Knowledge/Brands and suppliers/The servicing intervals that are warranty conditions
The servicing intervals that are warranty conditions
On some brands the service interval isn't advice. It's a condition of the warranty. ActronAir needs a service every 12 months on residential and at least every 3 months on commercial. Seeley's evaporative warranty needs a service in year 2 and year 4, and the year 4 service is charged by Seeley.
- ActronAir residential
- Every 12 monthsmaintenance obligation
- ActronAir commercial
- Every 3 monthsat least
- Seeley evaporative
- Year 2 and year 4year 4 charged by Seeley
- Rinnai extended cover
- Scheduled servicingdone by Rinnai
How often does ActronAir need a service to keep the warranty?
It depends on whether the job's residential or commercial, and the gap is big. Residential needs one every 12 months. Commercial needs one at least every 3 months, so four times as often.
That's a real trap on light commercial work. Quote a maintenance plan on residential assumptions for a site that's classified commercial, and your customer's three services a year short of the condition. The cover's exposed.
And it gets worse with the warranty length. ActronAir gives 2 years parts and 2 years labour on commercial, against 5 years parts and 5 years labour on residential. Residential extended cover is listed as not available, so those 5 years are the lot. Commercial gets a shorter warranty and a tighter servicing obligation at the same time.
What servicing does Seeley's evaporative warranty need?
A service in year 2 and year 4, and the year 4 service is charged by Seeley, so your customer pays for it.
That's unusual, so tell the customer when you sell the unit, not in year four. A customer who finds out about a paid manufacturer service three years after you sold them the unit will remember who didn't mention it.
Seeley's warranty registration also has to be done within the first 6 months.
Misread
figure
Is ActronAir's warranty only two years?
No. There's a two-year ActronAir figure doing the rounds in search results. It refers to Heat Reclaim Systems and to commercial product, not the residential range.
Heat Reclaim Systems carry 2 years, with no extended warranty available. That's one product's clause being read as if it covered the whole brand.
So don't ask what a brand's warranty is. Ask what this product's warranty is, on this kind of job. The same badge carries several different sets of terms.
What should you do about it?
- Work out whether it's residential or commercial before you quote the warrantyResidential, light commercial and commercial can carry different service intervals and different warranty lengths on the same equipment.
- Put the service interval in the handover documentIn writing, with the interval that applies to their kind of job. It protects the customer and it protects you.
- Quote the maintenance plan at the interval the warranty requiresNot at the interval that suits the price. Quarterly on commercial ActronAir is the condition, so a twice-yearly plan leaves the cover exposed.
- Check who's allowed to do the servicingRinnai's extended cover depends on scheduled servicing done by Rinnai itself, so that work may not come back to you.
- Put the paid manufacturer services in the diarySeeley's year 4 service on evaporative is the one that catches people.
Rethinking which brands you carry?
It's a bigger decision than the margin on the next job, because it decides who you ring when something goes wrong in year four.
Kevin will tell you how the ones you're considering actually behave on warranty.
Who this is for: small and medium HVAC contractors in Victoria. If you're a homeowner after a rebate or a repair, you need a licensed contractor, not us, and yours can point you the right way.
Related
- Extended warranty, and what it ties you toWho offers an extension, what it costs you in scheduled servicing, the short registration windows you have to hit, and which ranges offer nothing.
- A Solar Victoria rebate can upgrade the warrantyOn one brand's heat pump, a Solar Homes hot water rebate brings a five-year parts and labour warranty, well above that product's standard cover.
- Mitsubishi Electric and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries aren't relatedTwo separate Australian companies with separately listed Japanese parents, two ABNs and two warranty contacts. Not parent and subsidiary, not related.
- Fujitsu air conditioning in Australia is now GENERALThe brand's changed but the warranty paperwork hasn't caught up. What we could confirm from the cards, and three gaps we're not filling with guesses.
Review date: 1 April 2027. Figures in this area change without much notice and this page carries some that will go stale. Every number above is dated and sourced so you can check it yourself. If you find something out of date here, tell us and we will fix it.