$1600.00 Is a lot for a compressor, but not unheard of. I sure would not put that kind of money in fixing a 20 year old unit. As for replacing the outdoor unit only. ACs and heat pumps are sold as matched sets. It is like putting a new Ford Tranny in a 20 year old Chevy. It may run but probably not right. Also, having replaced many 10 to 15 year old systems, it is amazing how often the indoor coil is CLOGGED with dirt and lint. Totally impacted. If you can afford a complete system, go for it. As for efficiency, 13 SEER will soon be the low end, many manufacturers are already out of their old low end stuff (10-12 SEER). Try to get better than low end, ie 14 SEER or better. I was just at a major trade show (Comfortech). It is amazing how cheap some of the new 13 SEER stuff will be.
Get some one who does a load calculation and sizes the ducts properly and measures air flow. Brand DOES matter, but installation matters MORE.
"name brands on the units today mean nothing, unless of course its a Goodman. Goodman is STILL the cheapest POS on the market..."
... unless of course it is a Goodman, huh.
I have NO connection whatever to the Goodman Company. However, I am willing to bet anyone, that the new Goodman 13-SEER or higher unit "installed properly" will NOT fail more than other condenser brands' no matter how much you pay for them!
Never knock another brand unless you can prove that their equipment will fail more often "when properly installed" than the other brands! What you pay for equipment does NOT determine the failure rate of the equipment; I have seen high priced equipment fail early and repeatedly!
Get a TXV metering device on the evaporator coil and a Copeland Scroll compressor.
First, get a "Energy Conservation Audit done, and then after reducing the heat-gain/heat-loss, get a manual J done.
Darrell, I mean no offence by the following, but......
You may have "no connection whatever to the Goodman Company", but from your response, I bet that 70% of the units you DO install are Goodmans.
Not saying anything is wrong with that. Goodman got the bad reputation because they used to sell unit to ANYONE off the street. That's why every time I get called out on a service call on a Goodman, the compressor has crapped out within the first two years. Why? Because "Joe Blow" installed it because "he knows how to solder a pipe" and doesn't use any kind of proper procedure to install it. Not even, at the least, a vacuum pump. How can you tell? Because there is not even a liquid line filter/drier installed and PLUMMER'S SOLDER was used (trust me, You can tell).
Let's say someone that knows what they are doing and they do a proper installation. Most Goodmans STILL look like they went through a war by the time they are 2 years old! Cabinet faded to a light beige (when they started out brown), condenser fan motor has a nice color of RUST (and I mean big, flaky RUST!), fan blade looks like it's about ready to fall apart. Sorry, but that is nothing I want to sell to a customer! Carrier used to be the same way. The grill would rust out in no time and God blessed you if it went more than 2 years without developing a leak in the condensor coil! They have since improved. What about Goodman?
Now I can't say anything about Goodman's "new" line. I have been told that the 13 SEER and above have completely different cabinets and they hold up a lot better, but I just worked on a 14 SEER unit and, well, it looked like a piece of sh*t! I don't know. Maybe that was just a fluke or an OLD 14 SEER, but I am not going to run out and switch brands. Mainly because the distribution center is 2 hours away. Other people in the business are going to have to convince me that they are a product I can trust. And don't give me that line of "well they have sold more units than all the other brands combine" or whatever their sales pitch is. Maybe they were, but how many of those lasted more than 4 years? Plus, when Joe Blow and Harry Homeowner can come off the street and buy them, well, I guess sales are/were good.
That was the point I was making before about getting an efficient model. No sense of putting a 14 SEER condensing unit with an old 8 SEER, piston-type evaporator coil. A lot of customers think you are just tacking on some extra bucks to the job ("Just the outside unit is bad! I don't need to change the inside coil!"), but they really DO save in the end.
So what I should have said was..according to you..
I make most of my money repairing Goodman units that have been installed by reputable companies when the homeower balked at the price of a Carrier, or other name unit. I keep more repair parts on all our vans for Goodman units than all other units combined. I have replaced personally more Goodman units due to rusted out cabnets than all other units. I order more parts for Goodman units than all other brands and can prove it...
Is that what you are saying?
Face it..Goodman, is a cheap POS that works, but also keeps legit companies in business... Personally, I wont sell one, not when I can install a name brand unit for less than most around here charge for a Goodman that didnt cost half of what a better unit does.
Also, I have seen higher priced units fail..Nothing is perfect, nor will it be. But when you have a known track record for failure..and its the SAME failure over and over and over again, and the parent company refuses to address it, and recall it, or repair it for free for the effected homeowners..yea..im gonna knock the hell out of it. Goodman, in that regard..SUCKS.
It's Cary, and were you down here while the weather was really warm? It's finally gotten cold this week, but we still haven't turned the heat on yet this season. I miss winter.
Yeah. During the ACC playoffs, I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Then on Tuesday when they played NC State, it was 50 degrees, but with the 30 mph plus wind, I about froze my butt off.
My kinda weather! ;) We are originally from Wisconsin. One of our daughters graduated from N.C. State, so of course we too think Duke and UNC are PUSSIES. ;-> I'll try and order up some warm weather for your next trip down.
Best example I have seen of a "Troll". They post stuff just to get people pissed off. Then he sits at his computer with his pants around his ankles waiting for replies.
A lot of sad people in this world. Best to ignore them.....
Thanks for the advice. I am leaning towards having a new unit put in. Bottom line is I would rather pay the extra cash and not have problems than to save money and have nothing but problems. Is the Tempstar a good line? I have never heard of them. The Smart Comfort 2400 has a SEER of 14. It has a ten year waranty on a Scroll Compressor and a 5 year no hastle warranty on all functional parts. Thanks for any advice on the unit and please provide name brand units that are known for dependability.
First, do not get the idea in your head that if you buy a specific high priced Brand/Make that you automatically will not have any trouble because you paid more for the equipment, and the installation.
'The amount you pay for the equipment and the installation 'does NOT automatically correlate' to having fewer high cost problems."
Though most who post here will argue the point; you can pay a lot more and NOT get more, you might even get a lot less for you dollars. Over the years I did a lot of service work on high priced installations and equipment, the higher price they paid did not buy them less expenses later! The quality of the installation is the major factor. I personally, would stay away from aluminum coils, in the past they were problems.
The unit we had installed is American Standard, supposedly a division of Trane. Knock on wood, we haven't had a bit of trouble with it *and* our power bills for cooling are significantly lower. I believe I heard this was one of the hottest summer seasons on record around here. We turned the AC on sooner and left it on longer than recent previous summers. We are in North Carolina. I'd assume our weather is comparable to Virginia?
It's the other way around. Trane is a division of American Standard. Went to the factory in Texas 2 years ago. Side-by-side down the assembly line. Same compresor, same coil. Then the cabinets are put on. Trane has a much nicer cabinet, but not for the price you pay. Not knocking them. They are good units. But you are just paying for the name.
And as far as weather goes, deoends on what part of Virginia or NC you are in.....
Thanks for the clarification. I knew the *AC guy* linked the two names together and told us it was basically the same unit, only cheaper. :)
Went to
And this one isn't as loud running than our old one that we replaced was.
We're in the Raleigh/Durham area. Or as I refer to it when complaining to my husband who's job transfer dragged me here kicking and screaming, "This Hellhole you moved me to." ;> Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful area, but I HATE heat and humidity. Both of which are plentiful here. :(
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