Mark Modrall wrote:
What a week... Our 28-yr-old air conditioner blew a few years ago,
and we'd finally gotten tired of sweating like chimps in Borneo, so
we were getting several quotes for a new whole-house air conditioner.
Then the 28-yr-old furnace blew (or rather rusted out), so we find
ourselves in the market for both heating and cooling and we have a
couple of questions.

On the cooling side, the old unit is under the deck in a place about
5' 5" high. The old unit itself is about 2' 2" high. Two of the
quotes said that a new unit would need more headroom and need to be
moved further away from the house (adding to the cost) - otherwise,
they say, there won't be enough air circulation, the air conditioner
will be recycling the hot air it spews out, and it will burn out
faster. The other 2 guys say there's enough room and it doesn't need
to be relocated. I guess we should have gotten 5 estimates so we
wouldn't have a tie What do you guys think?

On the heating side, my wife noticed water leaking from inside the
furnace. Our oil company sent someone over, he cracked the case, and
the entire inside is massively rusted out. Since it was already
leaking, he said it could blow completely at any moment and advised us
to turn it off and leave it off until a replacement gets in - so we
have no hot water for at least the next few days. They said they'd
try to schedule us in as an emergency, but they have only one option
for brand (my wife doesn't remember the name, but it wasn't the ones
we recognize - Wiel-McCain, Carrier, or Trane). My wife said the
brand they carry was something like "Ream"...

Are there any brands that should be red flags? I guess for both
heating or cooling?

We had Sears come out and give a quote on the cooling, and they said
that Kenmore is just rebranded Carrier. We thought the independent
guys would come in a lot cheaper, but so far they haven't. Given the
warrantee and financing Sears is offering, it's making them sound
pretty good. Anyone have experience getting Sears to do air
conditioning systems?

Thanks
-Mark

Personally I would not choose Sears.

I suggest asking around among your friends, neighbors and co-workers and
ask for their experiences with local contractors (who might be doing the
"Sears" work anyway.) Don't worry about brand names, there are really few
brands, but lots of names. If you have a good contractor, let the
contractor make the recommendations based on what is best you're your needs
and in that area. A good contractor will not recommend second rate
equipment.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit