I went to a no cool service call once for the co i started out with. we were small with just 2 guys and the call came on a weekend we were all out of town so they called another co to look at it. I called customer on monday morning and he said he was told the compressor was bad and it would be better to replace the pkg unit and he had told them to go ahead, they told him it would be 5 days before they could get it installed as this was a 4 ton york gas pack . I asked if I could come check it out since we had originally installed it and he agreed. The compressor was bad but the unit was still under warranty for 6 months and I told him the parts were free with just a labor charge and i could do it that day. I guess the other co was pretty pissed when he called them and told them it was fixed still under warranty. this was also an elderly customer who I had known for years and I gave him a no charge invoice that said Happy Birthday. I probably got more referrals from him than anyone else I worked for.

That big company is why people don't trust and why they try DIY. Great video.

My parents had the local big company come out to repair their unit. They replaced the condenser fan motor, and told her the compressor was struggling, and told my parents to expect it to fail soon. A week later, the a/c stopped working. I went out this time. I found that when the company replaced the fan motor, they also replaced the dual capacitor. The stock cap was a 35/5. They installed a 55/5, which caused the compressor to overheat. I installed the correct cap, cooled the compressor and it's been running since. That was last summer. I can't help but wonder if the incorrect cap was intentionally installed to kill the compressor. .

When I was quoted 350 to replace a capacitor on my A/C by the local major company, I took it upon myself to do it, then go to trade school at the local college and learn how to work on them.

Thanks for be honest with customers. These big companies pressure their guys to sell new units so they can cover their advertising cost and all the big wigs salary. They would rather walk away than fix the problem. These people are why people DYI.

You have a ton of integrity Ted and your Southern courtesy towards your customers goes a long way, too. 👍

Over the years, I picked up tons of extra work in the electrical field by giving honest second opinions and doing decent repair work. Some contractors are soulless and would screw over their own grandmother if they had the chance.

holy cow!!! that's poison ivy at the back of the unit!! I'm a licensed home inspector in Texas. having the condensate drip on the slab like that is a huge no no. we always recommend: as HVAC techs and builders do, 24 inches plus from the slab/ foundation.

Thank you for not only being a great owner and tech but also instructor! Love these videos!

Great job Ted. I had a company who I followed several times that would pull a wire from the cap or contactor and tell the customer the unit was done. Thanks for the video's.

That’s what “they” call a total replacement. It’s over 10 yrs old. I have a lennox condenser that is 1965 and still spinning. Original compressor.

I wish we had a guy like you here in AZ in my small town. Had a fan motor replacement and nobody would call us back. It was over a hundred degree too. Hav 4 outfits doin ac but none cared. Even called town 2hrs away and nope. We got model# and ordered motor ourselves and replaced it. My relative wired it 4us. Hubbie got a large fan and placed it on top of unit and it ran continuously until we got it repaired. Also sprayed coils off once in a while 2help cool down. Lookn n2 replacing whole unit but how i wonder nobody will answer the call. Ugh!! Your a good man, honest, caring and willing.

pick it up by hand after dumping it out the vacuum, nah, just vac it back up lol

Good to see some integrity still out there. Well done.

Nice job well done. Honest men are hard to come by these days, you are one of a few. God Bless

U seem like a very reasonable contractor. Kudos to you were all not made of money..getting estimates currently and oh boy- almost a $2000 swing difference between companies. And i have a real basic system on a relatively small home (1200 sq ft).iam floored and almost overwhelmed. Kudos to you sir.someone that takes pride in there work and common sense practices. Hats off to you.

I loved this job just recently and I decided after long days of thinking, I decided to switch to an HVAC career and all related to this domain. All I need is to be lucky and have the plus of having an instructor just like you do. Thank you I’ve been learning a lot from your you videos. cheers..

Thank you so much for the integrity you possess, and share with us on each call you take. It shows in you the quality of your work, and the dismay you feel for those who are seeking to cheat people. God bless you.

Amazing work once again. Love your videos. Can't get enough of them. I'm new to the HVAC field and I wouldn't trade my experiences with homeowners for anything.

Having been in the business with a partner, when he died I decided to talk to one of the big companies about a sales position. 15 minutes into the interview he showed me his advertising costs. This was twenty years ago. His costs were 6 million a year I would be 1 of 4 salesmen. This meant I would have to make 5200 dollars a day in sales just to cover advertising. By the end of 2 months I would be expected to be selling 8300 a day. The salesmen were called after a serviceman had failed in his pitch either for a major repair (starting at 800) or replacing a system.

Thank you for your honesty. I wish you would be here in Richmond VA. I had three deferent mechanic working on my Trane package unit. Maybe the third one got it. So far the cost is 1800 dollars. The unit is 13 years old. Gas, heat pump, AC. The gas do not want to work properly, it is a two zone system. When is calling for gas it will not starts, some time it will. This is a problem. They do not know were is the problem.

