Once i have found a competent installer, which brand central ac do you recommend? What brands do any HVAC boys have in your homes. I will have the installer replace everything that needs to be replaced. The previous owner had a Bryant plus80 gas furnace installed about 6 yrs ago. My current sick ac is a 30yr old 3ton Amana. Bang for the buck. Just like everyone else, I'm looking for value for money spent. Oh, what media filter do you recommend, Honeywell, AprilAire, ?
Bang for buck along with good quality, is: Goodman. They are the second largest residential hvac supplier in the nation. I installed a 92% Goodman furnace in my own home 2 years ago along with 13 seer A/C unit ..and both have worked flawlessly. Goodman doesnt do all the advertising that Carrier , Trane, And Lennox does...so, you save alot in advertising . Frankly, i think Carrier is over-rated , Trane is a glorifed G.E. unit, and Lennox isnt anything special. I think they have the public duped with their relentless advertising .
If you want a pleated 6" thick filter media, go with either Spaceguard
I can't offer you much advice for the AC unit, but I would suggest using the better lines of the 3M Filtrite(sp?) filters and not bother with special media filters.
As for which equipment, you answered it in your first comment, what ever your competent installer recommends! Don't worry about the brand so much, just make damn sure you get a great installer. I have a York furnace, and a Goodman AC, the furnace has cost me $6 in 13 years for repairs, the AC nothing, but then I installed them both, so I know they are right! As for filters, April Aire, Air Bear are popular. I do not like electrostatic filters, nobody services them like they need to. Greg
You just dont have a clue, do you? After installing your own equipment, perhaps you'll tell us how you measured the Total External Static pressure and what it is. Please tell us what the pressure drop is across your evaporator coil and also your filter. Post the total supply air and total return air cfm's you've measured, and how many btu's your 13 seer system is ACTUALLY delivering. Post for us the amount of btu's your furnace is REALLY producing, not what's listed on the furnace nameplate. If you had even the tiniest of clues, you'll post for us what the System Efficiency really is, not the number stamped on the box. You can't because you dont have a clue.
Change your name all you want Dave. You're still a hack.
'Bang for buck along with good quality, is: Goodman. They are the second largest residential hvac supplier in the nation. I installed a 92% Goodman furnace in my own home 2 years ago along with 13 seer A/C unit .and both have worked flawlessly. Goodman doesnt do all the advertising that Carrier , Trane, And Lennox does...so, you save alot in advertising Frankly, i think Carrier is over-rated , Trane is a glorifed G.E. unit, and Lennox isnt anything special. I think they have the public duped with their relentless advertising . If you want a pleated 6" thick filter media, go with either Spaceguard
2200 or Honneywells version. Both are good.' You just dont have a clue, do you? =A0 After installing your own equipment, perhaps you'll tell us how you measured the Total External Static pressure and what it is. Please tell us what the pressure drop is across your evaporator coil and also your filter. Post the total supply air and total return air cfm's you've measured, and how many btu's your
13 seer system is ACTUALLY delivering. =A0=A0Post for us the amount of btu's your furnace is REALLY producing, not what's listed on the furnace nameplate. If you had even the tiniest of clues, you'll post for us what the System Efficiency really is, not the number stamped on the box. You can't because you dont have a clue.
ME: I have a VERY good clue on whats going on ; i dont need to tell you all the things such as ESP , Evaporator pressure drop, et al.... I did a load calculation on my home, looked at the duct system carefully, and i selected equipment size based on that ; it works flawlessly like i said. Too bad if i hurt your feelings concerning Trane Brand --- it is nothing but overpriced junk. The last couple Trane furnaces i installed were problematic right out of the box. Nothing but glorified G.E. complete with whistling draft inducers , over controlled furnaces , very special OEM parts, and a near retail price for me as a Contractor. They are nothing but Marketing Pros who dupe the Contractor and the Consumer from different angles. At least Carrier offers a Steak Program when you get duped by them !
I've got a Luxaire in my place. Only cause I got a good price on it, the parts house stopped carrying it.
When I was more busy installing, the boss used to use Rheem / Rudd, and sometimes Heil. the condensing units (outdoor part of the AC) we used to use exclusively Heil.
Consumer Reports Jan 2005 rates Goodman as the lowest quality equipment. Furthermore, they say that the installation is important, but the quality of the equipment is also important.
'Consumer Reports Jan 2005 rates Goodman as the lowest quality equipment. Furthermore, they say that the installation is important, but the quality of the equipment is also important.'
