Bad AC contractors

[Argetni]

i could quadruple the 22 and still not be able to afford dumpin it. i wouldn't be tellin the h.o. how much i mark it up neither. sounds off the chain to me.

I ask alot of questions and the guy was honest...at least about his costs. He made 5x almost 6x over his cost on the R22. With that kind of profit, he could fill ballons with it for fun and do ok.

[meoberry]

He should have put a vacuum on the units as for the release of a test charge that is legal according to the last thing I have read. I could be wrong. But you are supposed to add enough freon then back up with nitrogen which does not work very well. He should have returned to look for the leak during normal business hours. As for the price of the freon you will normally loose about 20% of your drum just hooking and unhooking to the drum. Then ther is all the record keeping for the freon that he has to pay for. The recovery units, the recovery cylinders. Not to mention the price of disposing or recycling of the old contaminated freon, the gas to haul these drums around for sometimes 6 months during the winter. Then you tell me how much you would charge.

[Fatstogey]

I musta missed something . How are the guys that just came out to repair these units bad contractors ? Hard to believe they'd just vent 30 lbs of refrigerant . Somebody else said it too , could it have been Nitrogen ? Yes they should have pulled a vacuum , but at midnight , let's cut them a little slack .

It doesnt matter what time it is. Ive worked 6am-midnight my fair share of times. Week before last as a matter of fact. Pulling a vacuum is something im paid to do. And not doing so is bad workmanship. There is no excuse. Because my quality of work i expect high pay for. I wont lie if i get a job that doesnt pay great i may not take the time to make things aesthetically pleasing. But making sure they will function properly is part of the job. Of course there are people that make things aesthetically pleasing.

And to the OP. When ever you call a tech for anything. If they come late at night, tell them to come tomorrow and just deal with it. Your in a hurry to get a/c (which i understand) you want it done now. But ive worked with so many people who are telling me "oh we worked till midnight". I immediately think, "im gonna get called out to fix this job." And it usually happens that way.
And to those saying maybe it was nitro. I dont think the dude is stupid. He doesnt soundn that way to me. And refrigerant takes are easily identifiable. Not the same as nitro tanks.

Now i wouldnt call the epa outright on them cause while i think its wrong doing it. Sometimes the fines can be quite high. Although i would never have to worry about it cause i do my job right. But if this guy is a smaller outfit it could put him outta business if he's already in debt. Which i dont think is deserving of the crime.

Its up to you. How much do you care about your money? I do not have that much and work very hard for mine. So my reaction would be to confront and question. But if you would just rather avoid the whole hastle of going back and forth with them(again which is more valuable to you the time youll spend with them, or the cost of having some come do the work properly) and find a proper tech to do the job then id say go that route.

They should have explained to you. But at times when you work that late. You dont want to return to that job the next day. Or it feels like working that late didnt accomplish anything. But again quality is first on my list. If i was showing up to that job and say i didnt have materials i needed to do it properly(which is the only reason it wouldnt be done so) ill tell you. Look i can make this run tonight but it wont be done. I dont have materials i need but i can make it work for tonight and come back tomorrow or day after. however you are gonna pay for both of my trips. Or i can leave now and come back tomorrow. Ill tell you that you are gonna pay for the quick fix and the later full fix. And let you make a choice.

But as far as releasing refrigerant. That tells me its more than likely a small outfit. And either they company cant afford recovery equipment, of they dont supply it and that guy doesnt have one. Or they are a bigger company and they are just lazy and the techs dont pay for 22. But i think i remember seeing you say it was the owner? And they were out of, or dont carry nitrogen. Either way its inexcusable. Proper equipment is required to be a proper tech. Although idk the circumstances of it being empty and them charging it. But i would assume you know what a refrigerant tank looks like. they are designed to be that way. Nitro tanks are a dime a dozen but they are high pressure tanks and refrigerant tanks are not as strong. And I think even with minimal knowledge of ether i would still know the difference.

Sorry for the long post. But hack work upsets me. I often get sent back to fix it and make less than the guy who installed it. I take pride in my work and wont excuse it when others dont. I am about making money but have to keep my integrity. A lot of people dont care.

[the dangling wrangler]

Well Fats, after reading more on this story , I think these guys aren't bad contractors . They're horrible contractors . I can't defend them in any way , shape , or form . It still blows my mind that they dumped the refrigerant like they did . And then to tell the customer what they pay for that gas , I just don't know . Wonder how long this hack has been in the biz? Or how much longer he's going to be around . He makes all of us look bad .

[beenthere]

He should have put a vacuum on the units as for the release of a test charge that is legal according to the last thing I have read. I could be wrong.

You are wrong.


But you are supposed to add enough freon then back up with nitrogen which does not work very well.

Wrong again. It works very well.

As for the price of the freon you will normally loose about 20% of your drum just hooking and unhooking to the drum.

Wrong again.

[tinknocker service tech]

was wondering when someone would answer that one

[Fatstogey]

Well Fats, after reading more on this story , I think these guys aren't bad contractors . They're horrible contractors . I can't defend them in any way , shape , or form . It still blows my mind that they dumped the refrigerant like they did . And then to tell the customer what they pay for that gas , I just don't know . Wonder how long this hack has been in the biz? Or how much longer he's going to be around . He makes all of us look bad .

Yea i dont know man. That just makes me mad. I expect to be paid well for what i do. And when customers get an experience such as this they come to expect it and next time something happens they arent gonna want to pay what they paid before.

[pilotlight]

i still have a hard time believing this story. what kind of owner is going to waste profits like that by using a full 30 pounder. Wgat kind of owner tales the customer what they pay?

Also are u sure it was a full jug

[steve3871m]

I ask alot of questions.

Thats when my rates go up...
$$.00/hr normal rate
$$$.00/hr if you talk/ask lot's of ??
$$$$$.00/hr if you help

[the dangling wrangler]

i still have a hard time believing this story.

Me too. But then, when you look at the Wall Of Shame , it almost falls into place .

[catmanacman]

i would not complain to much about the guy but i would get a different company to service your ac, he did come out and get you cooling late at night

[Argetni]

Well yesterday was a good test, 97 with like 80% humidity. Upstairs return air was 77 and register was 63, it got it down to 72 up there but it took hours. The attic where the airhandler is was over 110 and the black flex duct sucks up alot of heat. The felx ducts were hot on the outside.

When I touched the low pressure line at the condenser it was cool, but not sweating and ice cold like the other condenser next to it that feeds the downstairs. Not sure what to make of that, I think the charge may be low again on the attic unit.

[hvaclover]

Time to call a pro, AGAIN.