I appreciate your honesty sir. I love how you do what you can to keep a system running but if it needs to be replaced then your honest about that too. I could never do repairs and service and be dishonest with the customer. There’s nothing right about that to me. Everyone has bills to pay! Do you really think they want to spend $10,000 on a new system? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who wants to buy a new air conditioning system. I can’t believe how some of these people just rip people off 🙄

My Am Std compressor was 32 years old and still cooling when it got replaced recently. Would dim the lights in my house and two neighbors houses when it kicked in though. :)

Thank you for this video. We need more honest workers like you in this field of work. Very informative video! Hope this video helps a lot of people.

I have a 29 year old Rheem XL high efficiency all original, and my condenser fan motor just started squealing, $125.00 and 40 minutes later, she is purring like a kitten again? Thanks to all you HVAC guys posting videos, I was able to do this myself. The hardest thing was getting the fan off the motor shaft, I recommend a pre soak of penetrating oil before removing!

I've been second opinion many times and rarely is it as bad as the customer was originally told. One guy tried to tell customer that her compressor valves were out and wanted 1500 for a compressor. I cleaned the condenser coil and she was good to go. Also another one was told she needed 9 lbs of r22 at 100 per pound. I fixed the leaky valve stem and added 3 lbs of 22. Oh did I mention that second customer was dying in home hospice. It was her children and grandchildren i was dealing with.. Shady. I called that company owner and gave them hell.

Tell us how much they quoted cmon lol

i don't know why people don't keep the area around their outside units clear of debris , that's basic maintenance you should know.

Did you make sure the evap coil and filter were clean, all registers open, checked for temp split between return and supply air, check subcooling, condenser cleaned, and check for temp difference across the filter dryer before you decided to add refrigerant? From what I saw in your video it's a classic case of a dirty condenser and poor airflow inside the house. Possibly a restricted dryer. It's bad practice to just go blindly charging things before making sure that the system is operating as well as it possibly can.

I've watched a bunch of your videos and you clearly know what you are doing. But might I suggest that you carry a 3" stiff paint brush with you? You could use it to dust out and clean up all of those spider webs and spider carcasses.

Very nice touch, sir! Dumping the remnants of the swamp that was in her evaporator drain pan, all over their grass. You should've sucked out the rest with the vacuum and pointed it to her house, paint the walls slime mold brown.

Putting a leak seal in it could help small leaks and not keep charging to fill it up every year. It works similar to fix a flat and plugs small leaks and if the hole is big it has a green dye in it to show where the leak is..

@10:30 warning everybody turm phone volume down. High pitch DBs sound

Good work Ted. I was just about to say "well clean it and see what the h.p. does", when you said nope. Fair enough. I couldn't agree more about "how do these people sleep at night?" While that looks like a pretty nice neighborhood, that doesn't mean people are prepared to spend a surprise $10K++. Not to mention, you got the homeowners cool TONIGHT, rather than in a few days.

You checked pressures and added refrigerant without first cleaning condenser and checking indoor air flow. I didn’t see you check superheat. Maybe you felt the suction line. You can clean a unit fairly well from the outside without pulling the top. Even a spin fin coil.

Excellent video! Wow I needed that vacuum! I always blew then out!

There seem to be alot of rip off artists in the HVAC business. It is hard to find and honest guy. I really enjoy these videos and learning all I can a out the different repairs needed. Some I have learned to do myself and have found honest repair men when I can't.

Good honest work! When it comes time to replace, they will give you the business. I don't know how some people sleep at night.

Thank you for all you do! I watch you at home and on my phone! I have even converted my wife! Lol!

I love honesty from blue collar workers, being one myself, its very important to keep the trust between technicians and customers. Afterall we do keep this thing running.

I have a service company in Central Florida and what Ted is doing for these homeowners is exactly how I run my business. I can tell Ted is very fair, knowledgeable and will not steer any consumer in the wrong direction. I am not sure which area Ted's company resides in but everyone in his area should call him for any HVAC Services.

Got a call for second opinion for a no heat. People had just moved into the house. Middle of January about 10 degrees out. 2 kids under the age of 2 and the house was about 40 degrees. It was a 7 year old TRANE xr90. First company said the heat exchanger was shot and it needed replaced. Quoted them on the spot for 12k for a new system. I was in and out of there in half an hour for a bad cap on the blower motor. Maybe $200 bucks for the whole call?

Thanks for not being a scam artist. I know who they will come to when its time to upgrade!

