Coil conundrum: Defective Lennox AC models anger householders | West … – West Orange Instances & Windermere Observer

Householders residing in newly constructed communities with Lennox air-conditioning models put in have reluctantly spent tons of to 1000’s of {dollars} changing defective evaporator coil methods. 

And so they’re not joyful.

After two to 4 years, the AC models are likely to freeze up or cease blowing chilly air. It’s believed the troublesome coil methods malfunction as a consequence of poor manufacturing. Whereas Lennox makes use of uncoated copper tubing inside its methods, most AC corporations use aluminum coils, mentioned Terry Strickland, the proprietor of Polar Specific Air Conditioning & Heating LLC. 

“Everyone else goes to full aluminum coils,” Strickland mentioned. “Lennox remains to be the one one utilizing the copper aluminum, and it’s not holding up. The copper we’re utilizing at this time is a lot thinner than it’s ever been as a result of, once more, everyone’s making an attempt to economize.”

As somebody who spends his time fixing AC models frequently, he’s seen a number of householders with Lennox-brand models expertise this similar subject. Final yr, he estimates he made about 12 to fifteen replacements, principally in newly constructed houses in Winter Backyard and Windermere. 

A category-action lawsuit from 2015 over the problem has resulted in payouts for some householders who fell sufferer to sudden restore bills. Householders eligible to hitch the class-action lawsuit have been advised they might stand up $550 in reimbursement. Nonetheless, Lennox nonetheless denies all of the claims of the lawsuit and states it doesn’t imagine the copper tubing was associated to the failures. And though Strickland mentioned Lennox plans to maneuver to aluminum coils, that transition hasn’t taken place.

“The coils that I decide up are nonetheless the identical coils they’re having issues with, and the identical coils I’m placing in are the identical coils they’re having issues with,” he mentioned. “And all they’re doing is making an attempt to Band-Assist it till it’s out of guarantee.”

Strickland mentioned he’s usually had to return and exchange a home-owner’s coil a second time. Typically, the lifespan of any AC unit, relying on the consumer’s upkeep, is 12 to fifteen years. In consequence, Strickland mentioned he’s give up buying and promoting AC models from any manufacturers Lennox owns.

Tod Younger, a home-owner in Windermere Trails who closed on his residence December 2013, needed to spend $1,400 to exchange his coil system after solely two years. He was stunned to have his AC unit malfunction so shortly.

“It’s a brand new home … so you’ll anticipate that the AC unit wouldn’t clock out throughout the first two years, and also you’d must spend $1,200-plus to have it changed,” Younger mentioned. 

Younger’s AC unit began failing after the class-action lawsuit already had been settled, so he needed to pay for the bills out of pocket. He’s observed there have been a number of AC restore vans throughout his group, which was constructed by Meritage Houses, and far dialogue about the identical AC subject on the social-media web site NextDoor.

“Any day, you may drive by means of our group and also you’ll see both Armstrong Air Conditioning or different AC restore corporations in folks’s driveway, every day,” Younger added. “And so they’re all having the identical subject.”

Michael Manganiello, who lives in a city home in Wickham Park, paid $800 to have his AC coil system changed. His 4-year-old AC unit stopped working final August. He couldn’t imagine his unit would malfunction so shortly both, as a result of the earlier householders solely resided within the residence for six months every year, and he had routine AC upkeep completed yearly. 

“I’m not a type of infamous AC customers who consistently have it on,” Manganiello mentioned. “Once I’m not residence, I set it to 78 or 79 levels, and after I’m residence, I go away it at 77.  …  I  shouldn’t have any AC issues, particularly when the unit is lower than 4 years outdated.”

A couple of months later, after getting the coil system changed, he observed an advisory on his neighborhood’s web site informing residents that many individuals in the neighborhood had skilled the identical AC subject and there was a class-action lawsuit.

The expertise has left Manganiello cautious of Lennox models.

“I positively received’t buy something associated to Lennox sooner or later,” Manganiello mentioned. 

Lennox officers didn’t return repeated messages looking for remark.

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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected]