olddog wrote:
Looks like my A/C Heating unit may be toast. (1700 sq ft house, natural
gas, Austin TX)

I was already warned my a/c was on it's last leg because we had to put
in 4.5lbs of Freon this summer.

I went to turn on my heater this morning and it wouldn't come on. It
just made a buzzing noise. I felt the blower motor and it was hot so I
turned it off, spun it and it came on but with a new grinding noise and
water (!) came out of the vent! So I immediately shut it off.

I'm pretty much resigned to buying a new unit and I have the money saved
for it.

Where would you start? I've read horror stories about incompetent
installers. I want a licensed professional and I don't mind paying for it.

I've seen some ads for Goodman's starting at $3750 installed. Is that
too cheap?

TIA

Olddog

Goodman, Armstrong and Janitrol look like clones to
me and are what I would call value priced contractor
grade units. Another brand in the same category is
Ducane. I've installed or repaired them all and the
units are good for the price. If installed properly
and maintained, will last for years. Trane, Carrier,
American Standard and Lennox are considered high end
units. American Standard an Trane are like Chevrolet
and GMC, almost identical, same parent company. If
you get the lower priced units, they'll work just
fine and I'd ask the installer to add an anti short
cycle timer or install a digital thermostat that has
one built in. This will keep the compressor from
slamming on and off with power blinks or from rapid
cycling due to someone playing with the thermostat.
The high end units will usually have that and all
sorts of other safeties built in.

TDD