HVAC/Heat Pump repair price- reasonable or ripoff?

[gromit]

I had the A/C unit replaced this summer. Now that its heat season, I had air blowing but no heat and called the installer to come look at it. I'm now skeptical of what I'm being told and need some advice.

I have a 2 zone, 1 stage system with a hybrid heat pump valve on the A/C unit and a gas furnace as alternate. The repairman that came mentioned that the reversing valve had been left wired for straight cooling only. That made me wonder later if that error had been deliberate to require a heat related repair. Trying to set it up correctly, he concludes the zone panel (Honeywell mini-zone) is not sending current to the heat pump reversing valve and needs to be replaced to the tune of $2800. My "inner cheap" was alarmed by that price. The other functions of the board were working. An alternative to replacing the panel would be to just not use the heat pump valve and go to a straight heat/ac setup. He said changing the wiring would take at least a half a day and cost $489. That also sounded wrong to me because originally changing over the wiring for the hybrid valve only took the original installer an hour or so.

I looked for similar zone panels online and found what I think is a similar Honeywell panel for the setup I have (Honeywell HZ322) and suppliers sell them online in the low $200s, but I don't really know anything about HVAC and wouldn't attempt to do it myself.

Questions:

1. Is $2800 a ripoff or reasonable price for replacing a zone panel for a 1 stage, 2 zone hyrid heat pump system?
2. Running the heat pump hybrid is supposed to save money, but I have a 90% gas furnace and reasonable gas rates in a Knoxville Tennessee climate. Depending upon the cost of a zone panel, could wiring to exclude the heat pump make sense or is that a shortsighted short term fix that I should avoid because the rest of the zone panel will die at some point anyway (it was probably installed in 2005)?

I plan to get another estimate, but could use any advice you have concerning reasonable costs and on whether to replace the zone panel. Am I just just not informed on costs or is my "inner cheap" correct to be alarmed by the prices quoted? The repairman left the system with the reversing valve on heat only, so I do have heat but no A/C until I do something.

Thanks.

 

[braumeister]

At those dollar amounts I would get at least three quotes from different companies.

 

[Spock]

Call the company that originally installed the new system.
Just because the new guy says the original installer disabled the heat pump does not mean he is the one telling the truth... especially since he wants to charge $2800 to fix it.


If the original company doesn't backup the install, go to the manufacturer to report a bad dealer and see if the manufacturer warranty will be honored by another dealer.

 

[travelover]

I'd definitely get a second opinion and you might get help on this HVAC forum.They are mostly HVAC techs and won't help you fix it yourself, but will give opinions on how a tech should fix it.

My gut feeling is that if the AC was just installed and it has heat pump capabilities, all of that functionality should have been tested and in working order.

 

[gromit]

Call the company that originally installed the new system.
Just because the new guy says the original installer disabled the heat pump does not mean he is the one telling the truth... especially since he wants to charge $2800 to fix it.


If the original company doesn't backup the install, go to the manufacturer to report a bad dealer and see if the manufacturer warranty will be honored by another dealer.

Just to clarify - the repairman is a different person, but the same company as the original installer.

 

[travelover]

Just to clarify - the repairman is a different person, but the same company as the original installer.

He may not know what he is talking about - you need to get back to the owner / manager and find out why it wasn't done right.

 

[Big_Hitter]

15 years or so ago I got a quote for $500 to replace a circuit board in one of our furnaces - the part cost $100

I got mad and bought the part and put it in myself, it was really easy. I just took a photo of it before i pulled all the wires off and put them all back on the same way, screwed the board back in and returned power. I never used the company again.

Not sure what yours would take I'd suggest going to a HVAC repair forum and ask your question there.

 

[Spock]

JUst to clarify - the repairman is a different person, but the same company as the original installer.

Dad put in 6K worth of new AC in 2017 (desert SW, 105-110 degree outdoor temps).
Middle of this 2018 summer the house started running a little warm and the AC was running a lot.
Tech from the installing company said it was just the thermostat reading the wrong temp.

Dad bought thermometer and found it was reading the same.
Called the company back and they sent out another tech who found one of the ducts under the floor had come partially disconnected. The cool air was being blown into the crawl space with a little getting into the house.

