the unit while mowing. I don't think I have to
worry much about that where my unit is. It is under a deck where the grass
does not grow even though the deck is about 8 feet off the ground. From the
ends it is about 10 to 15 feet each way and about 6 or 8 feet from the grass
on the other side.

On Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 10:07:49 AM UTC-5, Muggles wrote:
On 7/26/2015 8:02 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 7/25/2015 11:27 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
This morning my heat pump outside unit was not running. Not having any
parts and the parts stores closed I called an Air condition service
company.
Fellow came out and found the trouble as soon as he took off the cover
plate. A bad dual section capacitor.

While talking to him I mentioned I knew a lot about electrical work
being an
electrician in a large company. He asked me to guess the cost of the
capacitor. I guessed about $ 50 thinking I was allowing for a good a
markup.

Turned out it was $ 369. The call to just come out was $ 89. He did
check
the refrigerant pressures and temperatures after he go the unit running.
That made the call around $ 468. Everything was OK.

His explination for the high cost of the capacitor is that most people
don't
know about parts cost and they use the cost of parts to offset the
service
call. Beats charging $ 200 to come out in most peoples thinking.

He did give me a few hints about some things on the unit and said I
may want
to get online and order a capacitor and contactor so I will have them as
that is what fails the most.

I did not mind that charge too much as he had to drive about an hour
to get
here. I did let him talk me into an extra $ 100 cleaning of the coils
and
checking out of the unit as I had not cleaned the coils . I put in the
system about 9 years ago. Altogether he spent about 3 hours here and
probably 2 hours driving, so I don't feel ripped off and have some
education
on the unit also.





Goodness, gracious. I've got to raise my
prices, if people really pay this. Thanks
for the head up.


OK confess. How much to fix an AC window unit that quits running after
about being on for 15 minutes?

--
Maggie

Check the outside of the unit to see if the fins are clear of dirt and debris. If it's clogged with dirt, the unit will overheat and quit working. Lowe's Depot sells an aerosol can of AC cleaner that you can spray into the fins on the outside of the AC and after it soaks for a while, carefully rinse with a gentle fan spray from your garden hose. Never use the pencil thin stream from the hose nozzle because the force of the stream of water will bend the fins. You can shampoo it several times if needed, rinse and repeat. Of course, always turn off the window unit when the grass is being cut outside the window. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Window Monster

On 2015-07-26, Ralph Mowery wrote:
As a follow up, I got on ebay and did a search and found some
capacitors.....

I realize Ebay has gotten a lotta bad press in the last few yrs. I even
quit selling cuz of their tightened rules for small sellers. But!
.....ebay may be the way to go. My EZGO golf cart charger went belly
up. I supected the transformer and my shop manual testing procedure
confirmed it. New transformer? Try almost $700!!

No way I could afford that much, so looked on ebay. I found an older
model complete charger that claimed it worked for only $125. More
amazing, the fellow I bought it from paid the shipping. This sucker
weighs about 30-40 lbs! So far, this unit has been working, fine, for
the last yr and I saved almost $600. Go ebay!

nb

On Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 11:34:32 AM UTC-5, Ralph Mowery wrote:
"Uncle Monster" wrote in message
...
$89 for a service call is very reasonable anywhere. I know a fellow here in
town who is good and doesn't rip people off but he charges $100/hr and
guarantees his work. He's a dealer for American Standard HVAC systems
which owns Trane and a lot of their parts are the same. I like Trane and
American Standard equipment because it's well designed and very high
quality. A contractor or supply house grade system like Goodman will work
just as well and last a long time if properly installed and regularly
serviced. Keeping them clean is the most important thing to consider to
extend the life of any AC system.

I had to tell customers to turn off the AC system when the grass was
being cut to keep the dirt and grass from being sucked into the condensing
unit. Most people are smart enough to understand the concept once you
explain it and the reason for it. ^_^

Good hint on turning off the unit while mowing. I don't think I have to
worry much about that where my unit is. It is under a deck where the grass
does not grow even though the deck is about 8 feet off the ground. From the
ends it is about 10 to 15 feet each way and about 6 or 8 feet from the grass
on the other side.

