AC/Unit how big to go?

[Deejay]

[Ook]

Ahhh, Las Vegas, home sweet home. 116 this early in July? Niiicceee. I have fond memories of painting the eaves of my house in early August when it was

118 outside. I had no choice, as the house was selling and I had to get it done. I thought I was going to die up on that roof....

[<kjpro]

4000 sq ft

He might be right on target. Get a couple more quotes and find out.

[<kjpro]

And how old is the unit???

Is the ducting adequite for the extra ton???

Why did the compressor go??? I&#39;d sure want to know why before I spent money on the replacement.

Is your ducting adequite for the 5-ton unit???

[<kjpro]

Doesn&#39;t matter where the contractors from... there are competent ones and hacks everywhere. The competent ones know how to properly size, install and set-up HVAC systems no matter where they&#39;re being installed.

[mm]

I knew they had variable speed blowers, but how is it possible to have a 2-speed compressor?

[<kjpro]

The same way it&#39;s possible to have multi-speed motors.

[gfretwell]

If you don&#39;t need the whole house cool all the time 2 systems may be your answer. Knock the bedrooms down at night and hit the "living" part of the house harder during the day

[SteveB]

On the good side, the paint dries so fast when you&#39;re painting the eaves, if you drip some, it just bounces off the concrete.

We&#39;re 98% moved to Utah, and are just waiting for the houses here to sell.

I also have lots of fond memories of Las Vegas. Lately, it&#39;s just turned into a crowded cesspool.

I liked it better when "The Boys" ran things.

Steve

[SteveB]

wrote

18 years

No going to increase the tonnage, just replace what&#39;s there. I was merely stating that when initially putting in a unit, I would opt for slightly oversized rather than marginal. Please reread following sentence.

The fan motor seized, and the renters just kept turning the thermostat down instead of alerting me of a problem. Thus, the compressor ran 24/7 for two weeks.

Sometimes, shit just happens. Tekkie said it was 95% old age and 5% renter stupidity.

Has been since the unit was originally installed.

Steve

[SteveB]

wrote

It&#39;s the ONLY answer if the house is over 2200 sf.

Steve

[ValveJob]

Some say they have dual compressors and others say they have dual speeds for a single compressor.

They are quite popular but expensive so more new ones are coming out all the time.

[SteveB]

Because the house is up for sale, and it&#39;s cheaper than what they want for a whole new unit.

Sheesh.

What else do you want to know?

Steve

[<kjpro]

Why are you replacing a compressor in a 18 yr old unit?

Do you know that the life expectancy is 18-20 years?

[SteveB]

I moved here in 1952 at age 4. Henderson (where we lived) had about 7,000 and Las Vegas about 40,000. Now they&#39;re pushing two million. Over the years, I did well on some deals, careers, real estate and various gambles. Did really well in silver before the Hunt brothers messed it up. Boy, did I sell at the right time!

I&#39;ve seen a lot and participated in history. I worked at the joints. I sat and played blackjack with Elvis for 45 minutes one time. I played ping pong with Pearl Bailey. Shecky Greene tried to choke me. I met lots of celebrities and had elbow to elbow contact. Lots were nice folks, and some were absolute jerks. It was a good ride.

But now, it&#39;s over, and I&#39;m ready for a rural existence in Utah on my ranch and at my cabin. Lots of fishing and hunting and ATV riding to be done.

Anyone want to buy two vacation rentals in Las Vegas? $950k.

Steve

[Ook]

I moved there in 1984, and left at the end of the year 2000. When I moved there, there was no Green Valley, and US95 dead ended at the spaghetti bowl. Lake Mead Drive (not to be confused with Lake Mead Blvd in NLV) went from the old part of Henderson all the way to I-15 with only one traffic light, and there was a couple of miles of empty desert along Boulder Highway between Vegas and Henderson. There was also an empty mile or two of Las Vegas Blvd at Nellis AFB. You could actually drive across the dam, and the tours took you down the looong elevator to the bottom platform. When I left, the road to Lake Mead had a toll station, the city was complete from Vegas all they way along Boulder Highway to Henderson, and Green Valley stretched from I-15 to Water Street, civilization stretched all the way to the air base and beyond, traffic was insane, and it was beginning to get very crowded. Real Estate had not yet exploded upwards, and I sold my house for $99,500. Today that house is worth about $250,000. I walked away $150,000 - all I had to do was stay there for five more years .

[Roy Starrin]

"Air Conditioning System Sizing for Optimal EER & SEER Efficiency"

Bigger Is Not Better: Sizing Air Conditioners Properly HVAC-Calc, the easy to use Heat Loss and Heat Gain Calculator Information courtesy of Roy Starrin National/International News Editor

[<kjpro]

You could have recovered the cost of a new system when you sold the home. As the buyer would have saw a new unit, that they wouldn&#39;t have to replace. Now all they see is an old POS that someone spent a LOT of money on for a repair. To them, it&#39;s still something that they&#39;re going to have to replace. It&#39;s a mind game and the game says you&#39;re likely to get your money back on a new system first. It makes the home more appealing and that means more money.

That&#39;s why!!! :-)

[CJT]

You will almost never be able to recover the cost of such improvements.

[gfretwell]

The only real argument might be that it is easier to sell the house with a new AC in a slow market. I agree you won&#39;t pump the price up that much. People are buying a new house (to them). The more "new stuff" they see the easier it is to write that 6 figure check.