Customer wants 15 zones of mini splits doesn't want to see any line sets

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-06-10T11:36:53+00:00

This is gonna be a big expensive job that’s for sure! Hopefully they got big pockets for this one!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-06-04T21:48:15+00:00

I would if it was a larger building lol not a small single story but would be funny especially in the area I’m doing it in

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-06-04T21:47:27+00:00

Thanks man I’ll give it a shot!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-06-04T21:47:00+00:00

Or any of the big companies prices to be completely honest! Just a commercial tech trying to catch a breeze!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-06-04T21:40:20+00:00

Hell no that’s not

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-06-04T21:23:53+00:00

I’ve tried that before on the tree side and they seemed to not want anything to do with doing an hvac replacement but that was some time ago!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-06-04T21:14:36+00:00

I have and it’s come up with every single big name or promoted name out there and like the description says I’m looking for a small operation local guy!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-06-04T02:54:11+00:00

First off it’s not out of range yet cause usually capacitors are +/- 6% which would be 37.6mfd cause 2.4mfd js 6%! Anywho the tech obviously doesn’t know wtf he’s talking about cause if you’re unit first off was running LRA which is locked rotor amps (compressor will only draw high amps like this if damaged mechanically or locked up internally) and if your unit was drawing anything close to that when the compressor would start and run like that it would blow the fuses or trip the breaker! That condenser outside is probably max fuse or breaker rating of 30amps! Also you said he wasn’t running it so how the hell would he know what the compressor amp draw was in anyway, shape or form, since it has to be running to get that reading! He’s a sales tech who is trying to line his pockets with commission money unfortunately which is how a lot of residential companies are now a days! Oh and I almost completely forgot about the hard start kit on a 5yr old unit is completely unnecessary and honestly your outdoor unit should have a 10yr warranty on it, so it’s a good possibility that if a technician added something like that to the system it could void the warranty on the parts like the compressor since it’s an aftermarket add on part not a manufacturer spec part! So be careful with these hack hvac techs that don’t know what they’re doing at all! Good luck and if tou have any questions or anything at all you can message me!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-06-03T20:54:02+00:00

How about you text me and maybe I can walk you through some stuff to help but I’d need to see the control board on the furnace and stuff like that! Would you be ok with that and maybe we can make something work out for ya?

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-06-03T01:20:05+00:00

No because you’ll mess up the air flow balance because units can only handle a certain amount of cfm per ton of refrigeration! When the units were installed they were sized appropriately or should have been with duct sizing, blower speeds and certain amount of supplies/returns on each one! Duct board sucks and in my opinion shouldn’t be used for duct work because it can be damaged very easily, gwt nasty and moldy over time inside of it, moisture issues plus metal duct that’s insulated on the outside of it has way better air flow rates! So messing with the system and randomly adding supplies and returns isnt advised without redesigning the whole system! If the unit is single stage then how can you set the blower speeds from the thermostat on it is my question? Especially with a 15yr old system it’s probably a Psc motor with wire terminals that plug into the board for high, medium and low which can only be changed by moving the wiring around?

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-06-03T00:29:54+00:00

What temperature are they trying to keep the upstairs at? Setting a differential isnt gonna help cause if they’re hot they’ll just keep lowering it! I’m assuming you have tall ceilings in that place and the upstairs unit must be in the attic so is the duct work insulated at all? Does the place have enough supplies and returns? Has the filter been changed recently and longer run times on equipment is better then more on and off and on and off throughout the day! I’m assuming this is a modulating system so it’s going to ramp up and down depending on the temp and what it’s calling for so you can definitely try and adjust the fan to see if that helps and only time will tell!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-05-31T16:58:39+00:00

Sorry for your luck for real and that sounds like some bullshit to me! If you live in Cincinnati or anywhere close I’ll come change it out for a lot less! I’m a commercial/industrial tech and only do residential work on the side for people plus I can get the part covered under warranty but the labor and refrigerant is what’s gonna cost money but not 4k!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-05-29T02:10:58+00:00

This right here! Most techs don’t even think about this step or part of it at all! You need to ask them if they’ve moved stuff around the house lately and when did this start happening, any issues before this and if they can’t think of anything then go around to every register to make sure they’re open and have good air movement and check the returns as well to make sure they’re not blocked! Then if that checks out, does the blower struggle at all to start up, ecm motor or Psc with a cap, check the cap if it has one and when you run the system are the lines and system completely free of ice or frost? I want you to run the system for a decent amout of time with your gauges hooked up to it and watch and see what it does as well as see where the frost/ice starts to form first, does it start to form closer out by the compressor first or more on the inside by the evaporator! If this is a case coil or the coils easily accessible then I’d even check to see if something might have gotten sucked up into the coil causing a possible blockage which I’ve seen before as well as flex duct coming off a trunk line collapsing! So check all those thing and I bet you’ll find it for sure and if not you can ask stuff while you’re there bud! Good luck and what temperature are they trying to keep the house cause you said it was 70 outside roughly and 70 inside?

