Home A/C replacement help

[Vendsit]

After 22 years, my Trane compressor is done so it looks like we need a new split stage system for the house. I've been getting some estimates but would appreciate any feedback on units to look at or more importantly, ones to stay away from. We're looking at a 4 ton 14 seer unit as that's all we really need. Single story 2400 square foot house. Might move up to a 15 Seer if it makes sense.

Anyone in the cooler have any suggestions or recommendations for AC companies?

Thanks for the help.

 

[fabknight]

If you're talking about an installation company then I can say that I've used Rinaldi's. They replaced all my duct work a few years ago and did a very good job at a reasonable price. I took advantage of their 1 year same as cash offer. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

 

[CommuterBob]

Del Air. I had them come out and repair my system twice after a field rat had crawled into the condenser control panel and shorted out the wiring. They got it to last for another 5 years and stood by their work. They gave me the best estimate of the three companies I called for a replacement system when it finally died (it was a crap builder installed system that lasted 10 years, and probably should have been declared dead after the rat, but they got it up and running for another 5).

 

[fabknight]

Del Air. I had them come out and repair my system twice after a field rat had crawled into the condenser control panel and shorted out the wiring. They got it to last for another 5 years and stood by their work. They gave me the best estimate of the three companies I called for a replacement system when it finally died (it was a crap builder installed system that lasted 10 years, and probably should have been declared dead after the rat, but they got it up and running for another 5).

I had an AC system installed by Del Air in one of my previous homes (12 years ago). I have to say that I was not impressed with the installation of the air handler. Not only did it look like crap but the condensation pan leaked and it was virtually impossible to access the overflow sensor where they installed it.

 

[Knight Teacher]

No Sweat A/C. Smaller local company that gives customer tons of attention. I know the owner. He will answer calls at any hour of the day. He replaced my entire system at my last house. Has great reviews online.

 

[fabknight]

No Sweat A/C. Smaller local company that gives customer tons of attention. I know the owner. He will answer calls at any hour of the day. He replaced my entire system at my last house. Has great reviews online.

I would never use a vendor named "No Sweat A/C". That's dumb...besides, you moved shortly after it was replaced. It's probably all broken now.

 

[CommuterBob]

I had an AC system installed by Del Air in one of my previous homes (12 years ago). I have to say that I was not impressed with the installation of the air handler. Not only did it look like crap but the condensation pan leaked and it was virtually impossible to access the overflow sensor where they installed it.

Maybe things for them have changed in the last 10 years. They did a great job with my air handler. The only thing they didn't do was paint the base, but they installed new moulding and it looked great. I had no issues.

 

[Bob the Citronaut]

I've used the electric side of DelAir for quite a bit the last few years. They've always been pretty reliable and have fair pricing. It's mostly crappy work I give them too.

 

[UCF-icenhl-06]

Just had one of mine replaced. $5k later

Still have one more unit that's 18 y/o or so.

 

[Sir Galahad]

First I would never use Delair, sorry bit not impressed. I recently purchased new systems for my house and it's painful to say the least. The Seer thing is interesting we purchased 16 seer system only because the energy debate paid the difference between a 14 and 16 seer. Whatever you do make sure you spend the money on the air handler or it won't matter what type of compressor you get.

 

[1ofTheseKnights]

Yea Del Air seemed like dicks the one time I got a quote from them

 

[CommuterBob]

First I would never use Delair, sorry bit not impressed. I recently purchased new systems for my house and it's painful to say the least. The Seer thing is interesting we purchased 16 seer system only because the energy debate paid the difference between a 14 and 16 seer. Whatever you do make sure you spend the money on the air handler or it won't matter what type of compressor you get.

Lol. It's quite obvious you don't know jack about AC systems. You got taken by whomever you hired. Please let the rest of us know who it was so we don't make the same mistake.

 

[Sir Galahad]

Lol. It's quite obvious you don't know jack about AC systems. You got taken by whomever you hired. Please let the rest of us know who it was so we don't make the same mistake.

Please tell me how I was "taken?"

 

[CommuterBob]

Please tell me how I was "taken?"

Well, for starters, the compressor is a component to the air handler. Maybe you meant condenser, which is the part of the system that sits outside the house. In that regard, yes it's more important to have the air handler/compressor be operating efficiently than the condenser (and it's air handler issues that more often than condenser issues that cause units to fail) but they're more often than not sold together. If your dealer truly sold you that the compressor was a separate component from the air handler, then you got worked. SEER rating is another misnomer. Yes it's true that a higher SEER unit is overall more efficient than a lower one, and I'm glad you got a rebate, but a 16 SEER unit isn't significantly more efficient in FL than a 14 SEER unit, and may not be at all in the summer months. It depends on the EER rating, which is more of a cooling rating, whereas the SEER is an aggregate heating and cooling rating for the whole year and is more formulated for the entire US, not just FL.

I liked Del Air because they didn't try to BS me on crap like this and actually steered me away from the more expensive systems, saying they had reliability issues, which I verified through some online research. I guess you had a bad rep.

