On Sep 25, 2:36 am, kjpro @ usenet.com wrote:
"Nate Nagel" wrote in message

...

Hi all,

been collecting quotes on A/C installs for the house; all appear to be
coming in at about the same price but three installers quoted on either
Carrier or Trane, and one quoted on Goodman which I've never heard of.
Warranty is actually better on the Goodman but am curious about comments
on reliability, durability, parts availability of all brands (and
Ruud/Rheem as well, if anyone cares to share.) The installer that I'm
leaning towards just because of initial impression is spec'ing a Trane
unit, 14 SEER which he says provides more efficiency (duh) as well as a
better warranty than the 13 SEER at slight additional cost. comments?

Equipment is only as good as the installer.
Warranty is only as good as the company backing it.

In other words, find the best company with the best installer.
Find one that will do a manual J (load calc) to properly size the equipment.
One that will also do a manual D to insure your ducting is adequate for
proper operation.


Only the one installer did any calcs at all. The others just looked
at the house and immediately quoted on a 2.5 ton unit, except for one
who quoted on a 2 ton. This is part of the reason that I'm leaning
towards this one installer.

These are all for 2.5 ton residential units to retrofit to an existing
forced-air heating system. Likely will be adding some kind of
filtration (there is currently none other than the foam dirt catcher in
the existing furnace, which is a rather old Ruud high efficiency gas
unit.) Not sure if just cutting in a regular replaceable filter is the
way to go, or if the extra cost for electronic is worth it. Comments
here would be appreciated as well.

I would install a media type filter over the electronic.
The only way I would want an electronic is if someone had allergies.

Well, SWMBO does have some allergies and also the installer that
actually did calcs mentioned that the ductwork was "marginal" and
claimed that it would be better to go with either no filter at all or
else electronic because he didn't want to restrict the airflow with a
media filter. does this make sense? It kind of did to me, but I'm a
car guy not a HVAC guy.

nate