Hey guys, I Want to do a video on things that can void your warranty And some of these things maybe you didn't realize. We all know that if you were to take a baseball bat to your unit and it's not necessarily a failure on the manufacturer's parts list, right? it's not necessarily something that was their fault if you took a bat to that unit, or if you ran into it with your car for example, that's not something covered under warranty. However, there are things that a lot of guys out there in the heating and air industry are doing the heating and air systems not realizing they are voiding the warranty and I wanted to go over a few of those things before you, as a homeowner might make that mistake. I actually had this question from a homeowner the other night.

They were actually messaging me on our guide and they were asking about soft starts and we actually did a video recently on soft start. So if that's something you're interested in, click the link. There should be one down in the description somewhere. But what I was explaining to him is if the manufacturer did not originally intend for that unit to have a soft start while it's under warranty, I would be careful adding that soft start without checking with someone and I will say that not all manufacturers handle things like this the same way.

For example, for the longest time manufacturers were very clear on we don't want anything added to the system including dye, so they have this die that you can add to heating and air systems. If it's leaking refrigerant, you could find the leak with wherever that die comes out of let's say the coil or something like that, you could find that leak a lot of Manufacturers were saying if you add dye or anything else to our system, it'll avoid the warranty But As time has gone on, some maybe not all, but some manufacturers are okay with you adding dye. In fact, I have had actual technical support. Reps for some of the brands that we work on, tell us go ahead and add dye to that system.

So that way if you have this issue again, we can find out what the problem is so that covers soft starts and die. But let's talk about a few other things, one of them being products that you can add to the system, especially as the system's getting older, it's not under warranty anymore. We'll sometimes see people add products like AC renew or diversatex boost juice. We did a video on that once, but one of these products that are meant to be added to the system to lubricate things, make metering devices, Txvs, things like that work better and of course the compressor make it work better, quieter, extend the life of it.

But as great as some of these products might be, manufacturers do not want those type products added to the system if it's not. OEM If it's not something that was originally supposed to be there, they don't want that in the system. And with some of these products, you know they may never even know, right? if you added it to the system and then the fan motor fail under warranty. Well, the manufacturer is not going to know or really care that you added that product to there.

But if you were, for example, if somebody were to add a product like that to the system and introduce moisture to that system or some sort of particulates or non-condensable something making that compressor work harder and then you were to have multiple failures or something like that, well then they're going to be like what's going on what was added to the system and that might be a question they asked. Another product they don't want added to systems is products like leak seal or some sort of leak stop type product where if you were to have a refrigerant leak in that system and you were to add it to that. There are products out there that are like that. They almost act like fix a flat for a tire, but they're meant for heating and air systems.

So you add it to the system and it goes through there and finds the leak and stops the leak. Now the problem becomes. A lot of folks argue that products like that are hard on the compressor. It can gum up things, especially if someone again were to add moisture or atmospheric air to that system in some way.

Then products like that are reacting to that inside of the refrigerant flow. So system itself and again, it causes compressor failures, metering device issues, and things like that manufacturers don't want it in there. They will avoid a warranty if they get wind of it, or if there's some sort of evidence that something like that was done Anything that's not OEM anything that was not meant for that system when it was originally installed. Now the question I received from the person when I was talking to them at our guide the other night.

they said, well, Josh what about things like surge protectors and I had to agree with them I was like, well, you know you've kind of got a point there. They want surge protection, That's something that's added, it's not OEM One might argue with all of these inverter systems and all of the issues that we're starting to see with all the failures, electricity issues, and things like that that maybe surge protectors should be installed right from the factory. but that's a whole other topic, right? I Would just say if it's anything that is not OEM or in the manual if it's not in the instruction manual and you're not quite sure, definitely ask a pro, have your pro check with the manufacturer, actually get some clarity, try to get it in writing if you can, and cover yourself before you do add something to that system. I Don't think there's a manufacturer out there that's going to have a problem with surge protection being added to that system, but they may have a problem with something else.

And let me just say this before we 100 wrap up. One last thing that might void the warranty is if you were to install the system and it not be an Ahri match. In fact, I had a company years ago that simply would not honor the warranty because it was not an HR a match and you might say, well, Josh who installed that unit Why was it not an HR a match? Believe it or not, I installed that unit and the problem ended up being the supplier that we were using sent us a system that was not an Ahri match and still you might even say well, Josh why didn't you check it I guess I Just figured they would know if they sent me the system that it matched correctly. Long story short, we had some issues.

A factory rep came out, found out it's not a match and they voided the warranties even though we swapped the air handler with one that was an HRI match with that outdoor unit. When it came time to have an issue years later I tried to get a new compressor for that system and they would not honor the warranty because of it. Make sure you're crossing your tees and dotting your eyes, doing everything properly. Doing what the manual says you're supposed to do when it's time to install it you as the homeowner may not even be in control of that, right? But choosing a good Heating and Air company that does do that that does, pull the manual out and read it goes a long way.

And finally, making sure that the system that they install is an HRI match, you can ask them for the certificate. they should be able to provide you with that, or at the very least, send you the Ahri number so you can pull it up on their website directory so that way you can pull it up and print it out as well. You'll have that certificate in hand and that way if there's ever an issue, you'll be covered. You'll know that it is an HRI match.

Hope this helps. Can you think of anything that I missed that could void that warranty? Please comment down below. Thanks for watching Hit that subscribe button. We'll see you next time.