I guess their parts can just sit on their shelves and collect dust instead of making them a profit. Who do they think they are kidding, especially with the internet to compete with. Just making life difficult.

I believe they do so for prudence and liability reasons. I know too many DIYers who really don't understand their own limitations. They become masters of how to half-glass things and think as they walk away from a mess they created that they've done a good job. Ignorance is bliss.

HVAC systems are (usually) easily dealt with when a trained and experienced technician is involved. On the other hand, an untrained amateur fooling around with one can burn a house down or cause other serious problems. Or can miss diagnosing a serious problem because of their lack of knowledge and experience.

Dealers do what they do for the same reason why equipment manufacturers won't offer a warranty for equipment not installed by a licensed contractor. Someone who wants to cut corners and pretend they know what they're doing is welcome to do so but the manufacturers and dealers are protecting you (and the public) by making it difficult to do so.

I would suppose the repair guy would buy more than one at a time, so that he always has a spare on his truck.

Snidely,if havc parts houses are protecting us from ourselves, does that mean big box stores and auto supply stores are imprudent,reckless and indifferent to our well being? With no cridentials what-so-ever,anyone can buy a load center,breakers,cable,boxes,wire nuts and everything else required to wire a building. At least the igniter as well as most other items are shown on a scematic inside an ac unit,where can the diyer find a scematic spicificly for electrical in his building? Do you feel auto suppy houses are liable if I screw up the brakes on my car and run into someone as a result? Again,where are the brake scematics attached to cars?

As far as professionals that show up to work on hvac, I agree 100% with your statment " HVAC systems are (usually) easily dealt with when a trained and experienced technician is involved". The sad truth in every state I've dealt with,technicians are not required to be trained nor demonstrate proficience before handed an invoice pad and turned loose. The ONLY requirment is they be EPA certified before messing with freon. That certification is available for $75 and 8 hours in a classroom. The person who come's to replace a facuet washer or a porch light is required to serve apprenticship under a licensed individual,study and pass code tests then aquire license before alowed to work in the field unsupervised.

Hvac industry protecting us? I think it's something else intirly.

Distributors are wholesalers. That's why they don't sell to the general public. If you figure out a way to open a business account with them, they'll sell you anything they carry, expect for refrigerant, unless you have a EPA certificate.

BTW, in the HVAC world, a EPA 608 certificate is a magical thing to have..

It's cheaper on ebay, but takes a week.

klem, in theory the protection for DIY work of any kind is the need to pull a permit for anything substantive. I understand it's too often not done. In my area, unpermitted work needs to be disclosed when selling a property and a buyer can require a retro-permit (if possible) or remediation. Or, can decide to walk from the deal. That's a powerful disincentive.

Try an experiment - call around, see if you can buy in your town a 80K BTU furnace. Or a compressor. Understand you'll have no warranty if you find one. You'll get more no's than yesses, and hopefully all no's. Come to your own conclusion why that is. It's not a conspiracy at work, so cross that possibility off the list.

HVAC contractors in my area require a state license. For licensed and insured contractors, among the factors protecting customers are the fact that shoddy work or consistent problems can cause loss of a license, something a contractor can't afford to have happen. Also, the insurance carriers mandate certain practices, including training and various safety practices, as a condition of offering insurance coverage. THESE are among the things that can give you confidence that the tech from a legit company gives you a good shot of having the job done right.

crab, yes distributors are wholesalers. So what? Legally, they can sale anything they want to whomever they want, so long as there are no restrictions involved with a particular product. (as with coolant requiring a license).

Look Snidely, it's getting pretty deep.

You can buy a gas furnace at Home Depot. Grainger now sells to everyone. Most parts are available on-line. Sid Harvey is also good for HVAC parts.

The 'old school' wholesalers want to 'protect' their customers (tradespeople). Thankfully, there are less and less of these businesses.

Thanks, I withdraw my comment. I'm appalled to learn this but always willing to learn. .

