My 50-year-old HVAC system gives up the ghost

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All I know is that Singer system ran like the proverbial sewing machine. They don't make them like that anymore. I'm already missing it. The new system decided to quit running yesterday so I'm stuck at home, waiting on a technician to come and fix it. the cats are loving having the windows open but I know it's going to be unbearably hot in here later on. Meanwhile, the A/C has also gone out on my car. I've just got some bad climate control mojo going on right now.
 
Hopefully, it's just a 'glitch"

Speaking of Singer sewing machines, I used mine (about 20 yrs old) to make Xmas pillows for a former friend. I'm not very fancy with it, but.......... So far, it's perfect. I KNOW it's not like the 'old ones'. I learned on an old one, as I worked for a tailor.
Good luck with your new unit.
 
Yeah, the guy I talked to on the phone said it sounded like a safety switch, of which there are several, got tripped. I wish I new how to reset it.

I have an antique Singer sewing machine that my dad accumulated somewhere. It's probably over 100 years old but it's in beautiful condition, most likely designed to be treadle operated. What I have is just the machine itself. Apparently somebody wanted to re-purpose the cabinet and removed it. Dad picked it up very cheaply because it's not really usable without a cabinet. It is also one heavy beast, made well before the world even knew what plastic was.
 
The technicians just left and it was a safety switch. There was a leak in the the water line running from the condensation pump. It was just above where the line connected to the pump so it filled up the catch pan and tripped the float switch. I have to wonder if that leak wasn't the original cause of all my troubles as that piece of plastic tubing was one of the few things that got re-used from the original system. I may have to give some thought to replacing it, especially if it springs another leak.
 
I'm thinking the same thing. The only problem is that while I can see where it ends at the pump, I can't see where it ultimately goes. It passes over the top of a duct and disappears.
 
Well hey, at least you have a catch pan and a float switch now, so it won't ruin your floor again. That's a nice consideration... I wonder if it is required by code. I'm guessing the old system didn't have one, hence the ruined floors.

Speaking of your sewing machine that was liberated from its cabinet... you know they have / had what I would call a tabletop cabinet or 'base' to put them in. It's literally just a wood box that the machine rests in. There are one or two on ebay. Just in case you wanted to use... or even display the machine.
 
Yeah, I don't think I'll be buying any accessories for that sewing machine anytime soon. I really need to sell it and all the other junk of my dad's so I can get out from under the storage unit rent. Ugh!

And as if my bank account hadn't already taken enough punishment this month with replacing the HVAC system in my house, I've got to do the same thing to my car! 2013 Buick with 63,500 miles and it needs a new compressor, $1,600 worth! Ye gods, will it ever end!?!
 
No, it's not ending yet...

So just before suppertime, I noticed it was getting a little stuffy in the house, so just out of curiosity, I checked the catch pan for the condensation pump on the furnace and sure enough, it was almost overflowing! Fortunately, I had not put my shop vac away so I pulled the float switch off of the pan and sucked the water up to get the system running again. I primed the pump with a little water and sure enough, the tube was leaking again at exactly the same spot, just above the hose clamp. Of course, this all happened after normal business hours so there was no one available to take my call but I left a detailed voicemail message, telling them to bring a supply of tubing when they come and be prepared to replace the whole damned thing. The tubing is old—possibly half a century old—and it has apparently shrunk and become brittle, as plastics will over time. I guess I'm just going to have to babysit that pan all weekend and suck up water a few times a day until they can get here on Tuesday.
 
The floors aren't any worse but they're not much better, either. I'm going to give it some more time—and give my bank account time to recover—before I make any major decisions on that.
 
That's really a shame

You spend around 7,000.00 give or take and you have to also spend your weekend time babysitting something that should be up and running, especially since they've already been out once already on a service call. How much are these companies saving by scrimping on parts and a thorough inspection of the whole system when finished installing. If they'd done the job rite the first time, you'd be a happy customer and they could move on to other jobs.

I swear that it seems like some companies, maybe not this one, but some treat the customer as if to say,"we'll teach you to do business with us again!" Short term thinking to say the least.
 
