Heat/AC replacement

[dannov5]

Ok BBC, need your help yet again...

My AC/Heat unit for my downstairs is too small for my open floorplan house and I need to upgrade... It is a split unit with the compressor sitting outside my house and an airhandler in the attic... (if it sounds like I don't know all of the ins and out's of this, it's because I don't, hence asking for opinions)

Looking for opinions as to which brand makes the best Heat/AC Unit for the money with Parts/Labor Warranties taken into consideration.... If you need more info that I may have left out, let me know...

THANK YOU BBC!!!

[Dando]

American Standard (expensive and good)
Goodman (decent and affordable)

[dannov5]

Got warranty info for either???

[teeboy]

Don't do Goodman...cheapest out there...price and quality;)

[spanick]

Any waranty questions you need to know should be online in manufactures website.as far ad brands.Carrier,bryant,payment .American Standard,Standard.I would consider the application.some are louder than others mostly due to insulation factors inside the unit.The install will make a big difference to,make sure the company uses brazing rod and not soft solder,and purged nitrogen through the system when brazing.Peaple are always looking for the best price,but sometimes paying a little more for proper install will pay in the long run. LU 597 Chicago.

[Dando]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by teeboy &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Don't do Goodman...cheapest out there...price and quality;)</td></tr></table>

You're gonna hafta do some of your own research on this one. I spent way too much time reading reviews, pricing, comparing, weighing options, and reading what others had to say on closer related forums....and several on site install estimates, and talking to local intallers.

Mine was like yours with the air handler in the attic.
I also had considerable ductwork problems and crawlspace problems. (most of which were caused by hiring "professionals" to do other work).

With the cheapest estimates being just over $20,000 (Heil and Trane), AND, the fact that the last 10 jobs I've hired to have done...I've had to re-do myself.......I decided I better do the job myself.

IMO: Most anything is either going to be worn out,broken, or outdated in 10-15yrs. Best I can remember, most everything had 10yr warranty. (at least on parts). My best experience has been with the Trane, here at my shop. AND best means it's only needed attention(parts/repairs) three times in the 8yrs it's been here.

I narrowed it down to Goodman-vs-American Standard. Goodman was 1/3rd the price, had almost the same warranty. I assumed lesser quality, although, I was looking at 15yrs tops. Not lifetime.
I never intended to buy the cheapest unit made. But, after doing the math....
For the same money:
I can have the worst luck of anybody and have to replace the Goodman three times in the next 15yrs.
OR, have lottery winning luck with the Amercian Standard and it last it for 15yrs.

I went with the odds.

[dannov5]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by spanick &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Any waranty questions you need to know should be online in manufactures website.as far ad brands.Carrier,bryant,payment .American Standard,Standard.I would consider the application.some are louder than others mostly due to insulation factors inside the unit.The install will make a big difference to,make sure the company uses brazing rod and not soft solder,and purged nitrogen through the system when brazing.Peaple are always looking for the best price,but sometimes paying a little more for proper install will pay in the long run. LU 597 Chicago.</td></tr></table>

Trust me, I'm willing to pain the extra coin for a quality product and install...

The company that did my current install really messed it up... noone can believe they only put one vent in a room with two exterior walls, consequently that room is the hottest in summer and coldest in winter. That room serves as the Master Bedroom. It sucks. Had a guy look at the way they ran the duct work and said he would have to tear down my whole ceiling to make it right. But at the same time the unit itself is just too small so I'm going to start there and see how it goes. I just want something that pushes cold air in the summer and hot air in the winter... I don't mind my $400/month electric bills during extreme summer, but if my house is still blazing hot at the same time I get really frustrated....

[teeboy]

I did some research also because I just had to replace my furnace.
After hearing what the HVAC guy had to say about Goodman...I went with a Comfortmaker which is handled by Carrier.
Happy with it so far.
I agree that most systems now only go about 10 to 20 years.
The old Air Ease unit we took out was 43 years old! Although it did have a crack in the heat exchanger.
It's also hard to get honest reviews off the net...they're super skewed.

[spanick]

Ya know a lot of people have issues with layering,where in the winter its cold downstairs and hot up.This is an easy fix with a programable 2 stage t-stat.you wire your fan to cyle on even when the unit is not calling for cooling or heat.This will even out the temp throught the house.

[slonezp]

I'm in the commercial end of the business and rather than focus on brand I'd advise you to find an experienced, qualified contractor in your area to do the work. Do your research and when comparing estimates make sure they are apples to apples. Most manufacturers warranties are for parts only and the individual contractor may offer the labor warranty which may have an initial cost and will require some type of service agreement. If the contractor doesnt do a calculated heat loss, which involves measuring sq. footage, windows, doors, age of the structure, etc, then he is not qualified to size up the correct unit for your house. Be prepared for ductwork modifications also.
Most units work the same. As far as American Standard/Trane is concerned, replacement parts are all OEM. With other brands in many cases parts can be purchased aftermarket and offer some savings. Carrier, Lennox, York all manufacture generic units. Comfortmaker is not mfg. by Carrier. but is a decent product and there is nothing wrong with Goodman products either. From what you have described sounds like you have a heat pump which is not much more than a compressor, coils, and a few different types of valves. There are reall only 3 major compressor mfgs that most companies use(except AmerStd/Trane again OEM)
Good Luck

[dk239]

Lennox

[rangerrobby45]

sent im

[ncbfjerry]

I had a trane 16 seer a/c unit and gas (in the attic) furnace installed last august. cost $9800 for everything, 10 year warranty and with the local electric rebates the final cost was $7700. A/C and furnace are super effficient and a local (respected) out fit did the install. They only sell Trane. Great system and my heating and cooling bills dropped 35%. It can easily hit 105 degrees her in the summer and I could pull the house temp down to 75 from 93 in ten minutes.(1440 sqft) and heavily insulated, house is 13 years old, my old 8 seer american standard system would take 2 hours to do the same thing and cost a third more.
jerry

[bigbasser]

I just replaced my heat pump 2 weeks ago, had a trane/american standard that lasted 23 yrs. New system is carrier, my guy ( 25yrs in the business ) said he get's less calls on the carriers. My air handler is in the attic also. So far every happy with it.

[paw paw]

avoid goodman if you can. had a lot of issues with them. won't use them anymore unless customer demands it. american standard has been a good brand so far but didn't start using them until about 5-6 years ago. so far so good though. if you dont mind spending a little more trane is a good brand but carrier has been the best for me over the years. a 16 seer-80% model (assuming you have gas heat) is all that most folks need. if you plan on living in your home for quite a few more years, a high efficency (90%+) model may be worth looking into but it just takes too many years for the energy savings to pay for the increased cost. same with a higher seer a/c set up. i would get 410a refrigerant in what ever you do buy. there are a number of unsold r22 units without charges left around and suppliers are pushing hard to sell them off b4 r22 doubles in price any day now. they may be cheaper for you now but if it ever goes flat it will really cost you.

[Lea]

I had an ArcoAir for 21 years. Was still fine when I decided to upgrade due to being told newer units were more efficient and would cost less to run. That turned out to be true. However, I never had a minute's probs with the Arco and never had it serviced in all those years.

This one (York) is costing me a $250 annual service fee and have had several issues....I have a feeling my savings are non-existant.

[albro1960]

I have a Goodman 90% efficiency furnace.I installed it new 7 years ago and haven't had one problem since except for the igniter going out and that's pretty par for the course for furnaces. I paid 600 bucks for this unit and I'll take that over all the other high priced units out there.

[knowphish]

I used to be in the business and had a poor opinion of Goodman. However, the unit in my current home is a Goodman, over 12years old and doing a great job. It's a heat pump. When I replace it I may go right back with a Goodman due to price. It not Goodman, I'm looking good and hard at Rheem/Ruud. I always liked them and felt they are a good bang for the buck!

[K-DAWG]

I just got done building my house and I learned alot. My neihbor is a HVAC guy and he did all the work for free with my help. I didnt got with the large high seer units because the cost of it. It would have taken 8-10 years to get my money back from cheaper mothly bills. If you do go with large seer unit dont do it for the monthly saving because you will prolly be disappointed. Do it because they provide a much higher level of comfort over a 13 seer standard motor airhandler. Also, if you increase the size of the unit the ducts will need to be changed. Incorrectly sized duct work will rob your system of effiecence and make your monthly bill higher. That could also happen if you buy a higher ton and higher seer unit and have the wrong duct work. Lots of variables to consider. I would get no less than 3 estimates. Good Luck.

[Bassman Ia.]

Name--Does it always matter????

Last night my daughter called, furnace stopped heating, wouldn't come on. It's probably some type of switch, solenoid, sensor----who knows. House is 15 years old, I think the furnace is a Carrier, last summer it was AC problems.
Her house is 4000 sq.ft-- Last year local HVAC folks wanted $12K to $16K to replace furnace and AC.
I had a Carrier AC unit--my male dog used it for a tree before we caught him--his pee ate the aluminum on the coils up. It was a R-22 unit 8 years old---everyone around here only stocked R-410. I found a Goodman R-22 unit shipped from the factory to the house $700 and change---local HVAC wanted $3000.00 to change one out.