ME: Consumer Reports Oct. 1998 rates Goodman as one of the top 3 manufacturers and suggests (inferred) that you go with them. Since Goodman took over Amana and they came out with a whole new line of hvac equipment, the quality and performance is absolutely equivalent to Carrier or Trane . Ive installed all three brands over 30 years.
The main problem with Goodman over the years was their policy of selling units to anyone off the streets. This means that some hack with a little knowledge of soldering will install the units (improperly!) and then the customers can't understand why the units crap out after only a year or two.
WHO is installing it is more important than WHAT you are installing.......
'The main problem with Goodman over the years was their policy of selling units to anyone off the streets. This means that some hack with a little knowledge of soldering will install the units (improperly!) and then the customers can't understand why the units crap out after only a year or two.'
ME: That doesnt discount Goodman Equipment quality, especially as of late. I think it is a good alternative to Manufacturers that load in marketing and advertising dollars into their equipment . Goodman uses Copeland Scroll compressors in 12 seer (??) and above..and they use copper condensor coils for greater durability. Plus they have a huge wholesaler network across the nation which is a plus.
I agree. Their new units look pretty "classy" AND they are now offering "lifetime warranty on the life of the compressor" (for the original owner). They are relly trying to improve their image. True, Goodman doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of some of the premium brands, but they aren't all that bad,...
I have been in the hvac / r business for a good while and do this kind of work.
I will not get into the name game here with brands for to look at a brand as to quality is a mistake for all brands have some junk equipment and some good stuff. I can take '' any brand '' and then go pick out the good stuff they have and install it and leave the junk at the warehouse.
So I will list the items that you want on the brand you choose and you should good to go.
1) I want a GOOD respectiable installer to install it. Now you can stop right here for he will usely pick out the good stuff anyway on the brands he sells if you tell him to get me something that will last and hold up for the long run. I think you might keep going here to just check thing out.
2) It Must have a Copland New Millium scroll compressor in the condenser unit. I did not say like to but must have. Now Trane / American Standard / G/E have climatuff compressors in them and I would rate them just a little short of a Copland scroll but may allow them I guess.
3) SEER rating -- If you live in the Southern states get the highest seer rating you can afford. In the Northern states 10 seer sounds good to me. Now heat pump is a different story but your not buying a heat pump.
4) Now to warranty -- get the longest warranty you can get. Now Trane / A/S / G/E have a 10 year parts and labor warranty -- Now most everybody else has a 5 &
10 year parts warranty -- Now Amana and Goodman 13 seer or above have 10 year parts warranty and a lifetime warranty on the compressor. Remember if it don't have a Copland Scroll compressor on it you don't want it.
5) You DO NOT WANT A PISTON TYPE COMPRESSOR IN THE CONDENSER UNIT. Was that clear enough ?
6) Drive around in the town you live in and see what is the most popular brand that is sold in your area and try to pick from the brands you see. This will usely tell you that they can get parts for the most popular brands sold in a area by being a good supply of equipment means a good supply of parts. Don't buy a Snow Bird Brand and you have the only one in town with that brand and order parts from Japan or somewhere. Pick out of the brands you see a lot.
7) E-mail me or post here and I will discuss it.
Now if I woke up tomorrow morning and my compressor was burnt up and I live in Hot Louisiana. I'm running my air conditioner in cooling mode right now. I would drive to the warehouses and get me a either a Rheem 14 seer , a Goodman 14 seer , or Amana 14 seer . this being they are the 3 big dog in the area and I do like the 14 seer condenser on each of these brands. Read the above closely here for the Rheem , Amana , and Goodman may not be the 3 big dogs in your town and have trouble getting parts from Russia or somewhere else. Get a brand you can get parts for. Now if your picking the 10 or 12 seer condenser but the one I pick will change a good bit and in some cases would not buy that brand at all. Every one of these three brands has models that I don't like.
Pisssssss Fred , Dave here is suppose to be a hvac tech or business owner in the trade and he had to call another hvac service company out to his house to tell him what was wrong with his system and he had a dirty filter. He got pissed off because the fellow or hvac service company charged him $85.00 to tell him he had a dirty filter. He was also ask for his company name and info and the company he give was not recorded no where in Illinois as he said. He does not have a Business operator permitt in the town he lives in and no company in that town with his name on it.
Most all their testing is the 10 seer models and I would not have the 10 seer goodman on nothing I install. Now I will say the 13 and 14 seer Goodman now days is good but furnaces are still lacking too. I will say this Consumer Report is for a customer who is picking a brand out of the blue and a hack installing it with no knowledge of quality. This is the only way Consumer Report will be worth anything.
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