repair or replace goodman hvac system??

Hi,

My downstairs AC is not cooling my 6 year old house (tho, the fan does work). I had two companies come out an look at the unit. There is oil all over the concrete pad.

The first guy said that the coil was leaking and needed replacing. He also said that since I let it run wtihout oil, the compressor was also probably shot. He gave an estimate of $1200 for the coil and $1400 for the compressor.

The second guy said that just the compressor was shot. The cost to fix is $1500.

Both of them said that the unit was a Goodman, and that it was such a low quality unit that it's not worth fixing. They both said the expected life of that quality unit is about 10 years, and that other parts are likely to fail soon too, so I'd be wasting my money.

I got an estimate for a new Trane unit, which would run me about $5000.

What should I do? Are they both just trying to get me to buy a new unit?

Reply to
Carol Scheible
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6 years old and crapping that is about right for an reciprocal compressor any manufacture. Your old Goodman is probably a 10 seer. That is the minimum allowed by the feds today. first how long do you plan to stay in the new home? If your not going to stay 5 + years then fix the old one. Probably http://198.147.238.24/ac_calc/default.aspThis site will allow you to "play what if" Make sure you plug in the fuel costs.

If there is oil on the pad the compressor is shot. Now comes the hard part was the freon burnt or damaged in any way? Hard to know unless you pull out the charge and test it. Unless you can smell it. If it was burned or damaged then you need an new indoor coil. Cheaper to buy an new one than to try to clean the old one. Ask before you pay for something that is not needed. If the charge was lost then the indoor coil might be ok.

What seer were they quoting? I got a quote for $5400.00 for a Trane 14 seer with VFD fan coil. Using the above page, since I am not staying here more than 5 years, I decided that $326 a year was not enough to save. I declined.

Manufactures all make top of the line and acceptable units. Scroll compressors last longer and are quieter also more money.

The installer is more important than the brand name. Get at least 3 bids for a new unit and or fixing the old one. Ask questions I hope this helps.

Reply to
SQLit

Hi,

Thanks for the reply!

It seems like an hvac system should last 15-20 years.

It's a PGB024075-1 (a dual furnace and AC system), which I looked up on the internet as a 10 SEER.

For at least 8 years. That site said I would save $76 per year on energy costs. Certainly not worth paying $5000 for a new system, IMO. What would be worth paying for the new system is knowing that the old system would totally crap out next year despite getting a new compressor. (need a crystal ball!)

Here's what the guys wrote on the tickets:

Repair Guy #1: Diagnosis: found condensor coil clogged up + coil is leaking. need to replace condensor coil. unit also operating w/ no freon in system...damage to compressor is likely. Recommendation: $1250 for cond coil replacement. Plus possibly $1400 for compressor.

Repair Guy #2: Diagnosis: found compressor w/blown out terminal, oil charge blown on lower

1/6th of condensor coil, acid smell. Recommendation: Replace unit 1st option. 2nd option: Replace compressor, install suc. line prien(?) chem clean coil. Note other problems may exist.

I can choose $4596 for 12 SEER unit and $5396 for a 14 SEER unit.

Trouble is, the two companies that came out each charged me $85 for the service call. I don't want to pay for another dang estimate for fixing it!

Thanks for your advice!

Carol

Reply to
Carol Scheible

Run capacitors are also filled with oil and can on rare occasion rupture. I saw this happen and the techs condemned the compressor, which ran perfectly when I replaced the run capacitor. However, the home owner had me put a new higher efficiency condensing unit in anyway.

Goodman equipment, when properly installed can last as long as the higher priced equipment. I don't believe in knocking equipment.

Darrell udarrell

Reply to
udarrell

You should be able to replace the outdoor unit only, price depends on lablor in your area, but we would install a new condensing unit for less than $1800. If you repair the old unit, the warranty will most likely be 90 days, if you replace it you should get a full manufacturers warranty, sometimes up to ten years, depending on the manufacturer. The coil is possibly under warranty, if you find a dealer that will screw with it. You may still need to pay labor for the repair. I really would not worry about the compressor, it can be tested to get a guess on condition. Add a bit of oil with the new coil, and it should be ok. If you unable to get warranty repair, repalace the whole unit. Greg Greg

Reply to
Greg O

Greg,

After reading the tech's ticket descriptions and knowing Goodman products.....

I'd have to say that the first company is a con-artist. And the second company diagnosed the unit properly. As to the pins being blown out, with oil all over the place. (as this is common with Goodman's)

I personally wouldn't bother fixing the unit, install a new condenser at a minimum. If you have the funds, go with a complete new system, line set and all. As the refrigerate/oil residue in the old line set could contaminate the new system.

Good Luck, ~kjpro~

Reply to
~KJPRO~

$5k seems pretty high even for a trane. I just got three quotes to do a standard change-out for a 10-Seer 3-Ton unit:

Trane Dealer: $2000 Lennox Dealer: $1250 Rheem Dealer: $1300

Reply to
Mike Bittel

It's a dual unit which also includes a gas furnace....perhaps that would explain the added cost ?? I haven't yet gotten a second quote on a new system.

Reply to
Carol Scheible

You're not comparing apple's against apple's.....

He received two proposals....

One 12 SEER (complete package unit) for 4596.

&

One 14 SEER (complete package unit) for 5396.

And by your numbers, I'd say those are prices for just the condensing unit. Which if it is, the only one that is close to being priced right is the Trane dealer.

The thing you have to ask yourself, is what are the cheaper companies NOT doing to be able to do it for such a low price. Things work hand in hand normally, quality cost money, no way around it.

~kjpro~

Reply to
~KJPRO~

Hi All,

Just thought I'd post an update. We decided to repair the unit rather than replace it with a new one. We hired Repair Guy #2 and he replaced the compressor and charged us $1500 like the estimate said. The air conditioner has been working great for 10 days now. (knocking on wood). Repair Guy #2 was ARS (formerly Tilman Heating and Air) in Durham, NC.

We figured that if a new system costs $5000 and has a 10 year warrantee, then that equates to $500 per year. So, if repairing this old unit buys us

3 more years of life, than that'll be worth it. My husband can repair things that don't involve the compressed lines or freon, so as long as the condensor doesn't give out, we should be good to make any other repairs ourselves. Hopefully, we'll get more than 3 more years out of it!

Thanks alot for the advice!

Reply to
Carol Scheible

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