SO paid a service tech $225 per pound.

That seems... outrageous. Thought it'd be half that. At most.

Did she get taken? Or does it reflect the current market?

Was it just topping off a couple pounds and they rolled in a service charge so per pound cost looks outrageously high?

Think I was quoted $120/lb a month ago by a bigger company (as part of a evap coil replacement) which I thought was too high and got an estimate from small local company. Don't remember what he charged specially for 410 but it was much less.

Tagged another $130 "diagnostic" (service) charge on top of the R410 charge.

This is for a home. So my bigger concern is a leak. The AC unit is only ~6 years old.

Just replaced 3 lbs today from a smaller operation local guy. Paid $90/lb plus $69 diagnostic fee.

I just paid $85/lb plus $75 fee.

That's more in-line with what I think would be reasonable.

So it looks like you got screwed. Any recourse for when things like this happen?

HeightsAg said:

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So it looks like you got screwed. Any recourse for when things like this happen?

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Call the company and talk to a manager about their pricing, but not much they need to do since the OP's SO already paid.

If nothing else, he can share the company's name so everyone here knows to avoid them.

It was Levy in Dallas.

Found out the service tech also clumsily tried to sell her a "membership" that offered a discount on everything.

(Like the company owner took an online class about subscription-based business models and decided to try it out. Because residential HVAC services are so common they require a subscription, obviously.)


Since Levy is out, can anyone recommend a good company in Dallas that can do refrigerant leak detection and repair?

The "Subscription" can be good or bad depending on what's in it.
I let a company hit me up for 1 year since it included a 10% discount on the work I was having done at the time and that 10% was more than the annual fee. Their annual thing was a heater inspection in early fall and an AC inspection heading into spring.

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. If they use it as a ploy to get into your living room and sell more stuff then I'm not a fan. Then again there is some peace of mind knowing that all the safety systems are working correctly on my gas furnace, and if I am a pound or so light on the freon I'd like to find out before I notice on that day that it's 90 and the house won't cool off and I've got company coming over (folks just experienced this one on Friday). It also keeps their techs busy with pre-paid work during those slow weeks and potentially avoids some emergency/weekend calls whent they're already getting busy.

All of that aside... that per lb rate and then to still charge a full diagnosis charge when they performed the work is 100% crap in my book!

This. If it's doing a semiannual tuneup and filters for $75 a year, that's not exactly a bad deal (my filters are the 5" kind that run $40 each and are replaced every 6 months).

I was charged $85/lb for almost 7 pounds a few weeks ago. System was blowing "slightly cool", but definitely not cold and the pipe from the condenser unit into the wall wasn't cold or sweating over the last few months. Knew something was wrong. Temp difference from registers to vents was only 11 degrees and a quick Google search told me it should be between 16 and 22.

Tech said he found and fixed a leak in one of the valve connections in the attic. He figured it had been leaking for a couple years. Long story short.... That was a more expensive visit then I was expecting. I thought I got taken on the price/lb, but guess from this thread that I actually didn't. Had no idea the "new" freon was that expensive.....

For what it is worth, they are supposed to phase out R410 starting next year. Going to R32 (Puron Plus) I believe. Our unit is 17 years old and I was considering replacing it, but our tech recommended to try and limp it through the year and buy a newer system when they come out. Otherwise might get stuck with a unit that you can't find any refrigerant.

Not that most of the guys here either want to or have time to fool with this themselves, but a 25-pound cylinder of R-410a sells for under $500.00, or roughly $20/pound.

Unlike R-22, which requires EPA Certification to purchase, R-410a can be bought by anyone.

Now, you would also need a set of refrigeration gauges and hoses, and have a little bit of training on how to charge R-410a (it differs from R-22), but I post this just so you can get a little bit of an idea about an AC company's cost of raw materials.

So, I wouldn't mind paying a good amount per pound for a pound or two (considering how much it costs to pay guys and send them out in trucks to make service calls), but if you're needing several pounds the price per pound should go way down, otherwise they're taking advantage of you.

Also, if you're needing more than 5 pounds in a typical household system, they need to get off their ass and find the leak and quote you a price to fix it. Just continuing to come back and recharge a leaking system just to make some easy money is BS.

Keegan99 said:

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SO paid a service tech $225 per pound.

That seems... outrageous. Thought it'd be half that. At most.

Did she get taken? Or does it reflect the current market?

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Hey Doug, damn, hate to say it but somebody got screwed big time!

I had an issue with my system late last year where the dryer crapped out and the system completely leaked out as a result. Had the dryer replaced, and IIRC approximately 14 lbs of R410 freon added to refill the unit along with the service charge. Don't have the bill before me but the total amount was around $800.

I'll have to check with my SIL tomorrow as he works for his father's HVAC company in Texarkana and see what the going rate for R410 freon is, but I'm sure it's a hell of a lot less than $225/pound.

Ribeye-Rare said:

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Not that most of the guys here either want to or have time to fool with this themselves, but a 25-pound cylinder of R-410a sells for under $500.00, or roughly $20/pound.

Unlike R-22, which requires EPA Certification to purchase, R-410a can be bought by anyone.

Now, you would also need a set of refrigeration gauges and hoses, and have a little bit of training on how to charge R-410a (it differs from R-22), but I post this just so you can get a little bit of an idea about an AC company's cost of raw materials.

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I bought 20lbs about 5 years ago for $100. I was shocked to see it was $500 now…. Im about to pull the trigger on a bottle now.

Just another data point. Paid $150 for 2 pounds and a service visit today to have the original installer of my equipment give everything a once over in Austin.

Hey Everyone,

Need a little assistance related to this thread.

Aug. 1, 2023 and I just got a quote from a company here in Dallas, TX to put some R-410 in my A/C unit. They are charging $220/lb.

The TXV valve is out too and the part is 'free' with the membership I have with them but the labor to replace is a flat $600.

Trying to see if the R-410 price is about right as well as the labor.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Material sounds high to me.

$32/lb

ETA - I may have misunderstood pricing above. Sounds like that's the labor+material. IMO still sounds high.

Keegan99 said:

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It was Levy in Dallas.

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Did you at least get a chicken wrap?

I paid $190 for a 25 lb cylinder of 410a 6-7 years ago. These prices now are insane.

JohnE1 said:

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Hey Everyone,

Need a little assistance related to this thread.

Aug. 1, 2023 and I just got a quote from a company here in Dallas, TX to put some R-410 in my A/C unit. They are charging $220/lb.

The TXV valve is out too and the part is 'free' with the membership I have with them but the labor to replace is a flat $600.

Trying to see if the R-410 price is about right as well as the labor.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

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Paid $70/lb in 2020 for 2lbs. Not super helpful but $220/lb seems nuts.