Freon (r-22) leak on a Rheem split system called in to the website - this one is hissing like an AZ Diamondback

Great guy called me in to find out the real deal on a possible leak he had.  Local 'father and son' company wanted $925 just to get the ball rolling with a blank check on repairs.  You guys are too savvy for that sort of game.  Dropped by his house and hooked up the dry nitrogen tank. In 5 minutes it was so obvious it made me sick the first tech had a straight face to write up the 'estimate'.   Oh well, happens every day out here:  Watch and enjoy....

What do the parts and refrigerant really cost an HVAC contractor?

Well, lets go through some of the basics.  Of course that dosent answer why they mark them up 300% (there are some legitimate reasons for mark-up but lets keep it real)  but just in case you were curious here you go:

1. r-22 $350 a 30lb jug - retails for $40-80 installed PER POUND!! - they make at least $800 a jug
2. run capacitors $5-$15 - you pay $80 to $200 installed (yes attaching a couple of wires)
3. contactors - a personal favorite for all the tune up calls cost $12 and $100 at least installed (more hooking up wires).
4. transformers - $15 cost and at least $150 installed
5. indoor coil cleaning $150 - you can get the spray cleaner and soft brush for $10
6. A/C tune up?  endless possibilities here for them to sell you more crap - your cost to do preventative maintenance? $0
7. 5-2-1 compressor savers AKA hard start kits cost $40 installed $150 - three wires to hookup

Ok you have to be comfortable working around your unit.  Get educated.  Go to thermal-medics.com and watch the videos... the content is out there and it is FREE.  CALL OR EMAIL ME, THAT IS WHAT I DO, I HELP YOU!!!  You have the power to save money and learn what is going on out there, and trust me, when you do the fix you will actually feel pretty manly!!

Last point: If you don't want to DIY is it worth paying for quality. YES!!!!! Finding the quality is the hard part.  Look for my next article about choosing a contractor to do the best work for the money.  You may have already read my "low bid is not always the best' and that is true.  If you want quality workmanship at fair prices you have to do the legwork.  Otherwise you prey


Stop by the website at http://www.thermal-medics.com/ for more free content, videos and questions answered.

Hail Damage on air conditioning units in the Phoenix area - What you need to know from thermal-medics.com

The residents of Phoenix felt nature's wrath on October 5th 2010.  Now, thunderstorms and small hail is not uncommon during our monsoon season, but this one was a whopper.  We had a very intense group of thunderstorm cells move through the valley and drop an incredible amount of large hail.  There is a  you tube video from a backyard during the storm.

Now how does this effect your A/C and why are we talking about it?  Take a look at some condenser coil fins after the storm:

another beauty:

This created a little 'boom' in the local economy.  For up to a year after the storm every man, woman and child was out roaming the streets offering to replace your A/C, roof, car windshield - anything that they could get a claim though the insurance.  Some serious crookery went on as high bids came in, adjusters were swamped and homeowners were stoked!!!

Now we are on the other side of this.  Many people had some damage but not enough to file a claim. Some didn't even know what happened to their unit and others had units installed but the hackery in some of the jobs left them with a new unit that never operated at full capacity.  Now we are past the one year point, most insurance companies will not let homeowners file a claim.

Lets talk about what happens when the condenser coil fins get bent like this.  The condenser (in A/C mode) whole purpose in life is to give up or reject the heat that the refrigerant picks up as it travels through the evaporator.  In other words the compressor squeezes the refrigerant, raising the temperature and pressure and as that hot gas is cooled in the condenser it........condenses into a liquid.  Now that hot liquid is free to travel back to the evaporator and pass through a metering device (TXV, capillary tube or fixed orifice) to expand cool and pick up that heat as the air in the living space is passed over it.  REMEMBER IN A/C AND REFRIGERATION ALL WE ARE DOING IS MOVING HEAT - NOT COOLING AIR - THAT IS THE RESULT OF REMOVING THE HEAT!!!!

This is why when you put your hand above the condenser fan,  the air is hotter than Hades.  It is pulling say 100 degree air from the outside across a 130 degree hot gas copper line and you now have 130 degree air blown up into the sky.  That 30 degree difference is the heat picked up by the refrigerant from the living space and a little from the heat of compression. We are moving the heat from the inside of your house to the outside air above your house!!

NOW, when you coil fins get all bent out of shape the airflow is restricted and A/C units hate restrictions to airflow.  The refrigerant cannot give up that heat as efficiently because the cooling area is reduced.  Now the temperatures and pressures will run hot, the evaporator is not getting to designed cooling temps and finally you are here wondering why your unit runs all day but never seems to cool to desired temps.

Condenser fins can be combed out to a certain degree.  This is a delicate process and must be done with a special tool.  It is effective unless the coils look like the pictures above then you just have to throw in the towel.  There are not replacement parts for horribly bent fins. 

