No Stars!
I paid close to $10,000 for a new furnace and air conditioner which was installed in July 2016. The installation seemed to go fine.
However in January 2018, in -30 degree weather the furnace stopped working. Blake was called and he was in my house for maybe 20 minutes. As he is leaving he says that if it happens again he can do something else. What is that supposed to mean? I was terrified to leave my house in case it happened again. Well is did! Late February or early March it stopped working again. Same problem, one long flash and three short flashes. It was the pressure gauge. I called Excel's office and Blake was on vacation so Matt came to my house. He replaced the pressure gauge. He explained that sometimes the moisture builds up in them. I said I though that is what Blake did. He said no, he just drilled a hole in it to release the moisture. So I thought the problem was fixed.
In July, of 2018, my air conditioner stopped working. Blake came over and was here 20 minutes and changed a part that was all black as it had caught fire. He charged me $262.50 for this.
The past Wednesday, my furnace again stopped working. I had maybe turned it on for about a week. Blake was called and was extremely rude. He could not come till after supper. When I asked about the cost and if it would cost me like the air conditioner he said, he can not do a back and forth on the phone.
I phoned somewhere that people recommended. They came over right away. They said it is the pressure gauge as it has too much water in the unit. He then looked and showed me that my furnace was installed level with the floor. I guess, this is not right as it is to be slanted a 1/2" for proper drainage. He got his tools raised the furnace and put metal wedges under it and the water just poured out. He then changed the drainage system to what it to be according to proper installation. Furnace was fixed! Cost was $150.00.
I called Blake to let him know that I got someone else and he did not need to come over and I got the words out, he said the problem was... And Blake hung up on me! Talk about unprofessional!
- Approximate cost of services:
- $10,000.00
- Company Response
Thank you Lynn for writing this review, as it will help us moving forward. I will clear a few things up though. The first time we were out to fix the furnace it wasn't working due to water in the pressure switch tube port. Carrier's tech support came out with a protocol to rectify this problem. We performed the protocol and it fixed the problem, as it usually does as we've seen with other furnaces like yours. This code 31 error can happen for multiple reasons so we gave you a heads up that if this same code reoccurs then there are a couple of parts that could be at fault, but for now the furnace is operating properly. The next time we were out the problem was different, a failed pressure switch, not water in the pressure switch (water can't get into the pressure switch). Pressure switches can fail for no reason. We replaced it and the furnace was fixed. Both service calls were performed free of charge - Beyond the 1 year labor warranty. When we came out to repair the air conditioner, the contactor failed, it shorted, it didn't catch fire. A couple of wires were burnt and we repaired them and replaced the contactor. $150 Dispatch and Diagnostic + $100 to repair the AC unit and claim warranty on the part + GST. Not outrageous. This last time you called regarding the furnace you were upset that you'd have to wait until the end of the day for service, I explained that I had a whole day booked on the south side, I'm not in your area and that when I was done, then I can come and see you and we booked the appointment. You asked about the cost and I explained that I don't know what the problem is until I get there, if its the same problem then the cost is nothing, but you wanted to know what the cost is and I told you that I don't know and that I'm not going to sit on the phone going back and forth on this. (My view is either you want the service call or you don't) Then you called back later to tell me that you called someone else to fix the furnace. You said they replaced the pressure switch, OK great I thought! Then you proceeded to tell me that your service guy said the furnace wasn't installed properly and it not drained right etc... and yes I hung up because in my mind there was nothing I could have said to make you happy. I apologize for that here. However let me explain something, Carrier's guideline states that the furnace should be sloped from the back to the front MIN 1/4" - MAX 1/2". NOTE: That if a furnace is sitting on a floor and not shimmed up it doesn't mean its level. It could be sloped backwards or forwards or sideways. Some furnaces are not shimmed while some are shimmed 1" so we can our 1/4-1/2" slope. Our furnaces are ALWAYS sloped forward and drained and vented properly to avoid any problems. and yes if your service guy lifted up the back of the furnace more water would drain out - no kidding. But all of this has no bearing on whether the pressure switch will fail or not. So in the end, your pressure switch failed again (Not the first time I've seen this) and I would have replaced it for free, but you chose to hire someone else which is fine with me. I hope you've got a good pressure switch this time. I wish you well. Blake.
Excel Heating And Air Conditioning
https://excelhomecomfort.com/