Parts are obsolete:
This is more often than not a false claim. Repair parts are made by a variety of different manufacturers, so just because the original part you had may no longer be available, there is usually a functional if not exact direct replacement out there. It just takes a little digging, and sometimes you might have to be the one to pick up the shovel. You have to keep in mind, it is more time efficient and profitable for the technician to just replace a unit versus having to try and source your part and then come back and install it. And some companies just don’t have enough cross reference information or tools available to be able to find that other replacement. The internet is a very powerful tool. Before succumbing to the technician’s claims, you may just want to take a trip on the information super highway.
The manufacturer is out of business:
Again, this is usually false. There are a few companies that have fizzled out over the years, but that is literally only a few. And just because they might have gone out of business, it still does not mean that you can’t find a replacement part. Think of your unit like a car. Sure, the body style and emblem tells you what brand it is such as a Chevy, but not all of the components inside and under the hood are made by Chevy. They source out different companies to make certain parts for them and then they install them into the vehicle. This is the same with heating and air conditioning units. You may have a Lennox unit, but the contactor could be made by White-Rodgers, the motor by GE, the circuit board by Robertshaw and a compressor by Copeland. If your repair part can’t be found by the Lennox unit model number, it usually can be found by a part number from the part itself.
R-22 compressors are no longer available:
We hear this one a lot. While it is true that R-22 refrigerant is being phased out, this is not going to be til around 2018. In the meantime, Copeland, Bristol and Tecumseh among other manufacturers will continue to produce the R-22 units. They are not defunct, they are not illegal.
The repair part you picked up is incorrect for your unit:
While this is quite a possibility depending where you go for your part and what information you used to find it, I can speak for our company in saying that this is an absolute rarity. As long as you provide the correct information from your unit or part, and not from a manual that came with the unit then you should be in good shape. The manuals that come with the units are sometimes a reference guide for a gambit of units in the same series, so it won’t provide the correct or complete model number information. And sometimes the manual that you get isn’t for the unit you actually have at all, so always reference the equipment or part for the part or model number information. That being said, with the correct information, sometimes the repair part has been upgraded or switched to a different manufacturer, which will usually result in a part that looks a lot different. So what. Like the old saying goes, looks can be deceiving. And there are some technicians that will tell you that you have the wrong part. Some because they are unaware of the upgrade or change in manufacturer, and some because they would rather you buy the part from them. If they tell you the part you got is incorrect, before you take their word for it, contact the company you placed the order with and go over everything once again. What can usually be done here is the company will double check all cross references that were made against the part that you were shipped, and assuming the information all points back to the same part, documentation and proof along with replacement wiring instructions can be provided. Now, I cannot speak for all other companies, but I can say that for certain with parts purchased from AmericanHVACParts.com.
And the 5th and BIGGEST myth of all…
Your unit or entire system needs to be replaced:
This is the most common and most outrageous claim we tend to hear from our customers. For even the smallest and most common parts, customers will call us and explain how they were told that because their contactor or capacitor or motor is bad that the entire unit or even worse, the entire system is in need of replacing. This can sometimes, on a very rare occasion be true. VERY RARE. We would highly advise that you either get a 2nd or 3rd opinion, or simply call us and describe the situation. Most often it is a quick simple fix that can be done by yourself without having to call out a technician again, and for a fraction of the cost of what the whole new replacement system would cost. I can’t say it enough, use the internet. That’s what it is there for is information, and there is a wealth of it out there to be found. You just might surprise yourself with how much time, money and headache can be saved just by crawling along the world wide web or simply call us at (866) 432-8551.
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