Last fall our AC stopped cooling and when the technician checked the unit, he said it needed refrigerant so he added it and it worked fine for about a month. We had him come out again and this time he said the coils were leaking and needed to be replaced. He quoted a $1500 to replace the coils.

Since then we purchased a home warranty and had them send another AC company. Their diagnosis was also the coils but said the warranty company would insist on replacing the entire air handler. The warranty company agreed to cover the price of the air handler but not the "extra" material/supplies as follows:

13 lbs R-410 @ $45/lb $585
42x60 drain pain $275
Heater stands x 3 $225
Aqua Guard Elec shutoff $145
Primary drain line with ball valve & clean out $225
Seal System w/mustic $250
less $250 paid by home warranty
= Total $1455

My question is does $1455 seem reasonable out-of-pocket costs to replace the air handler with home warranty coverage? Just wondering if it would cost me about the same to cancel the home warranty and just pay the entire cost myself. The home warranty costs $500/yr.

Also I currently have a Lennox air handler and the new one would be a Payne with 5 yr warranty. Is this a good brand?

Thank you!

 

Very high! Id cancel! Payne is made by Carrier. Look in the news about Carrier and make up your own mind if you want it.

 

Yes, get rid of the home warranty. 13 lbs of 410??? Why don't they recover it and reuse it? Is there a drain pan already there?

 

Yes, there is a drain pan already there but they said it is rusted...not all the way through but they said they always install a new drain pan with a new air handler.

I didn't know the refrigerant could be salvaged and reused.

Thanks for the advice.

 

Welcome to the forums.

As well as the air handler..... I'd be worried about the rest of the system.
Do you know the age of the system ?

 

The house was built in mid-2010 so that's when the AC system was installed. We checked for warranty on the unit but was informed it had already expired.

 

If there is a leak in the current cooling system, there probably isn't much R410 to recover so budgeting for a full load seems prudent.

- Peter

 

R-410a refrigerant is about $5 a pound (or less) so the charge of $45 a pound is absolute robbery.

 

Those prices would be normal if they cover the installation labor. You can assume that the home warranty people aren't paying them enough to make a profit on the job.

Call the warranty people back. Tell them you want it fixed and if they want everything new then they should cover the cost.

You have time. Get another couple of quotes.