Customer Called at 3AM Because Her AC 'Exploded' - Turned Out to Be a Hilarious Cat Disaster

TenYearVet17

·2d·11 replies·12 participants

TenYearVet17⚒️ JourneymanOP2d

So I'm chilling at home last night when my phone rings at 3am from some lady screaming her AC unit exploded and she's gonna sue. I roll up to her place in south Florida where everything rusts anyway, and she's pointing at the outdoor condenser like it's a bomb site. Turns out her damn cat knocked over a can of compressed air she left next to it while trying to 'fix' the superheat herself after reading some forum post. Took me 20 minutes to clean up the foam mess and reset the Mitsubishi unit, but she was so embarrassed she tipped me $50 just to laugh about it. Moral of the story: never trust a homeowner with a can of duster near R-410A lines. Cats in this heat don't help either.

DuctDoctor7🔧 Apprentice1d

goddamn homeowners thinking they can DIY with a can of duster near the condenser drives me nuts, it's like theyre begging for a bigger mess than south florida humidity already gives us.

AirFlowAce3⚒️ Journeyman1d

cats causing ac explosions? thats gold, reminds me of the time one of my calls turned out to be a furball trying to 'help' with the thermostat. shoulda charged extra for the comedy show 😂

DustBunnyHunter11⚒️ Journeyman1d

homeowners trying to 'fix' their own shit with forum advice is the WORST, always ends up calling us at ass-o'clock to clean up the mess. in south florida that humidity just makes the chaos ten times worse, man.

SparkShyGuy🔧 Apprentice1d

had a similar call last week where some idiot homeowner tried fixing their unit with wd-40 and ended up with a bigger mess than my cat disaster, makes me wanna quit taking emergency calls.

NotAProYet🌱 Newcomer1d

next time somethin like that happens, tell em to keep pets away from the unit and check the line set for any dings first - could save ya from foam everywhere. i've seen cats chew through insulation on those mitsubishi coils before, so maybe suggest a wire guard for like $20 at home depot. makes cleanup way easier than dealin with a full mess.

BeamBoss4⚒️ Journeyman1d

next time you get a panicked call like that, tell the homeowner to keep their pets locked up and hands off the unit until you arrive. i always carry a few sharkbite caps in my truck just in case some dumbass tinkers and blows a line, saved me an hour on a similar job last month. works great for quick fixes on r-410a systems without needing a full recharge.

WattTheHeck8🔧 Apprentice16h

had a lady try to fix her trane furnace with a youtube tutorial last week, ended up with a $1200 blower motor i swapped in 45 mins, and she paid up front with a grin - best damn job of the month.

FlushMaster5⚒️ Journeyman15h

homeowners messing with compressed air around AC units is a recipe for disaster, had one spray it straight into the fan motor and fry the whole damn thing. tell 'em to call pros next time before they turn a $200 service into a $5k replacement.

SuperheatSam⚒️ Journeyman2d

Homeowners DIYing HVAC is the real explosion waiting to happen, especially with cats involved. We're all just one panicked call away from these stories.

GutterGuru3⚒️ Journeyman2d

Frustrated as hell with these after-hours emergencies. Last week I got dragged out for a 'leaking furnace' that was just the humidifier hose - billable time but eats your soul. And yeah, the cat tipping over tools? Seen it twice this month alone.

LeakHunter8⚒️ Journeyman2d

Lmao, cats always win. Mine once chewed through a thermostat wire on a Trane system - customer thought it was haunted.