I’m an hvac installer and you did exactly what they should have done, they were just trying to get that commission spiff and not go thru having to fix that good work
It’s not like the small HVAC guys. They fix units. Big HVAC companies sell new parts. They try to sell units to people who don’t know or shop. Customers are vulnerable to Heat. Cold days or. Hot ! Days. And they use that to their benefit. I own property and learned just as much about HVAC. From them trying to rip me off. I can buy parts from distributors. A 2.5 ton unit is about $600. Labor is $550. Lil guy not big boys.
I hate paying (getting ripped off) for stuff I can repair myself. Your video is inspiring. I’ll have to take my unit apart to diagnose but I think the pan is corroded or cracked. Sigh. I see a big bill if I let someone else do this. Thanks for the video. TH-cam is like that knowledgeable dad who teaches. Something I never had.
So sad. Many dishonest people in the HVAC field, and also shoddy work. Finding a good one is hard because it usually depends on which HVAC employee shows up to do the job. Some are lazy and some are dishonest. Good techs are like cold gold but it's always a gamble. So happy you figured it out yourself and saved tons of money.
Thanks for posting, this was helpful. My 35 year old Lennox air handler finally developed a leak in the drip pan. I dread calling for service knowing there's a good chance of being told to replace the entire system, inside and out, to the tune of several thousand dollars. On top of that, the newer equipment wouldn't stand a chance to last as long as the old Lennox. I do all my own maintenance and plan to see if I can repair the leak my self.
Great video and I admire your investigative initiative... Like any system, it is simple if you can break it down into components. I once had a dead AC unit and paid a repairman $65 to troubleshoot and provide a quote to fix it. He quickly pulled the motherboard out and showed me a clear plastic box surrounding a contactor which was blackened and not working and told me the board would cost $500 and another $500 for labor to replace it. When he left, I took the motherboard out and cut the clear plastic cover off of the contactor with a red hot razor knife. I then pulled a strip of 200 grit sandpaper until there was matching metal contacting each other. I cleaned it with alcohol then siliconed the plastic box back over the contactor. It worked like a charm for years afterward for $65 to the AC tech who showed me exactly what the problem was!!! Amazing what you can do when you dig in and figure it out with advice of a professional.
@@Matt-hr5ng I called a “professional” because I didn’t feel comfortable and trusted them. Everything they told me didn’t make sense. If they had just been honest with me then this would not have happened. I am in no way digging what professionals do, just be honest In your dealings and you won’t have problems.
@@randomjack1 im talking about this guy that called a tech to diagnose what was wrong then repair himself instead of rewarding him with business and the two techs you called are idiots diagnosing bad compressors they probably quoted you a know coil
@@randomjack1 to be fair this project would have costed you around 600$ with my company, the way you did it was risky I hope you understand the coil could have fallen and gotten damaged beyond reasonable repair you could’ve easily kinked the lineset etc I would have pumped down the system aka remove the Freon and pulled it out and changed the pan but that’s a 5 hour job at a minimum, the reason most Hvac guys don’t do this is because of risk vs pay if they messed something up they would have no choice but to replace it because that system runs on old refrigerant no coil/condenser is available for purchase anymore so it’s not worth your while but you should have been offered that option I’m not quite sure why not just curious did you ever calculate how long it took you? Awesome video bro!
Your guidance is simple and effective for dealing with AC coil drain pan leaks. We're your one-stop shop for genuine Goodman AC evaporator coil replacement parts.
This is important, read this whole thread. I too have been scammed to buy new units, but I found one tech that found the problem with my freezing coils and dripping water. Low R-410A refrigerant. I thought finally found someone I can trust. Well not so fast, last 2 visits seemed suspicious and I paid a few hundred each time. So I decided to get certified and I learned a lot. Like it’s obvious and 1st thing you learn is how to fix a freezing coil. And then the other suspicious things are bs too. In your situation if your using R-22 refrigerant and they believed your coils were freezing and dripping water in unwanted places, then well they don’t have it anymore and try to sell a new outside condenser to give you R-410A. So that makes sense. But they totally missed the obvious because of laziness to get down and dirty and open the indoor air handler to the degree you did. Regardless it looked scary but you succeeded. Playing the devils advocate, if and soon you’re going to need more R-22 then you’ll be back to the same situation unfortunately.
It's also important to make sure the refrigerant tubing/lines/coils aren't rubbing on anything, including the pan. If any of these lines (copper and/or aluminum) are rubbing or contacting a surface unintentionally in such a way they're abraided, holes can develop from rubbing action of vibration. Be very careful as the coil tubing especially, is very thin.
Safety first fellas. Screw the AC take a look at that heat exchanger. Looks like it's developed severe temperature stress points. I would highly recommend doing a thorough inspection on that heat exchanger.
I made a mistake on a goodman coil that was metal pan found a used pan from a goodman airhandler well it melted i do believe coil above furnace straight ac drain pan made for higher temperatures
Great Job! Yeah, todays "Tech's" really don't want to mess with units like yours as there is really no money in it for them. Kind of silly to quote you a "Compressor" which I suspect was a whole new system, both indoor and out to fix a simple drip problem. My neighbor had a blower fan go out on her indoor unit last week, and the tech came out, correctly found the variable speed motor was bad ( I diagnosed it for her in advance of his arrival and told her she had a bad fan motor). and then he proceed to tell her that her old R22 unit needed a fan motor for $1500 or he could stick in a generic fixed speed motor for $650. It's a little house with a 3 ton unit in it and the generic would have worked just fine on the single speed R22 condenser unit. Her husband opted for the variable speed solution for some unknown reason (I'm sure they used some crazy scare tactic on him to convince him that's what he needed), but that was before the sales guy showed up to sell them a new unit for $6800. Anyway, for some unknown reason, the "Tech" thought it was a good idea to inject the system with dye!!! WTF, there was no indication the unit was low on R22 as it has been running great all summer and was sweating and pulling heat out of the house just fine as expected. The condenser is protected and lives in the shade under a carport. There was no oil anywhere inside or outside, and nothing wrong with the condensing unit at all. Only the inside fan needed to be replaced. It kind of pissed me off when I heard they did that to that perfectly running unit for no reason other than to run the bill up on them... Anyway, they are getting a new cheap unit installed by this same company on Monday instead of installing a cheap fan motor. Makes no sense to me, but hey, it's not my money, but it irritates me when companies do this to people. I'm positive the could have gotten many more productive years out of this old unit and could have made the change to the new R32 based units or something similar after the big refrigerant changeover from R410 to the next generation refrigerant, but now they will be stuck with an R410 unit and will likely have to replace it sooner than expected due to the inability to get R410 in the future at a reasonable price should the new cheap unit start leaking which you know it will. Oh well, whatcha ya gonna do... Anyway, great job on your drain pan change out. I'm sure that old R22 unit will continue to work good for years to come as long as you keep it clean.
Its simply amazes me technicians or people would try and take advantage of someone when now days people only get youtube and find the content relating to there issue. At this moment and time my furance is leaking because of the AC coil's not draining off correctly.
If those other techs work for larger companies I would 100% make my complaints known, that is highway robbery what they were trying to get you to go along with. Unscrupulous bastards. Good video, btw, and good diagnosing work and repairs on your part 👍🏻
I'm having a similar problem. Your video is greatly appreciated. My HVAC guy wants to do a bunch of work to correct things but is not initially checking the pan. I don't understand his thinking other than he can charge me a lot of money.
Get 2 no hub connectors for that 3 inch flue pipe . Cut the flue pipe and remove the coil straight out the front Like it’s suppose to be removed . Change pan then Slide back in. So much easier than you did it. As a owner we know customers don’t know how , but you definately got the job done and that’s all that matters
Very disappointing if they told you it was bad compressor when it’s just a leaky drain pan. I’m a certified HVAC technician and just want to say not all techs are just trying to steal your money but these guys were clearly just trying to make a quick buck. Be carful who you hire and great video 👍
Heres another perspective coming from an Hvac tech.. the reason they quoted you 6k to replace is due to callbacks. For example, if we did that same repair you did, and something completely unrelated happened to condensate drain. There are alot of customers out there that will try to sue and blame us even when we try to do them a favor. It's not always us trying to make a comission.
If you have to cut the fron lines take an allen wrench shut off the liquid line close the suctio line down and back it off turn the ac on and pump all the freon in the compressor due your repair re braze it go to harbor freight buy a vacuum pump run it for two hours and then releases the freon should be fine
Same situation, but NO REPLACEMENT pan available,.....I MADE a pan out of sheet metal and a bending tool, then SEALED it all up with high temp drain pan spray from the HVAC supply house. it has been working for about 10 years now. wont rust because coated in high temp rubber coating.
I remember the day in the worst of the heat, when the AC cycled off, I was wondering why I could hear what sounded like a waterfall coming from the other side of the garage wall. Yeap clogged and rusty pan.
Apparently, your condensation catch pan was broken by mishandling during the original installation. You should have considered installing the new catch pan inside the top of the plenum below the coil. You'll need to install a new drain line for that. Your video didn't include any maintenance of the drain lines. The next time that you service it, you'll find it filled with crud, and if it was like mine, the P-trap was clogged with little stone balls. You should consider replacing the simple PVC elbows with three-way couplings that could allow access to clear the line with a flexible drain sweep or wire. Use a PVC plug for the third hole when not being serviced.
The float switch will cause the unit to turn off if the drain pan stops draining for some reason so the water doesn't flood the floor and possibly damage the furnace and items with water. The float switch screws into the second port next to the condensation line and get wired into the control wiring to simply keep the outdoor compressor from running if the switch is triggered by excess water. The switch is not expensive and may save you having to deal with a water mess if she gets a backed up condensate drain line.
Are you a seasoned DIY guy? I have a cracked pan for a hvac in a closet so space is very limited. Do you have any suggestions for lifting the coils up when I can’t access the back or around the unit?
Mine is in a tight closet but the vent is next to it. I'll see if I can access it. I glued an area in the front but of course it didn't stop leaking. My total estimate is about 7000. I see no tax so I assume there's another 700 on that. Nope!
As an HVAC Technician id say the only thing id do differently is insulate the transition between furnace and coil and add a secondary safty switch tothe upper stub out.
This is a DIY post. Most of us aren't professionals, so it would help if you explained more in your post. I'd bet most of us (including me) don't know what a "safty switch" or "stub out" are.
This is what really pisses me off about the HVAC industry. Their knee-jerk reaction is almost always to replace major components of an AC system if it is a unit older than 5 years. You can almost see them salivating over the potential to nail you for a gigantic bill because of all the profits they make in overcharging you for their parts (which they get at cheap wholesale prices) and for their ridiculous labor charges. They've been after me for 25 years to replace my original Goodman unit, and I've simply had very specific work done as needed, with a lot of DIY as well and individual components ordered and replaced (usually by me) and that's kept the system going. And with new regulations, you are technically supposed to redo your whole airflow calculations. And they'll tell you "well, if you're going to replace both of my AC systems (evap & condenser), then you probably should replace your old ducting as well, yadda yadda yadda. All told, it would be something like 16-20K for me to do all that work. Nope. Been happily cooling my house without any of that nonsense for 25 years and going, all with cheap parts and occasional refrigerant recharges. (And... I live in S FL which is brutal on AC systems running all year round).
Good job! Are you sure the $6000 wasn't for a complete new system (outside unit and evaporator coils? It would be interesting to see what your HVAC guy would have said after changing out just your outside unit because clearly the cracked evaporator pan would continue to leak. Your pan was breaking apart, but if it was just a small crack, I think you could use some JB Weld Steelstik epoxy putty to patch the crack for $5.
