He lies, doesn't use good equipment. He said they came out and checked our equipment, and lied - I was here the entire day when they said they came by and they DID NOT SHOW. They installed our system incorrectly. I would never do business with them! He flat out told us that all systems leak freon - and that is NOT true! They also don't use HVAC diagnostic testing equipment. They want you to get past your warranty period so that you will rely on them for freon year after year.
Description of Work: They were the subcontractor that installed our system in the subdivision.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
1.0
value
1.0
professionalism
1.0
responsiveness
1.0
punctuality
1.0
Janet C.
01/2013
1.0
heating & air conditioning/hvac
+ -1 more
Split system at cottage has had freon leak since installation. They could not find leak and claim this is NORMAL. At each maintenance visit they have added freon. This leak has cused the system to run too much and drive up the utility bill. I had a new company come out in Dec 2012 and they discoved location of leak immediately. Leak is in coil which can not be repaired. Coil must be replaced. They also noticed fungal growth on coil and undersized returns. Heat pump at lake house was also under service agreement. At service appointment in Spring 2012 they did not inform us of day and time of appontment and instead did the service while no one was home by "jumping" the system from outside at the unit and by-passing the thermostat. They checked the system in the air and heat mode, but left the system on in the constant heat mode. The system remained in this mode for an extended period of time and much damage was done to the house and the furnishings due to the extreme heat. A claim had to be filed with their liability insurance company to partially cover the damage expense. When the new company went out to do their inspectionson the heat pump at lake house, they discovered that the wires to the heat strips had been cut, the return was undersized, in the wrong location, and contained mold and water. A new return will need to be run along with supply lines that are the proper size. Repairs for both locations will be about $2500 - $3000. Stay away from this company! NOTE! As of 5/11/13, the company and I have come to an amicable agreement with regard to the above incident.
Description of Work: Smarr installed a split heat/air system in a small cottage 4 years ago and a heat pump at the lake house about 2.5 years ago. We have had annual maintenance agreements with service 2x year at both locations.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
1.0
value
3.0
professionalism
1.0
responsiveness
2.0
punctuality
1.0
$7,500
Response from Smarr Heating & Air Conditioning LLC
In response first let us say that our company has been in business since 1971 with zero unresolved customer complaints. In Sept. 07, husband contacted our company about installing a system @ the cottage, a wood frame metal building, with one side used as a living quarters & the adjoining side used as a small engine repair shop. Upon meeting with husband, discussing budget & giving a price for a 13 SEER unit he asked if we had a used unit that may meet his need. We had no used units, but did have a 2005 model 2 ton split heat pump that was new/unused and could be warranted as new. Husband chose this route. Install completed on 2/27/08.As start up was in February we informed husband that we would need to come out in Spring 08 to check the system out prior to cooling season & balance out the Freon charge as it is difficult to insure proper operating charge for cooling when start up occurs when outside temps are below 65 deg. We came out in April 08 to perform preseason cooling start up & at this time added 3 ounces of Freon to bring the unit to the proper operating charge. Our company provides 1 yr. free service on all installs. No calls for service were received within the one year period. In May 2010 husband called & said that unit did not seem to be cooling as well as in the past so I went out personally same day & met him on site for service. I found that the unit was low in Freon. The total operating charge of the unit is 98 ounces plus 6 more ounces required for the tubing length in excess of 15’. The unit was approximately 11 ounces low. I found a leak in the low pressure service port on the unit. I showed the leak location to husband using soap bubbles. The service port is a brass fitting that connects to the copper refrigerant tubing at the outdoor unit. It contains an o-ring and occasionally as part of routine maintenance this service port may need to be retightened. Because this port is hot during winter operation & cold during summer operation the brass sometimes will expand & contract allowing for Freon loss by the o-ring fitting at the port. I tightened the port & showed husband that the leak had been repaired by once again using soap bubbles & recharged system. On 1/20/12 wife called and said that the cottage unit was having difficulty maintaining the temp within the home during the heating mode. This was a 2 year span from the last call for service. Again we provided same day service & sent one of our service techs out to meet customer on site to diagnose. It was found that the unit was again low in Freon. At this time roughly 14.5 ounces had to be added to the system. As no leaks could be found in the outdoor unit @ this time we informed homeowner that we were adding refrigerant to get the system functional & that it would be a good idea for them to subscribe to our annual maintenance program & told them when we came back in the spring for maintenance a fluorescent dye which would aid us in finding the location of any leak in the system components would be installed at no cost. When we perform a leak test using the dye we use dry nitrogen to get the system up to operating pressure while the system is off. Once the dye is installed in the refrigerant circuit it is desirable to have it run through the system for about two weeks so that it is properly circulated. We believed the leak to be in the evaporator as a result of formicary corrosion, which has been a problem with leaks on indoor coils on all major brands of equipment around this date of manufacture. Unfortunately due to some issues that we encountered with the second property in question mentioned in the review we were never able to follow through with suspected issue on indoor coil where we had installed the dye at the cottage property. Our record of received payments from customer shows they only subscribed to our maintenance program on the cottage property beginning January 26, 2012. If any records to the contrary can be produced by customer we welcome their input to contradict the service & payment records that are logged daily by our office staff. As