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Posted by Brian K. Jones on May 5, 2009, 10:20 am
I'm replacing an aging and intermittently broken central AC in my
house of about 2200 sq. ft. I'm getting lots of estimates. There was
one contractor I felt pretty good about until he showed me the unit he
was quoting me on. It's a Rheem unit, but it has a blower *and* a
heating furnace in the same unit. He says I can just leave that alone
unless I really want to hook it up (the unit will be in the attic, and
I have a separate furnace in the basement for my baseboard water
heating system). It's a 4-ton unit, and I think he said it was 17
SEER. Every other contractor is quoting me on 3 ton units (though
sometimes for more money), lower SEER ratings (the Rheem is, so far,
the only one qualified for the fed rebate), but it seemed odd that
Rheem would recommend a unit with a furnace on it to be placed in an
attic. This guy had the Rheem software that does the matching. Is this
guy just blindly going with whatever they recommend? Does this warrant
suspicion, or does Rheem just build their units this way?
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Posted by gassy on May 5, 2009, 5:53 pm
>It's a Rheem unit, but it has a blower *and* a
>heating furnace in the same unit. ... but it seemed odd that
>Rheem would recommend a unit with a furnace on it to be placed in an
>attic. This guy had the Rheem software that does the matching. Is this
>guy just blindly going with whatever they recommend? Does this warrant
>suspicion, or does Rheem just build their units this way?
The furnace/blower combination is going to be the most common type of
air handler. Rheem may well not make a separate blower only unit that
matches that coil/condenser. So, it's not a big deal, but the unneeded
furnace will add some cost, of course.
> It's a 4-ton unit, and I think he said it was 17
> SEER. Every other contractor is quoting me on 3 ton units (though
> sometimes for more money), lower SEER ratings (the Rheem is, so far,
> the only one qualified for the fed rebate),
This is of more concern. You need to get the right size. Have any of
these guys run a load calc?
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Posted by Noon-Air on May 5, 2009, 7:08 pm
>>It's a Rheem unit, but it has a blower *and* a
>>heating furnace in the same unit. ... but it seemed odd that
>>Rheem would recommend a unit with a furnace on it to be placed in an
>>attic. This guy had the Rheem software that does the matching. Is this
>>guy just blindly going with whatever they recommend? Does this warrant
>>suspicion, or does Rheem just build their units this way?
> The furnace/blower combination is going to be the most common type of
> air handler. Rheem may well not make a separate blower only unit that
> matches that coil/condenser. So, it's not a big deal, but the unneeded
> furnace will add some cost, of course.
>> It's a 4-ton unit, and I think he said it was 17
>> SEER. Every other contractor is quoting me on 3 ton units (though
>> sometimes for more money), lower SEER ratings (the Rheem is, so far,
>> the only one qualified for the fed rebate),
> This is of more concern. You need to get the right size. Have any of
> these guys run a load calc?
NONE of the Rheem 4 ton systems currently on the street meet the minimum
standards for the energy tax credit. There is supposed to be one out in a
couple of weeks that is supposed to be 18 SEER and has twin compressors in
it. There are several 3 ton Rheem systems that do qualify.
Get the load calc done so you know exactly what your home needs.... don't
base this kind of investment on a guess, or "rule of thumb".
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Posted by Brian K. Jones on May 6, 2009, 10:13 am
> >>It's a Rheem unit, but it has a blower *and* a
> >>heating furnace in the same unit. ... but it seemed odd that
> >>Rheem would recommend a unit with a furnace on it to be placed in an
> >>attic. This guy had the Rheem software that does the matching. Is this
> >>guy just blindly going with whatever they recommend? Does this warrant
> >>suspicion, or does Rheem just build their units this way?
> > The furnace/blower combination is going to be the most common type of
> > air handler. Rheem may well not make a separate blower only unit that
> > matches that coil/condenser. So, it's not a big deal, but the unneeded
> > furnace will add some cost, of course.
> >> It's a 4-ton unit, and I think he said it was 17
> >> SEER. Every other contractor is quoting me on 3 ton units (though
> >> sometimes for more money), lower SEER ratings (the Rheem is, so far,
> >> the only one qualified for the fed rebate),
> > This is of more concern. You need to get the right size. Have any of
> > these guys run a load calc?
> NONE of the Rheem 4 ton systems currently on the street meet the minimum
> standards for the energy tax credit. There is supposed to be one out in a
> couple of weeks that is supposed to be 18 SEER and has twin compressors i=
n
> it. There are several 3 ton Rheem systems that do qualify.
> Get the load calc done so you know exactly what your home needs.... don't
> base this kind of investment on a guess, or "rule of thumb".
I've had 5 estimates done in the past several days. I have 2 or 3 more
coming today and tomorrow. Not a single person has done a proper load
calc. Only one guy bothered to actually measure out the square footage
of the living area.... badly. He came up about 500 sq. ft. shy, and I
know this because I measured out everything myself when I did the
flooring in this house. He used one of those fancy laser things :-/
He didn't measure anything else: windows, doors, ceiling height (I
live in a split-level house, and the lower level has lower-than-
standard ceilings). He did at least ask if they were double-pane. That
guy was also about $4000 more expensive than anyone else.
Everyone else seems pretty happy to just see what I have, ask how it's
working, and go from there. My existing AC is a Tappan unit from the
80's, and a Janitrol compressor from around 2001 (3.5 ton). No
variable speed motors, no high efficiencies. My house gets cool, but
it takes quite a while, and the temp from floor to floor has probably
8 degrees variance from ground level to 2nd level, with the 1st level
being just about right. After talking to all these folks, I'm still a
little torn, because I don't feel like any of them really did the work
'cept the super overpriced carrier guy. Frustrating.
I'll post back tomorrow after the last 2-3 estimates are in. Thanks
for your help.
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Posted by Steve on May 16, 2009, 8:55 am
> Quite honestly I'm tired of prospects who get to window shop for free. I
> think they'd take asking for estimates more seriously if HVAC contractors
> charged for their time, fuel, and expertise. The estimate cost could go
> towards the new system when the contract is accepted. Load calcs. An
> important facet when installing a proper job, but do load calcs each time
> for an estimate, I think not. When the contracts accepted, a serious
> deposit is made, then the work can begin. First the calcs., ..... then
> the job.
Exactly!!
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>heating furnace in the same unit. ... but it seemed odd that
>Rheem would recommend a unit with a furnace on it to be placed in an
>attic. This guy had the Rheem software that does the matching. Is this
>guy just blindly going with whatever they recommend? Does this warrant
>suspicion, or does Rheem just build their units this way?