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2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/diy/ - Do It Yourself

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1400115 No.1400115 [Reply] [Original]

>air conditioner stopped working
>its an old unit so no big deal
>a friend of mine gave me the number of a guy who is really good at it
>the guu used to work for a company, but not anymore
>decided to give it a shot
>after all, the ac is unservisable, because it is very old
>ask the person to do a diagnostic
>he told me he can fix it, that he only needs;
1) a new capacitor
2) gas refill
3) and maintenance
>told him to do it.
>he bought extra parts I did not ask for
>he never mentioned me he was going to buy a second capacitor
>never told me he was going to buy a new filter
>I only found out about it when he was done with the job
>the air blower now spins very slow
>total costs is; $200 USD
>the company that used to service me the ac used to charge me $100 USD for a bigger ac
>I did paid the main, because I felt it was my fault for trying to get a cheaper service

>right now, I am calling my old company and asking for a diagnose on the ac
>i just want to know what the guy did
>the company told me I was fucking robbed
>the guy used cheap and used parts on my ac
>the capacitor was not even the same capacitance as the old ome
>they didnt even connect the wires correctly
>they did not even assamble the parts correctly

So yeah, I guess only a fucking moron as myself would dare to call a guy instead of a real company. I could had bought a new ac for $350.00 usd instead of servicing an old unit for $200.00 usd

I wont press charges, but FUCK I hate myself for being such a dumb fuck

Wont happen again, and I hope this serves as a lesson for the people out there, servicing their ac's

DONT FUCKING CALL A "GUY WHO KNOWS". CALL A GOD DAMN COMPANY. IF THE UNIT IS UNSERVISABLE, TO THE TRASH IT GOES.

>> No.1400118

>>1400115
>I could had bought a new ac for $350.00 usd instead of servicing an old unit for $200.00 usd

is this a fucking window unit? who the hell services those?

>> No.1400120

>>1400118
Did I mention I was a fucking moron for trying to do that?

It was one of those minisplit air conditioners.

>> No.1400123
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1400123

>>1400118
This was the exact model

>> No.1400132

I didn't realize anyone serviced those units. You said it was old and unserviceable, yet you attempted to find a guy who would service it. You didn't make sure it was in good working order before you paid him.....I feel like the money you spent is punishment enough for your ignorance.

>> No.1400133
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1400133

>>1400115
Was his name Jeff?

>> No.1400136

>>1400133
That's a fine dock. Looks like newhinges
Your guy.must really know what he's doing. Whats his number?

>> No.1400145

>>1400132
It was

>> No.1400163

>>1400115
>redditspacing
nice blog post faggot, very cool

>> No.1400170

>>1400133
Came here to post this. Did he even use a shot of black?

>> No.1400191

>>1400115
There's a lot of idiocy here, and 200$ is a good price to replace capacitors, repair wiring, and add gas.

"The same capacitance" doesn't matter, as long as he went up.
>Didn't wire it correctly
It worked? Then yes he did.
>Didn't assamble the parts correctly
What the fuck does this even mean?

You're pretty clueless. Learn how your AC works and you won't have this problem.

>> No.1400192

>>1400191
Also, you cannot buy a minisplit for 350. They cost about 2k for the system. Not to mention, the evaps don't house the capacitor that usually goes bad.

>> No.1400227

>>1400115
>take my truck to a mechanic because of a faulty EVAP solenoid
>dude replaced the speed sensor, Oil pressure switch, and temp sensor
>still having EVAP issues to this day

Honestly fuck mechanics, or really 90% of repairmen for that matter. I'm sure there's good ones out there, but jesus christ I feel cheated everytime I call someone.

>> No.1400234

>>1400227
Tell them you want an agreement in writing that they'll only replace the part you asked them to replace before you let them do anything next time.