100% he was quoted for a new unit, and tried passing it off as 6k for a drain pan. no company ever would go for that. they likely thought his system was dated with the r22 he mentioned and just tried to get him to upgrade to a new unit
He never said they quoted him 6k for a drain pan. His complaint and mine would be too. A 12 year old system is not dated. There are plenty of parts to fix and not have to replace. Good job to this guy here fixing is stuff and not falling for the bs of everything that isn’t new is junk.
I woke in HVAC and do my best to save customer money if I can fix the older unit Get some more life out of it . But if I had to guess Almost 100% chance the techs. Quoted him a new condensing unit outside with new evap coils inside and possibly gas heater also for $6,000 atleast the evap coil and condensing a new compressor no way $6,000 alone
Gordon's in Oklahoma City did the same thing to me they weren't even out there that long cost me $280 they said it only cost me a hundred bucks for them to look at it said I need a new unit called smaller company and they fixed it for $250 bucks started not cooling and I noticed my cold line installation was just hanging off collecting water so I insulated that running a lot better
they werent trying to rip him off. the drain pan being damaged and he has an r22 unit, its liability to try and fix it. not to mention, i guarantee that 6k figure was for a full replacement, not a drain pan. they just wanted to try and fix it without having liability and being sued if they messed the old system up more trying to fix it
As a retired HVAC contractor we'll done. Sorry to say more contractors are more into pushing installs than making a repair that will work for less. Guess it comes down to greed. Even if they pumped freon into condenser and cut away freon lines pulled coil out would have been alot less than 6000. Seeing makes me ashamed of what my profession has come. Have a blessed day
Hopefully you caught it in time, because leaking water will rust out the furnace below the coil. You probably realize it was more than the cost that made you pause, but the complete misdiagnosis that would not have fixed anything. Unless … the $6K included a new coil box, which makes more sense. Most HVAC guys are installers, not repairmen.
Good job bro. I love keeping money in my pocket just sucks you couldn’t find a good hvac person that would have just replaced the bad pan at a reasonable cost instead of them trying to pad their pockets with a new sale.
You were very lucky to find a replacement pan from a company that is still in business. Mine is some POS system built by a POS company that went out of business decades ago. It too is a freon system that I can't afford to touch.
Maintenance man said I needed a new drip pan in the attic and he had 2order the pan He said it cost $240 and to put it in will be $700. Sounds extremely high jus to put new pan in?
@@kimnunn4666 what kind of drip pan? We don’t call them drip pans. There is an emergency drain pan that is under the whole unit. That’s probably what he’s talking about not the coil drain pan. But idk. I wouldn’t let most maintenance men touch anything of mine though. Why don’t you call a heating and air guy? If it’s the actual coil drain pan, the entire thing has to come apart to get it replaced. If it’s the emergency drain pan then the whole unit has to be lifted up to put a new one under it. I’d probably charge about $450 or so for either job. $700 does seem steep but idk the situation.
Just bought a house 8 months ago and now mines cracked and leaking and I got a 3000 quote to fix it and damn I wish I knew how to do anything diy like this cuz 3k seems insane.
literally not the truth. a lot of guys out there dont make extra money diagnosing bad ac's. most guy just want to get the shit fixed and move on. you can say the same thing about car mechanics, or literally any other trade out there. i take it you arent in a trade or else you wouldnt say dumb ass shit like that
It's not "a/c guys" specifically, it's all service technicians, and it's not necessarily their fault. EVERYTHING is made to be hard to repair and easy to replace.
Im in schools now for hvac and yes those technicians were in fact cheating you😐 a drain pan leak has nothing to do with a compressor , but you would have a job of replacing the pan which is costly
@@randomjack1 There is a real possibility that your furnace is running too hot for your plastic pan. (You fixed your leak but not your heat problem.) Check your evaporator fan capacitor to ensure it is healthy. A bad fan or capacitor can slow the cfms to your heat exchanger, resulting in a higher temperature which causes hair line cracks in your plastic pan. This can also occur if your gas flame is not adjusted properly or you have a cracked heat exchanger. Also, if the furnace is oversized for the ductwork (system lacking air flow due to smaller than needed intake ductwork) this will probably happen again. You really need to address the problem that initially caused this.
@@testtesting2868 great points! I think for me, I know my unit is old on the outside and will go out anytime. If it took 15 years for that pan to crack, then I guess I was willing to take that risk 🤷♂️
@@randomjack1 The reality is, it only took enough time to crack your pan as you have been overheating it. (May have only been a few hours of a recent undiagnosed problem.) Pay attention to your high limit flame cut off switch. If it is switching on / off during your heating season, the pan won't last long and the problem will need to be addressed and possibly a new pan will be needed again. Good luck!
Please do a co test the pan may have overheated due to a crack in the heat exchanger if this is the case you could be slowly poising your self make sure you have a working carbon monoxide detector
Ok , that's good. , but you forgot a couple key things . If you ever worked in the field you would know that there are times where you walk up to this and not only has the data platebeen removed so has the inner tag. And the evap is connected to a goodman condsner. Now you have no way of knowing model or serial or even the maker so yes you can get the dimensions but without those 3 things your guessing now. And I notice that you said tommorrow you wi finish that part up How many hours did this whole thing take you? Guessing 8 to 12 hours we kready know you recorded 2 different days. See thats the thing so.e people see this and it takes 14 minutes to watch and then the viewer not knowing and or the king that every set is different so can not really compare to this. And those HVAC guys could have installed you a new system in the same amount of time. And if they was to do what you did and they charge by the hour us any .arterial then it would be a highball not 6 gut difibetalky a couple thousand.so be sure to give the over looked detailed ok thank yku
He lucky he plastic drain pan. If metal drain pan he impossible to anything with that. Possible he got the old system the AC guy price out the whole new unit for him
Yes, and if a refrigerant leak occurs shortly afterward, there would be no guaranty or warranty for repair and replacement. So it's a very risky repair. Can it be done? Yes of course! Is this repair cost effective? Certainly not, if done on an hourly labor basis as you clearly described.
