06/17/2020
Our Trane heat pump stopped working a couple of weeks ago. We called the local HVAC contractor whose sticker was pasted on the unit in the garage who came out several days later and diagnosed the problem as a burnt-out compressor. He offered 2 solutions: repair the compressor for about $4,000 OR replace the whole unit with an equivalent new Coleman unit for about $5,000. Optionally, he offered a more efficient new Bosch unit for about $6500. Since we had purchased the home less than 3 yrs ago, we were some surprised and a little blind-sided. We figured we'd better get some other estimates, so had another local contractor come out. He confirmed our need for new equipment and offered 3 other Trane options, ranging from $9200 to $14400. Meanwhile, we got a surprise "service call" bill from contractor #1. Argh!
About ready to throw in the towel, I spend the better part of the day online researching the massively overwhelming array of heat pump brands, performance specs, options, warranties, etc. We also followed up on a neighbor's recommendation of Economy Air Systems (Bremerton / 360-698-6626).
Brian came out the very next day. He was on-time, friendly and after only a couple of questions, wondered aloud about our previous diagnosis. Then, literally in less than 10 minutes, his suspicions were confirmed: our compressor unit itself, was fine. Only a small capacitor was burned out, not the motor. In less than another 5 minutes he retrieved a new capacitor from his van, installed it and had our heat pump up and running without any further ado!!!
Brian is our mega-hero. I am removing contractor #1's sticker from our heat pump cabinet and affixing Brian's business card for Economy Air Systems, Inc in its place. Whenever our unit does indeed wear out & finally need replacement, I know who I can trust to call!