My air conditioner initially started having problems in May 2018. I have a Homebuyer's Warranty…read morethrough 2-10, so I contacted them to have it fixed. The only A/C company they are contracted with in this area is EL Walters, so they had them come out. They repaired it. The AC started having problems again in July of 2020. I contacted 2-10 in late August and they approved replacing the system. Again, they used EL Walters. The new unit was installed and things seemed to be fine until July 2021. The house wasn't cooling as well. By the end of August, it wasn't cooling at all - less than 1 year after having a new unit installed. I contacted a different company to come out and diagnose the problem because it was 95 degrees with a heat index of 110 and there was a heat advisory. I wanted answers ASAP and I knew EL Walters was going to tell me I had to go through 2-10. The technician that did the diagnosis informed me that the furnace evaporator coil was not compatible with the AC unit that EL Walters installed and that they should have also replaced the coil. He was shocked that they did this. His comment was, "They had to know the his was wrong and that this system would fail. They probably thought it would last longer than it did and then maybe it wouldn't be their problem. You need to report this to EPA and they should be responsible for repairing it because they installed it knowing it wouldn't last." I contacted EL Walters to let them know the diagnosis. I explained what the technician had said and the receptionist's response was, "Why would you have someone else come out to check our install?" I thought that response was inappropriate. I told her because it's blistering outside, my AC isn't working I wanted answers ASAP. She said that since I used my home warranty company, I would have to go back through them. I contacted 2-10 and they said they'd reach out to EL Walters. Two days passed and I never heard anything. I called 2-10 back and they said it would just be easier to put in a new service request. I didn't want to do that because EL Walters is the only company the use for this type of repair in Evansville and they had botched the install of the unit. My husband ended up contacting a third heating and air company because he wanted to be sure about the diagnosis. The technician inspected the furnace and AC unit and said, "You can't put a 410 on a 22. It will make the whole system blow up, which is what has happened here. The way your system is set up, they would've had to pull out your furnace to replace the coil. They probably got lazy and didn't feel like doing that, so they just did this and hoped it lasted awhile." I wasn't sure what this is meant, so I looked it up. The new unit that they installed uses R410A refrigerant. The existing coil in the furnace uses R22 refrigerant. They charge at different pressures, so they are incompatible within the same system. Putting R410A into an R22 system makes the pressure too high, so the valves rupture and refrigerant leaks out. All new AC units made since 2010 cannot use R22 because of EPA regulations. Knowing that the system was much older than that, EL Walters should have known the coil would was not compatible. I'm not sure whether or not EL Walters' technicians installed this incorrectly out of careless negligence or lack of knowledge. Either way, we did not feel comfortable having them come out to "repair" anything else, so we bypassed the home warranty company and paid out of pocket for the other heating and air company to install a new coil and recharge the system. Sometimes you get what you pay for. I know this is a long review, but I wanted to give as much detail as possible. I think it is despicable that a company would install something incorrectly knowing that it would fail, be offended that you had someone else check their poor work, and then not even own up to the mistake when there is clear evidence of it.

Going into July, it's hot and muggy - so of course the AC stops working. I called Walters in…read moreEvansville. They came out, "diagnosed" my problem in the outside unit, told me it would be 2 weeks or so before they could fix it. The cost to put the Freon back in would be $49.40 per pound. And I needed 10 pounds. Plus the labor to fix the problem would put my bill in the $1,200 range. They charged me over $200 for this diagnostic skill. Their office called the next morning and told me that although the part was under warranty, I would have to pay the freight cost. I decided to check elsewhere. I called Schmitt Heating and Cooling at (812) 424-3604 and talked to Brian. The first question I asked was how much they charged per pound of Freon. 17 bucks. That is not a typo. That is an immediate savings of $324.40. I was already happier. He sent someone out that evening. After hours. They looked at what Walters had said and totally disagreed. He told me what he thought was wrong. Brian called the next morning to discuss it. The part was ordered and would take a few days to get here. But it was July 3rd and the holiday weekend was coming up and it was hot. I was dreading it. I dreaded needlessly. Why, you wonder? Because Brian sent someone out that evening to install a window unit in that he keeps for his clients to borrow. It was a sanity saver while I waited. No charge for this service, either. When the part arrived, Schmitt came out for a third time. We are not in the same town. It's a drive for them to get here. 28 minutes one way according to Google Maps. This was their third trip to my house and this time they sent two guys. One replacing the part and one charging the outside unit. They replaced the part - which was INSIDE, by the way. There was NOTHING wrong with the outside unit at all - except that Walter's had taken out all the Freon and I had to pay to have it replaced. The guys were there a couple of hours. When they left, the cold air was blowing. By the time I woke this morning, the house temperature was 70. Brian called later in the day to let me know he had taken care of the warranty part and to make sure I was happy. Happy does not begin to describe how I am. Both he and his wife, Traci were always kind and considerate. Very professional. This small family business gave me better customer service than I have ever had from any company for any reason. The total cost for the labor was $300. For 4 guys. Who made 3 trips. And drove about an hour each time they did. I am a Brian Schmitt Cooling fan forever! I would highly suggest you be as well.