AC repair shock! There goes any stimulus check I may get.

[ghostrider]

03Lightningrocks wrote: ↑
Thu Apr 30, 2020 8:16 pm
I had a lady friday almost crying over a 60 dollar repair. She hasn't worked in 6 weeks and is running out of money.

I'd like to pay for her repair - can you contact me?

you're a good guy, Andy.

[03Lightningrocks]

03Lightningrocks wrote: ↑
Thu Apr 30, 2020 8:16 pm
I had a lady friday almost crying over a 60 dollar repair. She hasn't worked in 6 weeks and is running out of money.

I'd like to pay for her repair - can you contact me?

you're a good guy, Andy.

That is darned nice of you but I hooked her up. I just went ahead and got her fixed up and n/c it. She has been a customer for at least 25 years. Heck, I remembered when her house was new and we did the start up on her original equipment. We have a lot of older customers like her. I was joking with my SIL the other day about finding some younger customers before our customer base all passed away.

[03Lightningrocks]

Jolly good - well done :)

Thank You. We do occasionally find ourselves in a position that requires charity over profit. Especially with elderly or long time customers. It usually comes back around. That lady will be financially OK again before we know it and when her 15 year old AC unit needs replaced in a year or so, she will remember we helped her out and allow us to do the work. Often folks like her have friends who they will tell to use our company. Honestly, 60 dollars is real cheap advertising.

[RPBrown]

Jolly good - well done :)

Thank You. We do occasionally find ourselves in a position that requires charity over profit. Especially with elderly or long time customers. It usually comes back around. That lady will be financially OK again before we know it and when her 15 year old AC unit needs replaced in a year or so, she will remember we helped her out and allow us to do the work. Often folks like her have friends who they will tell to use our company. Honestly, 60 dollars is real cheap advertising.

We also do some n/c work. Some of the small amount of residential we do is for the elderly.
I wish everyone would show some compassion for those less fortunate. Good job lightning

[parabelum]

God sees and hears. Thank you for helping!

[dlh]

Another 100 degree day in my part of west Texas. Ugh. Glad my AC works.
My AC guy says most of the filters on the market will not prevent cat hair from clogging up condensers. Do I have to get rid of my cats?
Several AC guys have told me there is "old" freon which is much more efficient and "new" freon which is more environmentally friendly but less efficient at cooling. I have had car AC guys tell me the same thing.
Lastly, I hear most AC equipment is made in China anyway and the quality is not so good.
However, since I do not see any cooler summers approaching Texas I guess I better live with what I can get.

[03Lightningrocks]

Another 100 degree day in my part of west Texas. Ugh. Glad my AC works.
My AC guy says most of the filters on the market will not prevent cat hair from clogging up condensers. Do I have to get rid of my cats?
Several AC guys have told me there is "old" freon which is much more efficient and "new" freon which is more environmentally friendly but less efficient at cooling. I have had car AC guys tell me the same thing.
Lastly, I hear most AC equipment is made in China anyway and the quality is not so good.
However, since I do not see any cooler summers approaching Texas I guess I better live with what I can get.

I think you mean evaporator coils but yes, there are filters that stop cat hair. They make 1" filters that will stop the hair as well as four and five inch filters that last longer than one month. The one inch filters are the pleated variety and made of a cloth looking material. https://www.google.com/search?q=one+inc ... e&ie=UTF-8

Go with higher merv ratings for better filtration. Change them monthly during peak operating seasons.

The four and five inch require a special filter rack be installed either below the furnace or air handler in an upflow or at the inlet side if you have a horizontal indoor unit. If you have one of the rare downflow systems, it is installed at the top of the furnace/air handler.

Calling R22 more efficient than 410A is not really proper terminology. 410A runs at higher pressures but the equipment is designed for it. When talking efficiency in AC one is typically talking about how much electricity it takes to cool the house. Modern day 410A units have far surpassed any R22 unit ever made in efficiency. Meaning they use far less electricity to do the same amount of cooling. Temperature drops across the coil are no different than with R22. An 18-20 degree temperature drop is the same no matter the refrigerant used to achieve it. So no, one does not "feel" any colder than the other.

[SQLGeek]

I tried “fixing” my own AC once. Didn’t go well
Couple of Glocks later it was working again.

Hahaha, we love do it your selfers.

I know my limitations so I just try to make enough doing what I do well enough to pay the professionals.

[SQLGeek]

Go with higher merv ratings for better filtration. Change them monthly during peak operating seasons.

What do you think about these?

https://www.amazon.com/Aerostar-12x12x1 ... B01CR9K0UQ

I like that they're less expensive than 3M or the other brands found in store since I have to replace so many in my house.

I've been using them for a couple of years and they seem to work well but that's only based on my uninformed opinion.

[03Lightningrocks]

Go with higher merv ratings for better filtration. Change them monthly during peak operating seasons.

What do you think about these?

https://www.amazon.com/Aerostar-12x12x1 ... B01CR9K0UQ

I like that they're less expensive than 3M or the other brands found in store since I have to replace so many in my house.

I've been using them for a couple of years and they seem to work well but that's only based on my uninformed opinion.

They are rated Merv 11 so that part is OK. The main difference in filter brands is in the construction. Sometimes the cheaper filter will tend to come apart around the edges. If the filter is not coming apart around the edges or getting stuck in your filter rack when you go to change them, it is fine. Five dollars a filter isn't too bad. Believe it or not that is about what I pay when I buy them from Lennox. I could probably get them cheaper if I bought them in large quantities but we just don't use enough of them these days to justify buying 200 at a time.

[SQLGeek]

Good to know, thank you. These hold up well. No issues installing them or removing them and they don't come apart at all. Feels like similar construction to the higher end ones.

[dlh]

Another 100 degree day in my part of west Texas. Ugh. Glad my AC works.
My AC guy says most of the filters on the market will not prevent cat hair from clogging up condensers. Do I have to get rid of my cats?
Several AC guys have told me there is "old" freon which is much more efficient and "new" freon which is more environmentally friendly but less efficient at cooling. I have had car AC guys tell me the same thing.
Lastly, I hear most AC equipment is made in China anyway and the quality is not so good.
However, since I do not see any cooler summers approaching Texas I guess I better live with what I can get.

I think you mean evaporator coils but yes, there are filters that stop cat hair. They make 1" filters that will stop the hair as well as four and five inch filters that last longer than one month. The one inch filters are the pleated variety and made of a cloth looking material. https://www.google.com/search?q=one+inc ... e&ie=UTF-8
Go with higher merv ratings for better filtration. Change them monthly during peak operating seasons.

The four and five inch require a special filter rack be installed either below the furnace or air handler in an upflow or at the inlet side if you have a horizontal indoor unit. If you have one of the rare downflow systems, it is installed at the top of the furnace/air handler.

Calling R22 more efficient than 410A is not really proper terminology. 410A runs at higher pressures but the equipment is designed for it. When talking efficiency in AC one is typically talking about how much electricity it takes to cool the house. Modern day 410A units have far surpassed any R22 unit ever made in efficiency. Meaning they use far less electricity to do the same amount of cooling. Temperature drops across the coil are no different than with R22. An 18-20 degree temperature drop is the same no matter the refrigerant used to achieve it. So no, one does not "feel" any colder than the other.

Thanks for the information Lightning! I have been buying those inexpensive Flanders EZ Flow filters at Walmart with a MERV rating of only 1. I will spend a little more and get those pleated filters with a higher rating next time I buy filters.