Need some advice in regards to a Central Air Unit problem. Thanks!?

Question

I am in the process of buying a home. Since signing the contract(closing in two weeks) a problem with the Central A/C has developed. SEE BELOW. The homeowner(who I have a good relationship with) got an estimate/damage report as follows.

1) Mice got through some pipe.
2) Electrical Control Compressor chewed
3) Blew up capacitors and leaked
4) Three capacitors need to be replaced
5) The whole unit needs to be cleaned up
6) The leak needs to be cleaned up
7) There were shorts in the control panel

I apologize if anything here is off, I got this information from my wife who got it from the homeowner.
Also, it is a 5 TON/2 stage unit.

To repair $2,000.00
To repalace all $3,500.

The contractor says he can replace with a ONE STAGE?

THANKS AGAIN ALL!

Answer 1

The refrigerant line is 1/32" thick copper. If the mice chewed through that, you need more than an exterminator to kill them; you need a SEAL team.

The capacitors are about $15-35 each.

The capacitors had oil inside. Dawn dish washing liquid and a roll of paper towels will eliminate that mess.

The control contactors do wear out, they are about $15-30.

Cleaning of the outdoor unit can be done with a gentle spray from your garden hose.

IF the system has a refrigerant leak, the unit will need to be leak tested and repaired. If all of the refrigerant has escaped, it will need to be triple-evacuated and charged. If only some of the refrigerant has leaked, it will only need to be topped off UNLESS it is a Puron(r) system. Then the refrigerant will need to be recovered and replaced. A 5-T system has about 12 to 15 lbs of refrigerant @ ~ $15/#.

If your control board needs to be replaced, cost is $150 to $600, depending on brand.

Above pricing does not include labor/training/knowledge to install.

The contractor can replace it with a single stage, but your power bill will be lower with a multi-stage unit.

The tech who bid this is sending his kid to Harvard. Call another company.

Answer 2

I am assuming the leak is a refrigerant leak? If so the price does not sound so bad. It would be foolish to replace a two stage system with a single. Much less efficient.

You should still get a few other quotes though. Most HVAC techs are honest and competent but there are the few that will rip you off or don't know how to really fix the problem.