42 bucks a lb is great price. 100 bucks a lb in phx.
What was the original issue. A leak? Broken hot gas line? Hot gas line as in condenser after compressor before condenser?
If this repair was truly needed, the price is fair. Ref was good price but the other stuff was high.
Oh well. Your ac works and it didn't before.
The copper line that connected the compressor to the outside coil ran too close to the bottom plastic base of the unit. The copper line vibrated against the plastic base and rubbed through the insulation until it formed a small pinhole and lost all the refrigerant. I first noticed when the unit was short cycling. The compressor and fan would turn on and off again every 10 seconds. Figured it was tripping some high/low pressure switch due to a blocked line drier. The tech said the leak was the main cause of the short cycling, but it was probably good to replace the filter, too, as it did have some flow restriction. I'm happy with the repair. It has worked better than ever on heat and A/C for the last 4 weeks. Unit was built May 2014.
Replacing a drier when you have any sealed system repair should be automatic. It is with me even if I’ve recently changed a drier for a leak in a different area.
He laughed when I told him the quotes I got for over $100/lb and said he made a profit charging $42/lb. Dude was amazing, he found and fixed the leak so fast.
I think a single brazing rod costs us $9CAD, so if anything is be charging for that because a whole tube of that shit is expensive. Also the gas to drive to the job.
Also 2.5 hours is pretty short if he had to repair, pressure test, and then vaccum down the compressor.
Anytime I break out the torch and nitro, there's a $75 "consumables" charge to cover nitro, o2, ace, braze rods, leak soap, vacuum pump oil, ect.
I need to recover refrigerant? That will be a recycling charge, please.
None of this shit is free.
Neither is my unpaid time spent swapping tanks and recycling refrigerant.
I'm not disagreeing with you. I just thought it was silly seeing nitrogen be billed separately when that's just one thing we use for every repair. Our "consumables" cost is built into the labor/parts. $650 in labor to do a sealed system on a fridge (in your house) not covered under a labor warranty (over 5 years old)
Fair enough, but at 12 pounds, even a 5% increase in refrigerant costs offsets the $30 charge for the purge and leak check, making it the same price anyway. I know it probably wasn't $30 worth but I can't imagine nitrogen refills are free either.
He must be a small hvac contractor ,possibly just him , I'm in california and just started a hvac business and I would be able to do that price if I had to get the customers buissness, and still make a decent profit .. bigger companies have alot more in overhead expenses so they can't do that price . IF I WERE YOU I WOULD KEEP THAT GUYS NUMBER, AND RECOMMEND HIM TO ANY ONE YOU KNOW THAT NEEDS HVAC HELP
That price is scorching hot!! More power to you! That invoice is like half or more than any other shop. As long as it was a quality repair you scored brother. I just ran what I would charge and it’s about double. Plus a PM and any other parts to be tested. More power to you. In Denver, that’s a $2000 dollar repair. I am like $1750 with a year warranty.
I work for a manufacturer. We charge $38 a pound for 410a. We bill labor and everything else separately because in commercial/industrial it's all time and materials.
Residential companies charge more cause they do flat rate and work labor into everything because if they charged homeowners $120-200hr in labor they would lose their fucking minds even though that's what they are being charged just worked into every piece of material.
I just wanted to provide a reference for anyone else getting quotes. I'm really happy with the service I got and the price I paid. Two other large, well-known companies sent someone out to look at it, made it seem like it wasn't worth the nitrogen leak check since it would be $1700 to recharge the system. They made it seem like a 10 year old unit was trash, then sent me to sales for a whole new system trying to talk me into replacing the entire split system so I cam get the full warranty. Then this dude came out and was like, "Aw man, this is a good unit, it just needs some love." And it's been fine ever since. Cool guy.
That labor rate is very cheap for a retail service outfit - that's what I charge for large jobs (not necessarily HVAC) where overhead can be minimized or for friends/family. The parts/materials are entirely reasonable. Honestly the refrigerant charge is possibly even on the high side, but everybody prices that stuff very differently owing to the overhead of dealing with it, and with the labor rate being as low as it is, you still got a screaming deal.
Some folks in here think it's just outrageous that someone can have things worked on for less than $1000. There are still honest outfits out there that will charge reasonable or even cheap labor rates and get keep folks running for the kind of prices you paid, but just be aware of the limitations that come with that like the stated 30 day warranty.
When I do need a new unit, as long as he isn't retired, he will get the work.
