Thursday, May 12, 2016

The Heat Pump...

The repairmen came, they went.  In their wake, they SEEM to have left me with a working heat pump.

I was worried when the repairman showed up.  It was the same guy who messed up my system in Feb.  While he started working on the unit, I called the office repair manager.  He called back a few minutes later to assure me that the guy he sent was especially good at replacing parts.  But also would come by in 30 minutes (from another job) to make sure all went smoothly.

And it was a damn good thing he did.  Because the repair manager had to do most of the work himself!  He had promised me a free part and free labor, but I did not know the free "part" was almost the entire inside unit.

It took them 4 hours.  Because of some gradual equipment changes, the replacement coil was not a "pull and replace" unit.  The manager went "hands on" to it, cutting some sheet metal to fit.  I got a kick out of saying to the sent repair guy "This is why I worked to be Manager, so as to not have to do this stuff".

The "sent" guy would not have known to do that shaping work.  If I hadn't called, he might STILL BE HERE 6 hours later botching the job.  And that is a lesson learned.  If a simple repair is done right, great.  If a complicated repair is done well by a talented repairman, great!.. But if a repair is in the middle and they send the simple repairman to fix it, you need a Manager!

And did this guy know his stuff!  It was like watching a surgeon.

And it got better!  A few times when he was waiting for equipment to provide results, I asked a few questions.  Apparently, they were good questions.  Having a Dad as an engineer helps...

So I mentioned understanding gas expansion cooling, and he mentioned that he had taken AP classes in physics, so we had a great discussion about dark matter and dark energy and fun stuff while his equipment measured pressures and temperature changes.

Geez, I hope managing a heat pump repair unit pays well...

Anyway, the high pressure whistling sound is gone inside and out, the screeching sound of the outside fan is gone, the heating and cooling seem to be working, and all I had to pay for was the coolant.

I hope I feel as happy in mid-summer and next winter!  The repair company maybe doesn't have the best basic repairmen, but they sure stand by their promise to make everything right eventually.  That sounds like a back-handed compliment, but I mean better than that.  They COULD have just fought my complaints and said go call someone else if I wasn't happy, but they didn't.

It was 70 degrees outside.  They heated the house up to 80 and cooled it down to 65 in just an hour.  AFAICT, that means it is working.

And BTW, Iza is a Very Brave Cat .  She followed us all around, watching what was going on.  Marley an Ayla hid in the bedroom.  Iza got extra treats after they left.  She is a "Snoopervisor Extraordinary"!

1 comment:

Megan said...

Well done Iza!

Megan
Sydney, Australia

Refrigerator Troubles

You may recall I was planning to have a new refrigerator delivered tomorrow.   The deal was that I would have the new one in the kitchen, th...