My GF mother inherited little house in Florida and 3.5 tonne AC unit just went belly up. Last year they replaced $$$ blower motor since it was still under 10 year warranty. Now they are told that compressor failed and local HVAC company suggest a whole new unit for 8 grands. They quoted $2.5k for compressor replacement. It's not easy (for me ) to find relevant info but from quick internet search Copeland compressor costs around $1K . Anybody with account in HVac distributor can check the exact compressor which will be drop in replacement for compressor in Bryant 707CNXA4200AATP?
Girls are in FL now in full fledged panic mode since AC stopped working. They sent me a "picture" of the label . It is a Bryant model as I posted. It's a dual AC / heater unit . It was purchased in 2010 and a year ago the business who sold and installed the unit replaced blower motor under warranty. Now they recommend $8.5 k new unit. It's a retirement community so they are used to terrified old geezers with money.
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They should call another service outfit for a second opinion. It is possible the first company's technician (or salesman?) may have missed
something on why compressor isn't working ( bad start capacitor/ broken wire, etc. ) If compressor is bad and second company confirms,
maybe they will quote a lower figure. If they do replace it - ask them if they would clean the condensor coils.
something on why compressor isn't working ( bad start capacitor/ broken wire, etc. ) If compressor is bad and second company confirms,
maybe they will quote a lower figure. If they do replace it - ask them if they would clean the condensor coils.
Well it's 88 degree in the house. They will have to replace either compressor or the whole unit. I understand that for business it's way more profitable and easier to replace the whole unit. The same time involved and $4k-5k profit on the quoted $8.5k cost of replacement vs $1.5k labor charge for compressor replacement.
My 2 c... I just had my unit replaced (4ton). I had a leak in the coil. The expense you are omitting is to replace the compressor they must evacuate the old freon first. Freon (installed by a tech) for me ran 125/lb and the system used 12 lbs. So just freon would have added around 1500 to a repair bill. They do not reuse the old freon as it could get contaminated when it is pulled out. Another thing to consider is now the system is over 10, will the coil (inside or outside) spring a leak and you have to do it all over again. I'd replace. And not sure what size unit they are installing, but I would have been delighted at 8.5k for mine. Add 5 for what I paid for mine. And the "best" system was 20.
Oh and good point about the cap. That same unit a few years back had a cap blow and the compressor would not start. Made a horrible buzzing sound, would trip its thermal overload, cool down, and repeat. I replaced the cap (myself they are only 20 bucks or so) and it worked fine. If the coil did not spring a leak, I'd be using it this year. I'd definitely check the cap.
It is unclear if you view this as a DIY project or not. I agree with getting a second opinion, since I have need to replace the starter cap. I also replaced the entire A/C system to ensure there was not debris in the lines, so that was a new A/C unit pre-filled with freon, the supply and return line, and the evaporator coil inside. For that, it was about $1600 over 20 years ago. Today, that would be about $4000. That type of replacement gets you away from finding an exact part. I may do my furnace and a/c this fall since the furnace is over 25 years old and inefficient. If the system is working, it is possible to recapture the freon back in to the A/C unit for recycling. Any DIY voids the warranty. For the compressor, you might want to contact Dey Appliance. They are not in your area, so there is likely be a company closer.
I don't view it as DIY since I'm in Michigan and the problem is in Florida. If it was my house I'd just buy new compressor from Ebay ( I saw one for $700 shipped) and learned to do it myself or just searched for a whole unit at a discount. Warranty is always elusive. It covers the parts but not labor outside 1 year period. I had to trash a new refrigerator because compressor went belly up after a year and a half and so what that they give 10 year on compressor if replacement labor is $400 . For $200 I bought the same clean fridge from Craigslist.
Also , it's not the cap and not the circuit board. Tech was there and checked.
Also , it's not the cap and not the circuit board. Tech was there and checked.
You can definitely DIY it, but most people screw it up. If the compressor went bad, there is more than likely trash throughout the system. To braze a new compressor in it should be purged with nitrogen first to ensure when you braze the copper doesn't scale. That is why the **** above went bad in a year and half and a real good possiblility the reason the A/C system above went out. They do make filters to install on the suction and supply lines, but they aren't 100%. Best bet, replace the entire system including lines and make sure the tech doing it knows to purge the lines with nitrogen when brazing. I am not an HVAC tech, but I am a Dean over an HVAC program and have dabbled with it on the side, mainly making fermentation chambers out of old freezers or refrigerators with different evaporators and compressor units.
Pre-charged. Lines too. Has valves to break the seal. Regular R-410. Been working 2 years now.... https://mrcooldiy.com/
Dig in and DIY it. A few years ago the local Carrier "pro" told me he had to replace a proprietary t-stat @ $1000 before he could troubleshoot the control board. I payed him for the service call and sent him on his way. When I found a manual, I tested the emergency heating circuit which wouldn't activate so I called it dead and ordered a two stage Bryant with nearly identical handler dimensions. I stripped the parts from the new handler, installed them in the existing unit, wired both inside and outside units and our oldest, who knew refrigeration from his days as a Navy engineman and subsequent contract work to the Navy brought his torch and gauges over. The unit was precharged for up to 15' of copper and we were just under that. He sweated the copper, cracked the valve and watched the guages. That was about it. Spent $3500, saved ~$7000.
I know HVAC guys earn their money on many jobs but this turned out to be an easy swap.
I know HVAC guys earn their money on many jobs but this turned out to be an easy swap.
The boards and TStat's for communicating systems are just over the top on price. A friend recently got a quote for 1200 for a TSTat. I'm getting ready, my carrier up unit uses communicating and I've already reverse engineered the protocol (RS-485 basically). I've gotten as far as using a pi to emulate the outdoor AC unit. TSTat thinks it is running the outdoor unit. I may go ahead and make a board that I could use if the outdoor unit board fails. I think if my TStat failed I'd just rig in a pi and ssh into it to change temperature settings.