28 June 2020
On Saturday night we had movie night. The event went swimmingly well. The positives of this evening have been noted before. The only issue on Saturday was that the screen was located a little too near the AC unit. The roaring of the unit could drown out the movie’s soundtrack. Thus, on a very hot night I turned the AC off so we could hear the movie.
Important words from my eldest son, “Never turn the AC off when it is a hot night.”
When, after our company had departed, we went to turn the unit back on it didn’t. I did all the things you are supposed to do. I waited five minutes for the reset. I put new batteries in the thermostat. I flipped the circuit breaker a couple of times. Nothing worked. It was a dead unit. It seemed to have shuffled off the mortal coil. It was an unconditioner.
On Saturday night despite the outside air temperature being in the 80s the interior of the house was moderately cool. Everyone seemed to sleep okay. But as the day went on the temperature inside continued rising until the house became quite warm, well in reality it became unbearable.
I can see you scratching your head saying why didn’t you call a service tech on Sunday? Understand I have had my furnace die twice on Christmas Eve and once on New Year’s Eve all occurring on a Friday so the desperate need for service occurred over a long holiday weekend. I HAVE PAID GOLDEN TIME BEFORE!!!!. As a result, I have had a service contract for 20 years on the HVAC in my home. On Sunday morning I did call a service tech from the company I have held this contract with. He arrived about 11:30 AM.
Initially the older burly tech told me I would have to pay the Sunday rate. Very carefully I had to explain to him I have had the service contract for over 20 years and I just had to pay the charge for a normal visit. He grudgingly acceded to this state of affairs. He walked out back of the house and cracked the case of the AC. Within five minutes he told me my old (he emphasized this several times) had a bent capacitor. All in he told me he could install one right now but it would be between $300 and $400.
My AC is 22 years old and is a dinosaur. But if this pandemic ends, this house is not going to be my permanent residence. (Yes, using the word if was a deliberate choice over using the word when.) I asked him how much a new unit would cost and he quoted me $4,000 give or take a few hundred dollars. I told him to replace the bent capacitor.
When the capacitor was swapped out the unit did not turn over. At that point this tech told me my fan must have blown. He told me it would take a day, maybe two, to get the part. Putting this fix in place would round the whole bill up to about $1,000.
At this point the cost/benefit analysis kicks in. An average AC unit’s life is about 17-20 so the beast I have is running on borrowed time. If a new unit costs $4,000 and cuts my electric bill by a quarter, and a repair costs $1,000 with not guaranty of more than a year or two of life which way do I go? New it was to be.
We decided to get three or four quotes and to slog out the heat on Sunday night. Well only one HVAC vendors out of four contacted could get here before Thursday. One guy could work in a quote late on Monday.
Monday afternoon this one contractor arrived to quote a new unit When he got here, I told him about the bent capacitor and the possible fan issue and the probable need for a new unit. His quote was low, but not as low as it could have been. Trust me this old house’s quirks make nothing ever simple or cheap to fix.
This guy said, “Well, I will tell you what. I have a capacitor on the truck. Let’s drop that in and see if it works.” The cost if it worked would be about $157 including labor. Well he dropped it in and nothing. Then he said, “Oh, we have to wait for the five-minute reset.” At the five-minute mark the unit choogled on and started to do its thing.
Taking my credit card, he told me this should get me through the summer. He also opined that if I want a new unit to buy it in March or April because that is when the sales are. Per the tech in April the heating season is ending and people haven’t focused on their AC yet and that is why there are sales.
Because the guy who was quoting me on my AC could not get over until four PM, and given at 3 PM the inside temperature upstairs was 84 degrees, I made the executive decision to book a room at the local Holiday Inn Express. Nobody had gotten a decent night’s sleep Sunday night. It was just too damn hot. Cots were set up in the basement and out on the porch but sleep just did not come. A king bed was a great thing to sleep in.
Note the hotel was 1 mile north and 1 mile west of my house. Thus, we got up north. We did wash all touchable surfaces at the hotel with Clorox wipes.
So, I am out $256 in fees for HVAC service. However, thanks to a knowledgeable service technician I am not out an unneeded expense of $1,000. Plus, I have a new service contact, Jenks Plumbing and Heating in Mason, Michigan. Third, my house I cool and there is not that much summer left. Finally, I have a long conversation that I must have with the company who I have trusted for years. I don’t know if it is them, or their tech, but something isn’t right about the whole initial experience.
Last summer I had the same issue, only my AC unit was over 32 years old. Started with a capacitor and ended up with a fan also. Cost me $750. I only had to have it worked on one other time in the 33 years that I've lived here. Chugging long great this summer.. "knock on wood"
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