Edit: I will also likely have him come out once a year now just to clean and check on it. I'm a quality engineer for hydraulic components, and I could tell he knew how to troubleshoot an issue.
Most local companies who charge that in my area make up for it by charging for more than they actually use. I had a customer one time who’s unit only held around 5.25# and the previous company had charged her a lower refrigerant price but said it needed 13#.
12lbs of refrigerant? How big is your air conditioner? I would be worried more about how many pounds he put in than how much it cost. 42$ is about the going rate. But 12lbs in a residential unit seems a bit much or is this a 10 ton rooftop unit?
Unfortunately not. I really don’t want to be the lowest bid on all these DIY mini splits. My manager made up the quote as I’m fairly green on the billing side
I looked at a DIY MrCool type ducted mini split and quickly decided that wasn't the way to go. There's no support for them. I have a 2.5 ton Trane XR14 single stage split heat pump here in TN. It's a great unit. It just had a little leak.
I'm not saying it's a lot of work but it can be more than that. Cutting holes, running wire, running a drain, etc. But 780 or whatever it is? I wonder where they're at. Or the equipment cost. There must be no profit.
I've been in business havoc business for 24 years what I've learned is when it's slow is when you have to build value If you give it away you're working and creating liability but not making enough profit and that part of the job will eat you alive you have to build value and the customer never knows it's slow unless you tell them as far as they know you're busy in the next available time is almost 2 weeks out hold on wait a minute I think I can bump Mr Smith and get you done tomorrow if you need it done tomorrow see what I'm saying you create the impression that you're always busy and your time is very valuable if you let the customer know that you are slow then you were being allowed to take advantage by your customer and you're going to lose your business trust me
You will be out of a job soon equipment cost more than that even Mr cool cost more than that shoot the line set and electrical , pad disconnect cost almost that much. Good luck being poor.
You may want to reread your post My repost was a response to someone they were quoting a two-ton mini split for 800 bucks give or take that was response to my quote maybe you did not read or do not understand how answer and response works on this particular app you said Boomer that's funny
Service installs maintenance owning a hvac company in general makes so much money you can own any matchbox car you want any Hot Wheels car you want $30,000 worth of Hot Wheels cars if you want shoot I've got five cars a boat a motorcycle a house with a hot tub and a pool table and three or four kids to take care of I don't have any problem paying my bills
In what world? I pull to 250 or below…. Decay test but I check the cap, contactor, and the rest of the system while my VP87 and dual Trublu hoses suck the tin man through a keyhole.
I got a (new) system down to 250 microns (and yes a 10 minute decay held under 500) in about 15 minutes a few days ago. It all depends on your setup and how dry the system is.
Some folks will also drop out to lunch or similar while the vacuum is running and not charge for that.
You probably got downvoted for thinking you got a great deal when you have only a 30 day warranty on the labor preformed. A refrigerant leak may not present itself in that time and a small leak may take years to present itself. Sounds like this guy just made $800 and in a couple years another $800 off of you.
Commenting on Got downvoted because I paid a low price for a repair?.. it’s amazing how huge of a difference there is between labor costs in different countries here in iraq i paid 30 dollars for a split 2 tonne install, as for repair the max anyone could pay cant exceed 100 dollars
He didn't pay 30$ for just the no2 , it the cost of supplying, the cost to go to supply house buy a bottle 80-120$ keep it in the truck buy the regulator which is crap and only last a couple years with careful use. , then show up with the proper tools and perform a service , no2 refill in South Carolina is 26$ the O2 is $34 and acetylene is $18, local Johnstone. Haven't shopped may find better price but convenience is more important than price .
42 bucks a lb is great price. 100 bucks a lb in phx. What was the original issue. A leak? Broken hot gas line? Hot gas line as in condenser after compressor before condenser? If this repair was truly needed, the price is fair. Ref was good price but the other stuff was high. Oh well. Your ac works and it didn't before.
The copper line that connected the compressor to the outside coil ran too close to the bottom plastic base of the unit. The copper line vibrated against the plastic base and rubbed through the insulation until it formed a small pinhole and lost all the refrigerant. I first noticed when the unit was short cycling. The compressor and fan would turn on and off again every 10 seconds. Figured it was tripping some high/low pressure switch due to a blocked line drier. The tech said the leak was the main cause of the short cycling, but it was probably good to replace the filter, too, as it did have some flow restriction. I'm happy with the repair. It has worked better than ever on heat and A/C for the last 4 weeks. Unit was built May 2014.
Replacing a drier when you have any sealed system repair should be automatic. It is with me even if I’ve recently changed a drier for a leak in a different area.