Depending on how dry it is, the mower can kick up quite a dust cloud that can blow around a house from the side that's being cut. Another problem that will crop up from time to time is that someone's furry dog/dogs will lounge around the AC condensing unit and clog it up with hair. I had customers put up little short garden fences to keep the dogs away from the AC especially if the dogs were peeing on the unit. Dog urine is very corrosive. If someone has the condensing unit under a deck, there is a good chance their dog will like to lay down next to the unit. ^_^

Speaking of fences, before I stopped working, anti theft cages became quite the rage for protection of AC condensing units. o_O

[8~{} Uncle Furry Monster

"notbob" wrote in message
...
On 2015-07-26, Ralph Mowery wrote:
As a follow up, I got on ebay and did a search and found some
capacitors.....

I realize Ebay has gotten a lotta bad press in the last few yrs. I even
quit selling cuz of their tightened rules for small sellers. But!
....ebay may be the way to go. My EZGO golf cart charger went belly
up. I supected the transformer and my shop manual testing procedure
confirmed it. New transformer? Try almost $700!!

No way I could afford that much, so looked on ebay. I found an older
model complete charger that claimed it worked for only $125. More
amazing, the fellow I bought it from paid the shipping. This sucker
weighs about 30-40 lbs! So far, this unit has been working, fine, for
the last yr and I saved almost $600. Go ebay!


I thought $ 700 for a charging transformer was way too much and a whole
charger should be a lot less.
Other than being probalby 36 or 24 volts is there anything different than a
normal car charger ?

I have not tried selling on ebay, so can not say about that part.

Living in a small town and with the price of gas being what it is, I can
often find things on ebay cheaper than I can spend time and effort of
driving to a larger town 40 miles away to where there may be a supply
company.

I bought some carborator rebuilding kits for my weedeater and chain saws off
ebay. I think they were less than $ 7 each counting shipping. By
ordreing 3 items from one place, I got a 4th item free.

Unless I need it right away, I often look on ebay and Amazon for things.
Usually I can get them for the same as store prices or less, but with free
shiping. Just bought 2 TV sets. One for me and one to give for a birthday
present. Ordred them from Best Buy as the shipping was free and I would
have had to drive over 30 miles each way to the nearest BB. Then I could
not be sure they would stock that modle. Shipping time was less than a week.

One day the local stores are going to go away just because of all the on
line ordering.

I don't know how it is now, but years ago many times a person could not walk
in off the street and buy something. I went with a friend to a boat motor
supply house. A fellow walked in off the street and needed a small part,
they could or would not sell him the part. My friend bought the part and
resold it to the fellow for what it cost. Normally he would have marked it
up about double.

For a good number of years my mother was a book keeper at a local electrical
supply company. I could get anyting they had for their cost plus 10%. I
don't recall the numbers, but they had 3 other prices starting at cost plus
30% and going up depending on how much business the others did with them.

On 7/26/2015 11:39 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 10:07:49 AM UTC-5, Muggles wrote:
On 7/26/2015 8:02 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 7/25/2015 11:27 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
This morning my heat pump outside unit was not running. Not having any
parts and the parts stores closed I called an Air condition service
company.
Fellow came out and found the trouble as soon as he took off the cover
plate. A bad dual section capacitor.

While talking to him I mentioned I knew a lot about electrical work
being an
electrician in a large company. He asked me to guess the cost of the
capacitor. I guessed about $ 50 thinking I was allowing for a good a
markup.

Turned out it was $ 369. The call to just come out was $ 89. He did
check
the refrigerant pressures and temperatures after he go the unit running.
That made the call around $ 468. Everything was OK.

His explination for the high cost of the capacitor is that most people
don't
know about parts cost and they use the cost of parts to offset the
service
call. Beats charging $ 200 to come out in most peoples thinking.

He did give me a few hints about some things on the unit and said I
may want
to get online and order a capacitor and contactor so I will have them as
that is what fails the most.

I did not mind that charge too much as he had to drive about an hour
to get
here. I did let him talk me into an extra $ 100 cleaning of the coils
and
checking out of the unit as I had not cleaned the coils . I put in the
system about 9 years ago. Altogether he spent about 3 hours here and
probably 2 hours driving, so I don't feel ripped off and have some
education
on the unit also.





Goodness, gracious. I've got to raise my
prices, if people really pay this. Thanks
for the head up.


