Home Improvement

Khane said:

Yea, everyone does this... now. Everyone treats every customer like they are potentially a pain in the ass because "oof that one time". This is not the way things used to be, and the only reason it is now, is because so few young people are going into these jobs over the last ~30 years.

You're not really responding to what I wrote, I never said to do estimates for free (even though as recently as 10-15 years ago I never had to pay these stupid service visit/estimate fees). And all I hear, when techs/contractors/tradesmen say stuff like this is "I can afford to be a shithead to customers, so I will be".

The reality is, the rest of us realize that this is going to happen whenever we need work done, these days, and is only going to get worse until more young people start entering these fields. It's pure market forces at work, but its frustrating enough that I need to vent. It's bad enough that if even one company had taken the time to do that I'd be a customer for life. 5 star review and I would have told everyone I know to use that company. And none of that matters, because nobody needs that at the moment so they don't really care. They have to turn work away as it is.

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I don't mind paying for diagnostics but for a quote it's retarded. Like you can't give me a rough idea to install a new kitchen faucet or add a sub panel next to the main or a price per sq foot to install new carpet? Lowe's and HD can tell me how much that is.

Siliconemelons said:

My capacitor died - during that fiasco i made friends and became the “i.t. Guy” for them somehow… It’s good to have friends in the trades. Also good to have a place to go that will sell you any supply and part for ac stuff.

The biggest issue with swapping compressors is the soldering and then recharging of the system.

If you can sweat joint copper - know how to do a vac pump and the pressure balance tools… do basic wiring, you can put in almost any home AC unit.

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Thats... what Im hoping is the cause for my home being a balmy 88 degrees right now. I thought where the condenser had gotten so caked with pollen that it just needed to be cleaned. Im sure cleaning it will have its benefits, but that was a no-go. Ive tried to stay gone all weekend just so I dont have to deal with the heat. Thank God my guy is coming tomorrow. Bro was all the way in another state and is Johnny on the spot for me.

Sorry some of you guys are having a shitty time with other tradesmen, though. I cant imagine living in an area where its so god damn crowded that you cant get help when you need it.

I only know enough to get in trouble and kinda get what goes down with my AC

The system itself is typically a fairly straight forward system.

It’s a heat exchange system.

You have a compressor, and if you have a “heat pump” system all it means is it can reverse the “flow” so the heat goes inside not outside.

You have a compressor that compresses the coolant. Then you have an expansion area “radiator” the fins and tubes - “heat sinks” - the coolant gets cold when it expands- so the compressor - compresses it down and into the “small” copper line- it goes to the radiator and the tube opens up, that causes expansion and cooling, the heat sink fins take up the cool, a fan / “blower” pushes air over all the fins, the air cools, and goes into your duct work.

The expanded, hot coolant flows out to the outside when the same process happens - copper tubes, aluminum fins and a fan- heat is expelled out to the outdoor air.

When you go heat pump, a valance flips the flow so cold is expelled outside and heat flow inside.

The air that comes out of the inside air handler, should generally be the “20 delta” meaning if your inside house air is 80 degrees, the air coming out of your air handler should be about 20 degrees cooler, so 60. Out of the vent, is going to be 2-6 less generally. Differences in these temps can lead you to find the general area of issue.

I have an instant read food the monitor poked into the area above my air handler in the main duct i can see in m garage so I monitor its delta, if its not reaching the 20ish range- then the compression is not working like it should or the air flow is constricted etc

If your at handler temp is 60 but your vent is like 70 then it can indicate a duct work issue.

Etc etc

There are many many small things within all thee things- but it gives a general flow of how things work so when someone comes in, i can generally follow their info and stuff

You also will get the “its a closed system” as far as your copper and coolant - you should not need to “recharge” in any frequency - so if your hitting your out of handler 20 delta, you should do so always even if your system can’t “keep up” with what cool temp you want… there are times the outside is just too hot. I am in Florida, summer in the late afternoon my ac just can’t do it…its technically undersized so… yeah.

Another thing is if you see your delta get way off on the cool side - you may thing “yay super cold air in my house!” But then your compressor can get frozen and seized up- as the cold in the expansion is not fully removed, and it gets back to the compressor and then gets “super compressed” and freeze and seize - this happen when your system runs and runs. For that- just turn it off and toss the hose on it to thaw it.

Just random stuff, i hope you can find a good honest place to help ya

I have two main drains going down my yard one on each side the the house - they still kinda flow but have been neglected for over 15 years…

They just need to be torn out and replaced… but it is a ton of digging I do not want to do. And i need to dig a pit and put in a sub pump that feeds one of the pipes because my backyard turns into “Everglades” if it rains for a few days.

You can also just stick the top of a broom and rotate it the same way from the top. Don't need a special tool.

Kajiimagi said:

When we remodeled our kitchen I had my disposal removed completely. Never use them , problem solved. Before someone 'akctually's 'me , the plumber added an 'air-gap' thing to the sink in case of backflow from the dishwasher.

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I'm on this same level. I honestly forget its even there most of the time.

Kajiimagi said:

Fun fact , you CAN have a disposal on a septic (I did ----before the remodel). It's just not recommended. I never used them even on rentals as putting garbage down the drain was just begging for clogged up pipes.

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I'm so sick of this. If you listen to 'experts' you literally can't use a septic tank. Ohhhh wash your dishes outside. Ohhh don't clean up your paint brush. Even septic safe toilet paper isn't a good idea! Better not eat taco bell because it can throw off the balance on your tank! Don't use CLR in the tub it will kill your tank!

ToeMissile said:

Yeah, leach field. We had a septic tank when I lived up in the Sierra Nevadas as a kid. I think we had someone come out once a year to give it a quick check? Or I might be remembering a time we had a specific issue. Either way, no real restrictions that I recall.

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Nah not like restrictions just "advice". We have a septic and Leach field as well because we're too far out of town.