HVAC Twice-Yearly Inspections: Any value?

[nwsteve]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LuckyDog I have never had an annual inspection of any of the units that I have owned. We change filters (furnace) regularly and hose off the coils outside (AC). A Major Manufacturer factory representative told me that annuals are not necessary and to only call for service when you have a problem..

DFIL who sells and installs Carrier told us the same thing.

[Elbata]

Now this is only me, but as an owner-operator of an AC business, I say yearly inspections are a waste of time and money. Here are a few reasons:
1. Every time a tech puts his gauge to measure refrigerant, the refrigerant in the hose does not go back into your system. Doing that twice a year adds up.
2. Is it possible that during the inspection, the tech sees something else wrong that you have to spend money on?
3. The most important part of a twice year inspection (or any inspection) is changing/cleaning the filter. THE MOST IMPORTANT! Do that yourself and you can rest assured no outside hands can fiddle/damage your system.

There's actually a recommendation that filters be changed once per month. Please. What percentage of homeowners change their filters that often? Have I done this? Mea Culpa.

[RunningBum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elbata There's actually a recommendation that filters be changed once per month. Please. What percentage of homeowners change their filters that often? Have I done this? Mea Culpa.

I always thought that was overkill. On one of my inspections, the guy took a look at the filter and said, it's still good. He didn't happen to have my size on him but said I didn't need to burn a new one of mine yet. He said to hold it up to the light and see if it was getting dirty. Agree?

I rarely use my A/C so I tend to only change at the start of heating season. However, a had a furnace issue earlier this year and one of the possible causes was a blocked filter. Took it out and there was a dead mouse stuck to it! Didn't fix the problem though.

[GrayHare]

After just one month the filter in mine is barely distinguishable from a new one. I let it stay in place several months. How rapidly the filter accumulates dust and dirt depends on many factors.

[freedomatlast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elbata Now this is only me, but as an owner-operator of an AC business, I say yearly inspections are a waste of time and money. Here are a few reasons: 1. Every time a tech puts his gauge to measure refrigerant, the refrigerant in the hose does not go back into your system. Doing that twice a year adds up. 2. Is it possible that during the inspection, the tech sees something else wrong that you have to spend money on? 3. The most important part of a twice year inspection (or any inspection) is changing/cleaning the filter. THE MOST IMPORTANT! Do that yourself and you can rest assured no outside hands can fiddle/damage your system. There's actually a recommendation that filters be changed once per month. Please. What percentage of homeowners change their filters that often? Have I done this? Mea Culpa.

I agree 100% with Elbata.

As someone who does all their own heating and A/C repairs (except install new systems) and is also EPA section 608 and 609 certified, I agree to keep the techs away from the system and just change the filter. Also keep the grass clippings and bushes away from the outside unit and you will be fine.

[SportyandMisty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fosterscik We lived for 10 years in Florida and over twenty in Mississippi. I have never paid for an inspection. The Florida unit never failed. I’ve had to have 1 blower fan replaced in the internal unit in all that time. Annual inspections are a waste of money imho

+1.

[Corporateburnout]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elbata There's actually a recommendation that filters be changed once per month. Please. What percentage of homeowners change their filters that often? Have I done this? Mea Culpa.

Once a month is an overkill. I change my filters every three months.

[jazz4cash]

My tstat tracks hours of usage and has a reminder light that is adjustable. It winds up getting changed 3-4 times/yr. I set the hours based on the appearance of the filters. They need to be changed before they look too dirty or show signs oollapse from pressure buildup. I'd like to design a filter that would whistle when its starting to clog.

[gauss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardsFan My apologies for being a little too "in your face" with my post. Clearly you have the know how and tools, and in your shoes, with system dead in the water anyway, I might have done the same thing.

No worries CardsFan!

It gave me a chance to brag about the details with regards to one of my "Wins".

-gauss

[calmloki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazz4cash My tstat tracks hours of usage and has a reminder light that is adjustable. It winds up getting changed 3-4 times/yr. I set the hours based on the appearance of the filters. They need to be changed before they look too dirty or show signs oollapse from pressure buildup. I'd like to design a filter that would whistle when its starting to clog.

Asked and answered:
https://www.conservationmart.com/p-9...waAgu0EALw_wcB

Was sure I'd seen a whistling air filter so did a search and this popped up - seems like an even better idea

[jazz4cash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calmloki Asked and answered: https://www.conservationmart.com/p-9...waAgu0EALw_wcB Was sure I'd seen a whistling air filter so did a search and this popped up - seems like an even better idea

Well alrighty then. Scratch that one off the list! I bought a differential pressure gage but I never got around to installing it.

[michelek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fosterscik We lived for 10 years in Florida and over twenty in Mississippi. I have never paid for an inspection. The Florida unit never failed. I’ve had to have 1 blower fan replaced in the internal unit in all that time. Annual inspections are a waste of money imho

Could you share what brand you have that performed so admirably in the hot humid south?

[hopefullyoneday]

Waste of money in my opinion. I have only had 2 insp done in 8 years. First one was 2 years after I installed the unit and they said the capacitor was working but out of range and recommended a new one. Warranty covered part but labor was $125 and took him just under 5 min to install (yes I timed him). Second time just last year I had a check up done and they said everything was ok. He did not clean my outside coils and a day later my evap condenser ruptured because of being rusted. So he did not check anything apparently and that was TEXAS ACE which I will never use again.
From now on I will just replace filters myself and wash my outside unit twice a year and have things fixed as they break.

[Tom52]

We have been in current home for three years now. We moved after retirement so we had no network of repair people to call on. Last fall we called in a hvac tech to check over our a/c and furnace. He cleaned the coil on the a/c unit in addition to the routine checks but found nothing. At the time I asked the tech if he would be available to make an emergency house call in the winter while we are in Florida. I explained that we were going to monitor the heat in the house via a security camera focused on a thermometer.

Low and behold one day when remotely monitoring the temperature at home it was obvious the furnace was not working. A quick call to the hvac tech with information where to find the house key and two hours later the furnace was back up and running. The electronic ignitor failed. I am pretty sure if I had not established this relationship ahead of time I would not have gotten anyone else to show up at my home, when no one was there, to fix the furnace.

Cost? The initial inspection cost $55 plus tax. The emergency service call cost $157.50 including the new ignitor. They even called me in Florida once the repair was complete. That was excellent service in my opinion. I think you are more likely to get emergency help if you have a relationship with a hvac tech, so maybe well worth an annual inspection fee.

[Breedlove]

Kind of crazy , but I am selling our city house and we never had the AC serviced . The house is 17 years old and knock on wood the AC runs fine . We called a friend , an AC tech to do a tune up on the AC and all he could say was how old is the unit We told him and immediately he said we need to replace it . .... He told us that we had leaked refrigerant ( the old style and the unit was in bad shape ) . Then he tested the air that went over the coils . If the outside is 78 degrees he said they want 12 to 15 degrees cooler coming across your coils or the air coming out of the vents to be 12 to 15 degrees cooler . He used his laser temp sensor and we were 15 degrees cooler . He thought he needed to get another temp sensor so he went to his truck . It also showed all of our vents were within the 12 to 15 degrees . All he could say was roll the dice ...It is going to fail . I will probably have to write a new AC into my house selling contract.

[Another Reader]

We do annual AC inspections for start up on the rentals in the Phoenix area. Tenants don't change the filters or clean the units. Yes, it's a revenue source for the AC guy, but they test and clean the units so we don't get the service calls at the beginning of May.

[Breedlove]

Change your filters , keep your drains open , go buy a laser temp sensor from Harbor freight ( 15.00 ) . Use the temp sensor to see how cold the air is coming out of your ducts . If it is 12 to 15 colder then it is outside ..rock and roll !

[John Galt III]

I am very leery of letting any tech touch my heat pump. Seems to result in worse problems cropping up 6 months later. I had a brand new heat pump installed about 21 years ago, and it's purring along happily with just me clearing snow off of it once in a while, and cleaning out debris sometimes. Knock on wood.

[Freedom56]

We maintain everything in our homes. When in doubt, we consult Youtube and other sites. Over the last 22 years in our primary home, I have repaired the our HVAC system about 4 times and saved thousands. The parts are inexpensive. As others have stated, change your filters and make sure that your drains are open.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Galt III I am very leery of letting any tech touch my heat pump. Seems to result in worse problems cropping up 6 months later. I had a brand new heat pump installed about 21 years ago, and it's purring along happily with just me clearing snow off of it once in a while, and cleaning out debris sometimes. Knock on wood.

+1.

For the first year, I did have the required free inspections after my install.

The first thing the tech did was disconnect the fan, and turn on the furnace so that it would reach high temperature. He waited for the furnace to shut off to test this high temp safety system.

OK, so what kind of damage did that "test" just do?