Thanks for the response. I do understand completely that the business of HVAC business is a huge load and often when the fiscal towel is wringed out there is little left. And I also know and acknowledge that there are many good honest contractors. My example is not intended to disparage all, just the ones who place the black eye on their industry.

I wish you the best of luck with your business and thank you for being one of the good guys.

btw…. I looked at your website. Very nice.

Boyd

The HVAC business overhead is the main killer of the business and leaves little in the way of profits. It’s not uncommon for annual earning to be as little as 5% after factoring city licence fees and permits, state contractor license fees, bond insurance, workmens comp insurance, contractors liability insurance, medical benefits, not to mention the most biggist of all which is: advertisement costs news paper, several yellow book directories, internet clicks, and tools, vehicle purchases and maintance cost; and finally federal and state board francise tax. Oh, and of course before I forget, the HVAC commercial building has other astronomical costs, building insurance, office workers, utility bills, telephone bills, not only the office, but the technicians have them too. And add office supplies, invoices and business cards, accounting cost.

While it’s easy to be shortsighted on percieved abuses, the broad picture is not pretty for the contractor either. The contractor is constantly being undermined by the technician when he does side jobs that take away from the contractor who has to play by the rules. I really don’t know of a contractor who is doing well these days. I have recently noticeD a HVAC parts house displaying a large banner saying “OPEN TO THE PUBLIC”. Now what does that say to that would have been 5% profit margin?

As it is right now, I can’t afford to hire any employees, so I do as much work as I can myself. That spells trouble when you have unavoidable overhead costs that can’t be met. So remember the true price parts of those installations is really in the cost of being able to provide a professional consumer safe service.

If he worked with a really good company and saw how a true flat rate benefits the customer, he would change his mind.

My customers love the flat rate. It’s no different than going to the store to buy something. The price is on the product at your favorite store so you have the choice to buy it or not to buy it. The difference is reputation of the company.

What this guys is missing is a technician that has the heart and mind of a teacher to educate the homeowner about their repair. Communication and honesty is the main obstacle, not the flat rate.

The fact that you have not seen this before indicates a problem. What you are probably seeing is condensation that normally drains away from your indoor coil (that square box you refer to). You should have a drain line, either pvc, plastic or rubber leading away from your unit. That is the condensate return drain line. That line is probably clogged somewhere between where it leaves the unit and where it empties into a drain. I would bet that it is right where the drain line is connected to the unit.

If you can get to the end that drains out, you can possible blow the
obstruction back into the unit and free the flow up. The best is to remove this drain line and clear any obstruction.

I will warn though that another possibility is that the drain pan that the condensate falls into before exiting the unit could be cracked. If that is the case, replacement of the drain pan is about the only option.

Be careful not to invest too much into a 15 year old system. It is at the very end of it’s life (13.72 years is the manufactures expected longevity).

If you do decide to replace your system and are interested in saving up to 50% off, consider a partial do it yourself project where you purchase the system direct and then utilize a local contractor to hook up the system. Here is a site that will give you an idea of system costs, and they have a free report that will help help you wade through the process. http://www.homeairdirect.com

Good luck with your A/C issue.

Boyd @ Ask Boyd.com

We recently purchased a 15+ year old home from the original owner. We have an original Janitrol AC unit that is installed in the garage. We’ve recently had a series of 100+ degree days (in California). Tonight we noticed water around the base upon which the unit sits. Could this be just condensation? There is a small box on top of a larger rectangle box that has a hole that looks like it is missing a plug (we thing that is where the water is coming from). The unit is cooling the house - no changes in functioning. We haven’t noticed the water before. Oh yea, we have a home warranty. Thoughts???