Window AC destroyed by tenants brother. How much can I charge?

[Ryan Renze]

I have a tenant in Des Moines, IA who his brother decided to drill a hole in the bottom of my window AC for some odd reason and ruin it. The tenant then decided to buy a smaller one off Craigslist for $50. While I was there to remove mine for the year, he told me what happened and said he would like to have the same size I had originally put in next year. He said his brother wouldn't pay for what he broke, but the tenant said he would probably get stuck with the bill. I have not sent him an invoice for the AC yet, but was wondering if I can charge him the $217.94 I paid for it a little over 3 years ago? Is there a form I should send him or just send an invoice for “Damaged Window AC Replacement”? If anyone has any tips, I would appreciate it.

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @Deanna McCormick:

but realize it was close to 50% wear and tear life left, the weep hole was probably clogged and that's why the guy drilled a hole in it because condensation was probably building up and spitting or dripping inside. 

 This is why we should not get (or give) technical advice on this board, this is not even remotely correct. First, window units can last decades of use. It depends on how well they are maintained. Nobody can say at 3 years old that 50% wear and tear has been caused. If the machine was properly maintained it can last ten years, if not more. 

As for the hole, there is no "weep hole" in window air conditioners anymore either. This has been an EPA requirement for some time. Instead of having a hole for the condensate to simply fall out of, it collects in the back of the unit and sprays onto the cooling fins of the condenser on the back. This causes an extra evaporative cooling effect making the air conditioner more efficient, and, eliminating the drip hole all air conditioners used to have.

It is possible when newer model air conditioners without condensate drain holes get dirty and airflow through the cooling fins becomes clogged, the condensate cannot evaporate properly and builds up, eventually freezing over on the inside and plugging up the unit. This is likely why the brother drilled the hole, as a bandaid for actually cleaning the unit properly. Normally this can be a useful bandaid on a really old unit, but, he probably drilled into the refrigerant system and let out all the magic gas...

Other people just like to get high on air conditioner refrigerants and drill holes in the lines for that reason.

As for what to charge - the replacement cost of a new unit of the same size. To be paid immediately.