You are right, it didn’t. The repair man wanted 6k to replace the compressor and coils and never disclosed that all was wrong was the pan. The pan only cost like $75z
Cannot understand what the hell you are talking about. your audio and video both are craps. Camera moving too fast here and there. watch 1000 videos and then put yours. Lousy works get thumbs down here. I disliked your video.
You are lucky that nail holding your coil up didn't bend/break or your coil would have fallen twisting those freon lines and you'd lose it all. Recently a guy estimated he would charge me $2K to do a freon recharge with mandatory leak find/fix. Fortunately before paying for a freon recharge, I checked everything else and the problem was a compressor capacitor failed. Wish I had that space between my furnace and coil you have, cause my metal drip pan has rust all over and I'm trying to treat it chemically so it will last another 5 years. Be a lot safer just to replace it, but without the space between the furnace an coil, I can't get a new one in, if I could even buy one for a 42 yo system.
Are you a seasoned DIY guy? I have cracked pan in a closet so space is very limited. Do you have any suggestions for lifting the coils up when I can’t access the back or around the unit?
wakawaka1976 man... that seems like a tough one... before replacing the pan, have you thought about maybe fixing it? How bad is the leak? I was going to go to the local auto parts store and buy a fiberglass fiberglass repair kit... until I figured I could do this. As for lifting your pan, I’d say it sounds like teamwork. You’d probably need to disconnect the sides and front still and have someone (or two someone’s) help you lift the coil. Ideally you’d have the replacement on hand that way you could lift and replace in one swoop. Could that work?
Joshua Slater thanks for the tips. I believe the leak is in the far back side. It’s in a closet so we have about 8”-10” on either side. So kind of imagine two people trying to fit in a coat closet... I’m glad it’s not in the attic but the space to maneuver would have been nice. Do you have any idea how heavy your coils were? I’ve bought epoxy but since I can’t locate the crack it’s pretty useless. I’m striking out here
wakawaka1976 how old is your unit? The only other idea I have is to completely disconnect the coil to remove. This issue with that is having to recharge the system. You’d probably want to get that quoted prior to beginning that. My cool was probably 40lds. So not terminally heavy.
I’m an hvac installer and you did exactly what they should have done, they were just trying to get that commission spiff and not go thru having to fix that good work
Why would an HVAC tech want to change an outside compressor for an indoor air handler leak? 😂
It’s not like the small HVAC guys. They fix units. Big HVAC companies sell new parts. They try to sell units to people who don’t know or shop. Customers are vulnerable to Heat. Cold days or. Hot ! Days. And they use that to their benefit. I own property and learned just as much about HVAC. From them trying to rip me off. I can buy parts from distributors. A 2.5 ton unit is about $600. Labor is $550. Lil guy not big boys.
@@ragger26 whats the tonnage on a 1200 sq foot condo ?
It's the men like you who saved Apollo-13.
Ha ha 😂
I hate paying (getting ripped off) for stuff I can repair myself. Your video is inspiring. I’ll have to take my unit apart to diagnose but I think the pan is corroded or cracked. Sigh. I see a big bill if I let someone else do this. Thanks for the video.
TH-cam is like that knowledgeable dad who teaches. Something I never had.
I was wondering what that tray looked like, thanks for posting this.
So sad. Many dishonest people in the HVAC field, and also shoddy work. Finding a good one is hard because it usually depends on which HVAC employee shows up to do the job. Some are lazy and some are dishonest. Good techs are like cold gold but it's always a gamble. So happy you figured it out yourself and saved tons of money.
Thanks for posting, this was helpful. My 35 year old Lennox air handler finally developed a leak in the drip pan. I dread calling for service knowing there's a good chance of being told to replace the entire system, inside and out, to the tune of several thousand dollars. On top of that, the newer equipment wouldn't stand a chance to last as long as the old Lennox. I do all my own maintenance and plan to see if I can repair the leak my self.
Awesome! Glad it helped!
Great video and I admire your investigative initiative... Like any system, it is simple if you can break it down into components. I once had a dead AC unit and paid a repairman $65 to troubleshoot and provide a quote to fix it. He quickly pulled the motherboard out and showed me a clear plastic box surrounding a contactor which was blackened and not working and told me the board would cost $500 and another $500 for labor to replace it. When he left, I took the motherboard out and cut the clear plastic cover off of the contactor with a red hot razor knife. I then pulled a strip of 200 grit sandpaper until there was matching metal contacting each other. I cleaned it with alcohol then siliconed the plastic box back over the contactor. It worked like a charm for years afterward for $65 to the AC tech who showed me exactly what the problem was!!! Amazing what you can do when you dig in and figure it out with advice of a professional.
Absolutely!
Next time don’t call a professional to waste our time, figure it out yourself
@@Matt-hr5ng I called a “professional” because I didn’t feel comfortable and trusted them. Everything they told me didn’t make sense. If they had just been honest with me then this would not have happened. I am in no way digging what professionals do, just be honest In your dealings and you won’t have problems.
@@randomjack1 im talking about this guy that called a tech to diagnose what was wrong then repair himself instead of rewarding him with business and the two techs you called are idiots diagnosing bad compressors they probably quoted you a know coil
@@randomjack1 to be fair this project would have costed you around 600$ with my company, the way you did it was risky I hope you understand the coil could have fallen and gotten damaged beyond reasonable repair you could’ve easily kinked the lineset etc
I would have pumped down the system aka remove the Freon and pulled it out and changed the pan but that’s a 5 hour job at a minimum, the reason most Hvac guys don’t do this is because of risk vs pay if they messed something up they would have no choice but to replace it because that system runs on old refrigerant no coil/condenser is available for purchase anymore so it’s not worth your while but you should have been offered that option I’m not quite sure why not
just curious did you ever calculate how long it took you? Awesome video bro!