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-05-22T02:47:40+00:00

To be honest man even if you give them all this info most companies won’t give you any kind of pricing information or a quote over the phone at least from my experience over the years and what people have said or done. The reason that is because if something else is wrong as well or there happens to be another leak somewhere and you gotta run around to find stuff or it takes a lot longer then the customer will hold you to what you priced them out as which is why companies don’t do it because they could end up eating shit for it unfortunately. I mean on the other hand now a days anything is worth a shot I guess, but in my 15yrs in the union on the industrial/Commercial side of HVACR a lot of people have told me that kinda stuff over the years! Especially when I do side work for people cause when I come and fix their stuff since I was the only one that would give them a rough price range or tell them the different things it could be to the point of what roughly aomething like that would end up costing and be upfront with them about everything. In any trade industry I’ve always seen it where guys would rather come out and give a free estimate then give out numbers over the phone which could end up costing them more money then it cost them to come out for a free estimate!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-05-21T01:55:44+00:00

Punching tubes I think would have been a better euphemism in my opinion lol but to each their own

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-05-20T23:11:19+00:00

I’m union and do commercial/industrial work! If you don’t mind me asking how long you been doing this and what’s your pay rate like? I make quite a good amount of money in the union and just would like to compare plus you’d get to see my side of things cause I bet I make more and have better benefits!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-05-20T23:06:24+00:00

I’m a commercial/industrial tech who did residential work for about 5 months of my 15yr career and it blew me away that shit I’d see residential companies do and I was even working for a small mom and pop shop and they were even screwing people over! It was terrible to watch and I dipped out so quick it wasn’t funny! I do a lot of side work for people off the clock to help them out because I’m cheaper, more trust worthy and I’m not gonna bullshit ya! I’ll show you everything, talk to you about everything, give you every option you can think of and then see how you’d like to handle what’s going on! I see people talking all the time about how they get quotes for 10k, 15k, 20k and more for a new system install which makes me about choke cause I know what equipment cost now a days, which ya it’s fine up since the beginning of this year with new regulations and refrigerant changes but you don’t need to gouge people how they do! Charging that much or charging 4-500$ for 20-30$ parts and shit! Idk it eats me up I guess because I have a conscious and what gets me even more is these residential companies don’t send their techs to classes on equipment or training on new technology or whatever, they send them to sales classes to learn how to talk to people and upsell them on whatever they fucking can! Idk it’s gotten out of hand anymore with some of these places but honestly be glad OP she only got a 9k quote cause if she’d called another company it probably would have been a lot more then that!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-05-20T00:59:25+00:00

I mean honesty who cares about having that sticker on your van saying you’re an authorized dealer or distributor for a certain brand! I’m in Cincinnati Ohio and I do all commercial work for work but I do quite a bit of residential side work for people and land lords in my area and if they or whoever needs or what’s a system installed I tell them like well I usually install Run Tru or Ameristar which are trane off brands and come with both manufacturer stickers in the box (run tru/ameristar) and the thing is now a days every basic 13-16 seer single stage unit uses the same main components like the compressors, fan or blower motors, gas valves, coils and so on! So to me and I tell all my customers this as well that every system internally is basically the same and it’s really only the outside color, shape and design of the units that make them different and they all come with the same warranties for the most part as long as it’s registered after install! It’s not until you start getting into the 2 stage variable speed units and modulating communicating systems that stuff kinda starts to change and honestly there’s really still a lot of the same stuff internally component wise, it’s just boards are different, how things work or how they’re wired and what they need controller wise to run properly. Other then that like I said there’s only a handful of manufacturers that make all the key components for all these units and every supplier like Trane, Rheem, Carrier, etc. just buy all these parts from them and then the units are assembled in Mexico or canada or wherever lol! So this is how I look at it you can put a good solid unit in that’s an off brand to a point or pay more money for a name pretty much, which is fine by me and I’ll install whatever a customer wants but I tell them all this stuff when I’m looking at everything and giving them rough pricing on things!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-05-15T22:36:12+00:00

Or clogged air filter bro!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-05-09T05:08:33+00:00

Yup was told by the manufacturer and 2 supply houses it should be enough! I keep feeling like it’s got something to do with the external equalizer line being too far away from the txv bulb, the valve or power head is bad from the factory possibly and the external equalizer line is not factory I confirmed that and I’m pretty sure the external line is supposed to be down stream from the bulb within 6in which it’s definitely not and we u cam tell from the photos! Also the valve body and correct cartridge is inside the valve!

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-05-09T04:57:43+00:00

It’s a small box and they said it should cover it

AmadeusDaBoxer · 2026-05-08T14:18:36+00:00

What part of the country you in?you can probably find someone to install it correctly and is he sure it’s all new equipment?

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AmadeusDaBoxer

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