>> No.1400244

>>1400115
>car window falls in
>buy new regulator for it, can still hear the motor so I just buy the metal bit
>end up not having time because of school so I talk to my old boss who does/did auto glass repair on the side
>he points me to really ghetto looking operation but they are willing to do it for 70 bucks and that sounds good to me so I let him do it
>pull up out there, guy comes out and pops my door off
>can't get the motor on the regulator, asks me how much it'd cost me to buy one with a motor on it
>just laugh as if it's a joke cause I don't want to buy another
>he puts a wood plank in my door to prop window up and tapes it so he can have time to get the motor on
>come back later and leave my car with them
>return, they finally fixed it charges me 80 bucks but whatever glad to have it done
>start driving off
>hear screws rattling around in my door
>he literally unhooked all the wires to my electric mirrors, the on and off button to my security system, all the shit on my door except my electric window and didn't plug them back in
>somehow managed to ruin my cruise control/steering wheel buttons
>can't be assed to open my door and plug them all back in
>buddy tells me 80 dollars was a rip off anyways

if you want something done right do it yourself holy shit

>> No.1400246

>>1400115
A new AC is only $350?

What kind of cheap shitty AC do you have?

>> No.1400343

>>1400246
Sounds like it's a window unit or something.

>> No.1400361

>>1400120
I'm an HVAC contractor, those are likely 1200-2k not "$350 lel"

Also how the fuck does someone fuck up switching a capacitor? I'm guessing he didn't know which one to get which is why he bought two and explains the lack of power.

My residential company is considered average in price and we charge $150 for just annual service (filter and fill-up). If you get a capacitor we charge $200. His rate was average for a company, and if your other company did $100 then they're good but are they really filling it? Fuck if you've got R22, that shits almost $800 a jug (20 pounds, typically need 1-5 pounds per fill up)

>> No.1400362

>>1400115
Can you use that second capacitor with the other one to get the motor up to speed? Might be able to series or parallel it to make it match the old one.

>> No.1400364

>>1400361
>If you get a capacitor we charge $200.
For someone to come out and plug in a $15 part?

The only way to not go bankrupt these days is to /diy/

>> No.1400366

>>1400361
Pretty much this.
My old HVAC employer started charging extra labor rates to service minisplits, since more than half of the service calls to those jap fuckers led to hours on hold with the manufacturer's tech support due to weird error codes on the control boards. Minisplits are always more trouble than they're worth desu.

>> No.1400367

>>1400361
>"fill up"
>not finding the leak

dont hire anyone who thinks an annual fill up is part of normal maintenance. thats not even legal where im from.

this is why i dont do residential. people are so fucking cheap complaining over $100. i waste more than $100 in time taking shits on most of the jobs i do

>> No.1400371

>>1400367
Residents don't want to pay HVAC labor rates to find the leak. If it's a big leak, no shit you're gonna look and find it. If it's small, it could take half the day, meanwhile the rest of your service calls are getting shafted.
tl;dr If the customer wants to buy a pound of freon every summer, rather than paying to fix his shit, fuck 'em.

>> No.1400387

>>1400234
This. I'm a shade tree mechanic and I always insist on writing for 1. What I'm going to do and 2. How much they're going to pay me to do it. Keeps all parties honest.

>> No.1400641

>>1400361
>If you get a capacitor we charge $200

this is why I can fix it myself. I can spend less than $20 and maybe $10 in gas round trip to go buy the capacitor myself. I saved $170 that doesnt go into your companies profits

>> No.1400643

>>1400115
>a friend of mine gave me the number of a guy who is really good at it


thats a red flag right there. Iif I ask someone and they suggest a friend or "expert" I dont even call them, I ask people who used reputable companies to recommend one rather than a friend of a friend.

>> No.1400732

OP here

I decided to do it myself, and wire the blower motor again.

I just used a cheap multimeter and saw where the guy fucked up.

Now the turbine is working fine, and yes, next time, I will;

1) call a respectable company
2) if they cant service it, diy
3) If i fucked up, buy a new one

>> No.1400803

>>1400367
>leaks on a mini

might as replace the fucking thing

>> No.1401370

>>1400732
next time you invariably call some fuckup to fix your shit and he--no surprise--fucks up, you sue him.

Retards like you who let scammers like that get off scot free are exactly what encourage them to operate.
You're not only doing a disservice to yourself, you're doing a disservice to everyone who he scams after you.

>> No.1401840

>>1400803
9.5 times out of 10 it’s on the flare connection because José doesn’t know how to make a flare or used pipe dope on the threads instead of nylog. If it’s in the coil, good luck even finding it.

