Finding a good air con tech?

[OnMyWay]

I will start a new thread, rather than hijack Rooster's post.

I had another thread about new air cons, but I need to do more due diligence on keeping my old ones and saving some money.  Seems that a few here have some sound experience with aircons, so I will ask for advice and/or things to look out for as I move forward.

I bought a "new" house that I am starting renovations on.  It has 6 Teco split air cons.  I suspect they were purchased in either 2017 or 2015, thus 7 to 9 years old. I'm not sure if they are inverters.  I will see if the Teco dealer can tell me more about them.  Five of them work but don't seem to cool that well.  The 6th had a sticker on it to not use, and the previous owner told me that the drain pipe was clogged.  The house had a renter for most of those years so I doubt that they were maintained much.  Also, they look old, which indicates not much cleaning.  My Carriers on my last house are nine years old and still look good.

Any ideas on how to find a good tech who can give them a fair evaluation and/or cleaning?  I have been using the company that I bought the Carriers from, and they are ok for the usual cleaning, but I want somebody who is more advanced.  Teco has an office here.  Perhaps I should start there, or ?????

The indoor units have yellowed and thus don't look good.  I was thinking about painting them with a high gloss white.  My friend had what seems like a good idea.  Perhaps I could have them "wrapped" like they do with cars now.  Any downsides to either of these ideas?

All input is appreciated!

[Possum]

I would suggest you educate yourself a little so you know the questions to ask, here's a Youtube video.

 

Simply asking them if they have a micron gauge is a good first question. Show them a photo of one. If they don't recognize move on to the next guy.

Some of these guys get real defensive if you start questioning them, usually an indication that they aren't very knowledgeable. I had to train the guy that did my initial multi-split install. He enjoyed learning and even bought some new tools, like valve core removers, micron gauge and a larger vacuum hose.

Get the units cleaned and drains clear before anything else though.

Good luck

[hk blues]

17 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I will start a new thread, rather than hijack Rooster's post.

I had another thread about new air cons, but I need to do more due diligence on keeping my old ones and saving some money.  Seems that a few here have some sound experience with aircons, so I will ask for advice and/or things to look out for as I move forward.

I bought a "new" house that I am starting renovations on.  It has 6 Teco split air cons.  I suspect they were purchased in either 2017 or 2015, thus 7 to 9 years old. I'm not sure if they are inverters.  I will see if the Teco dealer can tell me more about them.  Five of them work but don't seem to cool that well.  The 6th had a sticker on it to not use, and the previous owner told me that the drain pipe was clogged.  The house had a renter for most of those years so I doubt that they were maintained much.  Also, they look old, which indicates not much cleaning.  My Carriers on my last house are nine years old and still look good.

Any ideas on how to find a good tech who can give them a fair evaluation and/or cleaning?  I have been using the company that I bought the Carriers from, and they are ok for the usual cleaning, but I want somebody who is more advanced.  Teco has an office here.  Perhaps I should start there, or ?????

The indoor units have yellowed and thus don't look good.  I was thinking about painting them with a high gloss white.  My friend had what seems like a good idea.  Perhaps I could have them "wrapped" like they do with cars now.  Any downsides to either of these ideas?

All input is appreciated!

Finding a good A/C guy is like the needle in the haystack - in the normal world we'd simply ask friends/neighbours for recommendations but I've found that doesn't necessarily work here.  The options are to use the A/C companies themselves or an independent contractor - purely from personal experience I've found that independent contractors tend to be better but you need to find a good one first.

As for painting the indoor units - yes, it's doable.  If at all possible, remove the casing from the frame first so as to avoid getting spray on the coils and electrics etc - otherwise you'll need to do a fair bit of taping but hey ho.  You'll need to prime first and then use an aerosol spray rather than brush if you want a good finish. I've seen some paint them black or other colors to blend in with the room color scheme.  

 

[OnMyWay]

44 minutes ago, hk blues said:

in the normal world we'd simply ask friends/neighbours for recommendations but I've found that doesn't necessarily work here. 

Ben der, dun dat.  He didn't work out.

One problem is, if the tech is associated with a sales office, they may not give an unbiased opinion.  Even if not directly affiliated with a sales office, surely a tech might get something for referrals?  AKA, a kickback?

[hk blues]

15 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

Ben der, dun dat.  He didn't work out.

One problem is, if the tech is associated with a sales office, they may not give an unbiased opinion.  Even if not directly affiliated with a sales office, surely a tech might get something for referrals?  AKA, a kickback?

Agreed - that's why I said 'in the real world..." in my post. I've found here that everyone knows someone who can do whatever is wanted - a function of the kickback system and the tendency here to want to be seen to be helpful to put some credit in the bank for the relationship or sometimes just being plain and simple helpful.

You're right that some techs might be affiliated to particular brands; not really what I meant by independent contractor.  I mean a guy who runs his own business and has no affinity to a particular brand and indeed who earns money purely by repairing a/cs rather than selling them - they therefore have an incentive to not simply take the easy way out and recommend replacing. I know this has the inherent risk of paying for repairs which are not always necessary or even beneficial but whatcha gonna do?   We've used 2 and happy with both - the 1st took a look and said sorry, nothing I can do (which confirmed the A/C company's diagnosis) which is fair enough.  The 2nd was able to quickly diagnose the problem (a different unit) and repaired with no further issues.  

[intrepid]

We used a local with bad results for cleaning two times.  I was not going to take a chance with another.  Did a little research and located this company,... https://teko.ph/  we used them many times and always top notch.  They supply a factory trained certified tech for your brand.  Cost is just a little higher than local but well worth it.  They were always on time and great communication with the tech and the company.  The only issue they may not service your area.

[intrepid]

Oh, and BTW, I would not use these guys.

[OnMyWay]

6 hours ago, intrepid said:

We used a local with bad results for cleaning two times.  I was not going to take a chance with another.  Did a little research and located this company,... https://teko.ph/  we used them many times and always top notch.  They supply a factory trained certified tech for your brand.  Cost is just a little higher than local but well worth it.  They were always on time and great communication with the tech and the company.  The only issue they may not service your area.

Unfortunately, they don't service this area.

[OnMyWay]

On 1/29/2024 at 9:53 PM, Possum said:

Simply asking them if they have a micron gauge is a good first question.

I think the guys I have been using for the last 9 years do have one, but I will need to double check.

[OnMyWay]

On 1/29/2024 at 9:53 PM, Possum said:

 

Simply asking them if they have a micron gauge is a good first question.

Of course big tech is spying on us, and this popped up on FB.  There are more pictures but this one showed some equipment.  I have never heard of this company in the area.  Anybody heard of them?  I sent them a message.