Price For Replacing "A" Coil

[FredT300B]

My 8 year old AC is leaking freon, and the technician who serviced the unit this morning tells me the "A" coil in the attic must be replaced. The unit is 2.5 tons, and the blower/coil unit is in the attic, which is easily accessed, fully decked, and has full standing room (it's not an abnormally difficult unit to service). The coil sits on top of the blower unit. The price quoted is $1,900. Is this a reasonable and customary price for replacing a coil. Located in Houston, TX. Thanks for any advice.

[SSN596]

Keep in mind that the technician must be licensed by the EPA to handle the Freon ( I am assuming that this is an older R22 unit). Getting that license in not free! The company must own refrigerant recovery equipment, which is not cheap. They must pay a hazmat fee to dispose of the refrigerant they must pump out of your system.

The technician must be well trained on how to set up the system after repairs...how much Freon, pressures, temps, etc.


The coil is probably a few hundred wholesale, to which they must add a markup. There is an intangible cost to the warranty they will provide you on the work. Just the replacement refrigerant is expensive. Not to mention probably replacing the liquid and suction filters, and silver (yes real silver!) solder for brazing the joints.... you can see that a lot of things add up. Add to all the material expenses the contractor's labor charge...probably $85 to $110 per hour depending on where you live......you can see that you would quickly get up to $1900.


As consumers, we are spoiled becasue we are used to buying widgets at Walmart , made by people earning a dollar a day. Unfortunately, you just cannot get work done in this country for that price.

[lonestarheir]

If you are questioning the integrity of the estimating company, get another company to come out. Most companys will not charge you to come give you a second opinion. If you want a true second opinion - say nothing of the first company, pay another company a service call and see what they say. Doing this several times is the best way to get a good idea of what is really wrong. It may cost you a bit up front, but could save you hundreds in the end. If after two companys come out and everything found to be wrong is about the same, then you can assume that the problem is evident and just as for an estimate from any other companys you schedule.

[FredT300B]

If you are questioning the integrity of the estimating company, get another company to come out. Most companys will not charge you to come give you a second opinion. If you want a true second opinion - say nothing of the first company, pay another company a service call and see what they say. Doing this several times is the best way to get a good idea of what is really wrong. It may cost you a bit up front, but could save you hundreds in the end. If after two companys come out and everything found to be wrong is about the same, then you can assume that the problem is evident and just as for an estimate from any other companys you schedule.

Thanks for the response. I will do that.

[FredT300B]

As consumers, we are spoiled becasue we are used to buying widgets at Walmart , made by people earning a dollar a day. Unfortunately, you just cannot get work done in this country for that price.

Sorry you got the impression that I expect the work to be done for a bargain price. Read my note again. I merely want to make an informed decision about whether I am paying a reasonable amount for this repair.

[FredT300B]

The Final Outcome:

The first technician had charged me for five pounds of freon, and he told me the coil in the attic needed changing. The cost would be $1,900 all included. When I asked if he planned to use his sniffer to find the leak his response was "I've been reapiring ac's for 25 years and I know it's the coil that's leaking". My instincts have usually served me well, and this time they told me to "just say no".

As lonestarheir had suggested I called another AC repair company, and they quoted me $1,200 all inclusive to replace the coil, They suggested a service tech come out to the house and use his sniffer to find the leak before we concluded the coil was leaking. He came, sniffed the upstiars and downstairs units, and couldn't find a leak. He suggested I monitor the unit for a couple of months, and if it starts cooling less, to call him and he will come out, measure how much freon has leaked, and try the sniffer again. He also asked if I was certain the other guy had put five pounds of freon into the unit. So this visit cost me $60 instead of $1,900.

Lonestarheir, thanks for the excellent advice.

[lonestarheir]

Glad I could help - I own an a/c company and have this sort of thing happen all the time. Most companys try to run an honest business, but there are a few that like to stick it to customers. Glad that you found someone that is going to monitor it instead of just "well, that is what's wrong" attitude.