Hi everyone - my apologies in advance for the long-ass post:

The time has come to replace the 25 year old furnace in my recently
purchased house. I'm planning on also replacing the central air while
I'm at it. While I'm not thrilled about having to put out the dough, I
am looking forward to resolving my biggest peeve with my current
system - which is that the air conditioning has trouble getting to the
upstairs of the house in the summer.

My house is tiny - about 1,200 square feet. It's a Cape Cod -
officially it's 1.5 stories, meaning that the upstairs bedrooms are
actually in the attic, so to speak.

I have 2 quotes that I'm dealing with. The first vendor wants to
install a Trane furnace (2 stage, 92% efficient - 80,000 BTUs) and a
Trane AC unit (I think it's 14 SEER). He noted that I have asbestos in
my basement, which butts up against the "main" ductwork (sorry, don't
know the correct terminology); he said that the existing ductwork was
fine and that I wouldn't need to have the asbestos removed. He said
that my cooling problem might be the result of having the wrong sized
AC unit installed; he also suggested that I raise the registers in the
upstairs bedrooms to the middle of the wall (about 3 feet up - they
are currently down around the baseboards) to help spread the air
around.

Vendor #2 wants to install a Bryant 80% efficient 2-stage furnace
(70,000 BTUs) and a Bryant Puron Plus AC unit (13.5 seer - upgradable
to 14.5 for some extra $$$). He said that my cooling problem is
probably due mostly to improper air flow, and that I'd need to have
the asbestos removed so that he could make the return air trunk line
larger.

The Bryant guy's quote is almost exactly $1,000 less than the Trane
guy's quote, but having the asbestos removed will even that out.
Anyhow, my questions are many - I know that they're difficult to
answer without actually seeing the situation, but here they a

- Could there be any equipment differences between the Trane and
Bryant brands that would explain the vendors' difference of opinion on
the size of the return air trunk line?

- Any opinions on Trane vs. Bryant?

- The Bryant guy wants to charge an extra $250 to install a Honeywell
T8600 programmable thermostat. I can buy that same model on the web
for $106. Is there any great skill/advantage to having the contractor
install it? For $250, I could buy the thermostat and have my handyman
buddy install it - *and* wallpaper my bathroom after he's done.

Any other opinions, advice, etc. will be greatly appreciated. I really
would prefer to install the Trane - the warranty is better, and it's
just better looking, darnit - but the whole airflow argument concerns
me, and I don't want to put out a bunch of money for a new furnace/AC
if its performance is going to be hampered by inadequate ductwork.

Thanks much! - Ali

Unless you live where your heat bill is mimimal like Fla get a 90%+
unit, my Ng is up 60%.

Did either guy do a load calc or ductwork calculation in writing, Guy
# 1 sounds like a real hack and is larger in btu on a more efficient
unit, not good. You don.t want to oversize, ask to see the written load
calculations they performed to come to their conclusions on sizing of
unit and ductwork, I bet you wont, so get someone that will do them.

Poor second floor cooling , is a return upstairs, you need a real pro
not a guy that says to just raise registers and that " your AC Might be
the wrong size". There is no guessing for a real pro, they use math and
formulas.

Asbestos we cant see it but often best is leaving it and sealing it in
place, encapsulating it, so it cant be knocked loose, taking it off is
costly and Will spread it around.

Check out what other manufacturers offer and even all the options of
the companies you are looking at, today there are more optiions then
ever that make for a more comfortable home and greater efficiency than
what you have been shown. Go online.

Did either take any measurements, ask about what kind of insulation is in
the walls or do anything other than look at the model plates of the
existing units, walk through the place, and listen to you say it doesn't
cool enough upstairs? Seems to me there ought to be at least a little
science involved.

No, there's no advantage to having the contractor install your
thermostat. If you have a screwdriver you can install it yourself. If
you're not that confident, then get your handyman friend to do it.
It'll take all of 15 minutes.

Mike

m Ransley wrote:
Unless you live where your heat bill is mimimal like Fla get a 90%+
unit, my Ng is up 60%.

