[COLOR="red"] [B]If you don't want to read this wall of text. Please scroll down to the bottom for my questions :)[/B][/COLOR] Hello, First off I want to say that I'm been a long time "lurker" (3-4 Years) but this my first time creating a account here at doityourself, So Hi! :). Okay, Now the reason why I'm writing this post is the get some opinions from other members on here as to what I should/can do. Last summer/fall my A/C stopped cooling and was making a weird noise. I opened the evaporator coil door and seen it was a solid block of ice. I did some research on here and other forums and seen that it was more then likely caused by low freon levels in the unit (leak). I called a HVAC tech last year to come to my house and add 4lbs of freon to the system. He said there was a leak and it was going to cost $225 to find it. He told me the freon could last a few hours through a few months. I went ahead and just told him to add the freon and everything was working perfectly last year. The freon in the system only lasted 3 weeks. I didn't have a leak check done because the climate was starting to get cold and I told myself I would get a freon leak check this year. So this year (1 month ago) I called another HVAC tech company since the one I used the prior year wasn't active anymore. I called the new HVAC company and told them I had a leak in my A/C system and was wondering the cost of a freon leak check. He told me it was going to cost around $250.00 just to find the leak/service call + freon/material to fix it. I said no problem and he went ahead and started to progress finding the leak. About 30 minutes in he said he couldn't find the leak. He said he didn't know where it was and that he was searching for awhile (30 Minutes = awhile:confused:). He went outside and said it might of been the Schrader valves but wasn't sure. He went ahead and replaced them. I was constantly asking him if that was the problem. I kept getting (I don't know, I'm not sure). Once he replaced the schrader valves and caps he used his vacuum pump and brought it down to 500 microns. He said he couldn't find the leak and that it was more then likely the valves. Myself not being a HVAC handy person I thought that might of been the solution. He went ahead and added 4lbs of freon and said he was done. The total cost of the "fix" was $707.12. I was a bit in shock when I heard the price since I was quoted $250.00 to find the leak & the service call + $25.00 p/lbs of freon ($100.00 Total). Just out of curiosity I asked him why the bill was so high. He told me it took 4 hours of Laborer. I wasn't aware that there was going to be a laborer charge on top of the service/leak check. I thought it was my mistake for not asking before hand and went ahead and paid the Tech. Everything went downhill from here. About 2 days into the "fix" my A/C started leaking freon again. It started to make a similar noise like it did last year and then it started to blow warm air. I turned off my A/C and call the same Tech again. He said he would come by and take a took at it. He came to my house and started to "tighten" a nut where a copper line connects to the indoor evaporator coil. He said that was more then likely it and that he was going to add freon in the system free of charge. Again, 2 days pass and it started making the same noise and blowing warm air. I call him and he said he could call me back in a few. I waited 5 hours for him to call and nothing so I proceeded to call him. He said he needed to talk to his boss and that he needed to figure out a solution to the fix and that he would call me that day. I waited and no call that day. I called him the next day and he said he was going to need to replace the whole unit. First, he said it was only going to be the evaporator coil and that it was going to cost $800.00 + laborer. Then he called again and said he was going to need to replace the whole unit (Evaporator Coil, Freon Lines, and Outdoor Unit) since he couldn't find the leak. He gave me a quote of $5,000 + labor. I wasn't to happy. I called him the next day and simply told him that I couldn't afford to put in a whole new unit. He said that there wasn't anything he could really do since he couldn't find the leak. I called the main office and was requesting to speak with a manager to see if I could get some of my money back since the fix that I paid for wasn't clearly fix and that I pretty much just wasted $700.00 for the information that I knew prior to him coming (That there is a leak and I can't find it). I kept getting (I'll give you a call back) and I haven't had a call back from anyone unless I call them. Even when I do call the manager isn't never there, or on break, or in a meeting. I feel like they are just ignoring my calls in hope of me rolling over and finding another tech to pay. Here is where I need your help. 1. Why did I pay over $700.00 for him to fix the leak when it clearly didn't work and he didn't locate the leak/nor the problem. 2. If he couldn't find the leak why did he replace the values and suggest that those "might" of been the problem? If he couldn't find the leak I would think, Either A). I shouldn't get charged for what I already know. B) Be charged for the leak check but don't proceed to "fix" my A/C in hopes of it being something you aren't sure of. 3. What do you recommend I do? I honestly feel like I got ripped off. If I would have known this prior I wouldn't of had anything fix and just would of paided him for the service call and the leak check cost.

I have heard of using a heat exchanger off an AC unit for hot water. But has anyone ever tried to use a swimming pool as a source for a heat exchanger to increase efficiency of the AC system? I am not as interested in heating the pool - though a nice side effect - as I am helping the ac unit cool the house. I live in S. Texas, so anything I can do to help the AC run better is a benefit. Any plans or lessons learned would be great. Thanks, Ed