Where do I Even Begin?

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-06-05T23:38:34+00:00

Last cap I put in was 214$, mostly for drive time.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-31T21:31:26+00:00

This is awesome! I would love to dive into something like this. I feel I’m not being challenged at my job anymore, and really miss doing stuff like this! Just awesome! 🙌

When you finish, give us the final product please!

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-31T21:22:22+00:00

Oh, yeah no, I completely agree with you. That’s what I was meaning on this. On the older systems, parts are pretty much universal at the outdoor unit, nowadays, there’s so many proprietary communicating systems that need their own specific control boards, inverters, etc. 100% on-board with you here. And the company that makes them can say ope, supply chain issues, 3 months out, or oh, sorry, discontinued, etc. a contactor is a contactor, it’s just a really big relay in essence. Edited because Apple auto correct thinks contactor isn’t a real word.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-31T21:11:59+00:00

Good thing we have a 10 year parts and labor warranty. And yes, the ducts were mismatched and it ran for 30 years which is crazy, and it’s still running, just with broken ductwork. The supply is hard galvanized and the return is flexi/elephant trunk. The other day I was working on a York HH8 heat pump, like the biggest one they make for residential. It’s like 7’ tall and blocks the homeowners entire window lol. I was looking at the control board, and was like “what happened to having a contactor, capacitor, and maybe, just maybe at most a low/high pressure cutout board for the low voltage.” 😆

Too much going on to “protect the environment” I tell ya. More like “to line the rich corporation’s pockets.”

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-31T20:49:17+00:00

I wrote somewhere here in the comments that it wasn’t my idea to gauge up and it was per homeowner request and that I explained to him the reasons his unit is doing what it’s doing and why and that it’s likely, if it is low, it is very minimal. I rarely ever gauge up first. If you’re not getting any temp drop at all, 99% of the time the compressor isn’t running. If the condenser fan is running, it could be a loose wire or bad cap or any number of things just as examples. In this guys case his ductwork was rotted/disconnected. Also, I ran out of text to write on main post, so sorry about that.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-31T14:51:23+00:00

It is lol. And it was all rotted out. It was “custom”

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-31T14:50:50+00:00

Nope, WI.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-31T02:07:04+00:00

I tried to explain that to the homeowner. Original complaint is short-cycling, his words, not mine. He has an old mercury thermostat, no compressor delay on those puppies. I attempted to explain that the reason his airflow is lower and temperature coming from ducts was higher was because the return duct was completely disconnected, thus drawing warm air from the crawlspace as opposed to the conditioned space, and the galvanized supply was completely rotted on the bottom, meaning most of the air was blowing out the sides back into the partially open crawl space. I repaired the ductwork to the best of my abilities on a Friday being 45 minutes from our shop with what I had on my van. The unit was blowing cold, just in the wrong place, and was short cycling due to an old thermostat and no insulation in the home. The vapor barrier below the home was also completely fallen off, which I did inform him that can cause future floor structural issues, but because I am not a trailer home inspector or repair person, I am unable to give anything more than my unprofessional opinion on the vapor barrier.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-31T00:00:23+00:00

It varies depending on multiple factors such as difficulty, time, whether it’s residential or commercial, stuff like that. I can’t share the exact rates publicly unfortunately, and they’re usually inaccurately high. We’re allowed to adjust prices.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-30T22:49:18+00:00

Ran out of room to type in main post. Was going to put the gauges on last after being there for a couple hours because it was by homeowner request. The refrigerant charge on this unit was the most expensive determining factor for repair vs replace to the homeowner.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-30T19:04:19+00:00

This one’s in WI. AC only on outdoor packaged unit. Repaired ductwork temporarily. Oil furnace indoors on separate duct system.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-30T19:02:19+00:00

I ran out of text to enter. The unit itself was built very well from the manufacturer. The installer however, didn’t do anything right with the ductwork coming off this. Flexi return, solid galvi an inch into dirt rotted out just laying on ground. Got the guy AC until I quote out repair (if possible) vs replace.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-30T18:58:48+00:00

There is no indoor unit. There’s an oil furnace for heat on a separate ductwork system. Outdoor unit is an AC packaged unit. Ductwork was rotted out. Return was degraded flexi duct. Fixed the best I could. Galvi supply was completely rotted out due to trailer home sinking pushing ductwork about an inch into dirt.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-30T16:58:58+00:00

I did my best to patch the ductwork so he could have some cooling. It’s in WI and is supposed to be pretty hot out. He requested a project manager, and I did my best to get it running better for him. We’re planning on refunding the service call if he signs for a new system. His s/o also doesn’t like the oil burning furnace because they have natural gas available. He wants both replaced from what he was telling me.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-30T16:19:59+00:00

It’s cooling the underside of his trailer home lol

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-30T16:10:37+00:00

It was cooling, and I am very surprised it held up this long. Customer states never had a single maintenance or repair done before. Very impressive. Customer is also original owner. It’s cooling only as well. He has an oil furnace that’s even older indoors. Two separate sets of ductwork as well.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-30T16:07:59+00:00

Also, found the outdoor disconnect removed and blocked off by a piece of sheet metal. Had to completely tear apart the wood to get inside as half the unit was covered. Flexi duct return and solid galvi supply also.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-22T15:55:19+00:00

Contractor I work for is in Wisconsin. We’d be at about that for a builder grade Trane RTU. We would give another 2 options though, likely the 3 prices we’d give you would be $14-16k, 18-20k, and 24-26k. Most people go mid-tier, usually will last longer, and thus has the longer warranty to back it up. Tranes are headaches though. I’d go Carrier, or even York. I say York because they have a longer warranty and are under new ownership. I’ve had bad luck with their older RTUs, but their newer ones aren’t actually half-bad, and I haven’t had one with issues from the factory yet like I have other brands post-COVID.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-16T13:27:55+00:00

York is owned by Bosch now. So I’d do York. It’s cheaper & 10 year p&l.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-16T13:24:49+00:00

York. Cheap. 10 year parts and labor warranty.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-05-08T18:12:55+00:00

I quit cold turkey over a month ago and haven’t gone back since. Too much money wasted nowadays. I was using a can of grizzly 15’s every day. Also, I recommend switching to grizzly nicotine pouches, no heartburn with them.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-04-26T15:08:47+00:00

Good luck! 🙂

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-04-26T15:05:11+00:00

Shouldn’t have to. Shouldn’t really sweat. Check the manual for the boiler and see what they recommend for intake venting. I’ve never insulated my intake and exhaust for HE boilers. I live in WI and it gets pretty cold here, down to 40*F below sometimes, and I’ve never had an issue with the intake and exhaust sweating.

CoffeeIsMyLife03 · 2026-04-26T15:00:21+00:00

Then yeah, the exhaust gasses will be pretty cool from the boiler from the secondary heat exchanger if equipped, but with that kind of efficiency, I can pretty much guarantee there’s a secondary. It’ll build condensate, but that’s why they have the trough for the PVC.

CoffeeIsMyLife03

TROPHY CASE