Hi,
I am in Alberta. When NG price goes above 8.50 per Giga Joule,
provincial government provides cushion above that in the form of rebate
on our NG bill. Throughout heating season the program costs about 800
mil. Your country can invade a sovereign nation at a great
monetary/human cost but no such program for people struggling with basic
needs? Every one in Alberta gets 400.00 check in the mail new year
comes. Government is swimming in black ink.
Tony

On Fri, 09 Dec 2005 19:55:42 -0500, alix yahoo @ ninjadaisy . com
wrote:

Hi everyone - my apologies in advance for the long-ass post:

The time has come to replace the 25 year old furnace in my recently
purchased house. I'm planning on also replacing the central air while
I'm at it. While I'm not thrilled about having to put out the dough, I
am looking forward to resolving my biggest peeve with my current
system - which is that the air conditioning has trouble getting to the
upstairs of the house in the summer.

My house is tiny - about 1,200 square feet. It's a Cape Cod -
officially it's 1.5 stories, meaning that the upstairs bedrooms are
actually in the attic, so to speak.

I have 2 quotes that I'm dealing with. The first vendor wants to
install a Trane furnace (2 stage, 92% efficient - 80,000 BTUs) and a
Trane AC unit (I think it's 14 SEER). He noted that I have asbestos in
my basement, which butts up against the "main" ductwork (sorry, don't
know the correct terminology); he said that the existing ductwork was
fine and that I wouldn't need to have the asbestos removed. He said
that my cooling problem might be the result of having the wrong sized
AC unit installed; he also suggested that I raise the registers in the
upstairs bedrooms to the middle of the wall (about 3 feet up - they
are currently down around the baseboards) to help spread the air
around.

Vendor #2 wants to install a Bryant 80% efficient 2-stage furnace
(70,000 BTUs) and a Bryant Puron Plus AC unit (13.5 seer - upgradable
to 14.5 for some extra $$$). He said that my cooling problem is
probably due mostly to improper air flow, and that I'd need to have
the asbestos removed so that he could make the return air trunk line
larger.

The Bryant guy's quote is almost exactly $1,000 less than the Trane
guy's quote, but having the asbestos removed will even that out.
Anyhow, my questions are many - I know that they're difficult to
answer without actually seeing the situation, but here they a

- Could there be any equipment differences between the Trane and
Bryant brands that would explain the vendors' difference of opinion on
the size of the return air trunk line?

- Any opinions on Trane vs. Bryant?

- The Bryant guy wants to charge an extra $250 to install a Honeywell
T8600 programmable thermostat. I can buy that same model on the web
for $106. Is there any great skill/advantage to having the contractor
install it? For $250, I could buy the thermostat and have my handyman
buddy install it - *and* wallpaper my bathroom after he's done.

Any other opinions, advice, etc. will be greatly appreciated. I really
would prefer to install the Trane - the warranty is better, and it's
just better looking, darnit - but the whole airflow argument concerns
me, and I don't want to put out a bunch of money for a new furnace/AC
if its performance is going to be hampered by inadequate ductwork.

Thanks much! - Ali

Simple. Your cooling problem upstairs is most likely little or no
return air ductwork upstairs. You can blow all the cool air up there
you want to but if you cant return the warm air back down to the
furnace then it aint goina do ****. BUT, I cant see your problem from
here. Second, get it in writing that your A/C will cool your upstairs
to within 1 degree of the downstairs or they will fix it till it does
or refund you some portion of money.
Next, dont get too hung up on brand names. Its the installer, not the
Brand that will make your system work effectively.
Since your having cooling problems, now is the time to get a load
calculation done on your home. If your contractor cant do it then send
him packing. Lastly, why on earth would you futz with installing a
good thermostat when you just spent however many thousand dollars
getting a system installed? Im sorry but thats just plain stupid. Tell
the guy to cut you some slack on the stat. He isnt going to give it to
you for free but if the job is priced correctly he can afford to make
a lower margain on the stat to get your work. Remember, if you install
a stat yourself after the job is installed you may get charged for a
service call during the warranty period. I know I most likely would
unless it had absolutely nothing to do with the stat.
Would you change out the radio on a brand new car you just bought
because you found it cheaper at "Wal-Mart discount store?"
Bubba

Tony Hwang wrote:

m Ransley wrote:

Unless you live where your heat bill is mimimal like Fla get a 90%+
unit, my Ng is up 60%.

