I bought this house mid-April. When the inspector came out, he noted the A/C was not working (coming on but then immediately shutting off seconds later). The A/C had to be fixed by the seller as a condition of the sale. They did some stuff (I can’t read the scrawl on the ticket but I was told the major problem was it was needing freon, which was replaced) and it supposedly fixed the problem.
The A/C worked fine when we took possession; but then, it was still only April so most days it wasn’t even on. May came and it worked fine, but of course, it still wasn’t hot, just warm, upper 80s to low 90s stuff. Then we had a mini-heat wave in which temps hit 100° three days in a row, and my A/C never cycled and still it got no cooler than 77° in the house, with a mid-day high of 81°.
The seller bought a homeowners warranty (again as a condition of the sale) so I called them, they contacted their A/C company and the guy came out. He said it needed a pound of freon. I expressed surprise and mild doubt and showed him the ticket from the month earlier. He said that he couldn’t do a leak test on a first visit, but if there were still problems, to call the warranty company again, and at that time they would probably authorize it.
He left the thermostat on 75° when he left. All the rest of the day it stayed at 75°, and although I didn’t really pay attention, I also did not become aware that the A/C was not cycling (a vent blows on my left hand whilee I am at my desk, so after a while I notice it usually).
So, no problem. Or so I though. The next day the same thing - no lower than 77°, even though I hadn’t touched the thermostat since he left.
Five days later he comes back, did some extensive crawling around and says “when this unit was moved, they used two 9” intakes instead of one 12". I called my supplier and he said 9" is not enough, you need 12", so we’re going to have to put in a new intake duct for $700.00." I told him I’d think about it and get back to him.
I have several reasons to doubt this theory of his. First of all, he didn’t say the entire dimensions of the 9" ducts, but unless they are narrower than 8" (which I realize is entirely possible) then the two 9" ducts would provide MORE air return. Secondly, this house is almost 25 years old and has had two previous owners, and I have a very, very hard time believing both those families enjoyed living in a 81° house with the added luxury of electric bills that must have exceeded $300.00. But, most importantly - THIS UNIT HAS NEVER BEEN MOVED. It was replaced 11 years ago, but I looked at this same floor plan at least 3 times in my househunt, and they ALL had the air handler in the attic, just as mine is. For that matter, all the houses in this neighborhood that I looked at, as well as another addition built by the same builder, had the units in the attic. These are small duplexes and I am certain they were designed that way to allow for more usable floor space. So, the unit (and every other unit in this floor plan) was INSTALLED with the 9" ducts.
However, to complicate my decision-making process, I have one very good reason to believe his theory: it is obviously an intake problem because the refrigerated air was measuring 43°! And, in fact, I myself was beginning to wonder if it was an intake problem because, despite the fact that I own five cats, the filter still did not need replacing after a month.
Do I need to call my warranty company and insist they send out a technician from a different company, or do I need to fish out my credit card before it REALLY gets hot and get the 12" duct? If this theory sounds wonky, what other possibility could it be?
I got laid off shortly after moving in, so right now money is tight, or I’d just hire my own A/C company to get a third opinion. Or just go ahead and get the duct but put it on my card so if that didn’t solve the problem I cuold dispute it through my credit card company. But since living expenses may well be put on credit cards by the end of summer if I haven’t found a job, I don’t want to put what may be unnecessary “repairs” against my limit.
Thanks in advance.