Air Conditioning and Heating Q & A
Now that the warmer weather has returned and our air conditioning systems are running full blast, there are a few things to remember. To keep your air conditioning system running its best we should have preventive maintenance checks/services performed on it, conduct some simple maintenance ourselves, and be aware of a few things to save a few dollars.
The preventive maintenance checks/services that should be performed by your air conditioning service company are:
- Ensure the indoor and outdoor coils are cleaned
- Clean out the leaves and debris from inside the condensing unit
- Check the refrigerant charge by using a superheat calculation, sub-cooling calculation, or some method recommended by the manufacturer
- See if the electrical contacts are clean, clean if necessary
- Using an electrical meter, see how many amperes of power the system is drawing... compare that to the manufacturers data plate
- Clean the primary AND secondary drain pans at the air handler
- Check all external safety switches, i.e. drain pan switch, to see if they are still operational
- Clean out the primary and secondary drain lines
- Look at the condition of the ductwork
- Check the temperature difference between the air going into your return (where the filter is) and what temperature is coming out of the supply vents.
Some companies around town will do a few extra things at no cost, but these are the items that are imperative and should be checked by a service technician. The cost for a professional to come out and perform these checks can run a homeowner as little as $65, up to $135 depending on the system. Any problems that are found should be brought to the homeowner's attention, but I recommend that any problems be shown to and explained to you. Air conditioning repairs cost a lot of money to begin with and though most companies and their technicians are ethical, I do recommend that you see the problem and understand it before your hard earned dollars are spent to repair it.
Some simple maintenance and repairs that some of you reading this can do to save a few bucks are:
- Hose off the outside condensing unit, clean that coil...just don't use a power washer. One customer did just that and the cost to straighten all those fins was relatively high.
- Change filters regularly, check them once a month
- If your system is running while your cutting the grass or weeding around it, shut it off so it doesn't suck all that stuff into the coil and cause it to work harder or break down prematurely.
- Better yet, clear the vegetation from around the unit and put gravel in place of it. This will help the unit stay cleaner longer and help drain water away from the system
- Grab a shop-vac and suck out the drain lines to ensure they are not clogged with sludge, dirt-dawbers, or nuts that squirrels have shoved up there (Yes, its happened)
- Place a digital food thermometer into one of the supply vents. The temperature should be about 15-20 degrees cooler than what the thermostat reads
- Check your ductwork, if feasible, by feeling for cool air leaking from it
At the first sign of problems...
- See if the outdoor fan is moving
- Feel for cool air blowing out of the vents
- If an excessive amount of water is in the drain pan, the safety switch (if installed) could be engaged. Try sucking out the drain lines before you call for service.
- Check and see if the breakers have tripped and try to reset the breaker by turning it all the way off and then back on, if it trips again call a service company
- If the system is icing up, turn it off before you call a service company so it can begin to thaw before they arrive
- If HOT air is blowing out of the vents turn it off and call a service company
Finally, remember your air conditioning system is a complex piece of machinery and probably will break down at some point. Please do not try to troubleshoot the wiring or refrigerant circuit yourself because you may get injured or cause a minor problem to become drastically more expensive. Also, if you do need to call someone for repairs call someone that is qualified. Try to stay away from your cousin's nephew who fixed his own system one time or the person down the street who "seems" to know a little about a lot of things. It's worth the extra dollar to call a licensed, certified, and insured air conditioning service company rather than spending a dollar to save a dime.
Why Choose KFI?
"The technicians are timely and friendly. Even though I asked the technician many many questions as he worked, he gladly related to me the problems with my system and the options to fix or replace. No sales person or pitch, these technicians KNOW their stuff and are more than willing to share that knowledge with the homeowner."
-Davis and Kathy, Marsh Hawk Plantation
"It was Friday night after five o'clock and the restaurant had one cooler down as well as the deep freeze. Frank (the owner) came out even though it was his birthday and took care of our situation. That was two years ago and we have been happy customers ever since!"
-Chip, General Manager of Saltus, Plums, and Bistro Patois.
"I was told by another company that my 5 year old system need to be replaced...KFI Mechanical came over, performed some minor maintenance on the system and it has been working fine since then, that was three years ago!"
-Betty, Dataw Island
"We had a major addition built onto our house and the brand new HVAC system never worked correctly. Several companies recommended tearing out everything and starting from scratch. KFI Mechanical came in and replaced some of the ductwork and then programmed the controls correctly....that made all the difference. Thanks KFI!"
-Tom and Jerri, Dataw Island
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