OK confess. How much to fix an AC window unit that quits running after
about being on for 15 minutes?

--
Maggie

Check the outside of the unit to see if the fins are clear of dirt and
debris. If it's clogged with dirt, the unit will overheat and quit working.
Lowe's Depot sells an aerosol can of AC cleaner that you can spray into the
fins on the outside of the AC and after it soaks for a while, carefully rinse
with a gentle fan spray from your garden hose. Never use the pencil thin
stream from the hose nozzle because the force of the stream of water will
bend the fins. You can shampoo it several times if needed, rinse and repeat.
Of course, always turn off the window unit when the grass is being cut
outside the window. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Window Monster


ok That's something I can actually do myself! I'll have to look for
the spray stuff. {{adds AC cleaner to my Lowes list}}

--
Maggie

It does not matter if he have Itemize or not, what does matter is bottom
line.
if he have spent 5 hour there you got way chip. Good Tech. Register with
State
as contractor will charge $100/our plus material plus user tax then you
figure out the cost.
Don't forget his expanses Vehicle and cost of insurances etc. etc.

"philo" wrote in message ...

On 07/25/2015 10:45 PM, bob_villa wrote:
Here it's $17.50
https://www.appliancezone.com/ShowPr...GdAaAkDT8P8HAQ




No problem marking up parts a bit but $369 for the capacitor is absurd.


OTOH: If the guy did not itemize the bill and got it running and just
told me "parts and labor" $468...I'd probably say "fine".



Assuming the $89 was both travel and labor though...that on the other
hand is on the low side.



I know that when I used to repair industrial equipment...no matter
what...if the bill came out to less than $500 no one much cared...
just so long as I got them up and running ASAP.

On 2015-07-26, Ralph Mowery wrote:

I thought $ 700 for a charging transformer was way too much and a whole
charger should be a lot less.

I'm jes relating the prices I came across for this huge xformer.
True, I could buy a brand new digital charger for around $350, but
that's still almost triple what I finally paid.

Living in a small town and with the price of gas being what it is, I can
often find things on ebay cheaper than I can spend time and effort of
driving to a larger town 40 miles away to where there may be a supply
company.

I understand. I live 100 mi from the nearest urban center. I've
become quite proficient at online buying.

nb

On Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 12:06:47 PM UTC-5, Uncle Monster wrote:

Good hint on turning off the unit while mowing. I don't think I have to
worry much about that where my unit is. It is under a deck where the grass
does not grow even though the deck is about 8 feet off the ground. From the
ends it is about 10 to 15 feet each way and about 6 or 8 feet from the grass
on the other side.

Depending on how dry it is, the mower can kick up quite a dust cloud that can blow around a house from the side that's being cut. Another problem that will crop up from time to time is that someone's furry dog/dogs will lounge around the AC condensing unit and clog it up with hair. I had customers put up little short garden fences to keep the dogs away from the AC especially if the dogs were peeing on the unit. Dog urine is very corrosive. If someone has the condensing unit under a deck, there is a good chance their dog will like to lay down next to the unit. ^_^

Speaking of fences, before I stopped working, anti theft cages became quite the rage for protection of AC condensing units. o_O

[8~{} Uncle Furry Monster

Another tough concept for some (if you've ever had a neighbor kid do your lawn, you'd know) go in the same direction, pointing cut-grass exhaust away from AC and sidewalks...you won't have extra work to clean-up.

On 7/26/2015 12:35 PM, bob_villa wrote:
On Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 12:06:47 PM UTC-5, Uncle Monster wrote:

Good hint on turning off the unit while mowing. I don't think I have to
worry much about that where my unit is. It is under a deck where the grass
does not grow even though the deck is about 8 feet off the ground. From the
ends it is about 10 to 15 feet each way and about 6 or 8 feet from the grass
on the other side.

Depending on how dry it is, the mower can kick up quite a dust cloud that can blow around a house from the side that's being cut. Another problem that will crop up from time to time is that someone's furry dog/dogs will lounge around the AC condensing unit and clog it up with hair. I had customers put up little short garden fences to keep the dogs away from the AC especially if the dogs were peeing on the unit. Dog urine is very corrosive. If someone has the condensing unit under a deck, there is a good chance their dog will like to lay down next to the unit. ^_^

Speaking of fences, before I stopped working, anti theft cages became quite the rage for protection of AC condensing units. o_O

[8~{} Uncle Furry Monster

Another tough concept for some (if you've ever had a neighbor kid do your lawn, you'd know) go in the same direction, pointing cut-grass exhaust away from AC and sidewalks...you won't have extra work to clean-up.


