Servicemember requests advice...

John Jr

to us isn't like us coming home and jumping on the computer. He could be out on duty for up to 12 to 16 hrs and at the end just wants to drop. Then he might have to wait for an open computer to get on and check.

J. Lee

Central Air & Heat broken, am I being scammed?

To all concerned, as always when I deploy, something expensive breaks at my home, with my poor wife alone to take care of it. One day, she email me, saying that the "furnace" was making a wierd noise, but still worked. Then, the next morning when she woke up, the heater was not working. She called a serviceman up, who promptly arrived, told her that the compressor pump was bad. He said the the 9 year old Rheems (spelling) system, installed in a 1450sq ft home, is junk, and the entire system will need to be replaced. He priced anywhere from $2800 to $4800, to complete the job. Does this sound correct? Why not just replace the compresor pump iteslf? Nine years is not a very long time for an entire system to last. The interior system is in a small closet, looks like a normal heater, and the outside unit, is a green boxed in fan, which I assume is for the A/C? I apologize for being so vague, but, 3,000 miles from home, and no knowledge of the topic has me frustrated. I will earch in here more, but, I didnt know where else to go, and, it would cost me a fortune in long distance calls to get any advice. Thanks for all you help in advance. Very Respectfully, JL

Weezbo

i am awake at least.

where is the home?

what is the zip code ?

let me know by private e-mail and i will see if i can get someone this evening interested from HVAC-Talk.com , a forced air site.

you could plick on find a professional here in the interim if you have some time.

well i get up at 5 a.m. *~/:) when i am dreamin:) will check my e-mail then. or go to HVAC-Talk.com go to general forums click on my nom d plume:) a thread will come up that says Serviceman could use some help...someone there might be awake right now if you are from the East Coast.

these are some good people and they do excellent work and are not the least bit worried about posting thier work in picture form to subject review of thier peers. Who ,i might add are also equiped with a hall of Shame if the works bad enough all these guys take pride in thier work and are constantly after a place in the Hall Of Fame I can only speak for my self yet i am inclined to think they appreciate the Work that you are doing .

Jeff Lawrence_25

Scammmed?

First off, anyone that scams another person is a low life, and scamming the wife of a deployed serviceman is even worse.

Let's look at the problem. It sounds like you have a heat pump, not a furnace(furnaces burn gas to heat air). Next, your wife said the noise was inside, but the compressor, located outside needs replacing. Somethings not right there.

Rheem/Ruud are good brands, but heat pumps have a life expectancy of about 15 years. Did yours die an early death? We have no idea.

Best bet is to post you wife's location and see if any of us are nearby (I'm the metro Atlanta area). We'll do your family right. If no one is nearby, definitely find another contractor to look at the problem.

Good luck.

Techman

Serviceman

Good Morning ,do you have gas/oil? If not then you probably do have a "heatpump".Is there an "emergency heat" setting on the t'stat ? And do you get some heat in the "emergency" setting?If you do get some heat then you have some time to get another opinion.Where are you located ?State and town will help one of us to help you!We{one of us} can give you our phone # to pass on to your wife.

Tony_23

Location

Tell your wife to check in here if she can. It may be faster. Where is home ?

Weezbo

i have not heard from the Lee.

it was early for you late here, did he find someone to give him a second opinion? i wonder how many hours a day that guys got to burn in order to call it a "Day". anyone hear from Mr.Lee?

We cant have the guy fighting on two fronts. The least we can do is find him some help.

bob young

true or false

i could be wrong but i am getting the strange feeling that this was a bogus situation. i hope i am mistaken. someone who actually needs assistance usually doesn't evaporate.

J. Lee

sorry it took so long to get back. I'll try to answer all your questions. I live in Northwest Florida, near Pensacola. I have electric heating. The house is 9 years old, I bought it at 7 years of age. We change out the filters monthly, or bimonthly, my bill helps me remember. It does have an emergency setting, and I am wondering if I can use that setting until I return home, say, within 30 days or so. Or until I can figure out what is wrong with it from here, then have somebody I trust repair it when I am PERSONALLY watching. A fool and his money are soon parted. (Ask me about my $250-"clogged"-sewage-grinder-adventure sometime.) Taken from my wife's email:"He wanted to replace it with a Gibson 2 ton Hp 13 seer $2800 Maytag 2 ton Hp 13 seer $4800. He said the noise I heard was probably from the pump trying to work. He showed me the pump. It is part of the AC unit outside. He said the pump no longer kicks on at all." and regarding the emergency setting,she asks:"yes, how long can we safley use that? I'd almost rather use a space heater (safer)???"; and finally, about the noise it made:" the noise was inside, when I turned the heat on. It made a raspy, shaky noise. then when he showed up and turned the unit on, it didn't make the noise anymore." My personal email is slepe67@hotmail.com I aplogize, but, I trust people here, but, due to the nature of MY business, I really dont care to share personal info to people on the net. I mean no offense, jsut being cautious with my family while I'm away. I thank you in advance for your help, and I greatly appreciate it. Thank you JL