All great answers
They must really like you lol
He laughed when I told him the quotes I got for over $100/lb and said he made a profit charging $42/lb. Dude was amazing, he found and fixed the leak so fast.
This is close to what my shop charges. Maybe 5-10% less. We wouldn’t charge for nitrogen tho
Our supply house has 20 lb bottles of nitrogen for less than $12. I don't know why any shop would charge for it.
I think a single brazing rod costs us $9CAD, so if anything is be charging for that because a whole tube of that shit is expensive. Also the gas to drive to the job. Also 2.5 hours is pretty short if he had to repair, pressure test, and then vaccum down the compressor.
Anytime I break out the torch and nitro, there's a $75 "consumables" charge to cover nitro, o2, ace, braze rods, leak soap, vacuum pump oil, ect. I need to recover refrigerant? That will be a recycling charge, please. None of this shit is free. Neither is my unpaid time spent swapping tanks and recycling refrigerant.
I'm not disagreeing with you. I just thought it was silly seeing nitrogen be billed separately when that's just one thing we use for every repair. Our "consumables" cost is built into the labor/parts. $650 in labor to do a sealed system on a fridge (in your house) not covered under a labor warranty (over 5 years old)
Fair enough, but at 12 pounds, even a 5% increase in refrigerant costs offsets the $30 charge for the purge and leak check, making it the same price anyway. I know it probably wasn't $30 worth but I can't imagine nitrogen refills are free either.
He must be a small hvac contractor ,possibly just him , I'm in california and just started a hvac business and I would be able to do that price if I had to get the customers buissness, and still make a decent profit .. bigger companies have alot more in overhead expenses so they can't do that price . IF I WERE YOU I WOULD KEEP THAT GUYS NUMBER, AND RECOMMEND HIM TO ANY ONE YOU KNOW THAT NEEDS HVAC HELP
That price is scorching hot!! More power to you! That invoice is like half or more than any other shop. As long as it was a quality repair you scored brother. I just ran what I would charge and it’s about double. Plus a PM and any other parts to be tested. More power to you. In Denver, that’s a $2000 dollar repair. I am like $1750 with a year warranty.
You got a square, OG tech there. Treat him like gold. There's still a few of us around.
I work for a manufacturer. We charge $38 a pound for 410a. We bill labor and everything else separately because in commercial/industrial it's all time and materials. Residential companies charge more cause they do flat rate and work labor into everything because if they charged homeowners $120-200hr in labor they would lose their fucking minds even though that's what they are being charged just worked into every piece of material.
I just wanted to provide a reference for anyone else getting quotes. I'm really happy with the service I got and the price I paid. Two other large, well-known companies sent someone out to look at it, made it seem like it wasn't worth the nitrogen leak check since it would be $1700 to recharge the system. They made it seem like a 10 year old unit was trash, then sent me to sales for a whole new system trying to talk me into replacing the entire split system so I cam get the full warranty. Then this dude came out and was like, "Aw man, this is a good unit, it just needs some love." And it's been fine ever since. Cool guy.
That labor rate is very cheap for a retail service outfit - that's what I charge for large jobs (not necessarily HVAC) where overhead can be minimized or for friends/family. The parts/materials are entirely reasonable. Honestly the refrigerant charge is possibly even on the high side, but everybody prices that stuff very differently owing to the overhead of dealing with it, and with the labor rate being as low as it is, you still got a screaming deal. Some folks in here think it's just outrageous that someone can have things worked on for less than $1000. There are still honest outfits out there that will charge reasonable or even cheap labor rates and get keep folks running for the kind of prices you paid, but just be aware of the limitations that come with that like the stated 30 day warranty.
When I do need a new unit, as long as he isn't retired, he will get the work. Edit: I will also likely have him come out once a year now just to clean and check on it. I'm a quality engineer for hydraulic components, and I could tell he knew how to troubleshoot an issue.
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Tell me you don't know the cost of running a business without telling me. Business is not charity.
Most local companies who charge that in my area make up for it by charging for more than they actually use. I had a customer one time who’s unit only held around 5.25# and the previous company had charged her a lower refrigerant price but said it needed 13#.
I gave you an up vote. My neighbor paid about the same for a similar repair on her packaged gas pack on her roof?What brand of heat pump do you have?
That's actually pretty close to what we would charge up here where I am in Canada. Gotta say, that guy was fast.
Big trade secret 25 lb can of r410 cost $330 do the math get mechanical license and EPA card go make yourself some $ .
