split system residential unit running fine - need for annual checkup??

elfie

filter has been changed, condenser coils have been cleaned and freon level appears fine (ie. cooling works)



so why install gauges (which causes a slight loss of freon) and air handler is closed system



the compressor is about 20 yrs old



is there a value in a checkup?



thanks

heatpro02920

Depends on...

What your piece of mind is worth and if that is equal or less to what your service provider charges for a "check up"...



I have a customer that I installed a Buderus G115 boiler for with a new roth tank and all the fixings, tiger loop with garber filter, pri/secondary, ODR, ect ect ect, a very nice install he spared little expense...



So I call him the following year to schedule his first service {I do the first service for free with an install}, and he said he wanted to wait for his first service and would call me when he was ready. So I thought nothing of it, I didnt hear from him for another 3 years!!! He called me one spring and said, come by when you get a chance to service the unit...



So I go there and clean and service the boiler, it was relatively clean, and running when i got there... So he presents me with the coupon for his first annual service and I was expecting it, so I gave him a receipt with no charges added...

We spoke for a while, he is a very nice gentleman, and he said the next time he is going to try and wait 5 years between servicing his unit, I told him he should get it every year and he said he knew that, but if saving a couple hundred bucks a year meant that he may go a weekend without heat someday then so be it...

If you can live like that, then take the gamble, it is one of them things that "makes as much sense as it doesn't"....

elfie

my concern is need for AC maintenance

my concern is need for AC checkup



who knows what they are doing when they begin to fiddle with a functioning system.



is there value to service when outside coils are cleaned by homeowner and filter is changed.



thanks

heatpro02920

Sure its worth something...

You can check the temps across the coils, that will tell you a lot about how its working.. I have customers that will have us come out and check the pressures, change the filter, check the float switches, check the t-stats, clean the coils, check the drains, ect. But I don't do that at my own house and I can do it for free, I clean the coils and change the filters when they are dirty, and fix it when it breaks...

Techman

Routines good or bad

Jim Bergmann has an article on AC&R called "An Essential Reference For The Advanced Technician" 70 pages of info .Jim explains about NOT putting on gauges,BUT the system had to already been "benchmarked" so you can compare readings. Now it's not that far of a leap of faith to KindaSorta use your :benchmarked #'s and compare them to any unbenchmarked unit. Enough that you can look/feel at a system and say "I do/don't have to go get my gauges"

I run my business on Routines. With a routine , regular rates 24-7 even the 4th of July& I WILL be there. W/o a routine , overtime rates apply. Your talking YOUR TIME .. W/o a routine I'll PROBABLY NOT be there, because it is MY TIME, especially on the 4th of July. I do about 20% of my res AC w/o yearly routines  , use per year is 1month for a few, other's 2 months. Commercial is a different animal ,there I have 95% do have a hands on inspection

heatpro02920

Techman

I am confused, lol... I don't know if you are coming or going...



I wont check pressures for no reason, now if temps are not rite or the compressor has an issue {load or pulling big amps} I will check the pressures {we are talking about an existing system already in commision}...



I know guys that throw the gauges on every time they pull up, I see their point, why not check it out if they are there, so if they are there for a bad cap, they will check the pressures, I don't do this...

Techman

Test AC

Hi heatpro02920.When the gauges go on a system its the temp that we are concerned with. Same temp across the board for all those different freons but each different Freon has its own corresponding pressure. Lets say r-22 ,95* ambient , hiside press of 275psig or so , but that press is based on a CondensingTemp of 125* or so. R-410a @125*CT or so and the press is 446 or so .The same applies to the loside temps. AC evap temp of 40* is across the board, with different press for the different freons,add 10* SuperHeat for TXV ,plus 5* for the suction line and  you have 55* at the comp . So measuring the temp at the comp will give you a real good idea of system performance, also having a full liquid line going into the TXV and that system is running good.So on any system the same applies, now, for all new customers I put gauges on.

elfie

a simple test for being low on freon

wont icing on line by compressor be a tip off that freon is low?



problem i have with my system is that on really hot days (100 degrees), the cooling is limited and this may be due to an attic that has no air circulation (ie. where air handler is).

Tinman

Your system

may be undersized? Your ducts in the attic may not be sealed properly or insulated properly? Or all of the above?

Techman

Need for routine.

I'm assuming you live down south somewhere!? Somewhere that it is already warm? AC units , properly sized/installed  AC units are based on an indoor to outdoor temp difference of 15*-17 1/2* -20*. So w/ a 100* ambient your looking at 80* indoor or so. If you have colder indoor temps then the AC unit is probably oversized. The AC unit will be really oversized when using the AC when there is an 80* ambient. If you are waiting for frost/icing to indicate the system is lo on Freon then you are damaging your own compressor.Have your AC guy put in a SG/MI(SightGlass/MoistureIndicator) and you can see if the unit is lo on Freon. Do they put Freon in the system ? If not , then I would lean towards dirty filters or dirty evap coil or a dirty indoor blower wheel and a few others. That is part of what the inspection is about, or what the inspection is supposed to be about. I do not hear from 95% of my "inspected " customers until the next routine. FACT!!      How long is your cooling season? Being a selfish , self centered kinda guy , MY piece of mind allows me to give you your "piece of mind".

heatpro02920, I am not claiming that I don't put gauges on, I DO put gauges on, a lot. But with a few customer that I have for several years, there are some that I don't,  based on good suction line temps AND that very important SG/MI. As Stephen mentioned a leaking duct system might be adding to the problem , I WILL NOT be repairing any duct work when its 120*-145* in the attic , that repair is an offshoot of the inspection.

Tinman

Your location

is important. If you're in Michigan's upper peninsula, an AC struggling with an outside temp of 100* would be perfectly normal. If you reside in Lake Havasu, AZ, not so much. On checking refrigerant charge...if there is a complaint of insufficient cooling and a technician doesn't hook up hook up gauges, he's not doing his job. With the low loss fittings on today's hoses, the loss is absolutely minimal.