We have a 2002 Comfortair Furnace. Our Central Air Rheem outdoor unit failed. Hired a DIY company to get the A/C unit replaced. So they sold us a 4 ton Heat Pump. Bryant preferred series. 15 Seer. Then told is we don't have adequate ducting for return air and left. They are right. That was in 2010! Still living with no A.C.. All the companies here want to replace everything. Furnace has been great. Only failure was blower motor bearings. 92% efficient furnace. Furnace is simple. Dont want a new computerized Furnaces. Wish there were Contractors here in Portland that would do what the Customer wants.

I love this stuff, that’s why I’m going to HVAC school soon once this COVID 19 Calms down.

Dealt with a big company (rhymes with Gordon air). The problem was the draft inducer fan had bad bearings. They quoted me almost a grand just for that fan alone, plus an additional two grand for misc services such as general cleaning, charging, and preventative maintenance capacitor change. Wrote me a work order ticket close to 4 grand with labor. I told them to never contact me again. I'm an industrial electrician, so I took it upon myself to replace all capacitors (they had some age), replace draft inducer, and cleaned all coils with coil cleaner. Did everything for about three hundred. Had someone else check the charge for basically nothing. Those big companies will never recieve any call from me ever again.

The guy my sis in law swears by tells me last week with a bold face that it’s perfectly ok to charge someone $475 for a capacitor replacement because sometimes its the only way they can stay in business...I just listened, said uhuh, uhuh and ignored everything he said. That there is called thievery just like ‘em big companies...and I’ll name names, ARS, Euclid Ave in Manassas, VA. In the past few years, Ive done capacitor, contactor, fan motor swaps and learned to charge my system on my own. A pox on all cheating HVAC contractors and to all naive homeowners who dont educate themselves, good luck!

I want to know why he didn't weigh the tank to know how much he added. At the cost of r22, even a couple ozs is money. And not knowing leak rates is not good practice. If you have to add refrigerate that means there is a leak and you'll just be back to add more later.

It also pays to find a company that will not over charge. Another great video.

The first company out sent a Sales Tech. Once they see it's an older unit they price the repair ultra high to push the customer into replacing the units. They are interested in moving boxes not in what the customer may really need at the moment. Good video.

Thanks for the video. Can i get a link on the connection you use on you shop vac to clear the drain lines?

I know that sometimes the capacitor goes dead, I had bought one and put it up just in case. Last year I noticed the air wasn't getting cold and went outside and the fan on the outside unit wasn't working. This is a sign the capacitor isn't working, It was late and I looked at it the next day. In about 15 min. I had changed out the capacitor and it has been running like a champ since! Cost ( $13.00) and 15 min. labor.

250 to 260 with R22 on a 90 degree day is exactly what I would expect.

You are very professional and honest person, I really salute to you.

They should trim back those shrubs. Great job. Again.

You seem like a really fair guy and I would do business with you.

You're the good service technician. There are so many bad and lazy ones out there in this field.

Big companies tell their "techs" to use terms that differ from what the item actually use. Start assist = run capacitor. They don't want people to Google the part.

Ted you are the best one handed tech I have seen

Thanks for being reliable and realistic about the cost. You should call your company 2nd opinion. Lol

Ted this is possibly the best vid ever posted on KZfaq ... but I'd like a 2nd opinion ... Lol ... People have more fun than anybody don't they ... Good vid ...

Outstanding work ethics, looking out for the customer too

You don’t have to say the name to tell us the price!! I just cleaned out 5 mini split indoor units for 600$ a larger company wanted 15k to do the same job and 32K to replace the 5 heads and the two condensers. No line sets.

I guess I’m the only one who puts a coat of car wax on their ac unit outside ….keep it shining.

They were calling the caps, "start assist" most likely.

Volume warning! 10:32 that vacuum through headphones is ear piercing

Why don’t you find and fix the leak, clean the evap and condenser before dumping gas in? They have two systems, I’m sure they have the money to do the job right. Yes? Nice stop at the stop sign.

I hate to be "that guy" but I have to critique something you did and ask for feedback. I've been in the HVAC game for about 35 yrs so please indulge me. I saw that you purged your charging hose once you opened up your refrigerant bottle but you didn't purge your low side hose. The same amount of air that was in your charging hose was in your low side hose and you injected that air/moisture into the system. I teach all my guys to purge any hose that will be adding refringent into the system. I'd like to hear your thoughts/arguments for not purging your low side hose before adding refrigerant. Thanks and stay safe out there.

These videos help save me so much money. I love these DIY videos.

I work for a bigger HVAC company and that call would have cost $127.00 for service call, plus the cost of the capacitor, the coolant, and tax. I dont know if that is a lot compared to what you charge, but that seems cheap to me. But we don't do R-22.

