Reply22 isnt that high priced. Just fix it!! Shop the price at a few shops if you want.
Finding the leak is the most difficult part, often its the indoor coil thats gone south. Thats a BUNCH of bucks....
Regular Guest
I have a 3 ton 14 seer goodman condenser with about 15 of line set. The tech said my system is out of freon which sounds right since my ac is not working at all. he said he will be back monday or tuesday to charge it but since R22 is phased out it will be pricey. About how many pounds of freon would he need to charge my system? I am wondering so i dont get taken for a ride here. thanks
Professional Member*
22 isnt that high priced. Just fix it!! Shop the price at a few shops if you want.
Finding the leak is the most difficult part, often its the indoor coil thats gone south. Thats a BUNCH of bucks....
Regular Guest
the indoor coil is fine is was some bad brazing that had a slow leak he said but id still like to know this guy charges alot or over charges unknowing costumers i think.
Professional Member*
At the top of every page of every thread, it says no DIY and no pricing. You can call other companies for a quote, but nobody is going to answer that here.
Professional Member*
would imagine you would be near 6 - 8 lbs refrigerant, then add in leak test, 2 trip charges, evacuation fee, new filter/drier, labor,and possibly a few other odds and ends,then you would have a complete cost = not cheap, but not as much as a new coil.
Most contractors do not rip people off. My main complaint is that MOST contractors do not charge enough for the services that they perform.
If people only focused on the important things in life there would be a shortage of fishing poles.
Professional Member
look at the label, it will tell you how many pounds should be in the system. add some for testing. Most of the cost will be labor; normally difficult to find and repair a leak, sometime tech get lucky.
Shop for reliable licensed contractor, majority are honest. stay away from deals you know it too good to be true.
Last edited by dan wong; 01-18-2009 at 03:54 AM. Reason: need edit
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God Speed, Jim. We'll miss you - 2-26-23
Did he find and repair the leak.Originally Posted by mario3252
The 3 ton 14 SEER R22 models, nominal operating charge is in excess of 13 pounds.
Could be over 14, depending on indoor coil match up.
Yes, it will cost a lot.
More like he charges what he needs to make money.
No return.
Why scare the customer in to price shopping?
We are giving the HOs the impression we are over charging for our service.
A red flag goes up when a contractor says "its going to be expensive" and they, the HO, are going to distrust the job wondering if they are being ripped a new one.
Perfect example is Friday i got a call form my free YP listing. I usually ignore theses calls because they are almost always people looking for the best but wanting to pay the least.
Blower was gone. I quoted her a price and the HO balked at first. I did not mention it was expensive. Just answered her when she asked how much a new furnace cost. Than she thought the blower was a bargain.
Had I of sadi "Yeah it's expensive" she probably would have just paid the Call Charge and found someone who would make her feel more more comfortable
with er decision to spend more money than she was willing too.
Banned
we used to baseline each (9 seer) ton requiring about 3 pounds per ton
gone are those days, due to higher eficiency and bigger coils!
.
God Speed, Jim. We'll miss you - 2-26-23
Expensive is a terrible word.
But, I consider McDonald's expensive too.
AOP Committee/Professional Member*
Costs are relative. If you don't trust your tech, why are you using his services? The charge of refrigerant is listed on the unit, that's how the tech knows how much to weigh in + xx amount over a given line length. All refrigerants are expensive, some more than others. I don't subscribe to fear selling tactics as far as this that or the other is more expensive, no longer made, gonna be phased out or any of the other crap. All you need is an up front amount for refrigerant per pound, service call, extra labor and additional parts. Should not be a mystery as far as what it will cost you. By the way, if it was completely empty as it most likely was, a new filter dryer should be added to be extra safe.
A good HVAC tech knows how, an educated HVAC tech knows why!
DEM
AOP Committee/Professional Member*
I dunno about expensive, I like the dollar menu thing. Now, I would agree that it's not all that great, but it is consistantExpensive is a terrible word.
But, I consider McDonald's expensive too.
A good HVAC tech knows how, an educated HVAC tech knows why!
DEM
No return.
"Over charging would be charging one customer more then another for the same identical part, for the same identical service."
Expensive is a terrible word.
But, I consider McDonald's expensive too.
not what I meant. The verbiage we use has to be chosen carefully so as to keep the HO comfortable.
A tech who uses wording like "Yeah, it's going to cost you" or "It is expensive" are just feeding the HOs distrust.
By way of example I did not communicate any thing more then the price.
Bare in mind this is a first time customer and I had not established a rapport
with. When she finally reluctantly gave her consent I explained the benefits of the new motor as the old one was a shaded pole motor.
By the time I left i had signed up for a tune up and a new digital stat.
S I do believe communicating that it will be expensive will put a customer on guard.
Even with regular customer whom I know will ok the job I do not use the that term "Expensive". It makes the tech sound like he is on the defensive.
God Speed, Jim. We'll miss you - 2-26-23
It can make a customer very leary.
But, I do tell many customers that blower motors, compressors, etc are very expensive.
So they will change that cheap air filter on a regular basis.
God Speed, Jim. We'll miss you - 2-26-23
McChicken sandwhiches.I dunno about expensive, I like the dollar menu thing. Now, I would agree that it's not all that great, but it is consistant
AOP Committee/Professional Member*
Hard to beat for a buck. KFC has a 2 dollar snacker box that rocksMcChicken sandwhiches.
A good HVAC tech knows how, an educated HVAC tech knows why!
DEM
God Speed, Jim. We'll miss you - 2-26-23
Now I'm getting hungry.
Professional Member*
Your question would be very easy to answer with a couple phone calls to other company's, ask them what they charge per pound, we tell folks over the phone, and we also carry scales on our trucks if the customer wants to see the before and after. Refrigerant pricing in Houston that I have seen in the past year or so from our competitors don't vary but a few dollars each way from ours.
__________________________________________________ _______________________
“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards" ~ Vernon Law
"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." ~ John Wooden
"When the teachers become unteachable we're all in trouble" ~ Mr. Bill
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Regular Guest
sorry i am not a diy I cant buy the freon I dont have epa lincense. I didnt ask for any prices only how many pounds of freon will I be needing.
Professional Member*
Well then this is simple to answer, no one here in cyberspace can answer your question.
__________________________________________________ _______________________
“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards" ~ Vernon Law
"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." ~ John Wooden
"When the teachers become unteachable we're all in trouble" ~ Mr. Bill
"Remember "Pro" is only a name, it's not always a mindset determined to do everything correctly" ~ Mr. Bill
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