Had the hvac company come do the spring maintainence check on my central a/c. The tech came up with a list of things I should consider doing in the future. I'm not sure if the prices are reasonable, or even if necessary. So, here goes: EZ start device $175, locking caps $125- these I looked up, $50 on Amazon because some dumb *** kid in Florida huffed the r22 and died, EZ trap $225, outdoor fan motor $449. What does the ez start and ez trap do? The fan motor has a small amount of oil film where the shaft come out of the motor case. Last year, he wanted $180 to replace the start cap, which I did for $14. This is why I'm suspicious of the prices.
Questions about central a/c maintainence
- Thread starter 87GN
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How much was the start up, lol if you are looking to save money start there, and then that list wouldn't exist 
I am just kidding, I used to do 200 start ups a year and charge $119 each, and send a tech making $18 an hour in a prius getting 50mpg, full of filters, gauges, a couple cans of refrigerant, and some thermostats....
I am not a fan of annual maintenance and it used to make me $200+K per year in profit!!! I see the value in it in oil burners, BUT I used to love guys that would do it themselves, it restored my confidence in the human race... Change the filter, change the nozzle, brush the fan, set the electrodes, vacuum and brush the HX, and save yourself $229... If you start with a new boiler and do it for 15 Years you can save the cost of a boiler...
Thats why I like zero maintenance gas appliances...
Anyway rant over, if your AV is working and your trap is draining, and your fan motor is spinning, leave it be. When the motor no longer spins {you changed a cap yourself, you can change a fan} change it. Who knows you spend that money changing it and ayear later the compressors blows the condy apart and you end up buying a new unit anyway when your original fan would have been fine...
Save the start up money and at the end of this season, hose off your outside unit, change your filter, and blow your trap out {I like to put a temp cap on the end to keep things from making it a nesting place}... Then next summer just turn it on when its hot...
So to answer your question easy starts are like compressor savers, they make your compressor start faster, a lot of a compressors wear comes from start up, this cuts the startup time down... Gimmicky?
Ez trap is just a fancy condensate trap, rectoseal makes them and its an ok product, they have a built in cleanout and float assembly, so if they get full and blocked they brake com so your ac dont run...
You should have some sort of pan and switch assembly now, I am not sure what your system looks like...
I am just kidding, I used to do 200 start ups a year and charge $119 each, and send a tech making $18 an hour in a prius getting 50mpg, full of filters, gauges, a couple cans of refrigerant, and some thermostats....
I am not a fan of annual maintenance and it used to make me $200+K per year in profit!!! I see the value in it in oil burners, BUT I used to love guys that would do it themselves, it restored my confidence in the human race... Change the filter, change the nozzle, brush the fan, set the electrodes, vacuum and brush the HX, and save yourself $229... If you start with a new boiler and do it for 15 Years you can save the cost of a boiler...
Thats why I like zero maintenance gas appliances...
Anyway rant over, if your AV is working and your trap is draining, and your fan motor is spinning, leave it be. When the motor no longer spins {you changed a cap yourself, you can change a fan} change it. Who knows you spend that money changing it and ayear later the compressors blows the condy apart and you end up buying a new unit anyway when your original fan would have been fine...
Save the start up money and at the end of this season, hose off your outside unit, change your filter, and blow your trap out {I like to put a temp cap on the end to keep things from making it a nesting place}... Then next summer just turn it on when its hot...
So to answer your question easy starts are like compressor savers, they make your compressor start faster, a lot of a compressors wear comes from start up, this cuts the startup time down... Gimmicky?
Ez trap is just a fancy condensate trap, rectoseal makes them and its an ok product, they have a built in cleanout and float assembly, so if they get full and blocked they brake com so your ac dont run...
You should have some sort of pan and switch assembly now, I am not sure what your system looks like...
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
The best thing you can do for an A/C unit is spray the outside condenser down with your garden hose once a year.
the neighbor's condenser was making a loud racket the other day when they started it.
