While you are not clear, this is the inside evap coil either in an air handler or an evap coil in a furnace setup?...consider yourself lucky that you have an extended warranty both labor and parts. While I know you have been inconvenienced both comfort and time, you should discuss this with installing dealer. According to your post, this will be the third replacement coil. Just so you know, recharging a system without finding the cause of the leak is not professional unless this is just a stop gap measure to help you until proper repsir/replacement can be made. An inside coil can not be repaired. You deserve a call from your dealer to explain what's going on. Sorry for your trouble.

IMO

It’s the outside unit. They recharged it hoping it would hold until Monday when they can pick up the part from Goodman and install it. Yes, the cost of this extended warranty has more than paid for itself. I have told four different people at the company and only one is concerned and said he would report it, but I plan to call them tomorrow.

This has all the symptoms of poor installations and not equipment problems. You are fortunate that Goodman continues to supply parts and equipment. Have you considered calling in another Goodman dealer to assess the situation?

"This has all the symptoms of poor installations and not equipment problems."

True. but repeated condenser coil failures is a little unusual.

Dogs peeing on the unit???

They replace the condenser coils each time. I talked with customer service this morning and they are going to send out a Quality Control person to check the work tomorrow morning. They are here replacing it now.

The side that had the leak (not sure if it’s always this side as they just showed me a picture for the first time) would be weird for a dog to pee on since he’d have to stand behind the hedge and in between the other condos unit, but anything is possible. If I had not purchased the ten year parts and labor warranty from the AC company, I would be out a lot more money. I won’t do business with this company again. They are a jack of all trades company with an HVAC, plumbing and electrical. They were a small family owned business for just HVAC but sold the company about 5 years before I purchased from them (I didn’t know this until I had issues and found a lot of other people having similar issues). I have a 5 page or more log of all the problems I have had with this unit beginning with them installing the drain incorrectly and gluing the drain safety switch shut so that it would not turn off the unit if the drain was clogged.

And the issues continue! They installed the new coils only to find that they are leaking. Now they have to go back to the manufacture and get new ones. He said it will probably take him 3-4 hours round trip depending on Houston traffic, but they will be back to fix it tonight.

Dealer/Goodman should cut their losses and replace with new complete outside condenser...

IMO

If warranty work can be done by other contractors,cut ties with this one at first opportunity. As already stated,this is an installer/cobtractor problem,not a manufacture problem. Do you know,and how do you know the coils were replaced? It's possible contractor is double-crossing warranty company and/or manufacture.

I always watch from my patio. Here’s what it looked like after they realized the new coils were leaking.

That's how it would look after existing coils have been removed but before replacement coils are installed. What is the situation at this point and time?

How tight is the area around the unit? Pretty much any condenser coil can have this problem, although I've never seen it as often as you're experiencing.

Leads me to believe the area is tight to get the coil back into place and because of that it may be weakening the coil to some degree as they wrangle it back in there. As the unit runs the normal vibration of the unit cause leaks to reappear, and typically in the same spot the previous leaks were.

In my experience I've had 1 condenser coil leak in 11 years on a Goodman brand that I put in. It can happen but it's quite rare. I've also seen this problem on a rental unit I occasionally service that is a different brand I didn't put in. If I remember correctly it's either Ruud or Rheem brand. Seen this problem on Trane and American standard condensers occasionally usually the line rubbed on the plastic base they put the unit in. Also had a condenser coil leak on a Maytag (Nordyne) condenser I installed back in 2012. Seems to me I replaced that coil in 2014, I service this unit every year and it hasn't had any trouble since. I don't sell Maytag any longer only because distributor moved out of the area and it's too difficult to get parts. (You'll always need service & parts no matter what.)

Seen it on Lennox units a lot maybe 15 years ago. It was the Lennox HS26 series.

Those Lennox units were notorious for condenser leaks. Standing at the back of the unit service panel the lower left part of the coil would leak. On particular customer had this Lennox HS26 condenser. That stupid thing sprung leaks faster than the Titantic. (I really felt sorry for them, but I wasn't the one that sold it.)

Refrigerant leaks have always been a problem. It's only being noticed now because the cost of refrigerants is significantly higher today than it was 15 years ago.

I've put in so many Goodman condensers over the years... my experience this problem is less than 1%. But I know what not to do. Experience matters.

With that said I can not prevent failure. But I can and do cut your risk.

I service the Katy, Texas area. All brands.

The area is very open. About 12 years ago they condo HOA removed bushes that were crowding the units. Another company told me that the design of the Goodman coils has an issue that Goodman is fixing. hopefully I will explain it right, the coils are very tiny and it causes a build up of back pressure when you fill the unit which can cause a leak. Next time I get a new unit, I will make sure the person/company is very experienced.

" Next time I get a new unit, I will make sure the person/company is very experienced" .Excellent game plan.

Another company told me that the design of the Goodman coils has an issue that Goodman is fixing. hopefully I will explain it right, the coils are very tiny and it causes a build up of back pressure when you fill the unit which can cause a leak.

Hi Lisa,

Refrigerant leaks are not due to a back up of pressure, if there were a back up of pressure the compressor terminal plug is designed to blow first.

Goodman manufacturing has been manufacturing coils in which the copper tubes that go thru the coil are very tiny for quite awhile now. This feature or design has a few benefits, it aids in heat expulsion and it reduces cost (amount of expensive metal to build the coil with). It also reduces the amount of refrigerant needed to charge the system with.

