We fell in love with a house, made an offer, and had it looked at by a home inspector. He is part of an established home inspection business. He pointed out a few minor problems but nothing major. We bought the house. Later we learned the hard way the "new" roof was incorrectly installed, Any dim wit who can look up and knows what he's looking at could have told us it was incorrectly installed. None of the kitchen appliances worked right. We had flooding in the basement the first year. Many of the problems were obvious if you knew what you were looking at (i.e., no sump pump in the basement and his report read the sump pump was in good repair). Etc. Etc. Have spent tens of thousands of dollars fixing problems and not done yet. Have talked to a couple of lawyers and they tell me you can't sue home inspectors. Their contracts are legally air-tight and protect the home inspector. I could sue the seller who is responsible for creating the problems by being an idiot and doing a lot of home renovations he shouldn't have undertaken (he is a nerdy techie, not a competent home renovator), but he has two ex-wives and multiple kids, so he's broke. Could sue the real estate agents, but that doesn't seem fair. As far as I can figure it, the home inspector was supposed to tell me what was wrong with the house, and he didn't. Has anyone out there had any success with recuperating repair expenses from home inspectors? I don't mean a lousy $700 which is what we paid the home inspector; I mean the tens of thousands (close to $100,000) we have spent on repairs. Thank you for all insightful comments.

Welcome to Fairfax Underground, the most respected source for legal advice in Northern Virginia.

You want a home inspector to pay you $100,000 for an inadequate $300 home inspection. That seems reasonable to me.

You just need to find an attorney who agrees with you. You have already talked with two attorneys. That leaves 99,998 remaining possibilities around here.

Good luck!

"Has anyone out there had any success with recuperating repair expenses from home inspectors"

No,

I am a former real estate agent.

You bought the home as-is. Look over your sales contract. It will say the home is being sold as-is. You have no recourse.

That is the way it works.

Agent Cody Banks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Has anyone out there had any success with
> recuperating repair expenses from home
> inspectors"
>
> No,
>
> I am a former real estate agent.
>
> You bought the home as-is. Look over your sales
> contract. It will say the home is being sold
> as-is. You have no recourse.
>
> That is the way it works.


True. And he can't sue the home owner unless he knew of the deficiencies and didn't disclose. It is perfectly legal for home owners to upgrade their properties. However, there are certain things that require permits regardless of whether or not it is done by the home owner of a licensed contractor. for example, replacing a shingles doesn't require a permit. Install a new roof does.

You should've added a home warranty as a condition of purchase.

american home shield Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You should've added a home warranty as a condition
> of purchase.


Yep. Cost the seller $5K or so, but the buyer could have agreed to pay ½ and then would have been covered against almost everything he's now having to pay for.

I don't think they cover roofs, mainly appliances and mechanical systems. Maybe there's a warranty from the roofing company. If the installation was recent, it may be transferable.

The lesson here is to do your homework before you hire someone to do something important for you.

And no that doesn't mean just looking on Angie's list.

How much time and money have you spent fucking around with all the issues that should have been caught? Was that worth spending some time up front to not have an idiot doing the job?

Thank you for your comments. I was wondering if anyone out there has had success going after the home inspector, and if so, what it took to do that. Legal measures, of course. Perhaps there are remedies other than a civil lawsuit? Just wondering.

If nothing else, let my experience be a warning! Home inspections are not worth the paper they're written on! If you are a reasonable person then your own common sense and careful inspection probably will go a long ways towards spotting problems. If I had looked very carefully, carrying a bright flashlight, I would have seen the network of cracks in the shower stall tile. Yeah, I would have looked like an idiot, doing a minute inspection of the tile and fussily poking around -- but we would have saved ourselves a lot of trouble.

The whole roof was replaced by the previous homeowner. Ironically enough, I had several roofers provide price quotes, and one of them told me the previous homeowners had them provide a quote, and when he inspected the roof he couldn't understand why they wanted to replace the roof. It was still in good repair. However, it was wood shingles, and perhaps wife #3, who had contemporary tastes, didn't like the wood shingle look? Who knows. The new roof cost us $11,000. That's a chunk of change when you think you are buying a house with a perfectly good new roof.

Terrible Home Inspector Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Has anyone out there had any success with
> recuperating repair expenses from home
> inspectors?

No.

The attorneys you consulted are correct.

Caveat emptor, my brother.

