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York blue fin evaporator coil replacement

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Interceptor
Interceptor Member Posts: 46
in A-C, Heat Pumps & Refrigeration
Central A-C is blowing hot air, called service tech to check it out. He says the evaporator coil is bad and a replacement is no longer available for this 5 year old York unit. He says the blue-fin coils were known for early failures. He says the entire system needs to be replaced because it is a 10 SEER and new regs dictate it must be 13 SEER.

 Is it really possible that a replacement coil is not available? If so, is there no compatible replacement that will work with the existing outdoor unit (condenser?)?

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  • Empire_2
    Empire_2 Member Posts: 2,343
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    I love Blue Fin Tuna...

    I personally never heard of this tag being placed on the Evap.  Doesn't mean it don't exist.  Why replace the evap?  Bad leak?  Even R-22 systems are available but in limited quantities.  Did you get a second opinion?  Not that it's necessary, but I'm sure the tec gave you a detailed reason as to why..........



    Mike T.
  • Interceptor
    Interceptor Member Posts: 46
    edited June 2012
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    the fins are blue

    They call it blue fin because the fins are blue. A Google search confirms what the tech said about premature failures. The tech hooked up some gauges and said there is no refrigerant in the system. I don't know if he confirmed that the evap coil is leaking, or if he just assumed so because of past experience. As to a detailed explanation.... he said the part is not available, he could replace it with a 13 SEER part which is not compatible with the 10 SEER outdoor unit, therefore the entire system needs to be replaced.



    http://yorkcentral.net/content/media/2/20071009-Evaporator%20Coil%20Leak%20Issue.swf





    Assuming the unit in the basement is considered an air handler it should have a 10 yr parts warranty, and the above link indicates that labor is covered for 5 yrs. This should be a free repair, not a whole new system. We will be calling the local York dealer to get a second opinion. We did call them first but they currently have a 3 week wait so we got someone else who could be there in three days.
  • Interceptor
    Interceptor Member Posts: 46
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    covered

    A the first service call the tech said he checked the warranty and it was expired (he called someone and asked). He wanted to sell us a new system and even scheduled another guy to come out to do an estimate. I ran the serial numbers on the York site which indicates it is still under warranty. We cancelled the sales appointment and got in touch with the owner of the company who happens to be a friend. Now amazingly they say it is under warranty and they can get the part. They replaced the coil but charged us for labor, claiming the warranty does not cover labor, contrary to what York says. Consumer beware!
  • John Mills_5
    John Mills_5 Member Posts: 951
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    Our experience

    We replaced one for a customer. Right at 5 years old. Got the coil covered under warranty. Charged for labor and all the other costs. Then received a healthy labor allowance from the York distributor which we passed on to the customer. So it seems York is stepping up to the plate on these and the HO should see if any labor will help them. It is likely that a non-York dealer didn't know about the allowance, like us. And when I dealt with the supplier on the replacement coil their rep didn't tell me about the allowance. It just showed up on a credit memo 2 months later.



    Coils do not have SEER ratings. There's no such thing as a "13 SEER" coil not being compatible with a 10 SEER A/C. The metering device has to match. A R22 expansion valve must be installed if the coil comes with a R410a valve. In our case, no valve came with the coil so we put the R22 valve from the old coil onto the new one. If a piston is involved, correct sizing has to be done.



    There are many companies with techs on commission who would say a late model unit has to be replaced and not offer repair, sad to say.
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