Still call the original installer... if the wiring was done wrong they should still fix it and not charge $2800. If they bulk, start calling the manufacturer.

 

[nash031]

15 years or so ago I got a quote for $500 to replace a circuit board in one of our furnaces - the part cost $100

I got mad and bought the part and put it in myself, it was really easy. I just took a photo of it before i pulled all the wires off and put them all back on the same way, screwed the board back in and returned power. I never used the company again.

Not sure what yours would take I'd suggest going to a HVAC repair forum and ask your question there.

And that was before the advent of YouTube. YouTube - "Helping Average Joes Screw Up Home Maintenance Projects since 2005".

 

[aja8888]

Any "deliberate" wiring change from normal operation should have been brought to your attention at the time of install. Something sounds "fishy".

 

[gromit]

He may not know what he is talking about - you need to get back to the owner / manager and find out why it wasn't done right.

Thanks. I agree on both points. Because I have heat, I'm going to take a few days to get myself organized. Before I talk to the owner, I'm soaking in the advice here and then I want to get another estimate for a zone panel installation just so I have an idea of whether or not they're in the ballpark of fair prices.

 

[gromit]

Any "deliberate" wiring change from normal operation should have been brought to your attention at the time of install. Something sounds "fishy".

I agree if they weren't going to leave the heat pump valve wired correctly I should've been told. I watched the entire original installation.

 

[GrayHare]

$2800 sounds way high for what you describe. Those type components can usually be had new for $100 to $500.

 

[Big_Hitter]

$2800 sounds way high for what you describe. Those type components can usually be had new for $100 to $500.

and the installation looks straight-forward too

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Honeywe...MIi-LDmtKL3gIVk4nICh3CgQtAEAQYAiABEgIo_vD_BwE

 

[Texas Proud]

Call the company that originally installed the new system.
Just because the new guy says the original installer disabled the heat pump does not mean he is the one telling the truth... especially since he wants to charge $2800 to fix it.


If the original company doesn't backup the install, go to the manufacturer to report a bad dealer and see if the manufacturer warranty will be honored by another dealer.

+1 on this!!!! It is the job of the original installer to install properly... if the heat is not working then they did not install properly... they should come out and get it right for FREE...


My question is why did you call a different company? And if you called the same then you need to talk to the owner about that tech or how they are cheating you... make sure you put in a bad review IF they do not get it fixed for free...

 

[gromit]

+1 on this!!!! It is the job of the original installer to install properly... if the heat is not working then they did not install properly... they should come out and get it right for FREE...


My question is why did you call a different company? And if you called the same then you need to talk to the owner about that tech or how they are cheating you... make sure you put in a bad review IF they do not get it fixed for free...

I called the same company. I agree they should've left me with working heat, which I had before they started. Had they done their job they might have discovered an already bad zone panel. Is the zone panel really bad? I can only guess yes because of the time the tech spent trying to diagnose it, but its possible the tech is dishonest and/or incompetent. I argued with the tech that if I chose to have them wire it back like it was ORIGINALLY, before they changed it, ie without the heat pump valve, that should be a part of the A/C installation at no expense to me. He disagreed and I was clear to him that I planned to talk to the owner about it.

One thing I need to resolve first is what do I want. Do I want to replace the board to use the heat pump, at some expense, probably by another company, or do I want to just not use the heat pump and fight with the original company over whether changing the wiring should be at their expense.
Thanks for the input.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Just to clarify - the repairman is a different person, but the same company as the original installer.

Time to have a chat with the company owner at your house.

FWIW , If you have good gas rates, skip the heat pump setup IMO, and leave the reversing valve disconnected. You will save a lot of grief in the long run. Just my 2 cents worth. Feel free to PM me on this if you want a very long winded opinion.

 

[travelover]

............FWIW , If you have good gas rates, skip the heat pump setup IMO, and leave the reversing valve disconnected. You will save a lot of grief in the long run...........

But if natural gas is inexpensive, why install a heat pump as opposed to an AC unit, at all?

 

[JoeWras]

But if natural gas is inexpensive, why install a heat pump as opposed to an AC unit, at all?

gromit will have to reply for their exact situation, but I can speak for the south in general.