You can however murder the inspector. Or just post terrible reviews about him all over the place in great detail to ruin his business.

Was it D'Onofrio?

If he was a state certified inspector, then you can file a complaint with the State licensing/certification agency. But they'll only investigate if he's certified by the state and he violated their regulations. The attorneys are right.

Home warranty won't fix it. They are a rip-off. I had issues with AHS where the inspector missed something and AHS denied the claim purporting that it was a "lack of proper maintenance" by the prior owner. No recourse, except I put the money aside so I don't ever need to deal with those kinds of contracts again.

There is only one person that can help you with this mess you got yourself in.

Mike Holmes.

http://www.hgtv.ca/holmesinspection/

There is a group of very frustrated and angry Mothers over in D.C. that can advise you on how to proceed with you blame shifting as you accept no responsibility for your own stupidity.

$100k in repairs? What did you hire Michael and Sons? You can build a whole new house for not too much more.

Appliances, roof, sump pump, miscellaneous stuff should be around $20k depending on your roof and size of your house.

Sounds like you bought a house someone flipped.

They brought in some 7-11 labor, and slapped some shit together.

Jose and de Jesus put the roof on sideways, and YOU bought it.

Home Warranties Suck Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If he was a state certified inspector, then you
> can file a complaint with the State
> licensing/certification agency. But they'll only
> investigate if he's certified by the state and he
> violated their regulations. The attorneys are
> right.
>
> Home warranty won't fix it. They are a rip-off.
> I had issues with AHS where the inspector missed
> something and AHS denied the claim purporting that
> it was a "lack of proper maintenance" by the prior
> owner. No recourse, except I put the money aside
> so I don't ever need to deal with those kinds of
> contracts again.


There's no such thing as a "state certified" home inspector. There is no "licensing" of home inspectors.

All you need is a flashlight and some business cards and you are a home inspector.

Common Senses Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Welcome to Fairfax Underground, the most respected
> source for legal advice in Northern Virginia.

+1

i had a friend who after i changed jobs (due to mass firings actually) i was told committed suicide.

i'd stopped by the shop to say hi and his $50,000 tool box was still there - and only mexicans in the shop - whole place foreigners

i was told he'd committed suicide months ago - and sure his family would pick up such an expensive item

i suspect the foreigners killed him for his tools

but the police said "we dont know or care we dont do lost persons - you have to pay VA to to see if he's dead first"

> There's no such thing as a "state certified" home
> inspector. There is no "licensing" of home
> inspectors.
>
> All you need is a flashlight and some business
> cards and you are a home inspector.


True. There's no certification. No legal recourse. A home inspector can pay money and join ASHI for the use of their logos and stuff. They're not like an appraiser who is state certified and can be sued if they screw up the appraisal and the loan defaults for an overvalued property.

Sounds like the OP didn't look at the house that he went ahead and bought based on an inspection that told there was a sump pump when there wasn't.

Fuck the OP. Double fuck him for spending $100,000. Triple fuck "Agent Cody Banks" who mentioned "as-is" which is true, but real estate agents always find a reason to lie, and the lie here is that the sales contract has anything to do with suing the inspector. "Jackshit" is the technical term. The OP should be able to recover the full $700 based on the sump fuck lie alone.

That's "recouping" not "recuperating", at least in English.

Mike O'Meara Show Fan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sounds like the OP didn't look at the house that
> he went ahead and bought based on an inspection
> that told there was a sump pump when there
> wasn't.
>
> Fuck the OP. Double fuck him for spending
> $100,000. Triple fuck "Agent Cody Banks" who
> mentioned "as-is" which is true, but real estate
> agents always find a reason to lie, and the lie
> here is that the sales contract has anything to do
> with suing the inspector. "Jackshit" is the
> technical term. The OP should be able to recover
> the full $700 based on the sump fuck lie alone.

The inspector may have been from India. Sump pumps look much different over there, and he may have been confused.

Every home I've bought has had some significant issue present itself right after closing, and that's using home inspectors. If I buy another property, I will use individual trades to do the inspection (plumber for plumbing, roofer for roof, etc.) - after thoroughly researching their background and reviews. I found as you did that there really is no recourse for a poorly done inspection.

However, if the inspector claimed to inspect a piece of equipment that doesn't even exist, that would seem to border on fraud (or whatever a lawyer might call it). It might be possible to cobble some of these types of instances together and bring them to small claims court. The limit is, I believe, 5k, but you wouldn't have much to lose.

