Jed McQueen Heating & AC

In January or February 2011, Jed McQueen Heating and Air Conditioning installed a new air handler/furnace for me and I was generally pleased with the service the business provided.  In comparison to the cost of repairing my old unit, the $1,600 price tag for a new unit covered under a warranty seemed to be a good deal.  In 2013, when I started hearing a concerning noise coming from my heat pump outside, I called Jed McQueen again.  I explained the situation and requested a technician inspection to either verify my suspicion of compressor bearing failure or advise me of repair solutions to my existing unit.  When the technicians showed up, one of them walked over to my unit and immediately stated that it was doomed.  Its quite possible that the unique noise my unit was making was all the technician needed to hear based on his experience and expertise level, however it seemed as if he were a bit eager to just replace my unit as he made the conclusion after hearing the noise for approx. 2-3 seconds and from 7-10 feet away from the unit.  He never removed a cover to gain access for closer inspection.  I agreed to go forward with replacement of the heat pump ($1,990), again with peace of mind that I was getting a new unit covered by a warranty.  I was advised over and over during both occasions that the new units were much more efficient than the my old equipment and should provide an increased benefit on my utility bills.  This did not happen.  I understand that there are many things that factor into a month-long utility bill (outside temperatures, thermostat settings, and variables related to our other electric usage), however after tracking our utility usage trends over the last two years, I have not seen any noticeable gain.  In fact, this last winter was quite bad.  Additionally, I remember hearing my heat pump running almost every time I went outside (contradicts the efficiency claims).  Fast-forward to May 8th, 2015.  As the temperatures began to rise, I tried to use my air conditioning and got no cooling effect.  The blower was running, just circulating hot air.  I walked out to my heat pump and it was not running.  A preliminary check of circuit breakers revealed no problems, so I removed a small cover panel on the heat pump and found a circuit board that had 2 LED lights, the red one was flashing.  Per the label on the inside of the cover, it became apparent that the LEDs were part of an on-board diagnostic function.  According to the key that detailed the relationship between flashes of LEDs and problem area, I found the reason my unit was not operational was because of a low-charge state.  My immediate thought was either a leak or faulty pressure transducer.  Either way, I had exhausted my own resources for addressing the problem and needed a professional's help.  The next morning, I again called Jed McQueen Heating and Air Conditioning and explained my situation.  Jed was non-committal on an appointment time, explaining to me that with the recent change in temperatures, the business was experiencing a sudden increase in workload, but that he would try to work me in that afternoon/evening.  I waited...and waited, and finally called him back that evening to follow up.  He told me they were really busy that day and an install they were working on was taking much longer than expected, but that assured me that he would get to me the following day.  The next day, I followed up mid-morning, trying to plan my day.  Again, very non-committal in regard to a time, Jed told me it would be that afternoon.  I again waited and waited, then followed up with Jed again around 6:00 that evening.  I tried to be as understanding as possible to his situation, but was beginning to feel like I was getting the run-around.  He told me I was next on the list and someone would be at my house in about an hour.  Finally, around 9:00 a technician showed up.  I honestly wasn't expecting anyone to show up at that point in the evening and felt bad for the guy.  I quickly gathered an extension cord and work lights and offered any assistance he might need.  When he hooked his gauges up to my unit, it was evident that all of my refrigerant had leaked out.  I assumed the next step would including an inspection for leaks (putting the system under pressure or vacuum, etc.), however it did not.  After quite a long period of inspecting my thermostat, air handler, etc. he called another much more experienced technician for advise.  By this time, I had talked with him quite a bit and he had openly discussed how he became involved in the HVAC business, how long he had been doing this type of work and so on.  Evidently, HVAC work is either a back-up plan or side income but is not his primary line of work.  He went on to explain that he had been going to school (for HVAC) and was associated with Jed McQueen Heating and Air Conditioning through a family member.  While I am absolutely supportive of people building and diversifying their skill set and trying to acquire knowledge and experience, I felt like the technician was in over his head.  He did not present himself as an experienced industry professional, or an expert in the subject and, in my humble opinion, had no business fielding the call by himself.  Again, I fully support anyone who not only desires more knowledge, but is willing to put in the work required to attain it.  That said, I have no problem with this technician, in fact I respect him for coming out and giving it his best.  He stayed for some time and tried several things to resolve my issue.  I appreciate his persistence!  On the flip side, I feel like the business made a bad judgment call, sending a very unexperienced technician to gain some "on-the-job experience," at the cost of my time (and his for that matter), without a mentor.  Eventually, we found the leak and it was not something that he was equipped to address that evening, so I followed up with Jed the next morning.  The leak was at a brazed joint on the switching valve inside the heat pump.  When Jed and two other technicians arrived the next day, they had a replacement switching valve ready to install, but decided that a replacement valve was not necessary to fix the leak.  Instead, the joint could be cleaned up and brazed again.  Jed approved of the repair and left to handle another call.  Up to this point, I had no issues with how my repair was being handled.  The thought of finally have air conditioning again reminded me to play nice and choose not to question the decision not to replace the part.  The braze job went very quickly, they continued by placing a vacuum pump on my system and verifying that it was no longer leaking, then began charging the system with refrigerant.  About half way through the charging process, the lead technician began discussing what I would be financially responsible for.  He started by just blurting out, "you're gonna have to buy the Freon," then began adding up labor hours, from the night before and that day.  When I questioned him about the warranty, he told me that the braze failure was caused by vibration and that the manufacturer does not consider that a warrantable repair.  This is when I started having problems with the repair.  How could the technician possibly know/prove when and how this joint failure occurred?  IF it  truly is due to excessive vibration, then was it not installed correctly or do I have a faulty unit AND why would this not be considered a defect in workmanship or material from the manufacturer?  He proceeded to add up my bill ($510.63), which seemed to be an attempt to recoup a little lost time for the technician from the night before.  I didn't have any desire to hash it out with this

Outstanding!! Jed and his entire crew performed flawlessly. The installation was installed accurately, neatly and the men cleaned up and left the house in very good condition. They did everything they promised and more. Highly recommended. Jed McQueen Heating and Cooling is the best company of its type that I have ever worked with. Excellent communication and work ethic.

Thank you.

PS I have hired Jed for several other jobs since this original job and the result has been the same----excellent work and always

caring about the customer.

They are very personable and carrying persons. The care about the customers. They replaced everything broken regarding the heating and A/C up and down stairs. I was even given a business card to use when I have any problem. They did such a vey good job. That's a great company. They all were very friendly, they came on time, they were like part of my family, very helpful for my seek husband,...I have used two other different companies with less results.