Another one to post! Not exactly shoddy workmanship, but example of how careful you have to be with shoddy trained contractors.
During the inspection I found oily condensate in the secondary condensation pan on a 7 year old unit that was cooling well and looked very clean. While it is normal to see a little condensation in the pan from where it dripped off the refrigerant line at the evaporator coil, the oily part is not normal. So it got called out in the report. I explained that I suspected that the oil was due to a refrigerant leak even though the unit was working at the time of inspection and that maybe we would find that the unit had recently been "charged" during a tune up. Further I explained that you should never have to add refrigerant, it is a closed system and if it is low, you most likely have a leak and need to find and repair it. Worked hard to explain things to the realtor and the buyer and they seemed to get it.
Realtor sent out a HVAC company to check the unit. Large local company with a recognizable name. They reported that they confirmed the oily water in the pan and didn't know what it was and that the unit was working properly. They didn't think it was a leaking.
In the mean time, the realtor had requested and received any recent records of service to the unit from the seller. That invoice, from a different large recognizable HVAC company, showed replacing a capacitor, adding 2lbs of R410, then went on to show that they had been sold a complete system cleaning and tune up for almost 2 grand. But never said anything about a possible refrigerant leak or leak repair. Just acted like leaking refrigerant is a normal thing.
On a call yesterday, I explained that in light of the invoice showing adding refrigerant, I was sure the oil was a sign of a leak and that the company/guy that had gone out for them was not very good and that they need to send another company out. They are being very careful and meticulous in their due diligence form the way they talk, and it is possible that a repair of the leak could get pricey.
Thankfully they listened. They sent out someone else today who confirmed my theory and found leakage in the evaporator coil and recommended replacement. Not a cheap repair.
I have to say I relish moments when I am right and it saves the clients money and hassle.
But what really struck me here is that two different companies have looked at this unit recently and didn't properly diagnose things or fix them. Maybe they look at topping off refrigerant as a ongoing income steam? Anyway, be careful who you hire!!
I suspect it is going to become a complete and utter ****show when the newest version of the refrigerant is widespread in use, as it employs sensor to sense leaks and shuts the system down when it does.