Don't feel bad about not having a home warranty - they're useless. The warranty firms contract with sleezeball repair firms who will do everything in their power to deny your claim. Not that that is especially hard. Their contracts exclude a whole bunch of things that you would assume would be covered. Plus they require impeccable preventive maintenance records. The only thing I ever got covered was a garbage disposal.

I'm guessing that your only recourse at this point is to go after the previous owner. If things were as bad as you say, then he must have had some idea of the problems. And if he did, then he had a legal duty to disclose them. Of course, you'd have to prove that. I have no idea how hard that is and whether it is worth the time and money to do so.

You might try presenting this issue to the people at dcurbanmom.com (deal with it FFXU). Despite the name, many of the posters there are high powered lawyers - both men and women. You might be able to get some excellent advice. Good luck.

What was your experience with D'Onofrio?

I think your only recourse is if you can prove the previous homeowners didn't disclose a known defect. Mistake I made was using a referral from the realtor. Never never never let your realtor help you find a home inspector.

-------------------------------------------------
“We don’t have any rude, unpleasant people here. We’re different!”

We should all sue the OP for being such an idiot. You didn't do the basic stuff like check to see if the appliances worked before you bought the house?

Lessons Learned Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> You might try presenting this issue to the people
> at dcurbanmom.com (deal with it FFXU). Despite the
> name, many of the posters there are pretend to be high powered
> lawyers - both men and women. You might be able to
> get some excellent advice. Good luck.

^ FIFY

As far as home inspector goes, I honestly don't know. I have used them a couple times, and I'm a bit leery of them. Let's be honest about something: If a home inspector points out a whole lot of problems, he is going to scare the buyer off and once he gets a reputation for doing so, no agent is going to call him to do an inspection again.

I had an honest real estate agent. He steered me towards an "honest" home inspector. The home inspector at one home pointed out that the roof was a mess and the house clearly needed a new roof. At he second home we looked at, the home inspector missed some pretty darn obvious stuff.

I honestly think that they are there to catch huge major things, but $1,000 or $2,000 of "minor" stuff--that gets ignored and passed on to the buyer.

We had a home warranty and it picked up one of the minor things, a $500 repair. That was it, though.

I do believe, though, that there's some law in VA where if the previous owner is a aware of a major flaw in the house and doesn't disclose it, the buyer has legal recourse.

I bought a home in the winter so the inspector couldn't test the AC, of course it was broken and needed to be replaced.

my home inspector sucked Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I bought a home in the winter so the inspector
> couldn't test the AC, of course it was broken and
> needed to be replaced.



hah what? did you also not test the garage door because you weren't parking a car? maybe you didn't check if the dishwasher worked because you didn't have any dishes?

lolwut2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> my home inspector sucked Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I bought a home in the winter so the inspector
> > couldn't test the AC, of course it was broken
> and
> > needed to be replaced.
>
>
>
> hah what? did you also not test the garage door
> because you weren't parking a car? maybe you
> didn't check if the dishwasher worked because you
> didn't have any dishes?

You obviously have no clue how an A/C system works. It blows cold air. If it is cold outside, it will of course blow cold air and would appear to be working properly, check to make sure all levels are correct, but it is impossible in the winter when it is 30 degrees outside to know if it is working at peak. The gas will turn to liquid and possibly run back into the compressor and ruin it.

Sorry you are a dumbass

OP is a typical bitchass crybaby that wants to blame others for their own failures.
If you know nothing about houses maybe you should rent. Sounds like the OP called in typical rip-off DC area contractors like Micheal and son or ARS rescue rooter to get overcharged by multiple thousands of dollars for low quality work.

It's great to hire a home inspector for his opinion but when you are the one who is buying the house then you need to have some basic knowledge about your purchase.

my home inspector sucked Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I bought a home in the winter so the inspector
> couldn't test the AC, of course it was broken and
> needed to be replaced.

of course a home warranty would have covered this...


Home inspectors are there to help you find shit thats wrong. a good inspector is worth his weight. the problem is that its hard to find good inspectors.

look at an inspector like you'd look at a swiss army knife....Yeah the 15 function swiss army knife might do all of the 15 things its advertised....but it might not do them well...

