Home DIY Crew v. HVAC Overhaul
When we bought our house we decided to keep our townhouse and use it as a rental. I had a coworker in there for about 6months and got the dreaded call.
"Kevin the AC isn't working" Fuck. I get there and through some research I determined the start capacitor in the AC unit was dead. Bought a new one and was back in business. Quick 25$ fix.
Two weeks pass and I get the dreaded call again. I go our there again and notice I had zero voltage on the backside of the relay contacts when the relay was energized. The relay was making contact, but no voltage was passing. Determined the contacts were bad. Another $25 fix and I was in business.
3 days pass get the dreaded call for the 3rd time. The unit was now tripping the breaker. Took the motor apart on the fan and the bearings were seized. That was the final straw.
The furnace/AC were 25 years old. It was time for a complete overhaul. I got a 2 quotes to install new furnace/ac/coil. Quote 1 was $4,200 and quote 2 was $5,800. I did not have the funds to pay someone so I tackled the job on my own. I took Friday off, and had ice cold air on Sunday at 2pm. Don't let anyone tell you you cannot do a job like this on your own. It was cake. I even built the transition piece. I found an furnace/AC guy on CL to vacuum my lines, braze the lines to the AC & Coil, and add additional coolant.
95% efficient furnace + 2.5 Ton AC system + 2.5 Ton A-frame coil + tools + materials + 50' 3/4'' copper line + 50' 3/8'' copper line+ HVAC Guy for 4 hours =
Total price (including EVERYTHING) was $2,503. Not bad at all.
Last item to tackle are the high efficiency intake/exhaust pvc lines (2'').