I've seen people mow their lawns and blow all the grass clippings they
possibly could out into the street. If they cleaned it up it wouldn't be
so bad, but they just leave it there to be washed into the street
gutters which end up clogging them up. {{mumbles morons}}

--
Maggie

On Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 1:31:37 PM UTC-4, tony944 wrote:




Assuming the $89 was both travel and labor though...that on the other
hand is on the low side.


I see the $89 advertised here a lot in NJ, for an AC "tuneup".
I agree, that doesn't seem to be a profitable number. So, either
they are honest and know that for X people that take that offer
they will find enough real problems that need fixing to increase
the bill, or they are scammers and find problems that don't exist.
I guess the real problems could start with people who don't change
their own filter, they tell you that you need a new one and it's
jacked up. But a lot of systems I see here now have electronic, so
there is no filter.

The AC thing is really, really bad. They can show up, tell you the
system was low, needed 2 pounds added, charge you whatever they
please, and almost no homeowners could know otherwise. So, the $89
special becomes $250 or worse.

On 7/26/2015 9:06 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 7/26/2015 7:26 AM, Unquestionably Confused wrote:



Owner of the company came out - same people that installed the now 10 yr
old Lennox system.

As long as he'd come out I asked if he'd give the system a check. He
did and measured the refrigerant level and found it within specs as I
figured it would be. While inside the unit he spied the capacitor of
which you speak. "Looks kinda grungy, let me check it." Out comes the
test equipment and "It's on its last legs. Might as well replace it and
save a service call later this summer or beginning of next year."

Go for it.

He was out at the house for about an hour all told. The total bill was
$98.00

When you find someone like that, yo keep them. If you ever need a new
unit, I know who you will call.

Damn straight. When we redid the system ten years ago. His bid for the
Lennox was 40% cheaper than the other guy who bid a smaller capacity,
less efficient unit.

Other than this and one time when a damn chipmunk got into the
compressor housing and gnawed through the 24v control line, it's been
trouble free and you can hang meat in the house on the hottest of summer
days. Think the chipmunk escapade cost me $65 bucks for the service
call, repair and a quick check of the refrigerant charge.

We refer his company (he's running, I think, seven trucks) to all our
friends and everyone has the same experience. One of those rarities
when you get fast, good AND cheap (well, pretty damn reasonable).

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 26 Jul 2015 07:39:00 -0500, philo
wrote:

On 07/25/2015 10:45 PM, bob_villa wrote:
Here it's $17.50 https://www.appliancezone.com/ShowPr...GdAaAkDT8P8HAQ




No problem marking up parts a bit but $369 for the capacitor is absurd.


OTOH: If the guy did not itemize the bill and got it running and just
told me "parts and labor" $468...I'd probably say "fine".

In college around 1965, my clock radio, with tubes and a Telechron
clock, with automatic and a 60-minute sleep setting, that was about 6
years old, developed a hum. At the time I didnt' recognize the standard
120cps hum (I think it's twice the 60cps of house current).

I took it to the repair shop at 53rtd and Kimbark, and he told me 15 for
a new capactitor and 15 for labor. That was a lot of money then,
especially for a college student, so I asked if I could buy the part
from him and put it in myself. He could have said No, and I don't know
what I would have done then, but instead he got mad at me, raised his
voice and talked fast. I think he said I was another college student.
So I had little choice but to leave.

I waited until a vacation when I got back home, where I could use my
mother's car, and found the part, and it was under a dollar, and
soldered it in with my wood-burning iron.



Assuming the $89 was both travel and labor though...that on the other
hand is on the low side.



I know that when I used to repair industrial equipment...no matter
what...if the bill came out to less than $500 no one much cared...
just so long as I got them up and running ASAP.

"micky" wrote in message
...

In college around 1965, my clock radio, with tubes and a Telechron
clock, with automatic and a 60-minute sleep setting, that was about 6
years old, developed a hum. At the time I didnt' recognize the standard
120cps hum (I think it's twice the 60cps of house current).