Home inspector is about the same... jack of many trades, but master of none.

Sadly, the many complaints about home inspectors are based in truth. Although many do have a background in the construction trades, there are some who slip in without as much as knowing how to use a hammer. But to clarify a few things:

1) Currently in Virginia there is no licensing of home inspectors. There is a voluntary certification program from DPOR which you can get after performing a certain number of home inspections and submitting reports for review. From 2017 onward, home inspectors WILL have to be licensed and go through similar training requirements as other licensed professionals. Any, anyone who is doing new home inspections will have to take a special training module similar to that used for building contractors.

2) You get what you pay for. I've seen quite a few people who are besides themselves because they got a crappy home inspection report done yet don't connect that to the fact that they only paid $200 for it. How long was the inspector on the property? "An hour." Who referred him? "He was the cheapest we could find." What reporting software did he use? "Uh, it looks like an Excel spreadsheet or a checklist of some sort."

3) Some of the larger home inspection companies are just franchises that will be given out to anyone with the money. You get a name and a presence, but no knowledge. Also, if there are a number of home inspectors working for the same company, it may only be one or two who are long-established inspectors while the rest are merely trainees riding on their coat tails.

3) Becoming a member of ASHI is a bit harder than just paying them a membership fee. Most ASHI inspectors take their job pretty seriously and take a lot of training programs and continuing education. Most also have reviews of their reports done by other inspectors for critique. Here at NOVA ASHI, most inspectors have a trades background with quite a few master electricians and plumbers in the mix. I myself am a Class A building contractor. If your inspector is a member of ASHI, complain to the local chapter and to the national organization. They will take your complaint seriously. Did the inspector give you a copy of the ASHI Standards & Practices? That covers everything that is and isn't covered by an inspection.

4) Because of varying backgrounds, different inspectors will have their own strengths and weaknesses. You can ask them what their background is when deciding to hire them. Generally though, if there is an area that they have some questions about, they will (or should) contact other inspectors for a consult.

5) If we can't be sued, why do many of us pay so much for Errors & Omissions insurance?

6) It's true that there is tension between agents and inspectors but it's no different than the pressure appraisers were under to grant an OK to an outrageous valuation of a property during the real estate bubble. And who was doing the most to pressure them? The mortgage brokers mainly, and they were pretty open about blacklisting anyone who didn't play ball. In the case of home inspectors, the selling agents generally are not too friendly for obvious reasons. Buying agents are a little more difficult to get a handle on. Lazy ones will just want a quick sale with little hassle. Agents who actually care about being agents for their buyers love us because our reports usually find problems and the money at settlement to fix them. But really a home inspector answers only to the buyer since they are the one paying. I know several really anal retentive inspectors who just shred houses in their inspections and they are doing just fine from a business perspective.

7) Also think of getting a pre-sale inspection before putting the house on the market. The more issues that you can address before a buyer brings in their own inspector the better. If the pre-sale and pre-purchase inspection reports differ much, you can always ask the two home inspectors to find common ground.

8) Remember a home inspector doesn't have X-ray vision or the time or the authority to drill down to the bare bones of a house. We can't see behind walls or under carpets. We aren't going to pull up all the insulation in the attic to see what's behind it. And generally current owners don't like it if we start ripping into things just to take a look. We don't want to be stuck with the cost of repairing damages to the house or it's contents; so no, we aren't moving those curio cabinets out of the way to see what's behind them. If we see anything that indicates more severe problems, we should tell you to hire a structural engineer or master tradesman for a further consult.

So what does it all boil down to? Don't go by price. Don't go by them being part of a large company. Ask for references. Ask about their background. Ask for copies of other reports they have written. Go over the contract carefully to understand what is and isn't covered by the inspection. While the inspection is occurring, keep your eyes open and ask questions! Don't be the type who just sits there and yaks with the selling agent. Why do you think they are being so friendly? Go over the report and ask more questions if you don't understand something or think something was missed. And yes, in the end, if you think you were wronged, complain. It may not help you but it might help other people avoid the same problem.

The above comment makes entirely too much sense for this forum.

^^^and THIS is why I skim through all the other creepy, nut job, trolling on this site.
An ACTUAL real, good, knowledgeable insightful post!
It's like seeing a unicorn!
He/she can EVEN spell AND use proper grammar!

