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...

Well I talked to my insurance man, a friend, and he agrees prorating is BS. Replacement cost is what he should pay. Judging by everybody's replies here that won't be cheap. I'm ok with repaired but not my first choice. Anyway my insurance man told me that if this guy goes south on me, to give him a call. They will cover me and go after him. Of course then MY rates go up but seems sometimes I'm always in the middle. It's good to know that my insurance company has got my back though. I will get some estimates locally from reputable companies as comparison to what kind of number he will have in mind. I will have the work billed direct to him. I may live in the country now but I'm a city kid, I suspect everybody. One good thing as I still have his merchandise that I completed work on and it's a family heirloom. Not worth much to me, worth a lot to him I'm sure.

They aren't that much more efficient. The R-22 units are 13SEER. The R410 units range from 13 to 23 SEER. He can replace the R-22 condensor unit for $1500. Going to R410 will require changing the evaporator and you should also probably upsize the copper lines. I doubt he'll do a similar cheap R410 with install for less than $5K. The 23 SEER units will cost $12K.

Edit: The Tax credit this year is a whole big $500, maximum $300 for an A/C unit.

Your rates should not go up if they recover from him, and they will recover from him if he has insurance. You are creating a data trail here. It is replacement cost in this sort of situation. Speaking of which, I need to write a letter to my own insurance about a total loss on a vehicle where they screwed me over

I would probably hold on to his family heirloom until this is resolved, but I am a suspicious sort.

Look for a date on the unit, see how old it is. Looking at the base of the pic, it looks like the frame is rusting out at the bottom.

Does this help?
Yes the frame appears to be rusting.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1317858955.jpg

I bet it still works. Seriously. I see a bunch of fins bent, but I bet it doesn't degrade the cooling of the unit much. Those units are pretty easy to shift around on the pad. Not bolted down or anything. Of course this is assuming the coolant and return lines are intact.

Dave, if you want to be firm about it, report it to your homeowner's insurer. Your deductible and rates should not be affected. You get fronted the money. Your insurer will talk to his insurer and recover their money.

I think he's confused about what insurance companyies will pay. If this was strictly a homeowner's first party claim, the insurer would pay the actual cash (depreciated) value unless you actually bought a replacement, then they would pay the replacement cost. You are making a third party liability claim, so depreciation doesn't matter. You're entitled to replacement value. Which really shouldn't be enough to raise his rates.

But if he is sincere about not wanting to turn it in to insurance, get three quotes for comparable units and give him the choice. Either he pays lowest similar replacement cost, he turns it in to his insurance, or you turn it in to yours. He can't complain too much if you put it to him that way politely.

3 tons. There is another nameplate (I can see it in the picture) that might have the rating. That unit is OLD (late 1970's/early 1980's). I expect a 13SEER unit will cut your cooling costs in 1/2. A higher SEER unit will further reduce cooling costs, but I doubt the payback period is worth it.

How much are you paying for electricty, per kWh?

Trust this ^^^^ advice as if it came from an expert in this type of law :D

I replaced an outdoor unit for my mechanic this past summer. The cheapest option was a new R-22 unit without refrigerant. It came with a 5 year parts guaranteed. All I had to do was add refrigerant.
For your case changing the outdoor unit with a R-22 unit would be the cheapest because you could re-use the indoor coil and most likely use the existing line set. Just make sure there are no leaks in the line set.

^^^ this

I worked fine. He broke it. Prorated = BS.

Has the unit lost its gas?

-Would the insurance company replace a unit like that if the system still worked?

If the system still works, and if the insurance would pay you while not raising rates...then by all means make a claim. And put the money in escrow for when the unit DOES finally die!

Good luck-

N!

That is my preferred way of handling it. I hate conflict. this was a handshake deal and we were both doing each other a favor. It just went bad, it was an accident. I don't want anybody to get screwed here.

I will look for more unit on the info when it's light pout tomorrow.

thanks for all the help.

The EPA had R-22 equipment phased out so some manufacturers produce empty equipment now and R-22 will still be around till at least 2025. By then R410 equipment might become more affordable.

he did you a favor. you can get "dry" r22 units, but as old as that is, you may want to work something out with the guys installing the new unit and go ahead and replace the indoor unit as well, that will save you money in the long run. you know how it is, they never break when you dont need heat or AC.

So does it still work?

Tell me that you're saving the Cherry wood for smoking pork with!

I'm like you. Hate conflict. Then again, hate it or not, I've dealt with it a LOT. AS you continue to gather information and politely provide that information to him, he will soften and begin to see what he needs to do. Don't hesitate to forward info to him as you get it. Then, when it's all in, summarize for him. Point out that you're providing him with options. Make him aware that 'walk away' is not one of the options. If he asks for his heirloom back, point out that the arrangement is not concluded. When he looks at his options, he will notice that if he does nothing, you file your own insurance claim, your provider gets the money from his provider and you are 'made whole' whether he likes it or not. If this inflicts permanent injury to a relationship, bear in mind this guy is a shyster.

The whole cherry tree is cut split and stacked. I did that. (ask me how I feel today)It was at least 90 feet tall prolly 30 inches across and deader than Moses.The other one was a white oak about the same size. got that too. We have 2 fireplaces in the house. This will be next years wood though. I have this years already.

Have you tested the ac? Is it still working? If it was still working fine I would probably just let it go.

Hand shake deal and trade. Thats just part of it. Accidents happen.