for the history on the lake property, we received a call from the husband on 7/08/08 requesting that we meet him at the lake house which is a double wide mobile home to look at replacing the existing system serving the property. Existing unit was a 3-1/2 ton heat pump with a mobile home electric furnace and indoor coil located in the laundry room. The double wide mobile home already had supply ductwork installed with a flexible crossover duct connecting the two aluminum ducts that supply the air to the grilles in the home. Our contract with customer was to install a new 3-1/2 ton packaged heat pump connect to the existing supply crossover duct and add a mobile home drop box kit that we ordered with the new unit from our distributor. Unit was installed 7/11/08. When we met with the husband on July 8 we proposed locations for the return and he told us that he would let us know the location selected upon consulting the wife. Due to the structural steel & floor joist limitations found within the floor system of a mobile home there are a limited number of locations where a return can be located. Though stated that the return is in the “wrong location”, it was the location chosen by the homeowner and is certainly better than the location of the existing return which was above the mobile home furnace in laundry room & exposed to t heat and lint generated by appliances. As for ductwork having been stated to be undersized, it is the ductwork that came with the mobile home and was serving the old existing system prior to replacement. On 10/17/11 we responded to a call with husband present where existing supply crossover duct had came loose from its’ connection to the aluminum duct serving the mobile home. This was repaired @ no charge. Our records reflect that customer did not participate in maintenance program on lake home until 5 /27/2011. As for statements made that there was no attempt at scheduling spring maintenance on lake property for 2012, this is also not factual. Prior to our company coming out for maintenance service, all customers are given a courtesy call to inform the homeowner that we will be in the area on a specific day and if they cannot be present they can leave a key, reschedule to a more convenient time, or in instances where packaged units are installed & not objectionable the tstat can be bypassed to perform maintenance services & we will follow up with a phone call after service is performed to let them know of any issues found or to see if there is any need for a follow up from any issues that the customer may have noticed. We performed the preseason cooling spring maintenance on the lake home on 3/31/12. On 4/1/12 I spoke with the wife in reference to the maintenance being performed & at that time wife stated that all seemed to be working well. On 5/11/12 we received a call from the husband stating that the unit had apparently been running in the heat mode of operation and he stated damage was caused to an older refrigerator located in the laundry room where cans had apparently gotten so cold that they burst within the refrigerator, glue became separated from an area of Formica on a countertop, & that the heat had caused discoloration to the door handles on a refrigerator located in the kitchen. We performed a diagnostic on the system and found that the wire from the tstat that energizes the reversing valve, which tells the unit to operate in heating or cooling mode, had separated from the point of connection inside the cabinet of the unit. We repaired the connection. As most any HVAC contractor can attest, if the heat is operating when outdoor temperatures are in excess of 80-90 degrees units have a high pressure safety switch in them which will cut the system off or refrigerant discharge temperatures will get so high that the compressor will lock out on internal overload which is a compressor safety feature built in to protect the compressor. Given this knowledge we found the damage claim from the homeowner to be hard to believe, but rather than creating an argument, elected to turn it over to our liability insurance provider to get an unbiased 3rd party opinion. On 5/14/12 a claim was filed with our insurance company and an adjuster was assigned. The initial adjuster could not solely determine that any action performed by our company caused the damage and further enlisted the services of a forensic mechanical engineer. On 5/31/12 the forensic engineer employed by our insurance company went out for a second review. We had a rep from our company along with the technical service manager for the equipment manufacturer meet on site with him and the homeowner. While he agreed that he could not prove that anything we had done contributed to the damage, he also could not disprove and recommended that the claim just be paid out and that we cut our losses and break ties with the customer. The technical service rep was the last person to look at the unit and found no issues with the unit or installation, so if something was done to the electric heat wiring as stated it was not by our company. Outside of maintenance payments reflected above we show no record for where we ever charged the customer for any service calls or received any payment for any calls outside of maintenance. Also, even against the advisement of our insurance company and the forensic engineer if the coil at the cottage property has not been replaced our company would still offer to replace the coil free of charge. Permits were pulled and all work was inspected. We do not feel that the letter grades assigned to our company were at all a true reflection of the level of service provided and ask only that any potential customers call our office for referral to a list of customers dating back to 1971 who can provide a true reflection of the level of service that our company offers
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Service Categories
Heating and Air Conditioning,
Energy Efficiency Auditing
FAQ
Smarr Heating & Air Conditioning LLC is currently rated 1 overall out of 5.
Monday: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday: 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday: 7:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Smarr Heating & Air Conditioning LLC accepts the following forms of payment: Check,Discover,Financing Available,MasterCard,Visa
Yes, Smarr Heating & Air Conditioning LLC offers eco-friendly accreditations.
No, Smarr Heating & Air Conditioning LLC does not offer a senior discount.
Yes, Smarr Heating & Air Conditioning LLC offers emergency services.
No, Smarr Heating & Air Conditioning LLC does not offer warranties.
Smarr Heating & Air Conditioning LLC offers the following services: Residential and commercial heating, air conditioning repair, sales, installation, replacement & energy efficient auditing.
