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Posted by Amadeus W. M. on May 30, 2006, 8:27 pm
I turned on the AC today and nothing comes out of it. I was kind of
expecting that. Last winter, during a snow storm, some branches from
a nearby tree fell onto my house and onto the AC. It was in the middle of
the night, and I heard them falling and I also heard a hissing noise, as
in gas leaking. I thought it might have been the AC, but I couldn't detect
anything under 2 feet of snow.
So today I go and check the outdoor unit, and I did find a small hole in
one of the copper pipes, between the unit and the house wall.
I called several local contractors, and I got some shocking prices: just
to come to my house, one would charge $110. All would charge between
$75-100 for the first 1/2 hour and then in increments of 1/4 hours. All
but two didn't want to tell me anything by phone. One said that the hole
can be fixed, but the system would need also to be cleaned/de-contaminated
(he may have used another word), and that I'd be looking at about $1000
job. The second contractor who did talk to me, said the same thing about
the repair but he also said that he would recommend changing the AC
alltogether, because since it's been so long since the leak occurred, the
system may be beyond repair. A fix may not work at all, or may work in the
short run, but eventually the compressor would get burned from the
moisture/dirt that contaminated the system. He recommended a Trane system,
and a rough estimate would be some $5000.
So given the unexpected importance of this problem, I have to ask for some
advice here. I imagine the interest of any contractor is, of
course, to sell me stuff - the more expensive, the better. I feel it's
kind of ridiculous to throw away an entire AC system for a leak and a
refill. It's not a swiss watch afterall.
In case I do have to replace the entire system, I spent the better part of
today researching the various options. What I have now is a 3-ton Goodman,
probably old (the house was built in 72). The contractor who recommended
Trane said a Goodman vs. a Trane is like a Chevrolet vs. a Cadillac.
Truth is, I drive a Dodge, not a Cadillac, nor can I afford one.
This site
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/central-air-conditioners/index.html
rates the following AC systems: carrier ($5000), Bryant ($3000),
Rheem ($2500) and Amana ($2100). Nothing about Trane. Other sites say
Lennox is the best, by far, etc. This other site rates AC units by
popularity: http://www.splise.com/Air+Conditioner/category_2482.html
Carrier Sanyo Trane
Goodman
Lennox,
then Bryant at a distant 10, Reem on 12, Amana on 16 - i.e. very different
than the first site I mentioned.
So now I'm confused. I want to know in the first place if I'm being ripped
off by the local contractors. Secondly, which AC should I buy, if I need
to? I want a 3-3.5 ton, 13/14 SEER, reliable, 2-speed, and not too noisy.
I could hear my old Goodman, but didn't bother me - no more than my
neighbors'.
In dire need of cool air...
Thanks!
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Posted by Joseph Meehan on May 30, 2006, 9:28 pm
Amadeus W. M. wrote:
> What I have now is a
> 3-ton Goodman, probably old (the house was built in 72). The
> contractor who recommended Trane said a Goodman vs. a Trane is like a
> Chevrolet vs. a Cadillac. Truth is, I drive a Dodge, not a Cadillac,
> nor can I afford one.
>
I will not try to advise you on one vs another brand. Rather I will
suggest first that you do really need to replace the whole unit. You may be
surprised at how much you will save on operating cost with the modern more
efficient unit.
I will suggest that you should not worry so much about what brand you
are getting, what you really should worry about is the contractor who will
be choosing it and installing it for you. A good contractor will not choose
an over priced or junk equipment, and no matter how good the equipment is, a
poor tech can make it work poorly.
Ask around of your neighbors who may have had recent replacements
friends co-works etc and find someone you can trust and let them pick the
equipment that is right for your specific needs. A good indication of a
good tech is one who comes out and does a survey of your home and the
cooling needs first and does not just rely on seeing a 2½ ton unit and
replace it with the same.
--
Joseph Meehan
Dia duit
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Posted by on May 30, 2006, 9:53 pm
How old is the existing unit and what's the SEER rating?
Where do you live and ow much do you use your air conditioning?
Without knowing that info I can't advise. If it's old and inefficient,
you may as well get a new one if you use it a lot. You will save moeny
in electricity in the long run and most likely get a tax credit. But
without more specific info we can't say. If it were mine I'd pay one
of the HVAC techs who lives in my neighborhood to fix it (for cash),
but that's just me.
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Posted by Amadeus W. M. on May 30, 2006, 10:25 pm
On Tue, 30 May 2006 18:53:54 -0700, scott21230 wrote:
> How old is the existing unit and what's the SEER rating?
>
The tech who recommended changing the unit was supposed to call me back
today with this info. I gave him the serial number and the model of the
unit. He said off the top of his head that it was a 3-ton unit, but he
said he had to look up the age in some database.
I'm not even sure this unit has a SEER number. Unlikely if it was
installed back in '72 when the house was built. It might be newer though.
As soon as I have this info, I'll post here.
> Where do you live and ow much do you use your air conditioning?
Annapolis, MD. The area is unreasonably expensive because it's right
between Baltimore and Washington. I do/should use the AC for the better
part of the summer. Till 1-2 weeks ago we were freezing at night, and now
we're boiling.
>
> Without knowing that info I can't advise. If it's old and inefficient,
> you may as well get a new one if you use it a lot. You will save moeny
> in electricity in the long run and most likely get a tax credit. But
> without more specific info we can't say. If it were mine I'd pay one
> of the HVAC techs who lives in my neighborhood to fix it (for cash),
> but that's just me.
You mean hire a tech neighbor and bypass the AC company? Not a bad idea,
I'll ask around. Thanks!
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Posted by Amadeus W. M. on May 30, 2006, 10:44 pm
On Wed, 31 May 2006 01:28:50 +0000, Joseph Meehan wrote:
> Amadeus W. M. wrote:
>> What I have now is a
>> 3-ton Goodman, probably old (the house was built in 72). The
>> contractor who recommended Trane said a Goodman vs. a Trane is like a
>> Chevrolet vs. a Cadillac. Truth is, I drive a Dodge, not a Cadillac,
>> nor can I afford one.
>>
>
> I will not try to advise you on one vs another brand. Rather I will
> suggest first that you do really need to replace the whole unit. You may be
> surprised at how much you will save on operating cost with the modern more
> efficient unit.
>
> I will suggest that you should not worry so much about what brand you
> are getting, what you really should worry about is the contractor who will
> be choosing it and installing it for you. A good contractor will not choose
> an over priced or junk equipment, and no matter how good the equipment is, a
> poor tech can make it work poorly.
>
> Ask around of your neighbors who may have had recent replacements
> friends co-works etc and find someone you can trust and let them pick the
> equipment that is right for your specific needs. A good indication of a
> good tech is one who comes out and does a survey of your home and the
> cooling needs first and does not just rely on seeing a 2½ ton unit and
> replace it with the same.
These are all good points, and I know sooner or later I'll have to upgrade
the appliances one by one, in this old house. I've already replaced the
refrigerator a couple of months after I bought the house, and the next on
the list are the windows, unless some emergency comes up, like the AC.
(That idiot house inspector, he screwed me!).
Of course a newer, energy efficient system is better than what I have now.
I have no problem upgrading for this reason (although now it wasn't
exactly the best time for that), but I have a hard time understanding how
a simple leak can warrant a complete system change.
Also, regarding which brand, I've seen brands for under $1000 and brands
over $5000 (with comparable specs), and, as with anything else, I imagine
you get what you pay for.
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