so I was having some trees cut down yesterday...
 

and one got away from them. I was doing this in trade for some work I was doing for the owner of the tree cutting company.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1317842136.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1317842160.jpg

Looks to me to pretty much be toast. I talked to him today about reporting this to his insurance company, but he sez they will prorate the unit and he would rather not report it, rather he will pay out of pocket. I'm a little uneasy with that as I think he will try to prorate this as well. I'm at a loss as this will now caost me more than it would to cut down the trees straight up. What would ya'll do?

Kick myself in the @ss for agreeing to let someone else do my yard work for me. ;):D If you want something done right...... :D

1st I thought it did not look that bad but then I realized it is 45 degrees off it's concrete pad so it did take a fairly good hit.

Whats the service life of that unit? How old is it?

Eek. That is a sticky one.

That sucks David.

If he were to report it to his insurance, wouldn't insurance be liable for replacing the unit with a new one?

I would price replacement units, including installation, and want paid based upon the estimates(2 or 3 taking the average).

It shouldn't matter if the unit was "old" so long as it still worked. If his tree crew hadn't smashed it, you would still have A/C.

Looks like a pretty old school condenser unit from the 80s. Maybe he did you a favor. Any modern condenser will probably run on 1/2 the energy. Get a couple of repair quotes and let his conscience be his guide. The basic rule is "if you break it you buy it."

I have no idea how old the unit is. I have been here 5 years. The house was built in 1960.

I expect it is an R-22 unit. Look at the nameplate and tell me what its rating in tons of cooling. Then go here:

Wholesale Goodman Heat Pumps | AC Units | Gas Furnaces | AC Wholesalers Online

These are the R-22 units:

Heat Pumps | Air Conditioners | Gas Furnaces | Wholesale - R-22 Condensers

Pick one that is the same size as your. Note: RHEEM has the lowest reported consumer complaints from Consumer Reports members. Goodman has the highest.

Find someone that is a maintenance guy for an apartment complex that does A/C work on the side. It is about 1.5-2 hours of work to pull out and re-install the condensor, including evacuating the system and charging it.

I had both of my outside condensor units replaced for a total cost of $3K including 2 condensors and the installation of both of them. You should be able to have it done for about $1500.

What he said. Not much else you can do. Anyone who cuts trees must know of the liabilities.

All of the units at the site I suggested are 13 SEER. Not top of the line, but decent.

This is outside of the original trade agreement. I think it should be up to him to fix it. That's the risk he took when making the deal. Same thing if you were to damage something of his while performing your portion of the work.

It's business, not personal. That said, it can get very touchy in practice. IMHO, he needs to cover the actions of his workers.

Yeah he may have done me a favor, but I don't see why this should cost me anything out of pocket. It worked fine before the cherry tree hit it.

Thanks for the input fellas.

The old R-22 units have not been made for almost two years. The new 410 units are much more efficient, but a lot more expensive (upfront). The old R-22 parts are starting to dry up and that's just what the EPA wants. Might be time to do the whole new thing here, take all the tax credits and rebates you can get and then stick the tree cutter with the rest of the bill. My modest house was estimated to need a $7k unit when the time comes.

Call a couple local HVAC companies for estimates and hand the him the bill. Then he can figure out how to pay it. It's gonna be north of $5k for a replacement.

That said, I bet the unit is fine unless it's leaking. The dent looks to be below the fan and those units will work with a few dented fins. Aesthetically, it's not too pleasing...

Your rates for repairing broken rifle stocks aren't affected, right?

:D

It was working before it was hit.
Make sure it works after he pays to fix it.
No pro rate. Fix it and make it right.
Some of the tubes inside those fins could be folded flat reducing the condensing coils ability to reject heat.
A condensing coil could be made to replace the damaged one. It won't be cheap, but better than you having to pay out of pocket.

him sayin that insurance will prorate the unit is total BS, he simply does not want to file a claim cause it will cost him more in the long run with higher premiums

If you allow him to pay out of pocket make damn sure he pays the repair company. If he tells you to pay them and he will reimburse you, dont even think bout that

One of my plumbers was installing a piece of equipment in a customers basement and he cracked a fitting that flooded the basement, my insurance promptly covered all cost to get basement back the way it was.

This is why we have insurance if you own a business, sucks to have to use it but easier when you do

That'll buff right out. :D

If I have to pony this up myself they will triple, AND I will be paying UPS bonus money for every one they break.LOL.

Ouch! He should replace the unit and I bet he will...