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HVAC Maintenance

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The Big Difference

We at Big Air Strive to go the extra mile and offer reliable, on time, honest service. 

Why is Maintenance important?

Having your air conditioner regularly maintained by a professional will greatly extend the life of the system. We adress major problems before they happen, such as dirty condenser or evaporator coils. Having the internal components regularly cleaned will greatly extend the life of each individual component. We also check the health of each component during the maintenance, which can tell us if they are going bad. Replacing minor, cheap components before they bad is a great way to prevent major components from failing. Major components often fail due to the "cascade effect" where when a minor component fails, it fails in such a way that causes damage to the more major component, turning a cheap fix into a much more expensive problem.

What do we acutally do during a Maintenance?

We have a __ point inspection that we perform on your system, we inspect all the most common failure points, as well as perform minor repairs and cleanings reccomended by the manufacturer, that have been determined to extend the life of the system.

Base-line readings

Upon arrival our technician will greet you at your door, and ask to be shown where the thermostat, and equipment are. From there the technician will turn on the system at the thermostat, and take a "TD" or temperature difference, of the air coming into the air handler, and leaving the air handler. Generally under proper operation a system will produce anywhere from a 14-24 degree difference in the air temperature, depending on humidity levels.

Cleaning the system

The technician will then proceed to shut down and clean your system. We clean the evaporator and condenser coil with Viper Coil cleaner, it is a food safe non-corrosive cleaner designed specially for hvac coils. 

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We first spray the coils with the foaming spray, let it soak for 5-10 minutes, then rinse it out with a hose or pump sprayer. we also wipe down the inside and outside of the cabinet, and clean out any leaves or debris that may be inside of the condenser.

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Cleaning the coils like this every 6 months will help greatly to extend the life of the system. Debris collecting in the coils reduces the rate of heat transfer, which in turn, reduces the amount of cooling the system can produce. If the coils are clogged badly enough it can cause problems like the coil freezing up, or the compressor overheating. This will also help to maintain the energy efficiency of your system, keeping your energy bill lower as time goes on. Less debris in the coil means a higher rate of heat transfer, which means the house is cooling faster, less time the ac is running, less power consumed, lower energy bill.

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We clean the drain pan of your system, wipe up any debris that may have collected in it. Then we hook up a vacuum to your drain line, and flush it out with water until all the water being flushed through comes out the other side clean.

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Then we treat both the drain line and drain pan with an anti-microbial treatment. It coats the pan and the drain, preventing any further growth that may clog up the drain line. Germicidal UVC bulbs are a great way to both keep your coil clean, and keep down growth in your drain pan and line. This also helps with air quality, anything inside that ac cabinet is touching all of the air in your home, which you are breathing in. 

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We clean the inside and outside of the cabinet for your system, remove any growth or dirt that may have collected on it overtime. We clean all the dust off the electrical cables, which can cause electrical shorting.

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We change your filter, changing your filter is extremely important to the longevity of your system. If you do not regularly change the filter the evaporator coils will become extremely dirty, which can cause several problems that we have already discussed above.

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Sometimes components will have become extremely dirty, and will require further cleaning outside the scope of the maintenance. If this is the case the technician will document it with photos, and reccomend the extra cleaning to you at the end of your maintenance. For example, the blower wheel will commonly get dirty, and to clean that it has to be fully removed and dissasembled, this is usually a 2-3 hour task. However, this does not typically need to be done more than around once every 5 years. To do this would cost around $250. A dirty blower wheel can also prevent the system from cooling correctly by changing the amount of air it is moving over the evaporator coils. If the fan is dirty it will move less air, if it is dirty enough it won't move any air at all, which will cause the evaporator coil to freeze up.

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Properly and regularly cleaning your AC system is EXTREMELY important to the overall longevity of the equipment.

Cleaning the coils

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Flushing the Drain Line

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Dirty Air Filter

Dirty Blower Wheel

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Not changing your filter will cause many other problems, such as low airflow, dirty evaporator coils, dirty blower wheel, and poor air quality. Low airflow throughout the home can cause things like back bedrooms not cooling correctly, ac vents sweating, and mold growing on the vents and in the ductwork.

keeping your filter clean is the most important thing you can do to extend the life of your ac system.

A dirty blower wheel can cause many problems in your system. It can significantly effect the ability of the system to cool, increasing your energy bill. It can also effect the total amount of airflow moving throughout the house, which will cause problems like hot back bedrooms, and sweating ac vents. It can greatly impact the air quality of the home by slinging out dust into the air during operation.