 

[Sir Galahad]

Well, for starters, the compressor is a component to the air handler. Maybe you meant condenser, which is the part of the system that sits outside the house. In that regard, yes it's more important to have the air handler/compressor be operating efficiently than the condenser (and it's air handler issues that more often than condenser issues that cause units to fail) but they're more often than not sold together. If your dealer truly sold you that the compressor was a separate component from the air handler, then you got worked. SEER rating is another misnomer. Yes it's true that a higher SEER unit is overall more efficient than a lower one, and I'm glad you got a rebate, but a 16 SEER unit isn't significantly more efficient in FL than a 14 SEER unit, and may not be at all in the summer months. It depends on the EER rating, which is more of a cooling rating, whereas the SEER is an aggregate heating and cooling rating for the whole year and is more formulated for the entire US, not just FL.

I liked Del Air because they didn't try to BS me on crap like this and actually steered me away from the more expensive systems, saying they had reliability issues, which I verified through some online research. I guess you had a bad rep.

Oh forgive me for saying condenser instead of compressor. As I said I paid the same price for the 16 seer as the 14 seer due to the rebate. Can't speak for your house but I can tell you that my utility bill went down on average $80 a month during the summer. On top of that, my old system could not keep the house cool in a few of the rooms, now even with 50 people in my house I have no problem keeping any room cool.

 

[SublimeKnight]

Actually the compressor and condenser are both in the outside unit. It's the evaporator that's part of the air handler inside the house.

 

[CommuterBob]

Oh forgive me for saying condenser instead of compressor. As I said I paid the same price for the 16 seer as the 14 seer due to the rebate. Can't speak for your house but I can tell you that my utility bill went down on average $80 a month during the summer. On top of that, my old system could not keep the house cool in a few of the rooms, now even with 50 people in my house I have no problem keeping any room cool.

Your older unit probably had a SEER rating closer to 8 or 9, so that's not a shock. You wouldn't likely see an appreciable difference in you bill between an 14 SEER and a 16 SEER unit, but you would between an 8 or 9 SEER and a 14 or 16 SEER. if you were having cooling issues, your old unit probably wasn't the right tonnage either.

 

[sideshow2313]

We have American Standard HVAC with heat pump. We have had no issues since installation, just have it serviced 3x a year and most will last longer than you will own the home.

 

[1ofTheseKnights]

My folks have a whole home dehumidifier seems like the shit as far as comfort & can get away w a higher temp & not feel so muggy.

 

[ProAttitude]

22 years!

Darn....

You should bury it in the backyard and put up a marker.

 

[crambone]

Trane unit for the win. We got a brand-new 4-ton two-stage unit for our house 2 years ago. Our house is 2400 square feet and we keep it at 76 in the summer. Our bill hasn't gone north of $200.00 a month yet.

 

[Vendsit]

22 years!

Darn....

You should bury it in the backyard and put up a marker.

I've squeezed every bit of life out of it that I could. Might have to put a plaque on the side of the house when I finally replace it.

 

[Vendsit]

Trane unit for the win. We got a brand-new 4-ton two-stage unit for our house 2 years ago. Our house is 2400 square feet and we keep it at 76 in the summer. Our bill hasn't gone north of $200.00 a month yet.

Was the 2 stage worth the extra cost? Can you ball park the cost for the unit you got? I've got a few quotes from $5,000 to $8,000 for a replacement for a 3.5 ton 14 Seer. I was also thinking about adding a dehumidifier. From what I understand, I can run my unit 2 or 3 degrees higher and it would be more comfortable. My electric bill with a 22 year old unit was never more than $225 a month or so in the summer now and as low as $80 in the winter. Can I really expect to see a 25 to 30% lower electric bill with a new unit?

 

[CommuterBob]

Was the 2 stage worth the extra cost? Can you ball park the cost for the unit you got? I've got a few quotes from $5,000 to $8,000 for a replacement for a 3.5 ton 14 Seer. I was also thinking about adding a dehumidifier. From what I understand, I can run my unit 2 or 3 degrees higher and it would be more comfortable. My electric bill with a 22 year old unit was never more than $225 a month or so in the summer now and as low as $80 in the winter. Can I really expect to see a 25 to 30% lower electric bill with a new unit?

Considering the old unit was 22 years old and probably had a SEER rating of about 7 or 8, yes. A good 15-20% minimum.

 

[crambone]

Was the 2 stage worth the extra cost? Can you ball park the cost for the unit you got? I've got a few quotes from $5,000 to $8,000 for a replacement for a 3.5 ton 14 Seer. I was also thinking about adding a dehumidifier. From what I understand, I can run my unit 2 or 3 degrees higher and it would be more comfortable. My electric bill with a 22 year old unit was never more than $225 a month or so in the summer now and as low as $80 in the winter. Can I really expect to see a 25 to 30% lower electric bill with a new unit?

For everything installed it was about $7000.00. Our previous system was almost 15 years old and severely undersized.

We did a 4-year, zero-interest payment plan. We are more than halfway done with it. The company in Lakeland that did it was called Ward's and they did an awesome job. We just added a small room in our garage as we have another baby on the way and they came out and added 2 cents and a separate intake for under $200.00. Good people.

 

[crambone]

And yes, the 2-stage is absolutely worth it. Our A/C runs so much less these days. The old system would run for about 16-hours straight during the summer. It never clicked-off.