I fully agree what you are saying but what feed back I am getting from the manufactures is really some what surprising me when it comes to warranty but then again I can understand what they are going through. They tell me that they have lost so many compressors because of contractors not using the right size copper and evaporator coils. They want the evaporator coil to be around two years old before you replace a condensing unit using the existing coil.

I have learned to go to http://www.ari.org/ to verify any evaporator coil before replacing an existing condensing unit.

As you can see their 13 SEER condensing units are not that bad when using the existing copper
and their 13 SEER chart goes somewhat you say below.

Air Conditioning Condensing Units - 13 SEER Units
1-1/2 to 5 Ton, Single-Phase, R-22

Mfg. #
Nom. Tons
BtuH Cooling
Max. Fuse Size
Min. Circuit Amps
Liquid Conn.
Suction Fitting

ERCS0181BB
1-1/2
18,000
15
10.1
3/8"
3/4"

ERCS0241BB
2
24,000
20
11.8
3/8"
3/4"

ERCS0301BB
2-1/2
30,000
25
16.7
3/8"
7/8"

ERCS0361BB
3
36,000
30
18.9
3/8"
7/8"

ERCS0421BB
3-1/2
42,000
35
21.9
3/8"
7/8"

ERCS0481BB
4
48,000
35
20.6
3/8"
7/8"

ERCS0601BB
5
60,000
50
31.8
3/8"
1-1/8"


..
--
Moe Jones
HVAC Service Technician
Energy Equalizers Inc.
Houston, Texas
www.EnergyEqualizers.com
"Zephyr" wrote in message news:BeSdnU4BFvEXjQ3bnZ2dnUVZ_sKunZ2d@championbroa dband.com...
FWIW: There's nothing wrong with Colemen. And, the line sizing is fairly correct. Although on the 2-ton size 7/8" o.d. is a bit much. I think it likely goes with stocking less sizes in the warehouse. 7/8" is good to 3 or 4 Ton capacity depending on line length. [You can turn to Proper Piping Practices manuals for the refrigerant of choice.] You'll find that 5/8" is good for 2-Tons. 3/4" for 3-Tons. 7/8" 4-Tons, and 1-1/8" is good for 5 Tons for air conditioning applications using R-22 or R-410a.

If the suction return line is too large, you may have oil return problems depending if the evaporator coil is installed below the condensing unit.

This is why a professional HVAC/R contractor is needed. He can generally make the best choices for the particular installation. One that will provide years of trouble free operation.