Great Job from your colleagues from Amsterdam Holland follow you all the time and I'm Learning A Love from you

Was probably low on charge from the start. May not even have a leak

I'm still learning about refrigeration, so pardon a newbie question. At 13:45, the R-22 temps show 110-F condenser temperature, and 29-F evaporator temperature. Shortly after, you said the system was a little high on head pressure, and a little low on suction. I understand the suction being low. What I'm confused by, is when you mentioned the head pressure being high. I was told that the condenser temperature should be 30 degrees above ambient air on an older system like that. You mentioned that ambient temperature was 90 degrees. That should equate to a condenser temperature of 120. Add in a few degrees of subcooling, and your head pressure is right on, or possibly a little low. Not high, like you mentioned in the video. Please respond. I'm sure that I am missing something. You've been doing this for years, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

The frog! How often does that happen?

My only issue was your determining that it leaks. Considering what the company proposed to be done. Don't you think they may have hooked up their gauges and then maybe not on purpose but just sloppy workmanship left their system low on refrigerant. Personally I think I would have opened it up again and checked how dirty that condenser was. Cleaning it may have changed the pressures depending on how bad. just a novice's humble opinion.

so I'm on install currently but want to move over to service. May be a dumb question but do you ask the homeowner if they want it done before doing anything? Like when you changed out the capacitor did you ask if they wanted that changed or did you change it and just charge them? thanks man love your videos

That's what Big companies do. I'm guessing around 4 hundred. Like You said I don't know how some people sleep at night.

Another outstanding repair!! Very impressed!!

I had a job were the customer had a 5 ton Gibson from 2005 with a blown reverse valve running to a 8 seer air handler that was from the 80s. Their duct work was so bad they weren't even getting air flow to the whole house. When I gave the woman my diagnosis, she called me HICK and that her air handler is fine. She never paid the service call. I'm use to jerk customers.

3 and some change for a jug of R22... ahhhh the good ole days

Didn’t get a close look at the contacts but I probably would have changed the contactor too.

Come to S. FL, all the AC companies are like that.

my mind is trying to say those were 35/7.5 from factory, the motor looks larger, so probably motor changed and that's the only cap they had/could find. grease/tiny ants love the inside of those motors for some reason, they go right in the drain/weep holes and lock them solid. Yeah I "capacitor bandit" them, leaving original round dual for the compressor and adding ovals for replacement blower, cocooned in electrical tape placed in front/at bottom of contactor... you get a surprise capacitor flop attack when opening the panel. lol trane "sales booster" obsolete the motors and make the cost more than a new unit to replace, those units remind me of chinese finger pull toys, you struggle like mad, nothing fits and it wont let go of you :))

im also very honest and humble about pricing.some people though prefer to pay more and get all the up sell. they think that if they pay more they get more quality.

Mr Froggy was chilling in the frame that whole time

Those companies are too common, and the reason I DIY. Bad capacitor? "You're gonna need a whole new system"

A friend of mine told me that in Texas for example near the A&M University Ants were a big problem, thatt they wouldd crawl often all over and also in out-doo units. What attracted them was the electrical swith-boxes and were able to get inside. when the *Relay* would swith and the metal-points made contact that crushed the ants, and this creation some sort of "insulation" and the unit would not turn on. Was he pulling my leg? Because he told me that the technician would just look first at this Relay/Switch and clean the dead ants out, and most often it was fine.

That Trane unit looks older than 2005.

Is that shop vac adaptor thing for vacuuming something I can purchase or was that created by you? Thanks! My house has three FAU's and my rental has one that burned up the circuit board when the condensate line plugged up. I could really use that adapter as a preventative maintenance device with my shop vac. Thank you!

You are a tremendous example!

I saw that frog as soon as you were down there, was wondering how long he'd stand that vacuum

First of all if you are first put in your eyes on this unit you need to check the entire system inside and out. Yes you found some issues on the outside but you failed to inspect the Endor system as well. And if it is low on Freon is most likely has a leak in the evaporator coil being 15 years old. All I see is you performing repairs without inspecting the whole system. Are you the owner of this company?

Just worked on one them cubes from 94. She was still pumping!

That home owner did not get a chance to cut the tall grasses near those AC units?

The company i work for uses 421A as add to for r 22 head pressure a little high but it seems to work

There’s nothing wrong with suggesting hard starts for such old systems. If the customer is cheap, I offer them options, levels if you say

Good repair Ted. Every part that other company says that is "bad" pads their bill plus it the Nickel & Dime sales tactic. If they would have gotten the repair job Mrs Jones pays some super high repair bill (1st round set up) . hoping it will break in that cooling season. X company gets called out again. Now they have the $2000 repair bill on thier side ( 2nd round) , now contactor is bad plus needs another lb or two of R22. Mrs Jones your throwing good money into bad. Bang $15000k sale and tech makes commission......

Where could I get the vacuum pipe you used?

That road wasnt very happy with you messing with his little oasis

Yeah we just bought a house and a bigger brand wanted $15,000 for an 3 ton AC setup, and we went with a family owned, family used and known company, and they took $7,000.