Question:

Our Air Conditioner and Furnace have been "Red Tagged"?

by | earlier

We have a repair plan through our local gas company and we have been having problems with our air conditioner. The AC is only 5 years old. We knew that the furnace needed to be replaced since it was original but the previous owners had replaced the AC unit in 2003. The gas company came out today and said that our furance and AC are contaminated? They said that all the lines need to be removed and replaced due to contamination and they red tagged both units. What is contaminated?

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the firebox could be rusted out. if they tagged it but would not tell you what they were tagging it for, get ahold of their supervisors to get them in trouble. big trouble. It's possible that you have a gas fired absorption unit.

I doubt it's mold, which is the "new asbestos". :)
Report (0) (0) | earlier
Probably mold. It is an expensive fix. You need a second/third opinion. Do not let these people know that there is potential problem until they give you written estimate and they did not find problem.

Good luck.
Report (0) (0) | earlier
The local gas company see potential danger and RED TAG unit means u have to get a licensed personnel to repair ur unit.

This procedure is to protect his company from any liability from damages.

U must call a few HVAC or A/C company to get estimate to do repair work.

It is beyond the scope of the DIY person to do this job because of liability issue.  They are not insured.
Report (0) (0) |   earlier
You need to ask them exactly what they mean by "contaminated".  The red tag means that

you either cannot or should not use either

system.  Is your A/C and furnace all one system?  I don't understand a gas line to

an A/C.  Why would the gas company just now come out and check.  Did you call them?

Are you sure this is your legitimate gas company, or some bogus company that

wants to defraud you?  Before you do anything, I think you need to go to the

gas company in person and see if these

guys are legitimate and while you're there,

find out exactly what they think the problem

is and if they can fix it, or recommend someone for you to hire.
Report (0) (0) |   earlier
Never heard of this. Maybe I could understand the gas furnace being red tagged because of gas leaks. Which could contaminate your air with combustion gases. So you would shut down that part. But the ac??? I don't know.

If you have a repair plan...sounds like me they will pay for it?
Report (0) (0) | earlier
This means there is rust, bent or cracked tubing, excessive dust or mold that has become such a problem there could be possible health risks or could cause equiptment malfunctions that might be a fire hazard or leakage of gas into the air.

You'll have to get a qualified repair person to come and bring the equiptment up to safe operating conditions and have it all re-inspected before the gas company will turn the gas back on. The part I don't get is, it's Sunday and unless it's a emergency, I have never known a gas company employee to do house calls.
Report (0) (0) | earlier
most likely ventalation lines(duct work). they can harbor moisture which breeds legionares desease and a handfull of fungi and molds. be sure, call them and ask exactly which lines are contaminated. then you can repair the right lines.
Report (0) (0) | earlier
It is probably mold. Is your furnace gas or electric? If they said your a/c is contaminated, then it could be leaking refrigerant out of one of the lines. If they see oil or remnants of oil around the unit they will condemn it. They will say it is a leaker and you may call a tech to recharge it, but they can only do that once. If it continues than you must replace the unit. Most of the time you can just change out the compressor and that will solve the problem. It is also much cheaper than the entire unit.
Report (0) (0) | earlier
they usually red tag the units if you make a complaint about a problem or your gas was turned off for over 3 months then you have to hire someone to inspect the units and furnish the gas company with repair bills from a licensed plumber and the plumber will put his license on the line for them to turn it back on........its a bunch of problems because most plumbers don't want to put their license on the line for you without you paying them extra money...........because if something goes wrong the plumbers are the ones who get in trouble for passing your house inspection and repairs
Report (0) (0) | earlier