I took it to the repair shop at 53rtd and Kimbark, and he told me 15 for
a new capactitor and 15 for labor. That was a lot of money then,
especially for a college student, so I asked if I could buy the part
from him and put it in myself. He could have said No, and I don't know
what I would have done then, but instead he got mad at me, raised his
voice and talked fast. I think he said I was another college student.
So I had little choice but to leave.


I don't know what kind of clock radiio that was, but for $ 30 I would think
you could get a new one back then.

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 26 Jul 2015 16:58:00 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


"micky" wrote in message
.. .

In college around 1965, my clock radio, with tubes and a Telechron
clock, with automatic and a 60-minute sleep setting, that was about 6
years old, developed a hum. At the time I didnt' recognize the standard
120cps hum (I think it's twice the 60cps of house current).

I took it to the repair shop at 53rtd and Kimbark, and he told me 15 for
a new capactitor and 15 for labor. That was a lot of money then,
especially for a college student, so I asked if I could buy the part
from him and put it in myself. He could have said No, and I don't know
what I would have done then, but instead he got mad at me, raised his
voice and talked fast. I think he said I was another college student.
So I had little choice but to leave.


I don't know what kind of clock radiio that was, but for $ 30 I would think
you could get a new one back then.

I doubt it. Things like that were more expensive then but I don't know
how much more. I never went shopping for radios or almost anything.

On Sun, 26 Jul 2015 12:34:21 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


"Uncle Monster" wrote in message
...
$89 for a service call is very reasonable anywhere. I know a fellow here in
town who is good and doesn't rip people off but he charges $100/hr and
guarantees his work. He's a dealer for American Standard HVAC systems
which owns Trane and a lot of their parts are the same. I like Trane and
American Standard equipment because it's well designed and very high
quality. A contractor or supply house grade system like Goodman will work
just as well and last a long time if properly installed and regularly
serviced. Keeping them clean is the most important thing to consider to
extend the life of any AC system.

I had to tell customers to turn off the AC system when the grass was
being cut to keep the dirt and grass from being sucked into the condensing
unit. Most people are smart enough to understand the concept once you
explain it and the reason for it. ^_^

Good hint on turning off the unit while mowing. I don't think I have to
worry much about that where my unit is. It is under a deck where the grass
does not grow even though the deck is about 8 feet off the ground. From the
ends it is about 10 to 15 feet each way and about 6 or 8 feet from the grass
on the other side.



When I replaced my unit zi set it up on concrete blocks - about 9
inches off the ground. Now it doesnt suck in grass clippings and leaes
any more

On 7/26/2015 11:07 AM, Muggles wrote:
On 7/26/2015 8:02 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:

Goodness, gracious. I've got to raise my
prices, if people really pay this. Thanks
for the head up.


OK confess. How much to fix an AC window unit that quits running after
about being on for 15 minutes?


Not done one in years, but about $75. Problem
is, you can get a new one for about that same
money.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 7/26/2015 11:51 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:

Many HVAC companies know they have customers by the
balls and will charge them what ever gives the customer
immediate relief. I witnessed the owner of a service
company laughing about selling an elderly couple a new
furnace/AC system when the only thing wrong with their
existing AC was a loose blower door which killed the
power at the air handler. Me, my brother and our
friends in the service business would often help
people on a fixed income with their HVAC and other
problems by donating time and materials. The family
and friends of the people we helped would call us
later and gladly pay full price. It's ironic how
that works out. There are some really good people
who've helped me since I got ill and I tell everyone
to go to them for their service needs. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Service Monster


Thanks for sending me all those customers. Sadly, my trip
charge from NY to Alabama is a bit much for most of em.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On 7/26/2015 5:33 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 7/26/2015 11:07 AM, Muggles wrote:
On 7/26/2015 8:02 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:

Goodness, gracious. I've got to raise my
prices, if people really pay this. Thanks
for the head up.


OK confess. How much to fix an AC window unit that quits running after
about being on for 15 minutes?


Not done one in years, but about $75. Problem
is, you can get a new one for about that same
money.


.... but then you have to figure out what the heck to do with the
previous window unit.

--
Maggie