Air Mechanix LLC

This testimonial is with respect to poor service, damage done, and lack of response from heating and cooling provider Air Mechanix LLC, 811 E Plano Pkwy, Plano, TX 75074, P.O. Box 864772, Plano, TX 75086, 214-394-5520, bobbipappas@airmechanix.com. Poor service was provided at our home in Plano, TX. Our basic claim revolves around two service charges, April 11, 2018 and May 26, 2018. Several attempts were made to discuss the issues described below with Air Mechanix LLC, even contacting the owner, but no response was received. I will begin this story from the May 26 service visit and work backwards, and then return to the day after the May 26 visit. Incompetent Service on May 26, 2018 Air Mechanix LLC Tech “William” came to our house on Saturday, May 26, at an upcharge because of the holiday weekend. He immediately noticed a problem when he found the fan running backwards on the outside upstairs (U/S) unit (after he had checked things out in the attic). That is, the compressor fan in the outside unit was blowing downward, creating a tremendous head pressure on the unit, and the unit was not able to cool at all (the reason for the service call). This condition had existed since April 11 because no one else touched these HVAC units (we prepaid a one-year service contract with Air Mechanix for their exclusive service). I was surprised (actually, shocked) to learn how William corrected this situation: he reversed the polarity on the fan motor so that it would run correctly (blow upward). I commented to him that the laws of physics do not allow for a fan to just mysteriously begin running backward within a stable circuit (it had been running perfectly for the last two years before the April 11 service call). I was perhaps even more surprised to hear William’s response: “It is strange but I have seen this happen before”. Not only is it a complete fallacy to believe that a motor could mysteriously and independently violate Faraday’s law and start spinning backward, but the “fix” is surely not to simply reverse the polarity, knowing that such action was completely against the manufacturer specifications, then walk away. William even showed me on the inside cover wiring diagram that the way he reversed polarity was entirely incorrect wiring, according to product specifications. Incidentally, William recorded on the service bill exactly what he had found (fan running backward) and how he fixed it (reversing the polarity), even noting that the wiring “fix” he had executed did not adhere to the manufacturer wiring diagram. This was essentially an admission of incorrect and indefensible service practice. This of course is a major problem because it means that the Air Mechanix LLC Tech knowingly violated the product design by deliberately mis-wiring the fan on the unit. I suggested to him (twice) that a fan all of a sudden running backwards was very strange and simply could not happen, and was most likely a result of the April 11 service; he repeated twice to me that there would be no reason for the Tech on April 11 to do anything with the fan, and dismissed that possibility. A complete check of the electrical wiring should have been done, particularly given my questions on the April 11 service (see below) by another Air Mechanix LLC Tech “Keven”; despite that, William said that the capacitor was wired correctly. Incompetent Service on April 11, 2018 Now this narrative goes back to April 11, where the first of these large errors in the two service calls was made. On that day, Air Mechanix LLC Tech Keven came to install a new capacitor on the U/S unit, which was still under warranty. Air Mechanix LLC had installed the unit in 2015, and on a routine seasonal service (March 21, 2018) claimed we had a “weak capacitor” on the unit; because the capacitor itself was covered under warranty (which I had to ascertain via lengthy email conversations with Air Mechanix LLC), I decided to schedule a subsequent service call to have them change it out (although I later learned that I had to pay for labor). This was the purpose of the April 11 service call. Keven made a huge error in wiring the capacitor on April 11. He had switched the wire attached to the HERM terminal with that attached to “C” terminal. There is a wiring diagram on the inside cover of the unit where it can be seen that the capacitor was mis-wired, although William missed that. On May 27, the day after William’s visit, I inspected the wiring of the U/S unit more closely. This is when the enormous errors were noticed (incorrectly wired capacitor and switched polarity on the fan). To correct this would have involved yet another service call to Air Mechanix LLC, and likely another large bill, assuming the Tech was competent enough to notice the incorrect wiring. What’s worse, if we had not had suspicions and inspected this carefully, this unit would have likely run with this incorrect wiring (fan making an odd noise) until it finally died. Fortunately, we immediately diagnosed the problem and fixed it easily ourselves, merely flipping the wires on the capacitor and re-reversing the polarity on the fan (this was essentially service to correct multiple errors by Air Mechanix LLC Techs). Not only is the fan now running in the proper direction (blowing upward), the capacitor is wired correctly. So, we effectively undid what two Air Mechanix LLC Techs did, and made it right, avoiding yet another service call and bill. Clearly Keven was incompetent; how on earth could a reputable service Tech walk away from a unit (that he had just wired incorrectly) and not notice that the fan was running backwards! And how could a second service Tech intentionally mis-wire the polarity on a fan, against manufacturer specifications, to get it to run in the right direction, without diagnosing the problem? Either that was incompetence or it was a refusal to admit an error by the company (first technician). Damage Done We have no way of determining how much damage has been done to the fan and compressor, both of which undoubtedly were pulling too much current because of the head pressure developed with the fan blowing downward (indeed, William confirmed this telling me that it was drawing twice the current it should). Also, we have no way of predicting what would have happened if the multiple errors had not been noticed when they were. It is important to note that the U/S unit now has difficulty pulling the temperature down to a setting of 76 degrees after all this, leading me to believe the unit could be damaged. Now for the key question: What damage has been done to components in the unit? First, the compressor may be damaged due to prolonged excessive overload (high head pressure) and high current draw. Second, with the fan polarity switched (a mis-wired circuit, done intentionally against Lennox specification), even more damage could have resulted in the fan and compressor. I believe at this point we have no certain answer to that question, but given the lack of response, I am now convinced of one thing: Air Mechanix LLC has no intention of taking responsibility or even discussing this situation. Because Air Mechanix LLC refused to discuss any of this, I would strongly recommend not doing business with this company. There are many other reputable companies with which you may trust your HVAC needs. However, my advice is to avoid family-owned companies with questionable business practices, especially those that tend to hire family members and friends of the family.