J. Lee

she also sends this: "I found the manuals for the system. It basically says that you can't replace items iin one unit (outside verses inside) because they get outdated and can cause malfunctions of the systems. There was a warranty for the compressor pump. The warranty only lasts 5 years." Well, I wonder if that answered my onw question...thanks again...JL

Weezbo

*~/:) i had faith that if i just hung in there long enough...

there would be a "My zip code is XXXXX ." from that i was off to plick away at the key board until i found someone in your area...like you i burn plenty daylight and while the heat dont get to me here the cold definitely makes its impression:) You would see by having sent me the info that i am in North Pole Alaska *~/:)

now that you are available...we will get you some help.

J. Lee

thanks, my zip is 32566. Sorry, I'm a bit tired. I lived in Dutch Harbor when I was a kid, and grew up in MT. Really dont miss THAT kind of cold....and I whine because it is a bit nippy in FL...laughter ensues.

Tony_23

Hmmm.....

My son is stationed at Pensacola right now, wish I could make the trip Kind of a working vacation I would have an experienced tool runner, too.

It won't hurt to use the "emergency heat", it's just like an electric furnace that way and its what it is for. This is an emergency, of sorts. Rather see her do that than space heaters. Up here the backup kicks in about 20* on a HP system, so the emerg ht feature is really a "most of the winter" feature.

Good luck. And THANKS.

Tony

Techman

J Lee

Using the "emergency heat" switch is exactly what it is for . And much safer than space heatera! Stay safe,not to worryabout this little problem. Look us up when you get home.I did my 4years ,EN2(SS)

Dave Yates (GrandPAH)_1

room layout

If, and that's a big "if" at this point, you really do need a new system, it is true that you should replace both the indoor and outdoor units at the same time. Mismatched heat pump components seldom work well together. We fight this battle with home warranty companies every stinking time a heat pump condenser is shot.

One thing to consider. If your home's room layout fits, you might be way ahead of the game by installing Inverter (variable speed technology) style mini-split units. Seer ratings oftemn exceed 21 instead of languishing at the new 13 minimum. For each 1-SEER rating increase, you'll save almost 10% in operating costs. Add to that nice tidbit that you'll be automatically adding zoning and your savings will be even better.

Inverter technology in a nutshell: single-phase 220V is converted to 380V DC current and run through a bank of capacitors to clean up and stabilize the signal and then inverted into 200V 3-phase current. Due to being three-phase, all motors (fan & compressor) speeds can be infinately varied and refrigerant flow is metered too. Outdoor and indoor resets are utilized to match the speed to the home's heat loss or gain. As a result, the equipment sips only the energy required to meet the heating/cooling load at that moment in time. And, they're also whisper-quiet - both the indoor unit(s) and the outdoor unit. Many models are available for multiple indoor units coupled to a single outdoor unit. Each indoor unit communicates with the outdoor unit and the outdoor unit can meter refrigerant at varying amounts to multiple indoor units. They can also be set to maintain humidity levels without altering the room's temperature by more than two degrees F.

Inverter technology is the future of HVAC. It's been in use in Europe for decades, so it's not really new. It's just new for this side of the pond.

Stay safe and let-er run on emergency heat till you get home. And, keep us posted on the resolution.

J. Lee

update....

I just got home from my latest deployment, and plan to call a technician tomorrow or Monday. Any advice? What should I ask/look for in a tech? Any help will be appreciated, and again, I will keep you posted, and much better on that now that I'm home, and have MY OWN COMPUTER!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks again. By the way, I forgot to tell her to use Emergency Heat for just EMERGENCY HEAT. My power bill from using it since then was $170.

Larry (from OSHA)

welcome home

Hey J.

Welcome home and thank you very much for all you have done. I can't offer any help for your heat pump situation but Her emergency heat needs might have been different from yours. The power bill is small potatoes all things considered. Bottom line is You're home and she's warm and everyone should be happy! Good news all around. Keep us posted on your heating system developments.

Larry