Turns out the landscaper's had surrounded it with mulch last year.
Nobody noticed since they had planted bushes all around it.
It did not help that the units are only sitting on pavers. (Not really elevated)
Turns out the landscaper's had surrounded it with mulch last year.
Nobody noticed since they had planted bushes all around it.
It did not help that the units are only sitting on pavers. (Not really elevated)
Agree with above. No need to change the fan until it seizes/breaks...even then it could just be a blown fan lead on the capacitor (which you already know how to change). Keep your drain clean (flush with a 50/50 mix of warm water and bleach or vinegar) and hose down the unit as mentioned. And that 'oil' could just be some disolved grease running out (or a not so honest tech slathering some on there). I have a TON of respect for good HVAC techs, but a lot of these add-ons are just that...ad-ons.
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
YIKES! $175.00 for a hard start kit? I get them for about $30.00. $450.00 for a CFM? Less than $200.00... EZ- Trap? under $20.00 at Homey Depot...
Look elsewhere. You can probably do most if not all of it yourself.
Tommy
Look elsewhere. You can probably do most if not all of it yourself.
Tommy
Rockhead261
Well-known member
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
My 1995 Trane 1200 condenser fan rattled for years. I bought the place in '97. Motor gave out on one of the coldest days ever on record here, low single digits. Back up strips alone could not maintain temp. I paid a premium for the new China made motor (about $150 if I recall, jan of 2014) at the appliance parts place, but it fit perfectly, ran fine, and smooth and quiet, and wasn't too difficult to install. I pulled my torpedo heater out of where it sat in the corner of the shop gathering dust, and ran it where I was working outside at the condenser to stay a little warmer. At least I could warm my hands every so often.
I change my own filters, they are about 6 inches thick and cost about $30 each at the very best prices I can find on the internet, local HVAC installer wants more than double that. No service man has ever touched my heat pump since I bought the place.
I change my own filters, they are about 6 inches thick and cost about $30 each at the very best prices I can find on the internet, local HVAC installer wants more than double that. No service man has ever touched my heat pump since I bought the place.
You must be quite the salesman. $200k+ on 200 start ups?????
that was total annual maintenance, that is service contracts, ac start ups, boiler cleanings, etc.. I did 2 Hospitals {over 20 buildings between the 2} that paid out $20K+ each per year in preventive maintenance...
A/C startups was the service that I made the customers beg me to do, I never advertised it and I never pushed it, I tried to talk them out of it every year, but I still did a couple hundred, never failed...
I was talking to one of my old techs that still is employed by my company {I sold out and retired}, and they are pushing everything, they are using almost twice the employees as I had, and they have 1 mode - SELL SELL SELL SELL... But thats how it is, as long as my checks keep coming, I still get a paycheck every week and a commercial rent payment every month...
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zmaxmotorsports
Well-known member
Sounds like its time to get a new service co to me anyway.
When I install an a/c I tell my customers to rinse the condenser our when ever they mow the grass,and to check or change the furnace filter every month using a good pleated filter.
Other than that I tell them to enjoy it and call me if they have a problem.
Falcon67
Well-known member
The three way cap blew up on us again on Monday. Service call was $186. Part was $60, plus labor and trip charge. No complaints. Local guy, company owner. He also did some tests and together we concluded that our unit is past saving, so we're on the hook for a whole new install in the next week. He didn't do any "upsell" or the like, no push - just "You're gonna have to think about it like it or not." Kinda like zmax there.
LOL - we also discovered that the indoor air handler was a 3.5 ton and the outdoor was a 3. Seems whoever built that house got a deal on left over parts.
To the OP - we had to have ours looked at every year for the past three but that was because the compressor was having a hard time keeping up, not counting the thing eating a cap every year. Other than that, I did any checks. With all electric heat, not much to do. I set the t-stat to alert every 45 days for a filter change. In the winter before it gets cold I'd get under the return plenum, vac the A-coil fins and clean the plenum area. Then I'd fire up the system when there was a mild day with a good breeze to burn off dust on the heating coils and verify all were working. Our current unit has a filter tray right at the bottom of the air handler.
