HVAC Hall of Shame

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What in the world were these people thinking?????

Here is a small sample of the picture collection we have highlighting some of the most rediculous, notorious, unsafe, dangerous, illegal, neglected, absurd and insane things we have found in our travels to service HVAC systems in Arizona.

view pic	Here is what an electrical disconnect looks like when it had a bad connection for several years that nobody ever repaired. It melted from the heat produced by the resistance of the bad connection.
view pic	This is something that was likely unnoticed for many years. The main supply air duct was split open and leaking precious cold air into the attic. We discovered this when replacing the unit. Of course we fixed it!
view pic	Here is an example of what an air conditioner looks like when it is about to fall off the roof stand! A roofing company did this when they replaced the shingles.
view pic	There is no possible way to service this air conditioner. Somebody thought this was a good place to put the unit?
view pic	Here is another tight installation. How did the people who installed this ever expect to be able to service it?
view pic	We find ugly wire connections like this all the time on our service visits. We deliberately look for them. Then of course we fix them.
view pic	This condensate leak is destroying the roof, one drip at a time. It's been leaking for a quite a while. Why doesn't anyone fix it? In addition to the damage, it also attract bugs and pigeons, as well as promotes growth of potentially dangerous biological matter.
view pic	Here is another case of the old "capacitor in the box" trick. Lazy technicians like to do work like this because it saves 5 minutes of their precious time!
view pic	Look at the bad connection inside this circuit panel. This is a common problem but you can only find it if you deliberately look inside the panel.
view pic	Somebody thought they were an artist and decided to practice hieroglyphics on this air conditioner coil.
view pic	Here is a copper condensate drain that literally sprays water. There is a pin hole in it as you can see when we tested the line. A sudden overnight cold winter freeze likely expanded the residual water in the trap and it swelled the pipe to the extent it ruptured.
view pic	The homeowner thought it would be a good money-saving idea to block the combustion air vent for their furnace by stuffing a pillow inside it. WRONG! Dangerous! Bad idea! The vent is there for a reason. Furnaces produce fire and fire needs air. This vent provides it.
view pic	Drain lines don't get any worse than this. This thing is plugged solid!
view pic	A summer monsoon storm pushed this Goodman condensing unit over on its side like it was a toy. You don't see this too often, but it shows the power those storms can have in Arizona.
view pic	How can anyone service this condensing unit crammed into such a tight space like this? How did this ever pass inspection in the first place? I think maybe the inspector needs glasses or perhaps a whole new job maybe?
view pic	The flex conduit is just a little short on this one. Why does everyone just leave it like this? This is unacceptable.
view pic	The wires inside this heat pump unit are literally cooked and melted together. You don't see that very often but when it does happen it is a mess.
view pic	How do you work on this cooler or the air conditioner next to it? Thanks for making it so convenient! The roof has plenty of space and for some reason they decided to install the cooler right next to the A/C.
view pic	The low bidder on this job sure did a dandy installation. They were determined to connect this Goodman unit with round pipe. What a hatchet job! The really funny thing is, after all their creative hatchetry, they decided to pretty-up their work by painting the ducts.
view pic	A little rope to secure the gas line? Well somebody thought that was a good idea. Definitely not the right way to secure any HVAC pipe of any kind, anywhere except on the ladder rack of your truck!
view pic	This Goodman unit looks like it was outfitted with a snow ski! That's very creative butcher work, to say the least. This is a one-of-a-kind treasure right here.
view pic	What a nightmare this installation is. The low bidder was determined to make it connect no matter what! And somehow they did...
view pic	Somebody accidently cut this cable in the attic, exposing the live wire, and then just left it like that until we found it years later.
view pic	The filth and dirt was so thick on the coil and blower assembly of this unit that we pulled it off in sheets with our hands at first.
view pic	Another back yard condensing coil that is coated with pet hair. This dramitically reduces the efficiency and capacity of the unit in the hot summer.
view pic	The installer used sheet metal on this job but unfortunately it is a butchered mess. Apparently the installer tried to put insulation inside those ducts too and its falling off and blocking the air. What a joke!
view pic	This unit is so rotted out with rust that the drain line just fell off.
view pic	Here the customer probably got a really good price for this A/C installation. The installer decided sheet metal was too expensive and unnecessary apparently.
view pic	This air conditioner is barely sitting on the iron stand that is supporting it. Not very safe at all.
view pic	Blower wheels get dirty when you don't use an air filter. Check out this one. They don't get much worse than this. It is a tedious task but it can be cleaned.
view pic	The insulation that once covered this duct is gone. It was held on by a plastic jacket that dry rotted over the years and then just fell off eventually from its own weight.
view pic	No screws and just barely hanging on. This is a flue vent on a furnace in the attic. Who is the crazy incompetent person who did this? You can kill people by doing work like this.
view pic	Look at the green slime growing all over this 2 story roof. This is dangerous in so many ways! It is rotting out the roof, it is a bio hazard probably, and worse than all that it is slippery and a technician could easily slide off the roof trying to service this nightmare.