Unbelievable that you did that without ac knowledge. Great job.
I appreciate that!
Your guidance is simple and effective for dealing with AC coil drain pan leaks. We're your one-stop shop for genuine Goodman AC evaporator coil replacement parts.
This is important, read this whole thread.
I too have been scammed to buy new units, but I found one tech that found the problem with my freezing coils and dripping water. Low R-410A refrigerant. I thought finally found someone I can trust. Well not so fast, last 2 visits seemed suspicious and I paid a few hundred each time. So I decided to get certified and I learned a lot. Like it’s obvious and 1st thing you learn is how to fix a freezing coil. And then the other suspicious things are bs too.
In your situation if your using R-22 refrigerant and they believed your coils were freezing and dripping water in unwanted places, then well they don’t have it anymore and try to sell a new outside condenser to give you R-410A. So that makes sense. But they totally missed the obvious because of laziness to get down and dirty and open the indoor air handler to the degree you did. Regardless it looked scary but you succeeded. Playing the devils advocate, if and soon you’re going to need more R-22 then you’ll be back to the same situation unfortunately.
Would you believe it, this unit is over 20 years old and still kicking! 💪
It's also important to make sure the refrigerant tubing/lines/coils aren't rubbing on anything, including the pan. If any of these lines (copper and/or aluminum) are rubbing or contacting a surface unintentionally in such a way they're abraided, holes can develop from rubbing action of vibration. Be very careful as the coil tubing especially, is very thin.
Your video is awesome and inspiring. Your step by step explanation are spot on. THANK YOU for sharing your tenacity and getting this done. Thank you
So glad it helped!! 👍
Safety first fellas. Screw the AC take a look at that heat exchanger. Looks like it's developed severe temperature stress points. I would highly recommend doing a thorough inspection on that heat exchanger.
I made a mistake on a goodman coil that was metal pan found a used pan from a goodman airhandler well it melted i do believe coil above furnace straight ac drain pan made for higher temperatures
I think the 6000 price speaks to the repairmen telling you they just didn't want to replace the pan. They knew the pan could be replaced
Great Job! Yeah, todays "Tech's" really don't want to mess with units like yours as there is really no money in it for them. Kind of silly to quote you a "Compressor" which I suspect was a whole new system, both indoor and out to fix a simple drip problem. My neighbor had a blower fan go out on her indoor unit last week, and the tech came out, correctly found the variable speed motor was bad ( I diagnosed it for her in advance of his arrival and told her she had a bad fan motor). and then he proceed to tell her that her old R22 unit needed a fan motor for $1500 or he could stick in a generic fixed speed motor for $650. It's a little house with a 3 ton unit in it and the generic would have worked just fine on the single speed R22 condenser unit. Her husband opted for the variable speed solution for some unknown reason (I'm sure they used some crazy scare tactic on him to convince him that's what he needed), but that was before the sales guy showed up to sell them a new unit for $6800. Anyway, for some unknown reason, the "Tech" thought it was a good idea to inject the system with dye!!! WTF, there was no indication the unit was low on R22 as it has been running great all summer and was sweating and pulling heat out of the house just fine as expected. The condenser is protected and lives in the shade under a carport. There was no oil anywhere inside or outside, and nothing wrong with the condensing unit at all. Only the inside fan needed to be replaced. It kind of pissed me off when I heard they did that to that perfectly running unit for no reason other than to run the bill up on them... Anyway, they are getting a new cheap unit installed by this same company on Monday instead of installing a cheap fan motor. Makes no sense to me, but hey, it's not my money, but it irritates me when companies do this to people. I'm positive the could have gotten many more productive years out of this old unit and could have made the change to the new R32 based units or something similar after the big refrigerant changeover from R410 to the next generation refrigerant, but now they will be stuck with an R410 unit and will likely have to replace it sooner than expected due to the inability to get R410 in the future at a reasonable price should the new cheap unit start leaking which you know it will. Oh well, whatcha ya gonna do... Anyway, great job on your drain pan change out. I'm sure that old R22 unit will continue to work good for years to come as long as you keep it clean.
Love it!
You did a great job. I noticed that you do not have a pee trap on your drain. Add that and you will improve performance and lower your humidity.
Your drain in a furnace is under positive pressure. No need for a p-trap. It is required on an Air Handler.
No idea how I found this but nice job and good work saying screw the 6k misdiagnosis
💪
Its simply amazes me technicians or people would try and take advantage of someone when now days people only get youtube and find the content relating to there issue. At this moment and time my furance is leaking because of the AC coil's not draining off correctly.
If those other techs work for larger companies I would 100% make my complaints known, that is highway robbery what they were trying to get you to go along with.
Unscrupulous bastards.
Good video, btw, and good diagnosing work and repairs on your part 👍🏻
I absolutely let them know.
I'm having a similar problem. Your video is greatly appreciated. My HVAC guy wants to do a bunch of work to correct things but is not initially checking the pan. I don't understand his thinking other than he can charge me a lot of money.
Thank you I think you just saved me a bunch of money
🫡
Get 2 no hub connectors for that 3 inch flue pipe . Cut the flue pipe and remove the coil straight out the front Like it’s suppose to be removed . Change pan then Slide back in. So much easier than you did it. As a owner we know customers don’t know how , but you definately got the job done and that’s all that matters
You are lucky there was a transition between the furnace and the coil, where I install that’s rare for a vertical installation
Very disappointing if they told you it was bad compressor when it’s just a leaky drain pan. I’m a certified HVAC technician and just want to say not all techs are just trying to steal your money but these guys were clearly just trying to make a quick buck. Be carful who you hire and great video 👍
Love it! Thank you!
Thanks for the video I think I'm having the same we'll be looking for parts
Well done!!! This makes me happy!
Good job well done, good for you.
Heres another perspective coming from an Hvac tech.. the reason they quoted you 6k to replace is due to callbacks. For example, if we did that same repair you did, and something completely unrelated happened to condensate drain. There are alot of customers out there that will try to sue and blame us even when we try to do them a favor. It's not always us trying to make a comission.
I totally understand and respect the perspective.
If you have to cut the fron lines take an allen wrench shut off the liquid line close the suctio line down and back it off turn the ac on and pump all the freon in the compressor due your repair re braze it go to harbor freight buy a vacuum pump run it for two hours and then releases the freon should be fine
Same situation, but NO REPLACEMENT pan available,.....I MADE a pan out of sheet metal and a bending tool, then SEALED it all up with high temp drain pan spray from the HVAC supply house. it has been working for about 10 years now. wont rust because coated in high temp rubber coating.
That’s amazing!
I remember the day in the worst of the heat, when the AC cycled off, I was wondering why I could hear what sounded like a waterfall coming from the other side of the garage wall. Yeap clogged and rusty pan.
Apparently, your condensation catch pan was broken by mishandling during the original installation. You should have considered installing the new catch pan inside the top of the plenum below the coil. You'll need to install a new drain line for that.
Your video didn't include any maintenance of the drain lines. The next time that you service it, you'll find it filled with crud, and if it was like mine, the P-trap was clogged with little stone balls.
You should consider replacing the simple PVC elbows with three-way couplings that could allow access to clear the line with a flexible drain sweep or wire. Use a PVC plug for the third hole when not being serviced.
Nice....You should put a float switch on that secondary drain port.
What value does that add?
@randomjack1 or in your case just plug it
The float switch will cause the unit to turn off if the drain pan stops draining for some reason so the water doesn't flood the floor and possibly damage the furnace and items with water. The float switch screws into the second port next to the condensation line and get wired into the control wiring to simply keep the outdoor compressor from running if the switch is triggered by excess water. The switch is not expensive and may save you having to deal with a water mess if she gets a backed up condensate drain line.
I've never heard of anyone charging $6,000 for a drain pan, anyone charging that is clearly ripping people off.
He mentioned the charge was for a new compressor, and I think the quote included labor.
@@joselbazcom4221 They probably meant a condenser,which is still too much
@@5822huron yes, even if it included a compressor and labor and condenser would be too much.
It's a shame there's so many drug addicts, in the HVAC trade. Always ripping people off.
I had to replace my A-coil’s drip pan last year. Water leaked all over basement.
Edit: WOW! That coil is HUGE.
Could I just use epoxy putty to glue the back together again?
Yeah, probably
Good for you! How's ac holding up today? Mine is 18 years old and I'm thinking to replace it with a heat pump when the time comes. Thanks for sharing.
Are you a seasoned DIY guy? I have a cracked pan for a hvac in a closet so space is very limited. Do you have any suggestions for lifting the coils up when I can’t access the back or around the unit?
Mine is in a tight closet but the vent is next to it. I'll see if I can access it. I glued an area in the front but of course it didn't stop leaking. My total estimate is about 7000. I see no tax so I assume there's another 700 on that. Nope!
Good Job! Bravisimo.
As an HVAC Technician id say the only thing id do differently is insulate the transition between furnace and coil and add a secondary safty switch tothe upper stub out.
This is a DIY post. Most of us aren't professionals, so it would help if you explained more in your post. I'd bet most of us (including me) don't know what a "safty switch" or "stub out" are.
Is it R22 system? If yes, then that maybe why they recommended for new system.
have the ref. pressure / temp. checked is possible the coil froze and caused the crack. if Ref. is ok than you should be fine. just my 2 cents
This is what really pisses me off about the HVAC industry. Their knee-jerk reaction is almost always to replace major components of an AC system if it is a unit older than 5 years. You can almost see them salivating over the potential to nail you for a gigantic bill because of all the profits they make in overcharging you for their parts (which they get at cheap wholesale prices) and for their ridiculous labor charges. They've been after me for 25 years to replace my original Goodman unit, and I've simply had very specific work done as needed, with a lot of DIY as well and individual components ordered and replaced (usually by me) and that's kept the system going. And with new regulations, you are technically supposed to redo your whole airflow calculations. And they'll tell you "well, if you're going to replace both of my AC systems (evap & condenser), then you probably should replace your old ducting as well, yadda yadda yadda. All told, it would be something like 16-20K for me to do all that work. Nope. Been happily cooling my house without any of that nonsense for 25 years and going, all with cheap parts and occasional refrigerant recharges. (And... I live in S FL which is brutal on AC systems running all year round).
Love your passion!
It’s called JB weld.
Good job! Are you sure the $6000 wasn't for a complete new system (outside unit and evaporator coils? It would be interesting to see what your HVAC guy would have said after changing out just your outside unit because clearly the cracked evaporator pan would continue to leak. Your pan was breaking apart, but if it was just a small crack, I think you could use some JB Weld Steelstik epoxy putty to patch the crack for $5.
100% he was quoted for a new unit, and tried passing it off as 6k for a drain pan. no company ever would go for that. they likely thought his system was dated with the r22 he mentioned and just tried to get him to upgrade to a new unit
He never said they quoted him 6k for a drain pan. His complaint and mine would be too. A 12 year old system is not dated. There are plenty of parts to fix and not have to replace. Good job to this guy here fixing is stuff and not falling for the bs of everything that isn’t new is junk.