That's probably about double what I would charge for a compressor. I mean, there are situations where it gets that high. Like if the compressor got chewed up and contaminated the entire system with metal shavings. I'm assuming that estimate is including compressor, condenser, drier, and *maybe* evaporator. That being said, I think you should really shop around. That's a big chunk of change. Get quotes from several other mechanics. Seriously.
 
@madman: Yeah, they were going to have to replace damn near the entire system. They've had the car since yesterday and are supposed to have the job completed sometime today. I wish I had the time to shop the job around to a bunch of different places but I don't. At least I found a $100 off coupon online so that takes a small amount of the sting out of it, not to mention the cash back I'm racking up on my credit card this month.

@kirbyklekter: Yeah, I'm not a happy camper right now. They need to get it right the next time they come out because at this point, doing it half-ass is costing me time and them money.
 
Unfortunately it has come to this. Just get it done and let it be someone else's problem if it wasn't done right the first time.
 
Unfortunately, you're right. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions anymore. But this thing is going to continue to be their problem until they make it right. They have yet to do their final inspection for the city and I'm sure it won't fly the way it is now. That inspection is scheduled for the 14th and I will be sure to point the problem out if it isn't made right by then.
 
So they sent a more senior repair technician today and he replaced about four feet of the drain line with a piece of much more flexible tubing so the problem is solved at the pump but water was dripping out of the spliced spot, where he had put about eight inches of copper tubing and two more hose clamps. Fortunately, I caught him before he pulled away in his van and he came back and tightened everything up. Hopefully, that will solve the problem but if not, I have them on the speed dial.
 
I got a refrigerator magnet from them with their phone number on it a couple of years ago when they came out to do a minor repair on the old system. They're probably regretting that one right about now.
 
So somebody from the HVAC company was supposed to come out and do the city inspection on my new system today. Under normal circumstances, someone from the city would come out and do the inspection but right now, they're letting the installers do it because...well...COVID. Can we say 'conflict of interest', boys and girls? This appointment was set by them almost two weeks ago and they've now blown it off without so much as a courtesy call. I can't just sit home and wait for them to show up. That's completely unrealistic. At this point, if they want to do the inspection, it will be at MY convenience, not theirs. Frankly, it wouldn't totally surprise me if they never came out and just falsified the inspection report.
 
"We investigated ourselves and found we did nothing wrong."

Don't wait up for those HVAC guys. They already did the inspection. At least, that's what the inspection report will say lol
 
@kirby519: Yes, the leak is fixed. A different technician came out last week and cut out about four feet of the hard plastic line and spliced in some softer, more flexible tubing using about eight inches of copper line on the inside of the two pieces of tubing and a couple of hose clamps on the outside. I was kind of surprised that he left a couple of inches of bare copper between the two pieces of tubing. I would have pushed them all the way together, but what do I know? I'm just an English professor.

@madman: I'm not worried about it. They called me up this morning and rescheduled the inspection for a week from Friday. That's a WFH day for me so I'll be there on the off chance they accidentally show up but I'm not holding my breath.
 
@ human

I'm assuming "the fix" is holding with the waterline, has anyone come out to do the city inspection? Ooops! I just did the math, they're scheduled for tomorrow the 25th. Hope they show and it goes well, I'll check back.
 
@ human

I'm assuming "the fix" is holding with the waterline, has anyone come out to do the city inspection? Ooops! I just did the math, they're scheduled for tomorrow the 25th. Hope they show and it goes well, I'll check back.
 
Yes and no...

Yes, the water line is holding just fine and that's all I really care about.

No, they still haven't come to do the inspection. The guy called this morning and it rolled straight to voicemail. I have my cell phone set up that way because of the inordinate number of robocalls I receive, especially right before an election. And every time anyone from this company calls me, it's from a different number. I have like eight or nine numbers added to this company's listing in my contacts. It's ridiculous. I called the company's main number and asked them to relay a message to the guy who does the inspections, since he doesn't have voicemail set up on his cell phone. I haven't heard back from him and don't really expect to. I'm sure he'll just take it as license to show up whenever he pleases, with little or no notice, or just forget about it, which is probably what's going to happen at this point and I really couldn't care less. I mean, what's the city going to do? Repo my HVAC system? I doubt it. Any punitive action will be against them for not doing their job.
 

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