view pic	Another homemade duct transition. Why make new parts when you can just rig up the old ones and do it wrong! Low bid gets the job and this is the result. Here is what you get for a discounted price. You get sub-standard work.
view pic	Hot wired with no means of electrical disconnection. Dangerous and illegal! People who do this have no business servicing air conditioners. This should be an arrestable offense!
view pic	Really how is somebody supposed to work on these units? This is literally physically impossible! Who installed this? Who ever did this needs to find a new profession.
view pic	This is the inside of a return air duct. Looks nice huh? They don't get much nastier than this! Would you like to breathe in this air?
view pic	Insulation for some reason isn't attached very well on many units nowadays. This is repairable, but most technicans simply rip the loose insulation out and leave it like that.
view pic	We see this all the time and we always fix it. Insulation panels inside the A/C system gets sucked into the blower.
view pic	If the duct is too short just pull on it harder to stretch it! Typical butcher installation by one of the more well known local companies.
view pic	The tar didn't fix the leak, so what the heck, try some spray foam! This of course didn't fix it either.
view pic	The capacitors they make now are not as durable as they used to be long ago. Check out a capacitor that is leaking its oil. Very common occurance today.
view pic	Check out this homemade wye connection on a flue vent. Talk about dangerous!
view pic	A leaky return duct. Lots of these old metal duct systems leak and can be sealed with latex based duct sealer.
view pic	If a little tar is good, than a lot of tar must be even better. They painted it on!
view pic	Here is an example of 2 business principles in action. First, the low bidder gets the job. Second, you get what you pay for.
view pic	The blower was making a little bit of noise! Actually, more than just a little.
view pic	Typical refrigerant pipes with no insulation. Why doesn't anyone who ever serviced this A/C unit replace the insulation?
view pic	There is a slight gap on this duct connection. Do you think it leaks air right there at all? It leaks a ton of air.
view pic	The pet hair was so thick on this condensing coil that it literally produced a blanket which insulated the coil and blocked the flow of air.
view pic	Pigeons are disgusting creatures that nest in their own excrement. This is a serious bio-hazard. Pigeons love air conditioners on the roof, especially ones that leak condensate water and cold air!
view pic	The green things growing out of this cooler media are tree seedlings.
view pic	This condensate line was totally plugged up. They don't get much worse than this! This is what you might call arterial schlerosis of the drain.
view pic	Check out this high voltage power box installed laying flat on the roof. Notice the puddle of water right next to it!
view pic	Power line dangerously spliced together in the attic with an illegal tap to boot! Who does stuff like this?
view pic	When was the last time you saw screw-in fuses on an air conditioner disconnect? There are a few left around, but not many.
view pic	Check out this ductwork. It is completely rotted out and broken apart!
view pic	This drain pan has seen better days. We replaced it of course.
view pic	This antique flex duct is so degraded that you can literally see through it! You can blow air through the duct too, literally through it, from the inside to the outside!
view pic	A close up of what kind of damage hail stones can do to an air conditioner. Ouch!
view pic	Some serious hail damage to this condensing coil. They don't get much worse than this.
view pic	The sheet metal stand that supports this unit is nearly rotted all the way around. Ever heard of a condensate drain line before? $20 worth of PVC pipe could of preventing all this rust.
view pic	The metal strap suspending this furnace is almost ready to fall down. Who did this? You need to go back to nail pounding class 101 and take the course again. You failed.
view pic	This is the most customized rigged up butchered up duct connection ever seen! You gotta give them credit for their creativity though. It looks like they were so proud of their hatchetry that they even painted it when they were done.
view pic	It is ok to cut an access opening to clean a coil on a unit, but you don't patch the hole with a piece of duct tape! Even with tar on top of the tape it will fall off in a short period of time.
view pic	Why use a metal strap to mount this motor capacitor? A plastic tie strap works just fine apparently. This is no better than the capacitor in the box trick.
view pic	Seriously, how is anyone supposed to work on this? You can barely even open the panel on this unit. You would have to be a contortionist to make a repair on this thing.
view pic	Look at all the garbage on this roof. The technician broke his screwdriver so he just left it in the pile of garbage that was already there. Check out the pigeon eggs too. How disgusting.
view pic	This has to be the absolute ugliest roof we have ever seen! It has a frankenstein A/C system (part packaged unit / part split system all in one) and check out the swamp cooler held together with rope. I bet they saved a little money on their repairs.
view pic	Take a look at how crooked this swamp cooler is. Swamp coolers have water inside them and must be level. You would think everybody knows that.
view pic	How old do you think this air filter is? 5 years? 10 years? Maybe longer? Who knows!
view pic	This isn't a pic from the Hubble space telescope. It's a picture of an evaporator coil that was leaking refrigerant slowly for several years and the leak location was extremely difficult to identify with traditional means. Shortly after UV dye was injected into the system the elusive leak became quite apparent when ultraviolet light was applied.
view pic	It's hard to tell from the pic, but if you look closely you can see several wires all melted together at a plug-in connector.
view pic	We don't need no stinking conduit! Really, what a way to install a high voltage electrical line. Dangerous and totally illegal hookup.
view pic	The new motor that some technician put in this unit was too tall, so instead of geting the right motor they just jacked it up with some wood blocks for added height and clearance.