Just need to bitch, thanks in advance for listening.

[AlboGator]

I'm  an appliance guy, fix washers, dryers, ranges, microwaves, refrigerators, sealed system work the whole bit. EPA License, insured. . Legit company.

So the weekend after fathers day my AC went out. It had a history from when we bought the house but was never repaired correctly and they "pulled and cleaned" a leaking, clogged and deteriorating evaporator coil rather than replace it at the time. Bank owned property.

So a few years later I'm faced with replacing the thing. I call a professional acquaintance who tells me he's going out of town but he'll send his helper to get the inside unit replaced if I can help him do it and he'll let me pay the helper myself and take himself out of the loop, not charging me any markup on the parts, materials or labor. I just need my AC fixed and agree and figure I can figure it out with the helper.

So hell starts. The replacement unit was bigger than the original as expected. We were able to get it in after fighting it for 4 hours having nothing matching up. Plenum was too small, I had to move the electrical supply box because the wires wouldn't reach to make the electrical connections, had to replace the plywood under the unit, just bumps in the road all along the way. Seems like usual stuff that you'd see all the time and have the experience to know that's going to happen.

So we get to the brazing part of the job around 7 pm. This guy tries and tries to get it sealed up and leaks everywhere. EVERY FN WHERE. Around 9 he tells me "I'm done, I can't do anymore and you're out of ac until tomorrow". I understand that brazing is hard, I do it myself and know a bad day can turn into a really bad day dealing with sealed systems so I told him It's ok, I understand and I'll see you tomorrow. Window units running and we'll survive. (The wife, a 2 year old and I). So Tuesday he comes back and more of the same but this time he ran out of oxygen. I've had enough at this point and tell him I'm going to do it myself and get my mapp gas tank and have at it. He leaves because his helper forgot his meds and needs them but I had told him to leave the vac and tank and I'd seal it up and take it from there as long as he could walk me through the refilling process. As of 10:30 pm I had the system sealed, vacced and I though ready for a charge but he took the tank of 22 with him. So he returns Wed with the freon. I told him where I was on the job, said he should pressure test it or put a vac leak check on it before he fills it but I though it was good and see you later, let me know what happens. I left him my Vac leak checker but apparently he didn't use it.

He filled it and it ran great for about a day but then it ran constantly. I called him a week ago and told him we have a leak and he said he'll call tech line to make sure it wasn't something with the 410A vs 22 setup of the unit. Never heard back from him. Been sending him pics of the evaporator progressively getting a smaller frost pattern but with no attention. Last night it froze up. So 2 weeks later I'm again running a window ac in the house while I hope he shows up tomorrow to fix this but losing faith.

Of course he's already said that my braises are the one's leaking at first and then said it's probably a schrader valve leaking at the condenser. I doubt either but well see. I'm just amazed that this guy couldn't braise a joint and at the way he went about doing it. I told him twice that you have to make your braises in the open when you can and leave the easiest one to do in the end. I'm getting aggravated with him but he's been working his ass off. He's not scared of work but just lacks experience.

I appreciate his effort but the ac's out again and in July the temps outside are hitting 100 degrees in south Louisiana.

 

I feel like a customer that hired a bad servicer.

 

Just needed to rant a bit, sorry to bug you guys and thanks for reading.

 

[applianceman97]

Bum deal man. Hope it gets fixed soon!

[BryanS]

So you put in a 410a coil on a r22 unit? Not quite sure you can mismatch like that. I could be wrong. I've never done any install work myself. You would have been better off putting in a matching set condenser and air handler. You may now have undersized ductwork if the plenum was to small to fit the air handler. And an A/C shouldn't have a frost pattern. They are a higher temp than a fridge, so they typically just sweat not frost. If it's frosting, I'd say there is a charge or airflow problem. This doesn't sound like it is going to be fun to fix.

[AlboGator]

The air handler is an either or and will work on r22 or 410a. Before we started all of this I talked to a friend at an ac supply house who recommend it, the AC guy recommended the same unit and I hadn't mentioned anything about it to him at the time. I used the term "Frost pattern" out of habit but at first it was a sweat pattern. What do you call that in AC terms? Nothing about it has been fun so far and I'm regretting my decision to take this on but I'm stuck so have to work my way out of it with this guy or cut my loses and call someone else. The plenum was much bigger than the fan hole but smaller than the "bracket?" hole on the top so he said that wouldn't be a problem. I don't know.

[applianceman18007260692]

The asshole that installed my mothers' 3 ton unit had to get help from my brother to take apart the molding and half the closet to make it fit then taped it all in tight. The drain drooped so water stayed in the drain eventually caused the drain pan to leak into the draft inducer fan and fill it up with water. Can't wait till I have to replace the blower motor on the unit. People never think about maintenence when installing new stuff in old houses.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Dan Webster

[ACtechGUY]

The air handler is an either or and will work on r22 or 410a. Before we started all of this I talked to a friend at an ac supply house who recommend it, the AC guy recommended the same unit and I hadn't mentioned anything about it to him at the time. I used the term "Frost pattern" out of habit but at first it was a sweat pattern. What do you call that in AC terms? Nothing about it has been fun so far and I'm regretting my decision to take this on but I'm stuck so have to work my way out of it with this guy or cut my loses and call someone else. The plenum was much bigger than the fan hole but smaller than the "bracket?" hole on the top so he said that wouldn't be a problem. I don't know.

 

Actually, if you use a 410 coil on a 22 system, you must change the expansion valve or piston to a r-22 valve or correctly sized piston. A 410 valve or piston will never work correctly on a 22 system. 

Also the supply house that sold the fancoil will usually  be able to provide a matched(physical size) plenum for your new fancoil. 

[AlboGator]

Thanks, I'll check on that in the fall as long as it's still working. . I think he has it straight now but 3 days after he found a leak in a 5 year old condenser we left to go out of town. Turned out 2 copper lines were rubbing each other and one had a hole in it. So it was leaking at the condenser. May have been all along, I don't know. Will find out when we get home. He called into tech line about the compatibility and they told him it was fine, or that's what he told me. I believe him, seems like a straight guy. Been dealing with the boss man since he's been back.

[ahh-cool]

You should be able to use the air handler for 410 or 22. Does it have a fixed orifice or a txv? If it has a txv it will not work unless you change the txv.

When he or you pulled a vacuum didn't you check for leaks? It's very simple, pull a vacuum and if it doesn't hold you have a leak.

 

What refrigerant are you putting in there and what refrigerant was it originally?

If the condenser uses 22 you can't use 410A!

Stefan

[AlboGator]

You should be able to use the air handler for 410 or 22. Does it have a fixed orifice or a txv? If it has a txv it will not work unless you change the txv.

When he or you pulled a vacuum didn't you check for leaks? It's very simple, pull a vacuum and if it doesn't hold you have a leak.

 

What refrigerant are you putting in there and what refrigerant was it originally?

If the condenser uses 22 you can't use 410A!

Stefan

 

 

Condenser unit is 22, evap is said to work for both. I'm not sure about the fixed orifice or txv but he said he called into tech line to confirm he had it right. When I/he pulled a vac on it the compressor valves were clamped down and isolated from the evap so it didn't show up being that we finally found it in the condenser. It's been good so far. Air is moving like a champ now compared to the old busted up clogged up evap.

[ahh-cool]

Here is a pix of a txv.

http://www.meloairinc.com/txv-repair-or-replacement

If you don't have this in the air handler then you have a fixed orifice.

The condenser determines the mketering valve

[AlboGator]

Ok, I know them as expansion valves and this doesn't have one. It's a allstyle unit, model number as follows "blt48-a3y2g+d-15 tec 073 piston" if that means anything. It seems to be working fine now.

[ahh-cool]

If it's working fine don't worry about it

Stefan