Decent servicing charge for ducted heat pump?

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TommySharp

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#306299 11-Jul-2023 15:19

It looks like it's been a year since we've had our Daikin ducted heat pump system installed.
Got an email from the installer to book in the service which is nice and proactive but at $180 per unit and we have two... I'm wondering what is the going rate for a "basic service" these days?

Rushmere

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#3102766 11-Jul-2023 15:26

I’d be interested to know this too.

I’ve had my Daikin ducted system for about 18 months, but haven’t had it serviced. I’ve cleaned the filters and the outdoor unit myself - what else do they do when servicing?

timmmay

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#3102772 11-Jul-2023 15:41

I paid $150 + GST a year or so ago in Wellington. They did the following. I had to ask them to open the ducted system up and spray the coils with heat pump cleaner as it's not part of their standard clean for a ducted unit, but they did it within that charge. They also said they were going to check the ducting for issues like holes, I don't know if they did or not. It's not difficult to do the basic cleaning yourself, get this and a bottle something like the 1L hills pressure sprayer and it doesn't take long to clean the coils. Spray the outdoor with spider and bug repellent and you've done half of what they do for not much money. It's worth getting it professionally serviced every few years though.

- Clean and disinfect the filters and clean the vents/grilles with hospital grade disinfectant.
- Record the heating and cooling temperatures to see if the unit is working properly, unexpected temperatures can indicate a fault with the system.
- Flush the indoor unit drain to confirm the drain is not obstructed and the condensate pump if connected is working well.
- Noise, vibration and refrigerant leak tests on both indoor and outdoor units.
- Clean the casing on the outdoor unit, remove any spider webs etc and apply anti-bug spray around the unit, we do this to keep bugs from going onto control boards as this will void the warranty and can cost around $800 - $1000 to repair.
- Visual check of system and note down any issues which need attention, i.e. insulation on pipes deteriorated, drain on outdoor blocked, rust on outdoor unit casing.
- Anti-rust spray of outdoor casing, this is if outdoor is located near the sea or if installed in a damp area.

networkn

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#3102788 11-Jul-2023 16:05

Can't tell you that, but pretty much any call out from a service person is going to be that or thereabouts for the first hour. I'd expect a decent discount if it was more than one in the same house though. I can't recall what we paid but it was 60% of the cost for the additional 2 HP's done at the same time last time or something like that.

TommySharp

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#3103074 12-Jul-2023 11:03

The email I got pushed on the "if not serviced then void warranty" approach so immediately that irked me...

I queried the same cost for multiple and they agreed to review their priing and have now dropped additional units from $180 down to 140...

I guess I'll see how long it takes them to do both this time round and what they actually do to see if it's money well spent.

timmmay

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#3103086 12-Jul-2023 11:14

TommySharp:

The email I got pushed on the "if not serviced then void warranty" approach so immediately that irked me...

I've never seen that before. I've read the manuals for my heat pumps and none have ever said servicing is required. I might questions the servicing / warranty thing, very politely.

tweake

2391 posts

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#3103091 12-Jul-2023 11:25

TommySharp:

The email I got pushed on the "if not serviced then void warranty" approach so immediately that irked me...

"would you like fries with that?"

its the typical upsell. they will be pushing it because work is slow at the moment and need something to keep staff busy with. i guarantee that when they are busy they would refuse to do that work.

networkn

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#3103094 12-Jul-2023 11:31

TommySharp:

The email I got pushed on the "if not serviced then void warranty" approach so immediately that irked me...

I queried the same cost for multiple and they agreed to review their priing and have now dropped additional units from $180 down to 140...

I guess I'll see how long it takes them to do both this time round and what they actually do to see if it's money well spent.

The manual should talk about what is required for a service to keep the unit under warranty. For that money I'd expect a FULL service (flush of fluids etc).

Some services are a cleaning of the filters and a wipe down inside. I wouldn't be happy to pay big money for that.

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tweake

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#3103115 12-Jul-2023 11:45

networkn:

The manual should talk about what is required for a service to keep the unit under warranty. For that money I'd expect a FULL service (flush of fluids etc).

Some services are a cleaning of the filters and a wipe down inside. I wouldn't be happy to pay big money for that.

theres actually not much to do.

its clean the coils, replace the filters. maybe a quick look for obvious damage. not even sure if they could put gauges on, and even if they could that can cause issues so its often best left alone unless there is an actual problem.

normally you can change filters yourself and cleaning the outdoor coil is not a big job.

openmedia

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#3103139 12-Jul-2023 12:46

We've used this to clean our Heat pump indoor units

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/supercell-750ml-heat-pump-air-conditioner-diy-cleaner_p8911747?store=9470&gclid=CjwKCAjw-7OlBhB8EiwAnoOEk0tgkFhs3FWvpE0N0KfKncp5b8xdUu6-Feeq9MY50k3sF40fKDqCtRoCn9cQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

timmmay

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#3103151 12-Jul-2023 13:15

openmedia:
We've used this to clean our Heat pump indoor units

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/supercell-750ml-heat-pump-air-conditioner-diy-cleaner_p8911747?store=9470&gclid=CjwKCAjw-7OlBhB8EiwAnoOEk0tgkFhs3FWvpE0N0KfKncp5b8xdUu6-Feeq9MY50k3sF40fKDqCtRoCn9cQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

The one I linked to above is the 4L version, It has a slightly different label but I checked with the seller. I put it into a pressure spray container that works when upside down.