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new house installation in Florida- corrosions questions shady 08-11-2006
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Posted by shady on August 11, 2006, 9:33 am
I'm builing a new home very close to the salt water in Florida and have
a few questions about which AC unit to purchase. First of all, the
houe is three levels with the bottom being pretty much all garage space
and un airconditioned. The second level is around 2300 square feet and
the top room is around 400 sq ft. I've gotten some quates from some
contractors and they preyy much agree that I need a 2 ton unit for the
bedroom and loft and then a 4 ton unit for the living room,etc. As I'm
very new to HVAC units installation/brands, I am desparately looking
for some advice as to what is a good unit to install and what quastions
should I ask my subs before I give them the job. So far I've gotten
quotes for 16K for american standard, 11.5K for Rheem, 15K for trane
and then around 11K for Goodman. Iknow little about the Goodman but
they seem to have a good warrenty. Also, I'm concerned about the salt
air around the condenser and longevity. Is there a certain brand that
protects against corrosion verses others?
many many thanks
dave


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Posted by Travis Jordan on August 11, 2006, 9:39 am
shady wrote:
> Is there a certain brand that protects against corrosion
> verses others?

Did each of the contractors do a heat gain calculation before sizing the
A/C? If not, scratch them off your short list.

In my experience Trane / American Standard's 'spine fin' coils seem to
hold up best in the salt air environment. Their cabinets also have
composite basepans... a good feature since.rusting out of basepans is
also problem in coastal areas.



Posted by shady on August 11, 2006, 9:45 am

Travis Jordan wrote:
> shady wrote:
> > Is there a certain brand that protects against corrosion
> > verses others?
>
> Did each of the contractors do a heat gain calculation before sizing the
> A/C? If not, scratch them off your short list.
>
> In my experience Trane / American Standard's 'spine fin' coils seem to
> hold up best in the salt air environment. Their cabinets also have
> composite basepans... a good feature since.rusting out of basepans is
> also problem in coastal areas.


thanks travis-
each of the contractors did do a heat gain calc. some are ok w/ a 2/3
ton configuration while others swear that I'll need a 2/4 ton setup.
I'd be happy if the unit lasts 10 years in the salt air. is it work
spending and extra 6K on american standard. the goodman warrenty is 10
yrs comp/10 yrs parts. Am I mad?
dave


Posted by Travis Jordan on August 11, 2006, 10:09 am
shady wrote:
> each of the contractors did do a heat gain calc. some are ok w/ a 2/3
> ton configuration while others swear that I'll need a 2/4 ton setup.

Something is wrong with one of those sets of calculations for the larger
unit - assuming everyone was working from the same information you
shouldn't have a one ton (12,000 BTU) discrepancy. Before you sign on
the dotted line sit down with your choosen contractor and confirm the
information that they used as input to the calculation (room sizes,
window and door types and sizes, wall orientation, etc.).

> I'd be happy if the unit lasts 10 years in the salt air. is it work
> spending and extra 6K on american standard. the goodman warrenty is
> 10 yrs comp/10 yrs parts. Am I mad?

The quality of the system design and installation is generally more
important than the brand. Having said that you should make sure there
aren't other differences in the design of the system - for example hard
duct instead of flex duct, or the location and number of return
registers. Do all the proposals include variable speed air handlers?

I can't speculate on how much longer the Trane (A/S) systems will
last... all I know is that their spine-fin coils and the condenser
housings hold up better than average in our salt air environment.



Posted by shady on August 11, 2006, 9:46 am

Travis Jordan wrote:
> shady wrote:
> > Is there a certain brand that protects against corrosion
> > verses others?
>
> Did each of the contractors do a heat gain calculation before sizing the
> A/C? If not, scratch them off your short list.
>
> In my experience Trane / American Standard's 'spine fin' coils seem to
> hold up best in the salt air environment. Their cabinets also have
> composite basepans... a good feature since.rusting out of basepans is
> also problem in coastal areas.


thanks travis-
each of the contractors did do a heat gain calc. some are ok w/ a 2/3
ton configuration while others swear that I'll need a 2/4 ton setup.
I'd be happy if the unit lasts 10 years in the salt air. is it work
spending and extra 6K on american standard. the goodman warrenty is 10
yrs comp/10 yrs parts. Am I mad?
dave


Page 1 of 2       1 2 > last >>
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