Air conditioner woes

[ultrarunner]

What's with the bad coils and 3 months on the slow boat for the part under warranty to arrive?

Carriers from the 90's still on the job...

Newer stuff it's almost 50/50... well not that bad but under warranty coils?

 

[tallyho8]

Condenser coils are non-moving parts that rarely go bad so consequently they are not stocked by most companies and have to be ordered from the manufacturer.

 

[Raul-02]

"Bad cooling tower fan motor"

those were my words.

 

[ultrarunner]

and therein lies the problem... in 5 years coils on 3 of the newest package units bad and parts furnished at no charge but they first had to be made and then shipped across the Pacific and labor paid to install...

For a non moving part I would not expect to see failures under warranty.

Daikin marketed as direct Carrier replacement... and they refused to acknowledge any query from me the hospital end user...

On the other hand Carrier still running since 1995 and parts readily available but I have never ordered a Carrier Coil so not apples to apples...

Condenser coils are non-moving parts that rarely go bad so consequently they are not stocked by most companies and have to be ordered from the manufacturer.

 

[kenmac]

"Bad cooling tower fan motor"
My first thoughts was . Damn ! The man's got a chiller at his home

 

[kenmac]

I had a outdoor unit with a bad outdoor TXV (outdoor TXV way more labor intensive along with refrigerant over a condenser fan motor).

Cake walk !

 

[Sigarms]

Cake walk !

I got a personal use deal from a manufacturer on a 16 SEER two stage variable speed system that kind of gave me an excuse to want to change it out (never had a two stage compressor in my own home). I can also now say from personal experience that a multi stage with variable speed airflow doesn't have the impact on your humidity levels as a dedicated whole house dehumidifier would have (which is another reason why I wanted to try it).

I've got a AC unit down in the basement that hasn't worked the last 3 years, and now that my father has passed (he lived down there) I'm wanting to try a Bosch inverter and dual fuel it with the old Trane gas furnace and see what it does for heat. I think I could justify it because I'm on LP and it ain't cheap. I know old people, no way would I put in a heat pump for my dad for heat when he was used to a boiler for heat up north LOL

 

[2manyrocks]

What's with the bad coils and 3 months on the slow boat for the part under warranty to arrive?

Carriers from the 90's still on the job...

Newer stuff it's almost 50/50... well not that bad but under warranty coils?

My first guess would be the 90's stuff was made in the USA with good quality controls in place.

My parents had a refrigerator that worked for over 40 years. The reliability of the newer ones doesn't appear very good.

 

[Sigarms]

My first guess would be the 90's stuff was made in the USA with good quality controls in place.

I really hate to say this, but doing this for as long as I have, being made in the USA has nothing to do with quality control when it comes to HVAC equipment.

Coils from ALL manufacturers have taken a hit since around 2000 IMO. Name the brand, and they all have had some issues with coils over the last 2 decades. The catch phrase used by manufacturers is formicary corrosion

 

[Sigarms]

On the other hand Carrier still running since 1995 and parts readily available but I have never ordered a Carrier Coil so not apples to apples...

Want a bigger issue? Try having a Mitsubishi ductless unit installed 6 years ago, have a indoor coil leak, need to replace the coil, and then find out that the coil is now obsolete even though it is still under warranty and not available.

Thing is, you can't use a new indoor head (replace the entire head instead of the coil) because it's incompatible with the existing older outdoor unit.

End user will be getting free equipment (indoor and outdoor unit) less labor to change everything out.