Only the obvious. Check your guarantee. Unless it was a tail light guarantee they should have to come out and fix the unit without charging you. That is a lot of $ for just a coil replacement but I don't know prices in your area. What is the age and model of your furnace and A/C?

You could be doing the company a favor by calling them. How else do they know how and what their employees are doing unless they get feedback? If there is another leak that has anything to do with the replaced coil I would not let them charge you for replacing freon etc. If there is a leak elsewhere, why was it not discovered when the tech pulled a vacuum? That is done to test the brazed joints, or should have been done.

If the other coil developed a leak, it is 'luck of the draw'. If the leak is in the same area as the new coil, the tech screwed up. If the schrader valves are bad, and hiss when the guages are removed, this is where the leak probably is. This is sometimes time consuming to replace, so a tech can get lazy, and hope the cap holds the freon. Replacing a typical schrader valve can take from 10 minutes to over 1 hour, depending on how the manufacturer placed the valve. Sometimes you have to evacuate the system to replace the valve, this can take 2-3 hours.

The AC is a 1999 Rheem 3 Ton FADC-036JAS, and the Air Handler is a 1999 Aqua Therm 36VQ3. Now that I think about it, the tech was here only about an hour replacing the coils so maybe he did skip some steps. Thanks for the great replies.

You may have another leak somewhere. Once a leak has been found, it's common not to check for other leaks other than a visual look for signs oil seepage. I have been guilty of that myself when there are tons of calls to do - sometimes that's a mistake.
Have them come back and do the checking- perhaps it's not freon.
One thing I always do is show the leaks in any part I will replace to the customer so there's no question.
It could just be a soldered joint or fitting they didn't check- that too happens sometimes, though it shouldn't.

Cgl, are you cooling now? Take a temperature reading where the filter goes in (return temp) and another at the nearest register to the inside unit, (supply temp). Subtract the supply temp from the return temp and it should be about 18-20 degrees after the unit has been on for about 10 minutes.

An hour to change a coil? Maybe. Probably didn't pull a vacuum or if he did, not long enough to test for a leak. you would have seen a small vacuum pump machine running near the outside unit where the guages were hooked up.

If a good vacuum was not pulled (research this on the net) you will have moisture in the system which will create an acid which will damage a compressor within a few years or less. It also removes air which is a non condensible and therefore takes up space in the freon tubes robbing the efficiency of the unit.

When you say 'all of the parts that were leaking', I don't think you understand what the original problem was. Only by hooking up guages can you tell how much freon is in the system. Once you determine that the freon level is low, you can use a couple of methods to find the leak and determine if it is repairable or is better to replace. I gather you just got 'sold' a new coil for a questionable price. Then you got shoddy workmanship. Usually there is only one leak on a no cool call. Rare to have more.

Why not get a second opinion? Granted it will cost about a hundred to have another company do a standard service call. Don't mention anything other than you had the coil replaced recently but that you want documentation of temps and pressures noted on an invoice as well as any other findings during the inspection.

A schraeder valve removal tool cuts the replacement time down to about five minutes. Tho some manufacturers make it difficult to access the valves.

I think deweymn is on the right track.

Many times the removal tool doesnt fit or work properly. This summer, I tried to do a Rheem, It was very difficult. I did a Goodman, it was difficult, I did a Carrier, it took forever. I have a York at home, it is impossible to use the tool. On a good day, it is difficult, on a bad day, impossible. An Arcoaire unit was dry, and I did not need the tool, otherwise it would not be possible to use the tool. 5 minutes, in your dreams.

in my dreams too i guess. that $35 no-loss schraeder tool has helped me on more than one occasion.
yes, 5 minutes on a cube unit no problem.

if the tech took about an hour to change a evap coil he skipped more than a few steps.

I can't let that statement stand without some comment.
Schreader leak problem

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From another site I won't name:
"Purchase yourself a core removal tool which will allow you to replace the schreader core without pumping down the system. This will work providing the valve has adequate clearence around it to accommodate the core removal tool. Some advice on the tool - Don,t over tightened the knurled nuts on the tool. Use only sufficient pressure so the connection doesn't leak, but don't crank down on them, the core won,t pass through the gasket.
I use the J/B brand, but I"m sure there are other brands that will work equally as well. Be sure to use a touch of compressor or vacuum pump oil on the removal tool slide and sealing gaskets, helps it to last longer and seal up easier, good luck." This was in response to someone posting a question of removing the core without a pumpdown.

If you can get your hose on a unit's schraeder valve you probably can get your handy dandy core remover tool on the fitting and extract the old core without releasing any refrigerant. Simply insert a new core in and use the tool as provided in the instructions and the new core screws in nicely. It has worked for me on more than one occassion. I, however, don't have thousands of units experience but I can say that I have found a few older units where the scraders are so inaccessible that even a hose low loss fitting can't be hooked up. For that you need another fitting made for those difficult to access engineers brain farts.

Sorry Bob, you made it sound like removing a core without a pump down is an impossible task. That is misleading tho I don't doubt that you have had trouble accomplishing this.
Because you said that was so.

Of course there are the one's where the tech had tightened the schrader cap down so tight, the opening has been crushed to the point the stem won't/can't come out.

Thanks again for the advice. I just scheduled a service call with the company who did the coil installation in May, and also scheduled a service call with another company for a second opinion. When I asked the original company if they would document the temperatures and pressures, the lady on the phone acted like that was a strange request, said they dont normally do that, but that they would. The company I called for the second opinion didnt hesitate when I asked them that and said they would. This is all a new world to me, if anyone has any thoughts on what to make of those responses, I'd love to hear them.

There is the obvious, the lady on the phone has never done anything with a/c other than see the lettering on her thermostat. Not being unkind but dispatchers who were in the field are much better at diagnosing questions than ones who never cracked open an a/c book but think because they field calls all day long they are now knowledgeable.

her opinion tells me a lot about the company. Couldn't you get thru to a service manager?

I hope you can get the second company out before the installing company comes out and covers their tracks.

I don't know of an a/c technician that cannot jot down temps (temp rise and temp drop), lineset temps, and pressure off the guages he/she hooks up. Now superheat and subcooling are strange bedfellows to some techs and confuse the hell out of them. Knowing whether or not you have a piston style system or a cap tube one is necessary to know whether you charge by SH or SC. If your system recieved new refrigerant after the coil change it would have been best to weigh in the charge. Of course, one needs a refrigerant scale not a bathroom scale to do this.

Why not do a temp drop now before any techs show up?