I’m happy to report that my home once again has regular heat thanks to Mark Turner from Setzer Electric, Inc.
Mark fixed a Freon leak on my outside unit last week by replacing a bad schrader valve that a previous technician had (apparently) not been able to fix. The previous guy was like, “There’s something wrong with the valve, let me get a quote.” Mark, on the other hand, replaced the bad part of the valve while I was still explaining to him what the other guy said! He placed the little mechanism on top of my fence and said, “That’s it.” (It looks exactly like the gold center part of the illustration to the right.) AND Mark charged half what the other guy’s quote was.
To think that the other guy recommended that I replace my entire system — all from just a bad valve that costs less than $25!
Many thanks go to my uncle for telling me that the first guy was a schmuck and encouraging me to get quotes from other companies. And of course, many thanks go to Mark Turner for his honest work and advice!
I hate to even mention it, but I want to tell you who to avoid. Guy Smith Heating & Cooling. Don’t listen to them! Both the technician they sent (Mark Shaffer) and his supervisor who came to get a list of supplies needed for the work (Delaney) — BOTH of those guys told me I should get a new system. Mine is 10 years old, Shaffer said, and nearing the end of its life. Your inside unit will go next, Delaney said. Replacing it will remove 10 years of dust and mites collected on the inside, Delaney added. Yeah right! They sound like vacuum salesmen!
So forget them, right now! Remember Mark Turner and Setzer Electric! Got it?!
I am happy, and my cat has stopped hibernating in the closet now that we have enough heat to take the chill off the floor. It took Mr. Turner a total of 20-some minutes to replace the valve piece and recharge the unit with coolant. (We spent the other 20-some minutes talking about cats, the mandated coolant change coming in 2010, and Rheem systems.)
P.S. I did find out that the reason the first guys told me I had to replace my whole system is that any new unit they install would have new coolant, and it would be incompatible with my old indoor unit. To quote Popular Mechanics:
As a result of the Montreal Protocol, a conference that grew out of international concern over the ozone-depleting qualities of CFC chemicals, the EPA is mandating the gradual phaseout of Freon, or R22 refrigerant. The new, non-ozone-depleting replacement will be R4-10A. In fact, some manufacturers have switched to R4-10A in some models already. While this new refrigerant works just as well, it requires pressures up to 50% greater than Freon, so it can’t be used in existing equipment. Interestingly, the higher operating pressure actually improves efficiency slightly. In any case, there’s no practical way to convert existing equipment.
….all products containing R22 must stop production by 2010. The production of R22 itself must cease by 2020. For those few R22 units still in service at that time, recycled R22 will be available, though it will probably cost a small fortune.
So I understand why I would need to replace the whole system should a costly part of it need repair. But not over a simple schrader valve! Sure, someday I’ll buy a new system. But for right now, my current system is running again for only a fraction of the cost to replace everything. And guess who will be getting my order when I need service again? Mr. Turner and Setzer Electric.