If you have any questions on hail damage, air conditioning capacity, and the effect this all may have or have had on your unit call me or write in to http://www.thermal-medics.com/  If you suspect poor workmanship or have questions about an install do the same.  Send pictures, drawings... anything than can help.

Why has the price of R-22 doubled this year?

R-22 is the original refrigerant known as freon.  The EPA has determined it is a greenhouse gas and mandated the elimination over time of its use.  In January of 2012 the EPA mandated a 45% reduction in the price of r-22.  Thus the price of it per pound to you, the customer doubled. 

Now the origin of this whole greenhouse gas thing has to do with global warming etc at least on the official level.  The rumor mill has it more to deal with the patent loss by Du Pont of r-22 and the associated profits in making the gas.  R-410a is the replacement refrigerant but, of course, it is not a drop in replacement.  You need a new unit.   You can understand contractors, the federal government and Du Pont were giddy when they figured this out. 

There really is no drop in replacement to r-22.  Although I work on systems that are 25 years old and more the cost of doing a compressor replacement or adding gas to a leak in a unit now makes replacement more appealing.  Of course for contractors replacement means more profits.  They will be plugging the 'new unit' pitch all summer to everyone that will listen.

Bottom line you cant fight the man and when you have the power of government and big business on one side look out!!

You do have options.  You do not just have to buy a new unit.  Call or email me to get more info and guidance on what you can do to protect yourself.

For more free help and info from Phoenix's own A/C help site go to http://www.thermal-medics.com/.

The run capacitor game show from thermal-medics.com

Ok guys here is a quick and fun video on testing a run capacitor with a multi meter.  I go through a dual run capacitor and two single run caps to test for MFD or microfarad.  Just having some fun in the shop and what you can look for when you are diagnosing a bad run cap.  Enjoy

for more free video content and info visit http://www.thermal-medics.com/ the best and only free a/c and heat pump help site from Phoenix, AZ.

Am I getting ripped off by my AC guy????

Wow, that is not always an easy question to answer.  There is always the chance you are going to get something you don't need.  That is the problem when most residential a/c technicians are paid based on commission.  Sometimes it is so obvious when someone calls me or sends me an email telling me what service they had done or the line that came out of a tech's mouth trying to sell something.  Other times it is not that obvious.  Here are some ways you can protect yourself and keep out of the sights of a scam A/C company. 

1. If you get that 'funny' feeling just stop and get a written bid and say thank you.   You can always call or write into me to see if it passes the sniff test.

2. Never feel pressured to make a decision NOW!!  Oh my goodness you are in imminent threat of death or dismemberment if you don't get a new unit.  Ok, you get the idea.  Now I know in July in Phoenix it is tough to put off someone when all you want is to make dinner and get the kids to bed and your a/c is out.  Trust me, companies know this and capitalize on it.  Slow down, take a deep breath, is it reasonable what I am being charged? Does the malfunction the tech explains make sense or are you back to #1 on the list????

3.Get educated.  I hate it when people call me to ask about a fix or a price and they don't bother to learn the basics on how the system works.  It really is not rocket science.  If you live next to the beach and you have very little need of A/C than good for you.  More than likely if you are reading this you do not and like most of us, you need cooling like you need hot water.  Phoenix would not be the metropolitan area of 3 million plus without it.  Watch some videos, poke around your system, otherwise you are just a mark.  Above all ASK QUESTIONS!!!

4.Ratings services (angie's list, yelp, etc) and even the BBB and the Registrar of Contractors do not help when weeding out the bad apples.  The ratings services are based on 'customer reviews.'  Wow, it takes me (and I am a little slow) all of 2 seconds to realize how that can be fraudulent or falsified.  The BBB is also not a guarantee.  It is also a paid membership, so yes a small conflict of interest.  Last the ROC or Registrar of Contractors.  They regulate who gets a license to do any residential or commercial HVAC work.  They do a pretty good job of following up on complaints but like any government agency they get swamped.  Also just because you hire a 'licensed contractor' does not mean the tech that comes out to your house didn't just get out of trade school.  The company is licensed but the guys in the field may be the bottom barrel in troubleshooting or need to boost their sales to keep a job.  I have seen better work by unlicensed guys that work under the 'handyman exemption' (jobs under $1000) than I have by many licensed contractors.  It all comes down to the individual.  Get referrals, talk to people and if you are not sure - CALL ME!!!



Now in defense of the honest contractor out there:

They run a business and it is very competitive.  For an honest contractor, you compete against all the dirt bags that hack up jobs, low bid on everything and up sell the rest.  They have to charge what is fair.  There is a flat-rate book out there.  Ask for it.  It gives pricing for repairs and should be a guide for contractors, not a starting point.

Leaking freon from a package unit - New videos from thermal-medics.com

Crazy leak in the crazy summer of 2011.  Kept this unit as a souvenir ( I know I am weird).  Good example of what using nitrogen does to help leak test a unit.  Enjoy and check out the main site at http://www.thermal-medics.com/ for more free help, videos and fun!!  The only free a/c help site from Phoenix, AZ.