this town is too hot

What follows is a typical summertime Phoenix area Landlord/Tenant exchange. The names have been changed or altered to sort of protect the innocent.

On Tuesday, the first day of the high pressure heat wave nudging the desert southwest into an earlier than anticipated summer, the temperature reached 99 degrees Fahrenheit and the AC shut down. Not the condenser/compressor, just the air handler (fan). The Tenant presumed a breaker tripped and reset the breaker. The fan restarted. All was well. A precautionary voicemail was left for the Landlord describing the incident.

On Wednesday, it happened again:
Tenant wrote to Landlord:
Hey Guys,
Air handler is down again tonight - left a VM on B's phone. Flipping the breaker hasn't reset it like last night. Cooling unit is chugging away but I shut it down because it's making cold air that's going nowhere so I don't whether it's part of the problem or not. It's nice and cool in here tonight (about 80) but it will be hot tomorrow! Please let me know what the plan is.
Thanks,

Wednesday morning, Landlord called and arranged for warranty service.
Landlord wrote to Tenant:
I just realized that I have a meeting to attend at 5:00 p.m, which will go until 6:00 p.m. It’s at the Gilbert Mercy Medical Center and a meeting that has been changed so many times…I need to attend it…I can cover the AC from 3:00 p.m. until then (my guess is that he will have to access the fans through the attic in the garage….) Might you be able to cover from 5:00 pm. On? Let me know….

So the Tenant left work early to meet the warranty service tech who quickly became known as Monkey Boy. Monkey Boy got things in temporary order.

Tenant wrote to Landlord:
All is running well. The tech indicated he needed to recharge the condenser/compressor with Freon and that the lack of sufficient Freon caused the air handler to “freeze up” and shut down. I talked to my boss who has an HVAC background and he confirmed this could cause this so I’m comfortable with the initial diagnosis. All other systems checked out although the tech did mention the filters being used were substandard and recommended pleated filters. Throw that at B and see what he says.
I’ll bring the paperwork next time I come over or throw it in with the rent.
Thanks for all your help on this!

Landlord replied:
Awesome! I’m glad it all worked out..I was thinking about the Freon as well after I got home….interesting point about the filters…you get so many opinions on those…this guy seemed pretty cool, though….when was the last time those filters were even changed? They should be changed monthly..might have to get a whole bunch and just change them out each month….
Okie dokie…see you soon!

The system crashed minutes later and Tenant wrote to Landlord:
I’m afraid to say I spoke too soon. Same issue reoccurred tonight. Cooling and fan ran - then shut down around 7 PM. Cooling continued to run. Fan never came back on. Temp rose. Turned cooling off at 9 PM, switched fan to “on” from “auto” and 20 minutes later fan turned on. Waited another twenty minutes and turned cooling on. Fan shut down immediately. ???
This shouldn’t require a degree in rocket science or nuclear level timing. If the room is at 75 and I want it to be 70, I should be able to adjust the stat and get the desired temp. No? When the cooling works but the fan doesn’t, I can’t.
Dude from warranty had a plausible reason but I think that’s shot down now. What I didn’t mention was that he suggested I didn’t understand a t-stat. What’s to understand? I say 70, I get 70. I shouldn’t have to time the sequence between air handler and compressor/condenser based on some obscure scientific process that requires knowledge of the system and electrical interactions.
Something is screwed up and warranty guy is apparently out of his league. Guess that’s why his service is so cheap. I’d rather pay $300 dollars and get a resolution than pay whatever the warranty deductible was and be told its Freon, nothing else is wrong and maybe I don’t understand a simple thermostat.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not your fault. You went out of your way to do whatever you could with the resources available and I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, the problem has not been resolved. Please ask the B to call me as soon as he’s off the reservation.
Thanks!

The warranty service was called and returned on Thursday. Monkey Boy brought his handler and the handler determined it was the air handler control panel at fault and that it was in need of replacement. The part would be picked up Friday morning and installed that day. If it was available. It wasn't. It wouldn't be until Monday. The indoor temp rose to 85. Arrangements would have to be made.

Landlord wrote:
It’s been a pretty crazy day here, so I apologize for not being able to ride herd on this AC thing….I talked with them after I spoke with you today and asked about them getting the part earlier….they have tried all their avenues here in town, they say and said they are trying the best they can. If you get really uncomfortable, and want to stay elsewhere, we’d reimburse or if you want, we could rent portable AC units for you as well….I know that isn’t the point, but let us know….
I asked if you could call them direct in the future, should something like this happen again – with anything (i.e plumbing, etc.) and they were okay with that…as long as the address on the contract is where they are servicing…so if you would like to call them, now or in the future, their number is (800)555-2339….give her hell!

In the meantime, Tenant bypassed the air handler control panel and jump started the fan via the breaker box. The fan roared to life, the temp dropped to 75 within a few minutes.

Nonetheless, Tenant wrote:
Thanks A! I’ve checked into the Airport Hilton on University because it’s close to work and I can just go into the office during the day and not have ask for travel expenses as well for the trip back and forth to work. It’s pretty reasonable at $289.00 per night and I’m thinking a $100/day per diem ought to do it so you should be out only $1200 or so for the weekend (maybe a little more when the bar tab is figured in). Of course it will be more if they don’t install the part Monday so I reserved through next Wednesday. The Marriot Fairfield on the corner was only $149 but you know, when your on the Landlord dime, that’s like the ghetto. No room service, no mini-bar!
I called the warranty company and told them of your generous offer and not to worry about getting the part ASAP. They were OK with that! They remarked how reasonable I was being about the whole affair and thanked me, “Thank you so much, Mr. Teever, thank you.”, they said. Apparently, you had them spooked.
Thanks again! I’m sure I will enjoy my weekend.


PS: Almost forgot, it’s another $24.95 for a high speed connection, but I’ll take care of that as a gesture of good will.

PPS: Ask B if he hasn’t already given you the 411. I left a voicemail on his cell.

In the meantime, the jumpstart worked and it's freezing in here now. Wonder how this will affect the electric bill? To be continued.