I had an AC guy that came to my house and he said the compressor wirings were bad. AHS called and said they are replacing the condenser? Is the condenser the entire outside unit. They said I have to pay $400 out of pocket for unit disposal and to bring the wiring up to code. What is the cost of this usually and is the condenser the entire outside unit or just a fix?

I had an AC guy that came to my house and he said the compressor wirings were bad. AHS called and said they are replacing the condenser? Is the condensor the entire outside unit. They said I have to pay $400 out of pocket for unit disposal and to bring the wiring up to code. What is the cost of this usually and is the condensor the entire outside unit or just a fix?



Disposal of the unit is somewhat BS. They take the unit with them for disposal after they recover the refrigerant/freon any way since they have to recover the gas according to the EPA rule.

Electric who knows. If it worked before it should work again unless it needs a outside disconnect that was not there before.

400.00 for a condenser change is CHEAP but there is a problem with that.

The new outside unit will not work very well with the old inside coil. Since this is a known fact the inside coil should also be replaced at the same time as the outside unit.

A mismatched system (wrong inside coil) can cause many problems. There is a way to work around this by adding a expansion valve to the old inside coil. The old inside coil is probably dirty and needs cleaning also.

I would contact the ins company in regards to this mismatched coil situation.

Below is a bit of info on this subject. And a few doc for you.

Mis-Matched Systems: Still Unethical and Now Illegal!
What's New in the mismatch outdoor unit situation? Glad you asked! The Energy Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), and subsequently the Florida Building Commission (FBC), ruled on a Declaratory (DEC) statement in October determining when changing the outdoor unit only without a change of the air handler, the installing contractor must prove compatibility with an ARI rating, ARL tested combination (or any reputable laboratory), manufacturer's letter or a P.E. certifying that this system will operate correctly.
I am particularly pleased to see this action as I view mismatching as unethical and now illegal. Many contractors say that they install outdoor units only as change outs all the time and they work great! I say "you must know something Trane, Carrier, Lennox, etc. and the folks from the Alabama Power test lab don't! They aren't able to make a 10-SEER AHU operate correctly with a 13-SEER or greater outdoor unit, and to agree with you and seal an affidavit as to capacity, efficiency and the amount of refrigerant to use, etc., you will ìscoop the market."

In retrospect, this ruling is good news for all legitimate contractors, building officials, manufacturers and consumers. It levels the playing field making the unethical contractor do what is correct or face the consequences when caught. The manufacturers will have less incorrectly installed equipment and thereby less blame from excess service calls and poor performance. Building officials will finally have some direction as to what to advise their inspectors to look for on a changeout. The consumer will be less tempted to try to change the outdoor unit only, as that has demonstrated time and again it is a loser and will most likely require multiple service calls in the spring to add refrigerant and winter to remove refrigerant to achieve any capacity at all. The will face reality and replace the indoor unit with a match to their outdoor AHU, which is typically installed after significant effort and expense with service calls. High electric bills can no longer be tolerated.

There is a substantial difference between mismatching and mix matching In the context of our discussion a mix match is a Carrier (Carrier as example any brand) 3-ton outdoor unit matched with a Carrier 3 Ω -ton indoor AHU. This combination appears in the ARI guide; manufacturers installation instructions for this system are available and a refrigerant changing method is clearly established. There is no confusion that this system has a complete U/L listing and the capacity and efficiency are listed in ARI. You know how the machines will perform and the consumer has purchased something that should have good longevity with minimal service required. A mismatch is any two different manufacturers units together that do not yield a source for capacity, efficiency, changing information or U/L, etc. The most egregious mismatches are the 10-SEER indoor vs. 13-SEER outdoor combinations.

One last thought: it behooves us to pull permits and have inspections made on all our contracting activities. Particularly changeouts! When a question about an installation arises some years from now, you will be real happy you spent a couple of bucks for that inspection that you can use in court to prove you did a compliant job. I recently had a situation where an architect didn't like it that I used the ì100 square inch exemption on metal duct through a firewall. My installation is correct and code compliant, both the mechanical inspector and the fire marshal examined it and concurred. Mr. Architect will have to chew on someone else. I guess if you donít pull permits you can always mark your calendar and wait for the 10-year statute of repose

I agree that something is fishy.
Sometimes a condenser is really a capacitor (old term).
Condenser should refer to the outside unit.
Could compressor get confused with condenser? $400 sounds a little low.
Bring wiring up to code can mean lots of things. Like it was undersized causing the compressor to die, needing a disconnect or internal wiring problems.

Stumped.

I had an AC guy that came to my house and he said the compressor wirings were bad. AHS called and said they are replacing the condenser? Is the condensor the entire outside unit. They said I have to pay $400 out of pocket for unit disposal and to bring the wiring up to code. What is the cost of this usually and is the condensor the entire outside unit or just a fix?


Your reply to me.

Thank you so much for your information. I wanted to tell you what tech said to me.

I called AHS about mismatched coils and they do cover that but the technician from the company that is replacing the outside condenser says I do not have mismatched coils. I am going from a 1992 Carrier Unit to an outside condenser that has to be at least a Seer 13. Should I believe the coils are not mismatched if he tells me that?

They are just feeding you a line thinking you will by it.

A 1992 inside coil is not compatable/efficient with the new condenser you are getting. The coil is 16 years old and it probably should be replaced along with the outside unit.

See all the information I posted on this subject in my other post.



Now to be perfectly clear the old coil may work BUT you will not get the efficiency out of the new unit. You will also loose some cooling power (BTU,s) and how much you will loosed is any ones guess.

The guy that tries to pull this off better know what he is doing or your new outside unit may not last to long since it will be operating out of design specs and many manufactures are not honoring there warranty if a old/improper inside evaporator coil is discovered.

The least that can be done is to install a expansion valve on the old inside coil that way it may work but it will still not deliver the rated warranty.

If you choose not to believe me call the manufacturer of the unit you are getting and tell them exactly what is happening. I am sure they will confirm you also need a new inside coil with your new outside unit.

While I have been retired from my business for some time I still keep up with the trade. I teach (augratis) a NKU and other local universities when I feel like having a class. So far this year at the request of the manufactures I have been to at least 10 different homes where the owners have complained to the factory about problems with there new A/C outside only condenser change out and the owners were tired of getting the run around from the dealer that sold them the new outside unit so they called the factory.

In all but one case the unit would not perform as well as the old unit BTU for BTU because when you have a new 24,000 (2ton) outside unit and you are feeding a old 24,000 (2 ton) indoor coil the coil temperatures are off, suction (low side) and discharge (high side) pressures are not normal and you cannot get the superheat or subcooling near where it is supposed to be for proper operation.

If push comes to shove you need to pony up for a new indoor coil if you can afford it.

With all the info I have given you consider yourself armed and dangerous. LOL
This way when you talk to the dealer or factory you will know a bit more than the average homeowner. I really dislike contractors that lie about situations like this especially when you have to consider this