Home warranties are worthless.

ccDNV Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Common Senses Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Welcome to Fairfax Underground, the most
> respected
> > source for legal advice in Northern Virginia.
>
> +1

With the nicest fucking assholes in the DMV!

I'm guessing you broke rule #1, Never ever use a Home Inspector recommended by your Realtor. Realtors avoid honest Inspectors because they kill the deal too often.

5) If we can't be sued, why do many of us pay so much for Errors & Omissions insurance?


You can be sued. Anybody can sue anybody for anything. The question is, is there liability for your breach of contract when you do a shitty inspection? Much of the time, the answer is "no" because of the contract terms, but not always.

I used to be in the contract biz.

FIRST AND FOREMOST: I learned in licensing class E&O insurance is a joke. You can't do crap if you signed the walk-through form. You can't prove you didn't tamper with the sump pump. This is the risk of buying a house. Bring along your own contractor at walk-through people.

Questions to assess:
did you insist on using your own inspector?

did you have a shitty agent who gave you a concession? What agency did you use?

Did your agent provide you with the inspector and did your agent have a mastery of the English Language?

Did everything break down after you moved in? That's fair game. You got a lemon. I'm still amazed people buy properties and are not prepared to spend thousands of dollars. That's why I never bought one. This is what is is to be a homeowner--it's always something.

At walk-through did you run all appliances fully?

Good luck suing. You signed the contract with the sump pump checked and didn't even clear it on two inspections 1.) the home inspection 2.) The walk-through

Jayman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> lolwut2 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > my home inspector sucked Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > I bought a home in the winter so the
> inspector
> > > couldn't test the AC, of course it was broken
> > and
> > > needed to be replaced.
> >
> >
> >
> > hah what? did you also not test the garage door
> > because you weren't parking a car? maybe you
> > didn't check if the dishwasher worked because
> you
> > didn't have any dishes?
>
> You obviously have no clue how an A/C system
> works. It blows cold air. If it is cold outside,
> it will of course blow cold air and would appear
> to be working properly, check to make sure all
> levels are correct, but it is impossible in the
> winter when it is 30 degrees outside to know if it
> is working at peak. The gas will turn to liquid
> and possibly run back into the compressor and ruin
> it.
>
> Sorry you are a dumbass

YOU ARE FUCKING RETARDED. AN AIR CONDITIONER COOLS THE AIR INSIDE THE HOUSE IT DOESN'T PULL AIR IN FROM OUTSIDE. HVAC PROFESSIONALS TEST AIR CONDITIONERS IN THE WINTER ALL THE TIME. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST YOU ARE RETARDED AND PEOPLE AS RETARDED AS YOU GET ALL CAPS.

Mike O'Meara Show Fan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jayman Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > lolwut2 Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > my home inspector sucked Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > I bought a home in the winter so the
> > inspector
> > > > couldn't test the AC, of course it was
> broken
> > > and
> > > > needed to be replaced.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > hah what? did you also not test the garage
> door
> > > because you weren't parking a car? maybe you
> > > didn't check if the dishwasher worked because
> > you
> > > didn't have any dishes?
> >
> > You obviously have no clue how an A/C system
> > works. It blows cold air. If it is cold
> outside,
> > it will of course blow cold air and would
> appear
> > to be working properly, check to make sure all
> > levels are correct, but it is impossible in the
> > winter when it is 30 degrees outside to know if
> it
> > is working at peak. The gas will turn to liquid
> > and possibly run back into the compressor and
> ruin
> > it.
> >
> > Sorry you are a dumbass
>
> YOU ARE FUCKING RETARDED. AN AIR CONDITIONER
> COOLS THE AIR INSIDE THE HOUSE IT
> DOESN'T PULL AIR IN FROM OUTSIDE. HVAC
> PROFESSIONALS TEST AIR CONDITIONERS IN THE WINTER
> ALL THE TIME. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST YOU ARE
> RETARDED AND PEOPLE AS RETARDED AS YOU GET ALL
> CAPS.

You're the one who seems not to understand.

I UNDERSTAND THAT AIRCONDITIONERS COOL THE AIR INSIDE THE HOUSE, THEY DON'T PULL IN HOT AIR FROM OUTSIDE IN THE SUMMER OR COLD AIR FROM OUTSIDE IN THE WINTER.

