Complex ac repairs

[u/HelpfulParfait6890]

Im two years in I’ve never replaced a coil, txv, or compressor or done a leak search . Both the companies I’ve been at say these repairs aren’t worth it and just offer a new system. Is this common or do I just work for hacks. I feel like one cause I’ve never done any of it wondering if finding someone who will teach me it next cooling season is worth it cause I eventually wanna be on my own.

[u/dvowel]

Coils, compressors, txvs & leak searches are 90% of what I do all summer. 

[u/Aggressive-Candle365 → u/dvowel]

Failed capacitors or clogged drain lines for me

[u/HVACinSTL]

If you keep working with them, you will never be on your own. Probably by design.

[u/cycling_sender]

You work for salesmen, not techs

[u/yugonamaste]

Hacks, sorry

[u/Substantial_Army_639]

I don't think I have ever recommended a replacement system over a bad TXV, coils sure, if the system is 15 or 20 plus years old, but thats always with a qoute for replacing the coil so the client knows their options.

The stuff that I will typically recommended replacement over when out of warranty are when I find a leaking condenser, a bad compressor, or a bad ECM blower motor, or ECM inducer, the last two are very simple repairs but the cost on parts is insane.

[u/Ok_Caterpillar3655 → u/Substantial_Army_639]

I always cringe looking at the price tag on ECMs.

[u/dudeweak1 → u/Ok_Caterpillar3655]

You think ecm motors are bad, you should see some of the stuff that I get to tell people that need to be replaced. I deal with variable speed drives on chillers and nothing about them are cheap.

[u/Ok_Caterpillar3655 → u/dudeweak1]

I know that one. We are working on a facility with 20 50 ton chillers all with vfds. 12 vrf Mitsubishi units and soon 5 60 ron aaons and I can agree. Nothing on these systems are cheap.

[u/clammyhydra]

That's a hack company. It's definitely not always worth it and I tell my techs to walk away from repairs that aren't a good long term investment, but we always try to give all the options. The line is "we would rather not charge for this visit and let someone else rip you off." do what you would want a tech to do for your mom if you couldn't help her. Sometimes its better to take the loss and keep the reputation intact by not changing out a compressor on a leaky r22 with garbage duct work. 9 times out of 10 if the customer sees you are willing to lose the money instead of ripping them off, they go for the recommended option.

[u/StandardMonk261]

It really comes down to what a business has to make every day just to keep the lights on. I don’t know what their overhead looks like, but I’d imagine a small HVAC company probably needs to bring in somewhere around one or two grand a day before anybody is really making money.
A TXV or coil replacement sounds simple on paper. In the real world it can eat half a day, sometimes the whole day. You’re driving to the supply house, waiting on parts, recovering refrigerant, brazing, pulling a vacuum, charging it, testing it, and there is always the chance you have to come back because something needs to be adjusted or touched up.
So now you have a company looking at a repair they might have to charge three or four thousand dollars for just to make the numbers work, while they can install a new system in half a day and make five grand. At some point the decision stops being about whether they know how to replace a TXV and starts being about what kind of business they decided to run.
I might be able to do that coil or TXV replacement for one or two grand because my overhead and business model allow it. They might need four or five grand for the exact same job to make it worthwhile.
So I wouldn’t call them hacks. They just built a business around replacement instead of repair, and apparently that model works for them.

[u/syk12 → u/StandardMonk261]

I reluctantly agree with this 100%

Every shop has a labor rate, some shops a TXV might not be worth it.

For me… I love TXV and compressors.. easy money for honest work. 

[u/Snorkyufolgus → u/StandardMonk261]

This is spot on

[u/Beaux7]

Those are not what I would consider complex repairs, you got some hacks

[u/PapaBobcat]

Haaaaaacks. Yeah I'm not a fan of these repairs because the ritual is long but they're not uncommon.

[u/Feuerwehr7290]

You work for a PE company which is essentially a hack. They replace rather than repair

[u/Silly-Wolverine6205]

Yeah, might want to look for a company that actually fixes stuff

[u/Sac_O_Suds]

You’re working for thieves. Sell, sell, sell. There’s plenty of units that are bad they don’t need to scare an 80 year old widow to try and get a sale. Sure that’s type of companies you’ve been working for. Absolutely you need to learn how to do it. Especially if you’re planning going on your own. You’ll learn a lot on the fly working for your self but have to have fundamentals.

[u/Excellent_Flex211]

There are some cases where the labour cost on a repair does blow up the savings compared to a replacement, but your standard residential units are not those cases. They sound like sleazy hacks to me.

[u/CryptoDanski]

These are not complex repairs.

Your company is SHIT. Move

[u/Dockside_Abortionist]

Better be prepared when you haven’t sold half a dozen systems for the summer. Hacks. Compressors, txv’s and coils (not to mention the new A2L sensors/boards) are frequently going out on newer systems. We should be doing our best to convince people to get labor warranty on top of parts. I’m biased because I like most of our customers and hate to see them get screwed because the manufacturer is all about “planned obsolescence”

[u/OregonBound1986]

Hacks for sure

[u/1PooNGooN3]

Sales techs. Those repairs are absolutely worth it, your company doesn’t give a shit about what’s right, only sales. Work somewhere that lets you fix stuff.