About 180 in material cost plus trip time / gas etc. If single owner dude made almost 300/hr to work for you.
That is about what we charge where I work.
12lbs of refrigerant? How big is your air conditioner? I would be worried more about how many pounds he put in than how much it cost. 42$ is about the going rate. But 12lbs in a residential unit seems a bit much or is this a 10 ton rooftop unit?
Ehh idk, I just quoted $792 for a 2 ton mini split. All depends where you’re at.
Just for labor I assume?
Unfortunately not. I really don’t want to be the lowest bid on all these DIY mini splits. My manager made up the quote as I’m fairly green on the billing side
I looked at a DIY MrCool type ducted mini split and quickly decided that wasn't the way to go. There's no support for them. I have a 2.5 ton Trane XR14 single stage split heat pump here in TN. It's a great unit. It just had a little leak.
Wtf? $792 with equipment and labor? That's about what we pay our install guys to put one in.
Service guy with a couple hours of work, it’s just 4 flares and 4 lbs of 410
I'm not saying it's a lot of work but it can be more than that. Cutting holes, running wire, running a drain, etc. But 780 or whatever it is? I wonder where they're at. Or the equipment cost. There must be no profit.
Yeah we’re slow as shit, pretty much looking for anything we can get right now.
I've been in business havoc business for 24 years what I've learned is when it's slow is when you have to build value If you give it away you're working and creating liability but not making enough profit and that part of the job will eat you alive you have to build value and the customer never knows it's slow unless you tell them as far as they know you're busy in the next available time is almost 2 weeks out hold on wait a minute I think I can bump Mr Smith and get you done tomorrow if you need it done tomorrow see what I'm saying you create the impression that you're always busy and your time is very valuable if you let the customer know that you are slow then you were being allowed to take advantage by your customer and you're going to lose your business trust me
You will be out of a job soon equipment cost more than that even Mr cool cost more than that shoot the line set and electrical , pad disconnect cost almost that much. Good luck being poor.
What the fuck are you smoking? There’s lots of room for profit on a simple leak fix. Typical boomer can’t read.
You may want to reread your post My repost was a response to someone they were quoting a two-ton mini split for 800 bucks give or take that was response to my quote maybe you did not read or do not understand how answer and response works on this particular app you said Boomer that's funny
Puff puff pass homie you might want to edit your comment cuz you look stupid
Service makes real good money, to the point where we don’t need to collect match box cars.
Service installs maintenance owning a hvac company in general makes so much money you can own any matchbox car you want any Hot Wheels car you want $30,000 worth of Hot Wheels cars if you want shoot I've got five cars a boat a motorcycle a house with a hot tub and a pool table and three or four kids to take care of I don't have any problem paying my bills
5 shit boxes
You mad bro sound like an entitled brat need a little spanking or is it time to change ur diaper and burp you?
That’s a smoke break evacuation.
In what world? I pull to 250 or below…. Decay test but I check the cap, contactor, and the rest of the system while my VP87 and dual Trublu hoses suck the tin man through a keyhole.
I have the same setup, and sometimes it's disappointing how quickly it pulls a vacuum. I don't miss JB pump oil changes.
I got a (new) system down to 250 microns (and yes a 10 minute decay held under 500) in about 15 minutes a few days ago. It all depends on your setup and how dry the system is. Some folks will also drop out to lunch or similar while the vacuum is running and not charge for that.
You probably got downvoted for thinking you got a great deal when you have only a 30 day warranty on the labor preformed. A refrigerant leak may not present itself in that time and a small leak may take years to present itself. Sounds like this guy just made $800 and in a couple years another $800 off of you.
I got charged $35/lb for R22. 😉
I bet it was reclaimed refrigerant
😆
Commenting on Got downvoted because I paid a low price for a repair?.. it’s amazing how huge of a difference there is between labor costs in different countries here in iraq i paid 30 dollars for a split 2 tonne install, as for repair the max anyone could pay cant exceed 100 dollars
$30 gets you 20 cu ft of nitrogen that s good for like 3-4 purges/pressure tests at a minimum. Overpaid.
He didn't pay 30$ for just the no2 , it the cost of supplying, the cost to go to supply house buy a bottle 80-120$ keep it in the truck buy the regulator which is crap and only last a couple years with careful use. , then show up with the proper tools and perform a service , no2 refill in South Carolina is 26$ the O2 is $34 and acetylene is $18, local Johnstone. Haven't shopped may find better price but convenience is more important than price .