Thanks much for all the good advice.

"Jeanne" wrote in message
. ..
Michael White wrote:
I have a one-story 1,900 sq. ft. house in North Texas. I'm thinking of
replacing my 20-year-old, 3-ton, SEER= 9 Lennox air conditioner.

I've been told to replace it with a 4-ton Bryant unit. Any comments or
recommendations?

Thanks.

Get at least three estimates; more - 4 0r 5 - is better. You'd be
surprised at the variation of recommendations in terms of price, size, and
system configuration.

We just got a 30 year old air conditioner/furnace replaced (GE which
apparently went out of the business in the 80s). I called five places -
based on personal recommendations, whether or not I knew they did the
Manual J calculations, and a local consumer guide. One company did not
show up. Of the remaining four, two did thorough Manual J calculations
(they measured, went away and a few days came back with figures to show us
along with a recommendation on size), and other two did quick calculations
of some sort (went to their truck and came back 15 minutes later).

First, the A/C size recommendations ranged from 2 ton to 3 ton. Looking
at the Manual J figures, we knew we sat just at 2 tons (24,000 lb?). One
company said to go higher at 2 1/2 tons and one recommended to go 2 ton.
One quick calculation company recommended 3 ton to give us "space" (they
were immediately eliminated). The second quick calculations guy came up
with 2 1/2 tons - he didn't really justify his recommendations except by
saying he had about 20 years of experience (and to be honest, he was the
only one who was NOT just a salesman - he also did the installation and
service of these units).

Then, there was the price. There was a good $2000 range in the pricing.
It was difficult to compare apples to apples because the warranties
differed as well as the scope of work and maintenance contracts (if any)
as well as any accessories and extras.

Jeanne