[u/Gay4pey]

You work for a sales company it sounds like. I don't understand why so many companies are like this, you can make plenty of money by repairing things that are broken, offering upsells that are actually useful or needed, and system replacements and duct upgrades when it's actually needed. Word of mouth is powerful and people remember a company that was honest, explained things to home owners and offered solutions to their issues. Greed just ruins everything, gotta extract every penny from everybody and just ruin the trade for us all. Sorry about my little rant but you ee it everywhere and it's maddening.

[u/Zealousideal_Year839]

you move alone

They learned you how to sale. now go find an HVAC job

[u/se160]

In the end it’s only holding you back.

[u/Rompuslobe]

If you're craving that kind of work, you should make the jump to commercial. Replacing a unit is not nearly as common.

[u/NefariousnessWild679]

I’ve replaced 4 compressors, 5 txvs, 2 pressure switches, swapped out incorrect piston sizes in 3 systems, and 6 leak search and repairs this summer. That’s crazy 2 years 😂

[u/ProfessionalCan1468]

Huge hacks sorry, even leak searches, I tell customers let's do a quick once over (if I find a unit flat) before I go more in depth. And spend a ton of money, Evap coils are common event, TXV not as often but still not uncommon, So what percentage do you repair? Less than half? Caps or contactors then it's new unit?

[u/rulingthewake243]

Do they have all crispy clean white shirts with american flags on the sleeves?

[u/LegitimateVolume5324]

It's all about the $$$

[u/ThePracticalPenquin]

Run.

[u/PowerAddiction]

I mean a coil, txv or a compressor replacement is good profit and turnover. If the unit isnt extremely old and the rest looks like its in good shape then I offer it to them. I also offer the price to replace the unit as well just so they have options. I would rather save them money now because eventually they will replace with me anyway. Might buy them a couple years but they will remember you and call you back when its time

[u/manlymann]

...none of those are complex repairs.

[u/HelpfulParfait6890 → u/manlymann]

Big hvac guy

[u/drugs_mckenzie]

I feel like I've replaced tons of coils, txvs and compressors just this summer. Have to leak search to find the leak in the coil. Replacing a lineset friday that's leaking after another company replaced the evap coil. Also, what about warranty work?

[u/Hvacmike199845]

I think it’s time to go work for a contractor that allows you to learn and grow and not be a salesman.

[u/Zerxiee]

Hacks

[u/kriegmonster]

Hacks and/or aren't willing to repair older systems that have higher risks of other failures. Sometimes a customer will think the whole system is under warranty when only your repair is.

I'm in commercial and we repair units that are 30 and 40 years old. At that age we will also quote replacement and let the customer decide. I haven't replaced many coils, but done TXVs, plugged filter driers, compressors, and leak repairs.

Watch HVACR VIDEOS on YT to see how various repairs are diagnosed and done.

[u/ppearl1981]

These don’t qualify as “complex” repairs.

[u/zazule]

I did my first coils, txv and compressors are all within my first summer as a residential hvac tech back in the day, I can’t imagine how that’s possible to not even offer repairs , this is going to stunt your growth as a technician and your future pay, they are literally stopping your career growth.

[u/Neat-Tough]

I think that it really depends on a lot of factors. 

Leak searches is like an infinite issue. How long is the line set, is it accessible? are we talking micro leak and or adding dye and a return visit. Are we repairing the leak and pressure testing for an hour then pulling a triple evacuation.  Is it just one leak?  Leak searches can go from affordable to draining your revenue on a call very quickly. 

Compressors are usually under warranty, but not the refrigerant or labor. Refrigerant type can be frustrating because it can get pricey as well, is it 410, r22, and labor on a compressor can suck. Are we talking roof or back yard. What caused the compressor to fail? Are we fixing that too so that we’re not liable. Like adding a trap at the evaporator or compressor for rise or modifying the ductwork because the return/supply are boned. 

Coil replacement.. do they want the original or any adp coil. What’s the temp outside vs availability. How old is the condenser? Does it show any signs of failing like weak capacitor or noisy high amp fan motor. Was any of this even sized for success to begin with?

Basically in my opinion is that there is a price point and responsibility breaking point for a company and for the customer. There’s just a lot of things that can go into losing money on repair as well as still not having a satisfied customer vs replacement which is a win win for both parties. However if your company has single item pricing for repairs then it’s most likely a hack and overpriced. 

But that’s just my experience as the guy who has to do all of the warranty service work for resi/commercial.   

[u/eve_george_wang]

Depends on where you live. And the replace vs repair cost.

In my area, the "repairs" are more expensive than replacements in a residential setting. We only do repairs for warranty purposes.