I don't get it. If you don't want a licensed, seasoned pro why don't you go to the supply houses you mentioned? I do not use them unless I have to for the reason the underpaid person there, with no license AndI don't want to be there when you bring back part because it was the gas valve and your arguing for 15 minutes why I have to wait for what I need! The customer who hired me has to wait because he knew better to work on something that seriously hurts or kills people every day somewhere. Think about it.

why don't you go to the supply houses you mentioned?

Because they don't carry the OEM part I wanted. Would rather do it with the correct part, that should go without saying.

Its an igniter... for one it didn't glow and also failed continuity test. But yea, I am sure there are people that wouldn't notice a gas valved turned...

My routine service provider comes to our home twice a year. One time the service person came in excited because the start/run condenser for the condenser fan was below specs. I checked it it my Beckman meter and it was something like 7.2 instead of 7.5. He said the part was about $100 and the labor would be more. I went down to Grainger and bought one made in Mexico (not China) for about $7.50. I always do simple replacements myself. I replaced the fan motor with a much higher rated one for about 35 bucks. One repair person insisted that the fan motor on the evaporator was going out any time and it should be replaced. That was going to cost over $300 for the part. I have a friend that helps me with serious repairs and he removed the motor and found that it was in perfect condition, so he cleaned the blower fan and re-installed everything and it has run for 5 years. That if why I try to do as much as I can myself. I dread the day when the compressor fails. That is not a do-it-yourself project.

Nerdyshopper. We all try and save a buck, I get it. 5-10 + - is acceptable. If you want to make sure you are getting a knowledgebale person, insist that they are NATE certified in the discipline you need. Their dishonest contractors in all the trades, when you find a good one, keep them! You can go to any supply house and get a cross referenced part, a GE motor or Copeland compressor is the same, you don't need OEM part unless under warranty. It is often less expensive than OEM cost. Refrigerate is a different story, get caught or TURNED in $10,000 big ones. You ever have a question, give a shot. I am retired but like to help. Rick

Rick,

I sure would like to know how to find an honest contractor for heat pumps in my community. I have only dealt with the one that put the heat pump in the house we bought. My daughter bought a new home and the cheap heat pump failed in only a few years. Two service companies turned out to be dishonest to her and a third had to correct the problems they caused. My son-in-law bought a very oversized heat pump (actually two) for a very high price from another local company. It is a nightmare. I joined Angie's list to find help but they didn't have real information about total installs, just repairs. I will just keep deleting the ones I know about and hope I choose wisely when my 14 year old pump fails.

I understand your dilemma. Check out NATE online and check out some of the sample tests. Heat pumps are just like any other system but should be used in warmer climates. They are difficult to service in cold weather, but if you understand them and have worked on a few, been trained (a lot of company's have training at supply houses, FOR professionals) they use the laws of heating and a/c, just in reverse. Good luck, 17 years have morphed into a much better and economically sound product. You should start looking just for the approximate 30% savings in energy cost's you will realize.

Rick

Here's why people are worried about being ripped off...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWbeNfVOKWo

There are good techs out there, but why does it have to be so hard to find them?

It is also hard to find a good doctor. But we do. You ask trusted people you know, your neighbors, family members. I never had to advertise, even during the recession years. Seek and you will find.

I don't buy maintenance contracts. I fix most everything myself. However, if you are not handy, I recommend getting a maintenance contract for your HVAC (because it so essential) from a reputable firm. This is where they will do a PM check and clean the furnace once a year. If you have a problem, you have a relationship.

The problem randomly calling firms. You have no business relationship. They know this is most likely a 'one time shot'. So they focus on making money any way they can.

Once when I was traveling for business, my wife had a garage door problem, and got ripped off in a similar manner. They wouldn't talk to me, just kept hanging up.

My neighbor is happy with the very contractor that I have had bad experiences with. Same with window contractor. Some folks are not observant and accept what they are told.