I woke in HVAC and do my best to save customer money if I can fix the older unit Get some more life out of it . But if I had to guess Almost 100% chance the techs. Quoted him a new condensing unit outside with new evap coils inside and possibly gas heater also for $6,000 atleast the evap coil and condensing a new compressor no way $6,000 alone
I’ve been running r134 in my r22 system for 2 months now. My compressor is fine. $9 a can at Walmart.
Its so sad to see how the service and handyman industry has gone down the drain... Everyone trying to rip people off
Couldn’t agree more
Gordon's in Oklahoma City did the same thing to me they weren't even out there that long cost me $280 they said it only cost me a hundred bucks for them to look at it said I need a new unit called smaller company and they fixed it for $250 bucks started not cooling and I noticed my cold line installation was just hanging off collecting water so I insulated that running a lot better
they werent trying to rip him off. the drain pan being damaged and he has an r22 unit, its liability to try and fix it. not to mention, i guarantee that 6k figure was for a full replacement, not a drain pan. they just wanted to try and fix it without having liability and being sued if they messed the old system up more trying to fix it
As a retired HVAC contractor we'll done. Sorry to say more contractors are more into pushing installs than making a repair that will work for less. Guess it comes down to greed. Even if they pumped freon into condenser and cut away freon lines pulled coil out would have been alot less than 6000. Seeing makes me ashamed of what my profession has come. Have a blessed day
Thanks for the comments! 👍
Should be a canvas in the plenum
We’re you able to use the AC overnight with the plastic container under the coil? Great job.
No, the AC did not work. Luckily the temperatures were mild
Hopefully you caught it in time, because leaking water will rust out the furnace below the coil.
You probably realize it was more than the cost that made you pause, but the complete misdiagnosis that would not have fixed anything.
Unless … the $6K included a new coil box, which makes more sense. Most HVAC guys are installers, not repairmen.
Seems to still be working great!
Good job bro. I love keeping money in my pocket just sucks you couldn’t find a good hvac person that would have just replaced the bad pan at a reasonable cost instead of them trying to pad their pockets with a new sale.
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That is a very odd thing to happen. I’ve been doing hvac for over 20 years and I’ve only seen maybe 2 evaporator coil pans fail.
Wow I am so glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing!
You were very lucky to find a replacement pan from a company that is still in business. Mine is some POS system built by a POS company that went out of business decades ago. It too is a freon system that I can't afford to touch.
I have this same situation at the moment. Not sure i can even find a replacement pan.
Maintenance man said I needed a new drip pan in the attic and he had 2order the pan He said it cost $240 and to put it in will be $700. Sounds extremely high jus to put new pan in?
@@kimnunn4666 what kind of drip pan? We don’t call them drip pans. There is an emergency drain pan that is under the whole unit. That’s probably what he’s talking about not the coil drain pan. But idk. I wouldn’t let most maintenance men touch anything of mine though. Why don’t you call a heating and air guy? If it’s the actual coil drain pan, the entire thing has to come apart to get it replaced. If it’s the emergency drain pan then the whole unit has to be lifted up to put a new one under it. I’d probably charge about $450 or so for either job. $700 does seem steep but idk the situation.
Not a bad fix, these ac techs always pick the easy way out with money in their pockets instead of saving owner money
Just bought a house 8 months ago and now mines cracked and leaking and I got a 3000 quote to fix it and damn I wish I knew how to do anything diy like this cuz 3k seems insane.
Kind of a crock isn’t it… it’s v
Because they don’t want to fix it, they want to replace it.
now a days a/c guys just want to r and r not actually fix anything.. alot more profit that way.
Ha ha isn’t that the truth
Don’t talk about me like that 😜😜😂
literally not the truth. a lot of guys out there dont make extra money diagnosing bad ac's. most guy just want to get the shit fixed and move on. you can say the same thing about car mechanics, or literally any other trade out there. i take it you arent in a trade or else you wouldnt say dumb ass shit like that
Popely good fixing try pain compant side fixed and u tarping fixein must be good way coil water go out air ciercl popely good way no dropin line ou t
It's not "a/c guys" specifically, it's all service technicians, and it's not necessarily their fault. EVERYTHING is made to be hard to repair and easy to replace.
Is your intake for the furnace just open?
What was causing the water to leak into the pan you replaced?
Condensation. It’s natural for that to occur
I patched mine with jb weld and some scrap tin pieces
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Nice.
Im in schools now for hvac and yes those technicians were in fact cheating you😐 a drain pan leak has nothing to do with a compressor , but you would have a job of replacing the pan which is costly
Agreed, a lot of work nonetheless
What site did you use to find the drain pan? I have the exact same issue. Thanks!
It’s been long enough that I do not remember. I measured the size of the pan and googled it using the size. There we many options I had found.
Where did you order the pan from?
I googled the size of the drip pan and the model of the furnace. Then I was able to find multiple places to purchase.
What’s Freon? I’ve been doing HVAC work for 5 years and I’ve only worked with r22, and 410a.
Lol….kids
Then the coil developes a refrigerant leak...
Just replace the coil...
6 grand for a compressor? Bullshit! They were trying to sell you a condenser. Which is still too much.. I'm a tech
I think the 6k was for a new condenser and a coil. Probably a r22 unit which has a leak too. No way it's 6k just for a compressor
Right! 6k is not even close to an entire unit, unless is a commercial building with a huge unit lol...
@@Jose-xb6st whats a good price for a replacement system? I have an outdoor unit gas heat, electric ac and i live in NC?
Any idea how old the tray was that was falling apart?
I know that my compressor is 15 years old, but the furnace was installed in 2014. So I don’t know if the replaced it then? 🤷♂️
@@randomjack1 There is a real possibility that your furnace is running too hot for your plastic pan. (You fixed your leak but not your heat problem.) Check your evaporator fan capacitor to ensure it is healthy. A bad fan or capacitor can slow the cfms to your heat exchanger, resulting in a higher temperature which causes hair line cracks in your plastic pan. This can also occur if your gas flame is not adjusted properly or you have a cracked heat exchanger. Also, if the furnace is oversized for the ductwork (system lacking air flow due to smaller than needed intake ductwork) this will probably happen again. You really need to address the problem that initially caused this.