There is (was) a lot of push for all electric homes in the south, especially 30 odd years ago. Many homes don't even have gas service.

This is changing, especially in light of the preference for gas cooking.

Anyway, call it a bias.

Personally, we have gas service and gas heat and water. However, when I had a second unit installed for upstairs, I opted for a heat pump to avoid running gas in the attic. The main downstairs heat takes most of the load to the upstairs anyway, so this actually works well, with very little need for auxiliary heat. I'm still very glad to have gas heat downstairs.

To babble a little further: many people these days are opting for the mini-split systems in our area for such upstairs or bonus room retro-fits. Some of them are pretty slick.

 

[gromit]

But if natural gas is inexpensive, why install a heat pump as opposed to an AC unit, at all?

I replaced the A/C during a heatwave. The installers ordered it from the supplier, and when they went to pick it up the supplier realized they didn't have it. The supplier decided to give them the next step up unit, 1 higher seer, that included a heat pump reversing valve for no extra charge. So the heat pump wasn't ordered, I just ended up with having it available on the unit.

 

[samclem]

Time to have a chat with the company owner at your house.

FWIW , If you have good gas rates, skip the heat pump setup IMO, and leave the reversing valve disconnected. You will save a lot of grief in the long run. Just my 2 cents worth. Feel free to PM me on this if you want a very long winded opinion.

^I would do this. ^
- Gas furnaces are less expensive than AC units, and considerably less expensive than heat pumps. Gas furnaces also tend to give less trouble. If the cost is nearly the same, I'd prefer to heat with gas and get a longer life from the AC unit.

- IF you can get them to fix the heat pump reversing valve to work with your present zoning panel (as it should have done from the start, when they replaced you AC with the heat pump), at no charge, then I'd do that. It gives you more options down the road (e.g. if the gas furnace crumps out and the weather isn't very cold (or if you have emergency electric resistance heat in the system), you'll have the ability to heat your home with the heat pump while you get the gas furnace fixed).

 

[ncbill]

I replaced my gas furnace/central AC with a heat pump (gas furnace backup) because the winter before natural gas had spiked to nearly $14/MMBtu, doubling the price/therm.

Of course, as soon as I did that prices dropped back under $3/MMBtu.

With gas so cheap I don't run the heat pump in winter...wish I hadn't paid extra for it now.

 

[travelover]

I replaced the A/C during a heatwave. The installers ordered it from the supplier, and when they went to pick it up the supplier realized they didn't have it. The supplier decided to give them the next step up unit, 1 higher seer, that included a heat pump reversing valve for no extra charge. So the heat pump wasn't ordered, I just ended up with having it available on the unit.

Thanks - this explains a lot.

 

[Lakewood90712]

I replaced the A/C during a heatwave. The installers ordered it from the supplier, and when they went to pick it up the supplier realized they didn't have it. The supplier decided to give them the next step up unit, 1 higher seer, that included a heat pump reversing valve for no extra charge. So the heat pump wasn't ordered, I just ended up with having it available on the unit.

I am guessing this is a split system, Outdoor unit and indoor coil at the furnace. When you say they replaced the A/C during the heat wave, was that everything including the indoor coil , except for the furnace ? if not , you have an a/c system with some extra, un needed parts in it. A lot more is involved in converting to a heat pump system than just swapping the outdoor unit and thermostat. A/C installers run the gammit, however, my experience is, most are poorly trained, poorly paid, and especially during a heat wave, competent , honest, HVAC tech's are almost as hard to find as Unicorns.

 

[gromit]

I am guessing this is a split system, Outdoor unit and indoor coil at the furnace. When you say they replaced the A/C during the heat wave, was that everything including the indoor coil , except for the furnace ? if not , you have an a/c system with some extra, un needed parts in it. A lot more is involved in converting to a heat pump system than just swapping the outdoor unit and thermostat. A/C installers run the gammit, however, my experience is, most are poorly trained, poorly paid, and especially during a heat wave, competent , honest, HVAC tech's are almost as hard to find as Unicorns.

Yes, they replaced both the outdoor unit and indoor coil.