On 8/16/2016 10:06 PM, TimR wrote:
My sister is a thousand miles away and I can't go look at her problem.

She had her evaporator (apparently an A coil in the furnace?) replaced with the home warranty, of course there were all sorts of extra non covered charges, but it stopped cooling.

So then they told her the condenser needed to be changed out too, another visit charge plus another set of non covered charges.

Now, in the list of extra charges here, they have to send an electrician to change out the 30 Amp breaker for a 25, because if the condenser pulls more than 25 amps it will burn out and be destroyed.

Say what? Really? Plus they're claiming they need to pull a separate permit for the electrical work which will cost her an extra couple hundred bucks.

My BS detector is going off here. I work in an engineering department. But my section doesn't do residential anymore and I don't know enough.

Your BS detector seems to be working well. Local code probably does
call for getting a permit but for a small job is should be about $20,
not hundreds. Changing a breaker is a 5 minute job so the electrician
is going to charge his minimum that could be $75 to $100. If I was
close I'd do it for a slice of pie if she just made one.

Home warranty is a rip-off, IMO. Put that premium in the bank and you
will be way ahead in a couple of years even after a job like she has
now. Sounds like they botched it to begin with.

On Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at 12:12:34 AM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Home warranty is a rip-off, IMO. Put that premium in the bank and you
will be way ahead in a couple of years even after a job like she has
now. Sounds like they botched it to begin with.

In general I agree with you. But she's single, retired, and has no maintenance skills at all. I think she needs a service, I just suspect she didn't get the right one.

On Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at 12:12:34 AM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 8/16/2016 10:06 PM, TimR wrote:
My sister is a thousand miles away and I can't go look at her problem.

She had her evaporator (apparently an A coil in the furnace?) replaced with the home warranty, of course there were all sorts of extra non covered charges, but it stopped cooling.

So then they told her the condenser needed to be changed out too, another visit charge plus another set of non covered charges.

Now, in the list of extra charges here, they have to send an electrician to change out the 30 Amp breaker for a 25, because if the condenser pulls more than 25 amps it will burn out and be destroyed.

Say what? Really? Plus they're claiming they need to pull a separate permit for the electrical work which will cost her an extra couple hundred bucks.

My BS detector is going off here. I work in an engineering department. But my section doesn't do residential anymore and I don't know enough.

Your BS detector seems to be working well. Local code probably does
call for getting a permit but for a small job is should be about $20,
not hundreds. Changing a breaker is a 5 minute job so the electrician
is going to charge his minimum that could be $75 to $100. If I was
close I'd do it for a slice of pie if she just made one.

Home warranty is a rip-off, IMO. Put that premium in the bank and you
will be way ahead in a couple of years even after a job like she has
now. Sounds like they botched it to begin with.

IDK about $20, here the min for anything in NJ is probably $50, I'd
expect to pay at least that much. But the problem may not be what
the municipality charges, but that many contractors add their own
fee for handling it on top of that. Which I guess they have a right
to do, because they do have to make a trip over to the office to
get one quickly or fill it out, mail it, etc. I agree a couple
hundred sounds high.

If the OP knows the model of the new eqpt, they may be able to pull
up the install instructions on the internet and find out what size
breaker it calls for. Typically they have a range specified, ie a min
and a max. It the 30A is within the range, no need to change it.
The new eqpt is probably more efficient, so it will work with a
smaller amp circuit, but if they give a breaker range and you're
within it, you're OK.

I agree with the advice to avoid the home warranty companies for
a lot of reasons. One reason is that they've now changed out the
whole AC system. At that point, if it were your own system, depending
on the age, it might make more sense to get a whole new system,
ie including the heating/air handler part. Would be interesting if
the OP would let us know what this winds up costing. And how much
she's been paying and for how long.

On Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at 8:18:54 AM UTC-4, TimR wrote:
On Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at 12:12:34 AM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Home warranty is a rip-off, IMO. Put that premium in the bank and you
will be way ahead in a couple of years even after a job like she has
now. Sounds like they botched it to begin with.

In general I agree with you. But she's single, retired, and has no maintenance skills at all. I think she needs a service, I just suspect she didn't get the right one.

IDK why she needs a home warranty service. Seems to me she just needs
a local, reputable service company for the things that she has covered.
In this case, it would be a local HVAC company. You call them out,
they tell you what they think needs to be done, if you don't like it
you're free to call someone else. With the warranty company, you're
stuck with the company they choose to use. They probably find the
cheapest guy they can find, then he makes up for what they pay him
by adding on extras wherever he can. This is like any insurance
situation, you're paying for the work, plus the insurance company's
overhead, their profit, etc. That makes sense when it's a large
ticket item and you can't afford to self-insure or take the risk.
I've heard very few people here that are happy with any of these
warranty companies.

On 8/17/2016 8:29 AM, trader_4 wrote:



IDK about $20, here the min for anything in NJ is probably $50, I'd
expect to pay at least that much. But the problem may not be what
the municipality charges, but that many contractors add their own
fee for handling it on top of that.

Just checked. Plumbing minimum is $25, electrical $40. Homeowner cn
pull the permit and save the add on costs.




I agree with the advice to avoid the home warranty companies for
a lot of reasons. One reason is that they've now changed out the
whole AC system. At that point, if it were your own system, depending
on the age, it might make more sense to get a whole new system,
ie including the heating/air handler part. Would be interesting if
the OP would let us know what this winds up costing. And how much
she's been paying and for how long.


My guess is the insurance company tried to get away cheap replacing the
evap coil and later realized more was needed. Just a guess, but a good
HVAC tech would recognize the problem and recommended a more efficient
unit, not the cheapest to buy.

On Wed, 17 Aug 2016 10:05:05 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 8/17/2016 8:29 AM, trader_4 wrote:



IDK about $20, here the min for anything in NJ is probably $50, I'd
expect to pay at least that much. But the problem may not be what
the municipality charges, but that many contractors add their own
fee for handling it on top of that.

Just checked. Plumbing minimum is $25, electrical $40. Homeowner cn
pull the permit and save the add on costs.




I agree with the advice to avoid the home warranty companies for
a lot of reasons. One reason is that they've now changed out the
whole AC system. At that point, if it were your own system, depending
on the age, it might make more sense to get a whole new system,
ie including the heating/air handler part. Would be interesting if
the OP would let us know what this winds up costing. And how much
she's been paying and for how long.


My guess is the insurance company tried to get away cheap replacing the
evap coil and later realized more was needed. Just a guess, but a good
HVAC tech would recognize the problem and recommended a more efficient
unit, not the cheapest to buy.
The diagnosis should be done by the tech, not the "insurance" or
warranty company.. Sometimes the companies "own" the techs but usually
they are subcontractors. You still don't have the opportunity to
select the contractor (in many cases, at least)

On 08/17/2016 12:12 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
Home warranty is a rip-off, IMO. Put that premium in the bank and you will be way ahead in a couple of years even after a job like she has now. Sounds like they botched it to begin with.

Agreed! When the salesman is selling the extended warranty, they claim it covers everything.
Later, when you have a claim, you'll find the warranty is filled with a bunch of weasel words and your particular failure is not covered.