>> No.1402098

>>1400115
>a friend of mine gave me the number of a guy who is really good at it
man those guys never know what they are doing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP30okjpCko&t=5s

>> No.1402278

>>1402098
This was fantastic, Had a very similar situation happen to me amd a buddy. Working in a senior living community, a residents shut off valve was leaking under the sink amd needs replacing. The main shut offs are in the attic somewhere (3 stories) unlabled and each resident had to be notified before shutting off the water. Have to shut one off and radio after 3-5 mins after bleeding the line if the water stopped. Smart enough to know these things can’t be fixed without shutting off the water.
Even issues with repairing the faucet and the shut off valves were so fucked they wouldn’t completely turn off was a pain in the ass. Also it was one of the very few days i didn’t have to do it alone

>> No.1402336

>>1400364

I'm a plumber and we charge $145 to come out and replace the guts in a toilet. Total cost is always less than $20

That liability insurance is no joke.

>> No.1403016

>Go to mechanic for simple oil change because my property is a fucking hill and I'm not crawling under a car
>"Okay Anon, we changed your wiper blades, cabin air filter, and topped off all your fluids"
>Wow, how can you guys afford to do all that for $25 + disposal fee?
>"Oh, the total is $65"
>Okay
>Cash or credit?
>Cash
>"Sir this is only $30"
>Yeah, $5 should cover the disposal fee
>"Sir the total is $65"
>The sign says Oil change is $25
>"It was but the other items bring the total to $65"
>Oh, can I see the signed agreement where I authorized that work?
>"You sign that at the end when you pay."
>So you're saying you performed unauthorized work on my car?
>"No, we replaced your wipers and air filters"
>Oh I wasn't aware I had asked for that
>"You didn't but..."
>Okay, I'm going to be leaving now

Seriously fuck shitty mechanics. Used the same fucking garage for years because they always did a good job and they are a couple blocks from my work. New manager comes in and fucking turns it into a stereotype.

Protip: Find a good garage that is run on the level and find a good mechanic there. Ask for the mechanic by name when getting anything serviced. I used the same guy for close to 2 decades before he retired. The guy refused to take tips so I found out his favorite beer and every time I brought the car in for anything more complicated than an oil change I put a 6 pack on the passengers seat.

>> No.1403028

>>1403016
>go to some oil change center in my town because convenience
>they immediately start trying to sell me shit I don't need "your windshield wipers are gettin up there" "you really need to change your air filter" "whens the last time you got your timing belt changed"
>guys talk shit about my car as if I'm not even there "wow this guy has a certified race car" "holy shit bro there's no dust cover under here what the fuck bro look he took the dust cover off"
>Guy spills oil on my engine right in front of me, other guy tells him to wipe it up and he refuses "nah man fuck it it's fine"
>whenever I refused any of the shit they tried to upsell me they act like i'm choosing to ruin my car by denying them the chance to charge me 25 bucks to change an air filter "uh alright man but it really needs to be changed ASAP..."

It just pisses me off thinking about all the people who literally know nothing about cars who get a bill racked up to over 100$ because this high school drop out retard pressured them into thinking they're doing some highly technical critical maintenance worth 30 bucks when they ask to put in a new air filter. fuck.

>> No.1403033

>>1403028
Yeah, I won't use a quick change place for any reason. I knew a guy who managed one for a while. He had no background in cars at all. It paid more than managing a gas station.

He said they can't afford to hire anyone with any background. Mostly high school kids and recent HS grads. Said they made like <$1 on an oil change and that they entirely lived on up-selling. Apparently he was lucky because his place had an automatic car wash attached and that was their bread and butter.

>> No.1403061

>>1400361
You lying motherfucker. r22 is less than 500 for a 30 pound shipped to my door. That's exactly why i bought some gauges and learned to charge my unit. It's not rocket surgery you fucking gouging motherfucker.

>> No.1403074

>>1403016
>>1403028
>go to get oil changed
>sit in waiting room because it takes 30 min
>at one point the guy comes back
>"we noticed all your fluids are a little low do you want us to top them off?"
>tell them no, I can do that later
>he looks slightly concerned and disappears for a second
>comes back
>"we'll do it for free"
lmao

>> No.1403138

>>1403016
>>1403028
>>1403074
I think the worst part is how they all walk around like they're the big swingin dick master mechanics because they can take an oil plug off and work a funnel

>> No.1404361
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1404361

you should the /o/ threads on shitty mechanics
it's 50/50 scammy or genuinely horrifying

from my own experience:
seen an mechanic that wanted to change the cat on a year old car, spouting some bullshit about it being gone

10 years later the car still easily passes emissions

no wonder many /o/tists go the /diy/ route

>> No.1404506

>>1401370
>hurr durr pros are expensive lemme get a schmuck who does it cheap even if he has no license and and licenseble work with huge liability
>hurr durr the pro fucked me over. Let's sue him.