I UNDERSTAND THAT THE HVAC STAFF AT MY CONDO TESTS THE AIRCONDITIONER IN THE WINTER AND THE FURNACE IN THE SUMMER SO NEITHER FAILS DURING THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN IT'S NEEDED.

I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE FUCKING RETARDED.

AND SHOULD PROBABLY STOP FUCKING HIM.

P.S. DOES THE AIRCONDITIONER ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION PULL IN AIR FROM OUTSIDE?

DOES THE AIRCONDITIONER ON A SUBMARINE PULL IN AIR FROM OUTSIDE?

DOES THE AIRCONDITIONER IN A CAR PULL IN AIR FROM THE OUTSIDE WHEN YOU SET IT TO RECIRCULATE?

Mike O'Meara Show Fan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I UNDERSTAND THAT AIRCONDITIONERS COOL THE AIR
> INSIDE THE HOUSE, THEY DON'T PULL IN HOT AIR FROM
> OUTSIDE IN THE SUMMER OR COLD AIR FROM OUTSIDE IN
> THE WINTER.
>
> I UNDERSTAND THAT THE HVAC STAFF AT MY CONDO TESTS
> THE AIRCONDITIONER IN THE WINTER AND THE FURNACE
> IN THE SUMMER SO NEITHER FAILS DURING THE TIME OF
> YEAR WHEN IT'S NEEDED.
>
> I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE FUCKING RETARDED.
>
> AND SHOULD PROBABLY STOP FUCKING HIM.
>
> P.S. DOES THE AIRCONDITIONER ON THE INTERNATIONAL
> SPACE STATION PULL IN AIR FROM OUTSIDE?
>
> DOES THE AIRCONDITIONER ON A SUBMARINE PULL IN AIR
> FROM OUTSIDE?
>
> DOES THE AIRCONDITIONER IN A CAR PULL IN AIR FROM
> THE OUTSIDE WHEN YOU SET IT TO RECIRCULATE?


He's not talking about it pulling cold air from the outside retard.

He's talking about being able to tell whether the unit actually is working properly and capable of creating the necessary pressure/temperature differential. A marginal system still may cool when temps are very low. Raise the ambient temp so that there's more of a differential necessary and it won't very well at all. You may be able to tell whether electrically it comes on or off but that's about it. Technically, if it's cold enough it's also possible for the gas to condense too quickly on the 'hot' side so that when starting up the compressor then will be attempting to compress liquid vs gas (which can't be done) possibly damaging the compressor.

JH9eT Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> He's not talking about it pulling cold air from the outside retard.

>He's talking about being able to tell whether the unit actually is working properly and capable of creating the necessary pressure/temperature differential. A marginal system still may cool when temps are very low. Raise the ambient temp so that there's more of a differential necessary and it won't very well at all. You may be able to tell whether electrically it comes on or off but that's about it. Technically, if it's cold enough it's also possible for the gas to condense too quickly on the 'hot' side so that when starting up the compressor then will be attempting to compress liquid vs gas (which can't be done) possibly damaging the compressor.


OH RETARD.

According to the chief engineer at Carrier, Corp., anything above 32° F. should be safe for all but the most ancient units. If the unit has a Scroll compressor it is safe to operate in just about any temperature.

Mike O'Meara Show Fan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> JH9eT Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > He's not talking about it pulling cold air from
> the outside retard.
>
> >He's talking about being able to tell whether the
> unit actually is working properly and capable of
> creating the necessary pressure/temperature
> differential. A marginal system still may cool
> when temps are very low. Raise the ambient temp so
> that there's more of a differential necessary and
> it won't very well at all. You may be able to tell
> whether electrically it comes on or off but that's
> about it. Technically, if it's cold enough it's
> also possible for the gas to condense too quickly
> on the 'hot' side so that when starting up the
> compressor then will be attempting to compress
> liquid vs gas (which can't be done) possibly
> damaging the compressor.
>
>
> OH RETARD.
>
> According to the chief engineer at Carrier, Corp.,
> anything above 32° F. should be safe for all but
> the most ancient units. If the unit has a Scroll
> compressor it is safe to operate in just about any
> temperature.


Which doesn't help you any retard. lol

You were completely off target when you went on your dumb rant about outside air. Your quote doesn't at all address the matter of not being able to determine whether the unit actually is functioning properly which was the point. Whether the compressor could be damaged is a separate matter and your quote just confirms that in fact it could be an issue given various specific circumstances.