@@testtesting2868 great points! I think for me, I know my unit is old on the outside and will go out anytime. If it took 15 years for that pan to crack, then I guess I was willing to take that risk 🤷♂️
@@randomjack1 The reality is, it only took enough time to crack your pan as you have been overheating it. (May have only been a few hours of a recent undiagnosed problem.) Pay attention to your high limit flame cut off switch. If it is switching on / off during your heating season, the pan won't last long and the problem will need to be addressed and possibly a new pan will be needed again. Good luck!
His heat exchanger is getting to hit but he’s not smart enough to see that’s why it cracked
I don't know where you get your prices from... but a repair will never cost six grand.... installation of a new one isn't even six grand.
The $6,000 is what the AC guy wanted to replace the outside compressor, not the pan.
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Please do a co test the pan may have overheated due to a crack in the heat exchanger if this is the case you could be slowly poising your self make sure you have a working carbon monoxide detector
I think their mostly all crooks.
plastic does not corrode lol
Correct, deteriorate is probably a better word.
Ok , that's good. , but you forgot a couple key things . If you ever worked in the field you would know that there are times where you walk up to this and not only has the data platebeen removed so has the inner tag. And the evap is connected to a goodman condsner. Now you have no way of knowing model or serial or even the maker so yes you can get the dimensions but without those 3 things your guessing now.
And I notice that you said tommorrow you wi finish that part up
How many hours did this whole thing take you? Guessing 8 to 12 hours we kready know you recorded 2 different days. See thats the thing so.e people see this and it takes 14 minutes to watch and then the viewer not knowing and or the king that every set is different so can not really compare to this. And those HVAC guys could have installed you a new system in the same amount of time. And if they was to do what you did and they charge by the hour us any .arterial then it would be a highball not 6 gut difibetalky a couple thousand.so be sure to give the over looked detailed ok thank yku
He lucky he plastic drain pan. If metal drain pan he impossible to anything with that. Possible he got the old system the AC guy price out the whole new unit for him
Yes, and if a refrigerant leak occurs shortly afterward, there would be no guaranty or warranty for repair and replacement. So it's a very risky repair. Can it be done? Yes of course! Is this repair cost effective? Certainly not, if done on an hourly labor basis as you clearly described.
@@thisisyourcaptainspeaking2259 mm
How to be a hack tutorial
Hack that has a working unit and 6 grand in his pocket.
I guess I’m a hack with a working unit for over a year now 🤷♂️
@@randomjack1 you posted this 3 years ago :) so a lot more than 1 year :) great job btw!
(regards from another "hack" homeowner)
@@handymangamer238 I guess that’s true! Ha ha thanks!
WRONG WRONG WRONG IN SO MANY WAYS I DONT KNOW WHERE TO START 😨
Let’s try and start, what would you have done different?
Also - why the hell you doing it the hard way!!! Such a waste
I’d be interested to know the easier way
Next dont do this you mess it up n your screwed 2 times leave it to the experts.. i hate working behind diy homeowners
AC still works great a year later
That pan don’t cost 6k you fool!!!
You are right, it didn’t. The repair man wanted 6k to replace the compressor and coils and never disclosed that all was wrong was the pan. The pan only cost like $75z
Cannot understand what the hell you are talking about. your audio and video both are craps. Camera moving too fast here and there. watch 1000 videos and then put yours. Lousy works get thumbs down here. I disliked your video.
Your sentance structure is lousy.
thanks for posting this, if you can do it so can i 🥲
You are lucky that nail holding your coil up didn't bend/break or your coil would have fallen twisting those freon lines and you'd lose it all. Recently a guy estimated he would charge me $2K to do a freon recharge with mandatory leak find/fix. Fortunately before paying for a freon recharge, I checked everything else and the problem was a compressor capacitor failed. Wish I had that space between my furnace and coil you have, cause my metal drip pan has rust all over and I'm trying to treat it chemically so it will last another 5 years. Be a lot safer just to replace it, but without the space between the furnace an coil, I can't get a new one in, if I could even buy one for a 42 yo system.
Are you a seasoned DIY guy? I have cracked pan in a closet so space is very limited. Do you have any suggestions for lifting the coils up when I can’t access the back or around the unit?
wakawaka1976 man... that seems like a tough one... before replacing the pan, have you thought about maybe fixing it? How bad is the leak? I was going to go to the local auto parts store and buy a fiberglass fiberglass repair kit... until I figured I could do this.
As for lifting your pan, I’d say it sounds like teamwork. You’d probably need to disconnect the sides and front still and have someone (or two someone’s) help you lift the coil. Ideally you’d have the replacement on hand that way you could lift and replace in one swoop.
Could that work?
Joshua Slater thanks for the tips. I believe the leak is in the far back side. It’s in a closet so we have about 8”-10” on either side. So kind of imagine two people trying to fit in a coat closet... I’m glad it’s not in the attic but the space to maneuver would have been nice.
Do you have any idea how heavy your coils were? I’ve bought epoxy but since I can’t locate the crack it’s pretty useless. I’m striking out here
wakawaka1976 how old is your unit? The only other idea I have is to completely disconnect the coil to remove. This issue with that is having to recharge the system. You’d probably want to get that quoted prior to beginning that. My cool was probably 40lds. So not terminally heavy.
Joshua Slater the unit is a little over 20 years old I believe... Is there a safe area to grab the coils or an area to definitely not touch?
wakawaka1976 the borrow is safe to grab, I’d be careful grabbing any of the actual coils though