I have used them for a number of years.

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Went very well, as always. We have used Air Mechanic for both our home and business since about 2007. Have never had a single problem with either their professionalism or the quality of their work. Having been jacked around by other HVAC companies in the past, we remain very loyal to Air Mechanix, and have recommended them to many friends over the years.

Bobbi the owner personally answers the phone and sets everything up. She goes out of her way each time to make it as convenient as possible for us. Whether it is an after hours emergency or a maintenance checkup, they are always friendly, courteous, and informative. We have been using their services for a number of years now after having horrible service with any number of other HVAC companies here in DFW. Once we found AirMechanix we have not ever thought of calling anyone else. We even get Christmas cards from them with coupons for future use!

We have been using them for about seven years. We are real happy with them. They are reliable and honest. They do not try to upsell. They come out and fix it whenever it needs to be fixed. They are knowledgeable and friendly.

Bobbie called me back personally and sent Dale to assess my problem. Heath then came out and repaired my system promptly and explained everything. My system now works better than ever!

Great. I will not hesitate to use Air Mechanix for all of my future air conditioning and heating needs.

I think one can get the most accurate assessment of a company when the job is complex or problematic. The AC situation I had was just that, and Air Mechanix proved themselves, big time. To make a relatively long story as short as possible, we bought a house 6-7 yrs ago with an AC system that was totally worn-out, so we had new heating and AC system installed; everything. Unfortunately, it appears that installation by the prior company then, not Air Mechanix, was not all that great. [That prior company's work was what prompted us to get Angie's List.] One of the AC compressors failed and we hired Air Mechanix based on their Angie's rating. Their dealing with the legacy issues was not easy (crimp in the coolant line that appears to have been done when the prior condenser was installed, burnt freon in the lines from the compressor burn out, tight attic working space, etc.), but after some lengthy effort, on a 100+ degree day, they made it work. Subsequently, a component in the new condenser failed, likely due to more legacy issues, and Air Mechanix was here within the hour, with the right part and had the unit working pronto. And everything was fully under warranty, both the equipment manufacturer parts warranty and Air Mechanix service warranty, so zero cost to us on the repair. Bottom-line they know what they are doing and they completely stand behind their work. Two things that unfortunately don't seem to be the case with some companies, particularly AC companies. Also, on the new condenser installation their price was competitive, and they included some line pressure regulators and safety devices not included in other quotes so all-in it seemed the best deal.

Left message that my AC was out on a Sunday evening. Called again Monday morning and I had already been scheduled for that day. They once come out on Easter Sunday!

I had a different A/C company (forced on us by our home warranty company) come out to "fix" our problem a few weeks ago only to find out they didn't find everything that was wrong. They did a temporary repair that held up for three weeks. All-in-all, I think the other company did an alright job, but the warranty company prevented them from taking the necessary steps to fix the system properly. So I decided to try someone different. AirMechanix called a few hours before they were expected to let me know they were in my area and would be able to help me with a leak test much sooner. They found a few problems with my AC system including a link in the evaporator coil, that the run lead on the compressor was burnt off, and that the system megged 0.. The technician, Heath, showed me what was wrong, where the problem occurred, and explained to me what he was going to suggest as a repair and why. I don't know what the repair will cost and at this point I'm not completely concerned with it. I know I found an AC company that puts in the work and does a great job. I highly recommend AirMechanix.

We discovered the emergency leak pan for our a/c unit in the attic had rusted through. Of course this was discovered when the ceiling in the closet collapesed due to the water in the dry wall. the company returned our call at 9:30 pm on the same day we called (I called at 6:30 pm). Knowing here was more of an issue that only the a/c leaking from the emergency drip pan, they wanted to set up a repair as soon as possible. The repairman arrived the next morning with the new emergency drip pan, installed it and cleaned out the main drip line for the a/c. He was very professional, and even took out a broom to clean up the insulation that had fallen into the hallway while he was in the attic working. Great company.

Great overall: could not be happier!

This guys are awesome! They were recommended to me by two of my neighbors. I have used them for preventative maintenance and were very impressed with them, especially their honesty. You get a real sense of trust with them, they aren't out to make as much as they can from you. In June 2009 I chose them to replace my entire HVAC system as my 15 year old system finally needed replacing. These guys came onsite with a 5 ton unit which they had quoted. After doing some measurements, and asked me some questions on my bills, they worked out that I only needed a 4.5 ton unit. So they left and took back the 5 ton unit and brought back a 4.5 ton unit and charged me less. They installed it perfectly of course, but what got me is that most contractors would have just installed the 5 ton unit even if it was overkill what my house. I was so impressed with these guys that I had them come out and perform a full inspection on the HVAC units at the new house I was buying, while I was still in my option period.

Excelletnt

When our A/C unit went out and stopped cooling we tried calling several different companies to come and service our units. All of the companies we called were unresponsive except for Air Mechanix. They were extremely responsive and willing to come out quickly. They provided us with a follow up call to estimate when they would arrive and arrived ahead of that estimate. Dale Conner was the technician who worked on our problem. He worked quickly and was able to address our problem. We were very pleased with the service we received. Our technician was also able to advise us of some suggestions we could do to help prolong the life of our A/C units. We would recommend Air Mechanix to others.