At the old house with the gas furnace, I'd vac out the burner area, test fire, check the exhaust venting and put a fresh battery in the CO detector.
LOL - we also discovered that the indoor air handler was a 3.5 ton and the outdoor was a 3. Seems whoever built that house got a deal on left over parts.
To the OP - we had to have ours looked at every year for the past three but that was because the compressor was having a hard time keeping up, not counting the thing eating a cap every year. Other than that, I did any checks. With all electric heat, not much to do. I set the t-stat to alert every 45 days for a filter change. In the winter before it gets cold I'd get under the return plenum, vac the A-coil fins and clean the plenum area. Then I'd fire up the system when there was a mild day with a good breeze to burn off dust on the heating coils and verify all were working. Our current unit has a filter tray right at the bottom of the air handler.
At the old house with the gas furnace, I'd vac out the burner area, test fire, check the exhaust venting and put a fresh battery in the CO detector.
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zmaxmotorsports
Well-known member
The reason they probably installed the 3 1/2t air handler was to gain some efficiency with the bigger A coil,I used to do that a lot with the old 10 seer stuff.
Falcon67
Well-known member
I'd maybe buy that, except for the corners cut elsewhere in the build. Non-standard can lights, no name electrical work, non-standard size bath vanities, bottom barrel windows and the like. Nice house with a bit of "ain't no inspector gonna come look" shine on it. "Custom touches" mostly necessitated by - my personal opinion - closeout and one off merchandise scored cheap. Companies with pride in their work usually sticker the device(s) so you'd know who to call for service. The electric panel and the AC have no stickers on them at all.
BUT - you may be right. The system did work well after I cleaned it up. The house was a repo and the AC especially had not been filtered or checked in several years. The underside of the A coil was so thick with crud, dog hair, etc that you could not see the fins. It worked OK for a year or so then the compressor had a bit of a fit, probably because a cap started going bad. Had trouble starting and would trip out. It never really recovered from that. One of the tests yesterday was amp draw - should be pulling close to 10~11A but the compressor barely makes 5. Probably internal valve issues. Was 82F yesterday and it ran for an hour and a half to stay at 76 inside with the thermostat set to 72.
BUT - you may be right. The system did work well after I cleaned it up. The house was a repo and the AC especially had not been filtered or checked in several years. The underside of the A coil was so thick with crud, dog hair, etc that you could not see the fins. It worked OK for a year or so then the compressor had a bit of a fit, probably because a cap started going bad. Had trouble starting and would trip out. It never really recovered from that. One of the tests yesterday was amp draw - should be pulling close to 10~11A but the compressor barely makes 5. Probably internal valve issues. Was 82F yesterday and it ran for an hour and a half to stay at 76 inside with the thermostat set to 72.
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pseudorealityx
Well-known member
With the Southern states being mandated to higher efficiency equipment, even the manufacturers are providing 'mixed' selections to hit their targets. 3.5 ton fan coil with a 3 ton outdoor is pretty common.
Doing a 6 story condo in FL right now where that was one of my selections.
Doing a 6 story condo in FL right now where that was one of my selections.
Falcon67
Well-known member
FWIW - new system is a 14 SEER Ruud 3.5T.
My Old Tools
Well-known member
Caps are $20-30 on Amazon and Grainger. Testing takes 3 minutes, install takes 10 minutes. I got talked into a EZ start kit on my Trane not too long after we bought the house. It was kicking breakers on the spare room system when it cycled. After the EZ start, it still kicked the breaker. I went looking and found an undersized breaker. Checked the wiring and it was good (correctly sized). Pulled the 35 amp and put in the 40 amp and it has been good for 5 years. I'm guessing they came up short a breaker and put in what was handy. It looked like an old used one compared to the others. Didn't show up unless that end of the house had guests.