Not giving you a hard time, MrKool. Just commenting on some of the things
you have posted:
"mrkool" wrote
I sell Amana and Heil and Goodman, now, if you read around these groups
much, I believe Goodman is getting a bad rap for no reason, now before
they bought Amana, they were pretty cheaply made, but now, they're
copying some of Amana's tricks, so much so, they now look ALmost alike,
same color, dark gray, same compressor, main difference is the cabinet
design and some of the components, expansion valves or metering device,
GE or Emerson motors,
but after installing all 3 systems, I'd install a Goodman in my house
without question, maybe not a gas pack, but then I've had some of my
worst problems with Amana gas packs, mainly a bad run of leaking evap
coils, what a pain.
Goodman got a bad rap (and they deserved it!) because they would sell unit
to ANYONE off the street. That meant any Joe Blow that said "I know how to
solder a pipe!" could pick one up and "install it". Now, I know everyone
says it's not brain surgery or rocket science, but if you have poor methods
like:
1) Using soft (plummers) solder
2) not using nitrogen
3) not installing filter/driers
4) not using A VACUUM PUMP! (with proper manifold or micron guage)
5) not adjusting the charge after initial start up
6) etc., etc., etc......
I see it all the time. Person calls up wanting their unit serviced because
it's not working. Compressor is grounded out. "How can that be??!! It's only
2 years old!!!" Then you look at the soldered joints, lack of filter/drier,
unit tilted towards the house, and just general ****-poor job of
installation and you KNOW that someone that wanted to make a quick buck put
it in. "Maam! This unit is under warranty. You need to all the guy that put
it in." and she says "I've been calling him for 2 months and he doesn't
return my calls". Why should he/she! They already got their money.
The other thing is quality. I have seen 2 year-old units that have faded to
a (almost) pink and just LOOK terrible after a short time. Maybe they have
gotten better, but i am still not going to install one until they can prove
to me they are making a better product.
As far as Ruud and Rheem, they're the same unit, I've never like them,
after working on most brands, they seem to be one of the cheaply built
brands I've worked on.
Rheem? Cheaply built??!!! I can take you to many a house that will have a 25
year old Rheem or Ruud that is still running and not a spec of rust on it
(O.K., maybe the fan blade on some of the older ones). No offence, but to
say Rheem is cheaply built and then praise Goodman??!!! You're crazy! My
main problem with Rheem is they were bought out (by some foreign company)
and they are getting to be a pain in the ass to deal with. Especially when
it comes to getting parts.
Frigidare is slightly above the Rheem/Rudd
Bullsh*t! (see above) Almost all of Nordyne's stuff (Frigidaire, Gibson,
Tappan, Kelvinator, etc.) is cheaply made!
Hey! How 'bout them Maytag stainless units!!!
brand as far as builds go, Lennox is almost a different animal
altogether, like their price, high,
and so is York and Trane, proprietary in their parts
I'll agree with you on that (Sorry CarolinaBreeze Man! ;-] ). When I first
started out, my boss installed Luxaires. I just remember going back to a
unit after a year and it had looked like it had been through a war! Grill
was completely rusted out, cabinet faded to some ungodly color, and NOISY!!!
I hated those things!
..
Stay away from Carrier/Bryant, worst line of units from them I've seen
in many years.
I used to feel that way about 10 years ago. They had a real problem with
****-poor units: Accumulators on heatpumps would peel, rust and develope
leaks within 5 years. Condensor coils would develope "stress cracks" (right
where you can't even get to them to repair, which you shouldn't HAVE TO
repair!), grills that would rust out in no time and look like sh*t.
But now they have improved. We have installed a LOT of units over the past
several years and have not had trouble with a one of them (O.K., a few of
the ECM motor modules went bad, but that's about it). I have one in my house
now for about 8 years and I haven't had to do a thing to it.
I think out of all the brands we sell, I put Carrier at the top of the list.
Second would have to be American Standard. Cabinets are not designed as nice
as Trane, but they have been [retty dependable so far. No problems with
them.
As many have stated before, the brand is only 10% of the job. 90% is HOW IT
IS INSTALLED!!!! Almost every brand now has an "upper line" in their models
where they offer 5 years parts/ 10 years on the compressor. A buddy of mine
(that has been trying to get my business) runs the Goodman warehouse (in the
DC area) and says that they offer a LIFETIME guarranty on their compressors
(for the original owner). I believe that is just on the higher seer
equipment, but that's a good selling point as far as trying to get their
reputation back with the contractors.
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