However this coil design has a few disadvantages... the coil isn't as strong as the older coils made 15 or so years ago. Rough handling, improper handling, improper installation practices and maintenance service procedures can cause coils to leak.

I've installed many Goodman condensers to numerous to give an accurate count, I've also rebuilt a few. They aren't bad units if you know what you're doing and you know what NOT to do. I don't use subs, installers or technicians to do ANY service or installation work.

Because I am a hands on guy (licensed HVAC contractor) I know what was done, when it was done, how it was done and where it was done. Very little guess work doing things this way. Some people may not want to give one person this much control.

So I guess you could say there is some hindrance to my madness of methods. I fix air conditioners, it's what I do. People, not so much. It's not a perfect science. The units I work on, install, repair aren't any more blessed in that they never break. So you have to be realistic. I can and do reduce the break down risk. This is a service business, you will always need service regardless.

With that said, there can also be an occasional blemish from the factory. But it's so rare for me that it's of no real concern. Clearly you are far, far beyond the occasional rare blemish from the factory. Your service provider is likely not doing things right IMHO.

Another thing looking at the picture you posted they can't blame the lawn mower guy hitting the unit. The coils are fragile. I remember back in the day going to AC condensers that had dents and dings from the lawn mower hitting them.

You can't get away with that kind of abuse today. These coils are fragile. Every brand out there can have this problem to one degree or another. No brand is immune to this problem.

I service the Katy, Texas area.

You know they say hindsight is 20/20. When it broke in 2012, I thought I was picking a good, reputable company because of theiR TV ads. When I called they were so helpful and reassuring. You live in Katy, so you’ve seen them. I don’t want to say their name, but they have a little jingle about calling them to get more. My daughter (she’s 24) changed their lyrics to say “to get more screwed”. I’m with you in thinking they aren’t being handled or installed properly. Now this company has grown to plumbing, electrical, pest control and every time I call for warranty service they ask if I know I can open a line of credit with them and tell me what none AC related specials they have. Three more years until my 10 year parts/labor warranty expires.

If your labor warranty is not locked into this company, why not ask Austin to come out and fix it - he's only 30 min away?

sktn77a, extended labor warranties typically lock out competing HVAC contractors from performing repairs and getting paid. So if the OP is paying very small amount or in some cases maybe only a annual service contract this situation may not prove beneficial to jump ship from installing contractor.

This is why I often stress how important it is the HVAC contractor you choose to install your HVAC system and in some cases who you choose to repair your HVAC system is so important.

On top of all this, extended labor warranties are a reduced rate. Houston is a large geographical area. I only service a small fraction of far West Houston area. Because I am devoted to fast service, there are many that depend on me for that.

So unfortunately I am not looking for reduced rate repairs, nor the hassle involved in trying to get paid from a 3rd party extended labor warranty insurer.

-------

Lisa,

yeah I know who you are talking about. They extended an unsolicited offer of employment to me a couple of times over the last few years. But I know how they operate and I am above that kind of nonsense.

That company has a long history because the original owner that started the company didn't get into all the gimmickry involved with that company over the past 20 years or so. The original owner was a plumber, that eventually got into air conditioning and other services like electrical, pest control and so on.

Some family members of that company tried to make things work, but an investor unaffiliated with the trade services industry ( he came more or less from the air line industry I believe Continental Airlines). Over the past few years his daughters have now infiltrated the company. Not that a woman couldn't do this job... there were 2 women in my trade school graduating class back some 22 years ago. But if they are anything like their father, Lord have mercy!

Good at selling doesn't equate to good at repairing.

The original family members (heirs of the original company) were eventually bought out and this air line guy that doesn't have a technical bone in his body runs this company. Deep pockets require selling. Many times selling for the sake of selling only enriches the ones doing the selling.

They really aren't a 'repair' company. They're a sales company.

You can read all about it in this paid advertisement they had drawn up a few years ago...

a direct quote from that paid advertisement: Valentine is not a plumber, nor is he an A/C technician, yet he owns one of the nation’s largest home services companies.

and so there you go...

Thanks! That’s all very interesting! Yesterday, around 11:15AM, I noticed it was feeling warm in the house. I checked the thermostat and it was set on 72, but was reading 76. I called the company and they came out today. Miraculously, the unit is working fine (he said) and is now cooling. This is the same thing that happened three times during a six week period prior to them finding the most recent leak in the condenser coils. I don’t understand this. Do you think it would be beneficial for me to pay another company to come out to do a through check of the unit? I’ve read that the compressor could be intermittently working causing this. Basically, the tech hooked up his gauges and said the pressure was perfect, so no AC problem. I’m glad to have the cool air today, but frustrated because there has to be something wrong causing it not to cool Intermittently.

How much is your time and sanity worth? If you can find another competent HVAC company, I would go with them.

Lisa, I would look at your warranty paper work and see if there is any clause within that in which if someone other than your service provider performs repairs that the warranty you hold with them is voided. (This is hard to prove, but not that hard when there is a trail on the internet.)

The other is, if you select someone else you have to be confident they know what they are doing.

Saying and actually knowing is two very different things.

Also, intermittent problems like this can be incredibly hard to diagnose.

I think only if you are ready to make a 'clean' break from your current service provider should you do it.

Otherwise I think this may become a cat and mouse game with you caught in the middle.