Any HVAC technicians here can give me some advice?

themoneycollector · 06-13-2011, 08:51 PM

I'm having some home A/C issues and I've had a tech over my house 2x and another I've spoken with on the phone.

After talking to one, I'm doubting the tech that went over to my house and just wanted some advice from someone trustworthy.

My problem is my home A/C is not cooling. The compressor outside turns on, but the temp inside the home is just not going down.

The tech #1 that went over to my house and did 2 service calls:
1). Checked outside pressures and said they were good and could top off with 1lb of R-22, but it wasn't really necessary. Also said my air handler was set to low speed and moved some wires to make it high speed. No other checks or diagnostics made. Next day, home still had the same symptoms, it was either not cooling or just not cooling enough. I left the thermostat at 80deg. in the morning and by the afternoon the thermostat said it was 85 inside the house.
2). On 2nd visit the tech checks the air temps of return air and supply air and says Td is 8deg and should be between 18-22deg. and he thinks the TXV needs replacement at a cost of $900 (ouch! my warranty doesn't cover this because Amana says it's an accessory instead of a necessity). Other diagnostics taken, pressures 58/205, SH 44, SC 10. Ambient temps are around 95deg. when these were taken.

Because of the cost of repair, I figured it was worth calling someone else and getting their opinion. I called a different company and the tech #2 says that it sounds more like just freon is needed because for our ambient temps, those readings were much too low. He didn't discount that it could be the TXV, but said any tech should have removed the 'bulb' and done a more thorough check to see if the TXV was in fact bad.

It seems like the best thing for me to do at this point is call up tech #1 and politely ask them to make a 3rd trip and verify the TXV is bad as noted. I did pay a $90 diagnostic fee (+$60 for 1lb of R22 - which is well above the going rate) to the tech #1 and seems like I didn't fully get the diagnostic I paid for.

So any HVAC techs think that it's my TXV valve or does it need freon? Any advice?

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06-13-2011, 08:51 PM	#1
themoneycollector Nicotiana Tabacum Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Hill AFB, UT Posts: 1,258 Trading: (108)	Any HVAC technicians here can give me some advice? I'm having some home A/C issues and I've had a tech over my house 2x and another I've spoken with on the phone. After talking to one, I'm doubting the tech that went over to my house and just wanted some advice from someone trustworthy. My problem is my home A/C is not cooling. The compressor outside turns on, but the temp inside the home is just not going down. The tech #1 that went over to my house and did 2 service calls: 1). Checked outside pressures and said they were good and could top off with 1lb of R-22, but it wasn't really necessary. Also said my air handler was set to low speed and moved some wires to make it high speed. No other checks or diagnostics made. Next day, home still had the same symptoms, it was either not cooling or just not cooling enough. I left the thermostat at 80deg. in the morning and by the afternoon the thermostat said it was 85 inside the house. 2). On 2nd visit the tech checks the air temps of return air and supply air and says Td is 8deg and should be between 18-22deg. and he thinks the TXV needs replacement at a cost of $900 (ouch! my warranty doesn't cover this because Amana says it's an accessory instead of a necessity). Other diagnostics taken, pressures 58/205, SH 44, SC 10. Ambient temps are around 95deg. when these were taken. Because of the cost of repair, I figured it was worth calling someone else and getting their opinion. I called a different company and the tech #2 says that it sounds more like just freon is needed because for our ambient temps, those readings were much too low. He didn't discount that it could be the TXV, but said any tech should have removed the 'bulb' and done a more thorough check to see if the TXV was in fact bad. It seems like the best thing for me to do at this point is call up tech #1 and politely ask them to make a 3rd trip and verify the TXV is bad as noted. I did pay a $90 diagnostic fee (+$60 for 1lb of R22 - which is well above the going rate) to the tech #1 and seems like I didn't fully get the diagnostic I paid for. So any HVAC techs think that it's my TXV valve or does it need freon? Any advice?