Checking the Electrical
Components

The next step in the maintenance is to check all of the electrical components contained within the system.

 

Many of these components, such as the capacitor, have ratings on them that should be regularly tested, and if the component is found to be outside of those reccomended ranges, it should be replaced.

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Even if the system is still operating with the component out of specified range, it can cause damage to other components it works in tandem with. For example, if the start capacitor for a compressor is rated for 45 MFD +/- 5%, and it is reading 40 MFD, the compressor may still start, but it may also damage itself in the process. A capacitor is a realtively cheap component with a typical price tag of $80, varying by about $10 depending on the size.

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We also observe all of the components for things like rust and corrosion. These can cause a bad electrical connection, which can burn up a wire, or even cause an electrical fire. 

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We check for any loose electrical connections, and tighten them if any are found. 

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We run the ac system through its full range of functions, ensuring that everything is in proper working order. 

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We test all of the float switches attached to your air conditioner, and if you don't have any installed we will reccomend they be installed.

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A float switch is a device installed either in the drain line or in your emergency drain pan. When the drain line clogs up, the float switch will trigger, which will shut off the AC. it does this so the air conditioner does not continue to produce water, in an attempt to prevent any water damage.

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We measure the amperage ratings of all of the fan motors and compressors for your unit, if any of them are drawing too much current it is a sign that they have an issue, and are likely to go bad soon. If you do not want to pre-emptively replace the part, we can at least order it, so if it does go, we do not have to wait for the new part to be shipped in.

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If any components need to be replaced, the technician will inform you at the end of the maintenace, along with a price for how much they would cost to replace. Most minor components the technician will have on his truck with him, and the repair will be able to be made immediately.

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Checking function
and refrigerant charge

After checking all of the electrical components, we turn the system on and let it run for about twenty minutes to let the coils get up to temperature, and allow all of the readings to balance out.

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We check the charge of the refrigerant and determine if it needs any added, or in some rare cases, some taken out. The charge of refrigerant being off by even a small amount can greatly effect the ability of the system to cool. For example being just half a pound low on refrigerant could reduce the capacity of a system by 10-20%.

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All of our technicians are equipped with field piece probes, which allow us to take all of the necessary readings from the unit at once, and record them onto a pdf. Job link also has some amazing features that allow us to do some amazing things. We can hook up static pressure gauges to your system to determine the exact amount of airflow it is moving, and use that to calculate the BTU's the system is producing. We can then compare the real BTU's being produced to the systems rating, to see if it is working at 100% capacity. We can also record the refrigerant pressures onto charts overtime, which allows us to spot things that you would not normally notice. Problems like non-condensables in the refrigerant will cause the pressures to slgihtly fluctuate up and down over a longer period of time. With analog gauges you would be likely to miss this, but with our field piece system we can easily catch it. Non-condensibles can lead to acid being produced in the refrigerant, which can cause compressor burnout, or leaks in the coils.

 

This allows for a more accurate view of the function of the unit, as well as provides a great benefit to record keeping. We will know exactly how a unit was functioning at an exact time, and be able to compare it to previous readings to ensure to help diagnose any future problems, and ensure the unit is working exactly how it should.

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How can I get
a maintenance?

Contact our office today to set up your maintenance. (239) 738-1344

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Our staff is available any time to answer any questions you may have, we also offer free over the phone consultation.

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  • Basic Maintenance Package $275/yr

    • Includes:

      • 2 Full Maintenance Visits

  • Full Service Maintenance Package: $400/yr

    • Includes:

      • 2  Full Service Maintenance Visits

      • 2 Filter Change + Drain Clearing Visits 

      • 1 Free Blower Motor Cleaning

      • 1 Free Service Call

  • Full Service Maintenance Package w/ Minor Repairs: $600/yr

    • Includes:

      • 2  Full Service Maintenance Visits

      • 2 Filter Change + Drain Clearing Visits 

      • 1 Free Service Call

      • Replacement of any capacitors/contactors as needed & balance refrigerant up to 2 lb’s as needed

      • When you start the program we will install Reme Halo and UV bulbs at cost if wanted

  • Full Coverage Package: $2400/yr

    • Includes:

      • All service calls and all repairs are covered by this program

      • 24/7 availability 

      • Only systems under 8 years of age are eligible for this program

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