Can't pull blood from stone, those jerks are broke. Also lawyer fees don't make it worth it. Bro do you even legal action? It's not a jailable offence.
If anything it's just another bill he can't pay. If we change the laws and make it a criminal, jailable offence, now we get:
>hurr durr i can't work on my own shit cause of the man.

This problem will never, ever end. Everyone pays through the nose all the time, every time, except for the incompetent handyman who convinced dumassess with money to fuck with their shit.

>>1404361
The only exception to the rule because they have shops and you can compare yourself. Most work on a car doesn't even need a license anyways except for a safety.

>> No.1404542

Nice try mr. tax paying government man.
I'll continue to work and only ever solicit services on a cash only basis you zionist capitalist scum.

>> No.1404549

>>1403016
>>1403028
>go get oil change
Really you got no right to complain about anything seeing as you're too dumb/lazy to do something so simple

>> No.1404552

>>1404549
>get evicted for changing oil in parking garage lot
okay, this is epic

>> No.1404612

>>1400115
>>1400123
>>1400120
I love these typical minispit stories of people not paying a reputable company/ licensed technician to install them and instead getting a cheap pos off the internet and paying Joe schmoe to fix it. No company is going to look at your unit without charging you more than you bought it for so you're kind of SOL. Next time if fucks up just bite the bullet and get..
>>1400366
Go fujitsu or go home. There is nothing else even comparable to them except Sanyo(which doesn't exist anymore). 5 year warranty and most efficient units, some even go down to -20 and deliver rated output.

>> No.1404828

>>1400115
Somewhat DIY, tech stories from a computer shop that my ex-friend owns

>He is replacing a rear case fan
>Grabs a screw from his plastic jar of mix match screws
>Goes ahead and uses 1-1/2in sheet metal screw to mount the fan

>Working on a laptop that has a loose barrel jack
>Solders it back on
>He tries to transfer solder from the soldering iron to the jack leads
>After many tries to get it solder back on he got it
>Goes on hot gluing the jack to help hold it in place

>PowerMac G4 MDD comes in
>It doesn't power on
>He says he is going to replace the PSU
>Retard that hangs out there says its the PSU too, because he says that he knows everything about Macs
>Ask them if they reset the pmu
>wut?
>Do it to show them
>System boots up
>Guy comes back to pick up his computer
>He gives the computer back to the owner
>Tell him what happen, how it was fixed
>Brags about knowing it all and how he can fix any problem

>Go do a networking and setup job with him
>Its for a printing company
>Go work on some networking cables
>He is sitting up low end Gateway PCs that he sold to them
>Printing business owner likes the Gateways because they are all-in-one
>Done doing my part, go see what the fuck everyone else is doing
>He is install Adobe Master Collection CS3
>Goes ahead and installs all the software that came with it, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, After Effects, fuckin Premiere Pro, Soundbooth, etc
>He asked me to install the cracks for all the fucking Adobe software
>Now the printing business owner wants her work computer to be setup as a file server and print server
>He goes ahead and does it
>Job is done, fuckin looses it, done helping this fucker
>Jumped his ass and tear him a new one about how fuckin dumb he is
>Never helped him again, never went back to his shop

>> No.1404870

>>1400115
>the ac is unservisable

That’s a bull shit line they use to get you to buy a new unit. They would rather you spend thousands then they get off their lazy fucking asses and order the part. I’ve been told at least a dozen times that I HAVE to buy a new unit and every single fucking time I can find the part within 5 min on goggle and have it at my house within a week.

HVAV are literally worse then auto mechanics when it comes to fucking their customers

>> No.1405493

>>1403061
>22
>500$

What Chinese knockoff shit are you buying? Not to mention handling HCFCs without a license is illegal, buddy.

>> No.1405630

>>1400115
Gee, he bought a second capacitor AND a new filter? Sounds like he did you a massive favor, given second would probably blow soon and I’ll bet that filter was filthy. And $200 for a service call is nothing. Ever thought the second outfit you called to audit work is full of shit?

>> No.1405650

>>1404549
Kid, it's not worth my time to change the oil on my car. I used to do it when I was young and broke but now I just have it done when I go into work. Place does it for $30, I get to park it there all day so I get to save $10 on parking for the day making it really only cost $20.

By the time I run to Napa and get the oil, filter, and air filter, get home, dig out the jack and jack stands and actually do the oil change, I'm out 1-2 hours. I would rather enjoy my weekends doing hobbies I actually enjoy. Not to mention I make more than $10-20/hr so it's not worth my time. Shit, of I go work 2 hours of overtime on a Saturday I can afford more than 3 oil changes.

Not to mention they do an inspection of the car, lube the chassis, and even vacuum it for me.

>> No.1405682

>>1401840
I do appliance repair and recently discovered nylog blue on hose seals for vacuuming down systems.. Jesus fuck that stuff is goddamn magic... seriously

>> No.1407037

>>1400367
If you're from the US it's 100% legal to recharge a leaking AC without doing a leak check or repair. The EPA leak check/repair law only applies to larger commercial systems that hold more than 25 POUNDS of refrigerant AND leak more than 32% a year.

>> No.1407038

>>1405682
Nylog is awesome because it's made with compressor oil

>> No.1407055

>>1407038
It could be made of ground babies and I’d still happily use it to cut my vacuum times in half.... next step is 2 of those 1/2 inch appion vac hoses and then some misc pipe fittings to put a t on the pump with 2 3/8 male fl connections... gonna stop using a gauge set when charging and vacuuming and just use the ball valves in the core tools for control... weigh my charges in anyway and I have a high and low side gauge screwed to an adapter to go on a 1/4 port to read pressures when I’m done... should cut out 5 hose connections and reduce the total length of connected tubing a good bit... should get under 10 minute vacuum times to under 500 microns for the size of stuff I work on..

>> No.1407353

>>1400115
are you in the US? check to see if he has a refrgeration license.

if he doesn't have a license turn the fucker in.

>> No.1407387

>>1407353
Technically you’d try to get him for fraud... highly unlikely he actually charged the unit... and oddly as long as he didn’t charge it then he’s fine to diy away at it as far as the epa is concerned... so you’d shoot for proving hat he had no intention of fixing it from the get go..

>> No.1407400

>>1407387

not fraud, fines

if he put gauges on it, it requires a license. though any refridgeration guy can tell if a system is low just buy blocking airflow on the on the evap coil like with a piece of cardboard.

only an idiot breaks out the gear and taps into a system if they don't have too because it can cause a leak.

i skimmed over the thread and am not sure what filter was purchased, an air filter or the one that requires all the coolent be pumped out and reclaimed, unsoldred and the the new one soldered on.

15 years ago when i was in the field my place of employment charged $60 an hour plus parts. i have no diea what rates are like now.

if the capacitor was for the pump there is no way around it. for a fan/blower, sometimes a pony motor is a cheaper way to go and they last longer, but thats more for walk in coolers than air conditioning.

>> No.1407403

>>1407400
not pump, compressor

>> No.1407571

>>1407400
If he put a filter drier in then yes he’d have to break into to system. If he slapped old capacitors on it then he would not. We braze systems now not solder them grandpa, and if he told op he was going to fix it with new parts and then used old ones that’s fraud. I have a 608 universal cert. it’s pretty underwhelming. If you want to try getting him fined you can certainly try, but going after him for fraud is a hell of a lot more likely to work. Also if he hacked it together with an old capacitor and the system was low do you really think he’d put a filter dryer in? Or just throw some more refrigerant in till it starts blowing cold air? If the guys a hack he’s not gonna worry about moisture ingress in the system due to a leak. He’s just their till the check clears

>> No.1407591

>>1405493
Ability refrigerants out of Arizona. And fuck you, I do whatever I want.

>> No.1408489

>>1400115
chuck the AC at the faggots house, and piss on his lawn while you're at it

>> No.1408566

>>1400133
>>1400136
>>1400170
Can someone pls explain this to me?
I am retarded. Also checke'd

>> No.1409532

>>1407571
If there's pressure in the system, anything outside must overcome that pressure to enter the system. It would have to be flat or almost flat of refrigerant to enter the system.
No?