In article
,
ransley wrote:

On Sep 24, 8:57*am, wrote:
In article ,





*"HeyBub" wrote:
wrote:
In article
,
ransley wrote:

On Sep 23, 9:24 pm, wrote:
Well my AC has finally kicked the bucket. I had an AC guy (Scott's
AC) come out and he is recommending an Amana 13 SEER unit. Is Amana
a good brand? This is just for the unit that sits outside of the
house, not any heater, air mover(?) that goes inside. I'm getting a
quote of $5K installed with a lifetime warranty on the compressor
and I believe other parts also.

My main concerns a
-brand quality/reliabilty
-cooling ability (house is about 2500 sq feet)
-how much energy savings (my electric bill has been between
$350-400/mo)
-quietness

I need to clarify which exact model but he said it's a darker
grayish model Amana that is rated @ 13 SEER.

Are there other models to consider?

Thanks for any input.

What kicked the bucket, get a second opinion

The compressor basically locked up and kept shorting everything out.
The breaker wouldn't even stay on. *It's about 12 years old and I'm in
Florida. *I could just replace the compressor for about $2K (less if I
go used) but the whole unit is getting pretty old and ragged.

EXACTLY the same thing happened to me. Mine was a Trane, 17 years old and
the compressor went kaput from the power chattering caused by hurricane
Ike
here in Houston.

Two guys came out last night at 8:00 p.m. with a used, six-year old, Rudd
condensing unit. In two hours they had the bad condensing unit replaced
with
the Rudd. It works swell (so far, see below).

At 10:00 p.m., I gave them $700 and they went away.

Now as to guarantees: I know where the AC guy lives (next door to my son)
and HE knows I have a gun. I have a high confidence that all will be
well.

Regarding replacing the compressor only, I don't know for sure.

Considering the compressor is the only part of the condensing unit that
has
moving parts, I would think you'd be okay replacing only it. Someday you
might have to replace the power relay or the capacitors, but that's
pocket
change. The wiring won't go bad and if the unit looks ratty, a couple of
cans of spray paint should fix that.

A new compressor for my Trane lists for $981, that's why I chose the $300
cheaper option.

Thanks for the replies everyone,

Well after doing some digging, I think I can definitely get a better
deal. *I found out my neighbor just got the same unit only with the
internal parts (air handler, heater, etc.) from the same company 6
months ago for $4500 installed. *That's $3K less than what the guy
quoted me for everything. *Needless, to say, I have the neighbor's quote
in hand and a manager coming out today.

I also have a friend of a good friend who works with AC coming out to
check things out. *I'm sure he'll have some used parts/cash under the
table deals for me. *I'm not real comfortable with the used route though
since the unit is so old and really not that efficient ($350+ electric
bills) so I'm still considering just replacing everything new.

How much more $$ is it to go up to a 14-15 or even 16 SEER rated unit? *
Will I see the extra benefit in terms of cooling and electric costs
relative to the cost of the higher SEER unit? *Some folks have
recommended Trane and Lennox as better brands to look into. *Is
Amana/Goodman bad?

Thanks again for the input.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

There are charts of Seer and savings per each seer increase, maybe at
Carrier,- Bryant I have seen them. In fla I would research every
option to save energy. With high humidity as you have look into VSDC
motors, you can remove double the humidity of single speed systems and
run on a humidistat. Seer may go as high as 19, but get the 10 yr
warrantys when you have the fancy stuff its expensive to repair.

Thanks again for all of the replies,

Here's the latest. I've been quoted $5700 installed for a Train XR13,
with all the Train internals (air handler/coil, new heater, thermostat,
etc.). They are also giving me a 10 year warranty on everything and
sanitizing my ducts. My furnace/heater (propane) is mostly fine (old
though) but not getting a new one of those is only going to save me $200
($5500 total wo/ heater).

Also, I can add the Train 'Clean Effects' air cleaner for the whole
household for an extra $900 ($6600 total installed). Is the Clean
Effects add-on useful and effective? My 11yo daughter has allergies and
we would like to cut down on the dust if it will help significantly.

Even though I'm getting an XR13, the tech said that jumping up to a XR14
for about another $800 won't give me a full extra SEER point (only about
a .25-.5 gain real world wise because of the combo of equipment) and
that in his opinion, it's not worth it.

I'm thinking that $5700 isn't that bad after some of the quotes I have
been seeing considering it's all Train equipment, a good warranty,
sanitized ducts, etc.. It's just coming down to do I spend the extra
$900 of the Train Clean Effects.

One more guy is coming this afternoon so I haven't committed yet.

Thanks again for the input.