The AC is Dead & Today Temp Hits a Record High!

**dolphin** · 05-19-2008, 03:45 PM

First of all, I live in the desert so AC is VITAL to survival here. Apparently our AC died last year. I do remember it giving us trouble and not cooling well at the end but we put our heads in the sand and ignored it and just forgot about it.

Last week we turned it on and have found out our compressor is broken. That the most major thing in an air conditioning unit.

It has a 10 year warranty and we've only had it 4 1/2 years but the repair bill is still going to be around $875.00!

Good news is we were lucky enough to sell an old car with a blown motor for $200.00 and the rest of the money will come from our emergency fund which really isn't an emergeny fund but an 'extra' house payment we have been saving up for just to have incase dh gets laid off again (which happens too freqently). So, we have the money.

Bad news is it could be a couple more days before our AC is fixed!

Today the temperature is supposed to hit a record high of 107 degrees!!! When I went to bed last night the house was 96 and after putting fans in the windows we got it down to 81 this morning. I shut all the windows and put dark curtaina and sheets over all of them and right now it's around 12:30 pm and the house is 87 degrees. I have the dogs in the house so they are ok for now.

**FrugalMomof3** · 05-19-2008, 04:26 PM

Since it's under warranty why do you have to pay for it? OR will you get that money back?

**dolphin** · 05-19-2008, 04:58 PM

This company has a 'set' fee of $675.00 to replace a compressor. They say it is for welding, flushing the unit, disposing of the old freon, replacing the new freon, labor charge, service charge and handling fee for the new compressor. They also charge $75.00 for a trip charge just to drive from Vegas to Pahrump. Then there is another $100.00 fee for disposing of the 'core' which they said they are required to charge by law and dispose of it themselves by sending it off to some other company.

The woman on the phone told me the compressor alone would cost $2000.00 and that we were saving a lot of money. When the 'owner' of the company came out Saturday, he let it slip that a compressor costs him $500.00 before his 'markup'! :surprise:

We are stuck with this company because we called another company here in town and they told me that if we go with any other company then the whole 'unit' will not be covered under the warranty. So, we're stuck using them.

**warramra** · 05-19-2008, 05:15 PM

Have you called the company that made the Air Conditioner? My husband works in the technical services department for a company that makes large pieces of equipment for houses, and if they have something that stops working under warranty they send out companies that they have contracts with to service the units or replace. DH's company reimburses their contract company for all the fees/equipment charges incured. And they have some companies that drive hours to get to jobs for them. It might be worth a call to customer service to find out the policy of the AC manufacturer. In my opinion you should not have to pay a dime to get a 4 1/2 yr old system fixed.

**dolphin** · 05-19-2008, 05:44 PM

I can't find the maker of the unit online and I don't have a telephone number for them or any way to get that that I know of.

It is a 5 ton Comfortmaker 1200+, Heat Pump Condensor.

If anyone can help me find the company online I would appreciate it.

**warramra** · 05-19-2008, 05:58 PM

Here you go...

Comfortmaker

**warramra** · 05-19-2008, 06:03 PM

According to their website you should be given a NEW UNIT and not just have the compressor replaced since it is within the first ten years.

**Its_Donna** · 05-19-2008, 06:04 PM

We are thinking of you and yours!

**dolphin** · 05-19-2008, 06:44 PM

Thank you ever so much for the link!

I did find a phone number but the warranty people aren't answering. So, I'll try early in the morning.

You are required to provide proof of yearly maintenance service by a qualified service technician to keep your warranty valid.

We didn't do this because we knew NOTHING about it!

**hippytreehugger4ever** · 05-19-2008, 06:45 PM

Could you get a window unit for now? You could probably get one at Wal-Mart for around $200, to at least use as a backup.

**TheRootedNomad** · 05-19-2008, 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by dolphin

Thank you ever so much for the link!

I did find a phone number but the warranty people aren't answering. So, I'll try early in the morning.

We didn't do this because we knew NOTHING about it!

Do you have a service contract with the installing company??? If so then they would have been responsible for these "check and cleans" on the yearly basis and the contract alone should be valid proof.

**Dancing Lotus** · 05-19-2008, 08:34 PM

You are required to provide proof of yearly maintenance service by a qualified service technician to keep your warranty valid.

Hi this is Ann's husband.

No that is not true. The compressor is under warranty for ten years. The company that you are using will order the compressor under warranty and pocket the money you pay them for it. The $600 to replace the compressor is the cost of the labor to do the work.

It sounds like the company is trying to make a lot of money off of you and scare you into a yearly maintenance contract with them. I would shop around to other a/c companies in the areas. Also try to stay away from companies that pay their techs on commission as they are more likely to try to sell you a lot of stuff or increase the costs to make their numbers better.

I do recommend that you have yearly maintenance done on the equipment and most companies will do it for a charge of about $75 to $89 (their usual service charge). What the companies do on a maintenance will vary and it is actually a good way to find an a/c company that you can trust when the equipment does break. If they spend more time trying to sell you something than cleaning the equipment, don't call them again. They should also point out (by showing you) things that are going bad and ask you if you want to fix it and give you a price BEFORE they fix anything.

I hope this helps, Harry.

**Dancing Lotus** · 05-19-2008, 08:48 PM

Originally Posted by FrugalMomof3

Since it's under warranty why do you have to pay for it? OR will you get that money back?

Because what you are paying for is the labor, only the parts are under warranty.

**Dancing Lotus** · 05-19-2008, 09:08 PM

Originally Posted by warramra

According to their website you should be given a NEW UNIT and not just have the compressor replaced since it is within the first ten years.

Unfortunately no. Their hassle free warranty is dependent on the model number of the equipment not on all their equipment. Their higher SEER rated equipment has the hassle free warranty for longer. All the equipment they are listing on the website is 13 SEER or higher and the 1200+ is the older 12 SEER model.

Also Comfortmaker is made under the ownership of the International Comfort Products (ICP) company, which is owned by Carrier.

**annymoll** · 05-19-2008, 11:28 PM

Take a cake pan, fill it with ice cubes, then sit it in front of the fan. This provides colder air from the fan. You can freeze pop bottles filled with water and it will work also.Put your feet in cold water with ice cubes to help keep cool. Drink lots of fluids. I know these are just tips, but hope it will help till everything is fixed.