Hi,
I am in Alberta. When NG price goes above 8.50 per Giga Joule,
provincial government provides cushion above that in the form of rebate
on our NG bill. Throughout heating season the program costs about 800
mil. Your country can invade a sovereign nation at a great
monetary/human cost but no such program for people struggling with basic
needs? Every one in Alberta gets 400.00 check in the mail new year
comes. Government is swimming in black ink.
Tony

Bush used up all our black ink and then some.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

CJT wrote:
Tony Hwang wrote:

m Ransley wrote:

Unless you live where your heat bill is mimimal like Fla get a 90%+
unit, my Ng is up 60%.

Hi,
I am in Alberta. When NG price goes above 8.50 per Giga Joule,
provincial government provides cushion above that in the form of rebate
on our NG bill. Throughout heating season the program costs about 800
mil. Your country can invade a sovereign nation at a great
monetary/human cost but no such program for people struggling with basic
needs? Every one in Alberta gets 400.00 check in the mail new year
comes. Government is swimming in black ink.
Tony

Bush used up all our black ink and then some.


This is Turtle.

i wonder if any of the Congressman or the house Of Rep. voted on the
giving away all the black ink or did King Bush just give it out without
them knowing about it .

TURTLE

TURTLE wrote:
CJT wrote:

Tony Hwang wrote:


m Ransley wrote:


Unless you live where your heat bill is mimimal like Fla get a 90%+
unit, my Ng is up 60%.

Hi,
I am in Alberta. When NG price goes above 8.50 per Giga Joule,
provincial government provides cushion above that in the form of rebate
on our NG bill. Throughout heating season the program costs about 800
mil. Your country can invade a sovereign nation at a great
monetary/human cost but no such program for people struggling with basic
needs? Every one in Alberta gets 400.00 check in the mail new year
comes. Government is swimming in black ink.
Tony

Bush used up all our black ink and then some.



This is Turtle.

i wonder if any of the Congressman or the house Of Rep. voted on the
giving away all the black ink or did King Bush just give it out without
them knowing about it .

TURTLE

I guess I should have said Bush and his fellow Republicans.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

alix wrote:
Hi everyone - my apologies in advance for the long-ass post:

The time has come to replace the 25 year old furnace in my recently
purchased house. I'm planning on also replacing the central air while
I'm at it. While I'm not thrilled about having to put out the dough, I
am looking forward to resolving my biggest peeve with my current
system - which is that the air conditioning has trouble getting to the
upstairs of the house in the summer.

This is a ducting issue. Neither brand of unit nor size of unit is going
to correct this. If the t-stat is downstairs, then upsizing the unit
will only provide the imbalance in temps quicker. There are several
options for correcting this, the best being the addition of returns to
the bedrooms. Or it may be as simple as undercutting the doors.

Here is some related literatu

http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings...esign-0782.pdf


My house is tiny - about 1,200 square feet. It's a Cape Cod -
officially it's 1.5 stories, meaning that the upstairs bedrooms are
actually in the attic, so to speak.

I have 2 quotes that I'm dealing with. The first vendor wants to
install a Trane furnace (2 stage, 92% efficient - 80,000 BTUs) and a
Trane AC unit (I think it's 14 SEER). He noted that I have asbestos in
my basement, which butts up against the "main" ductwork (sorry, don't
know the correct terminology); he said that the existing ductwork was
fine and that I wouldn't need to have the asbestos removed. He said
that my cooling problem might be the result of having the wrong sized
AC unit installed;

See above. You don't want this guy.

he also suggested that I raise the registers in the
upstairs bedrooms to the middle of the wall (about 3 feet up - they
are currently down around the baseboards) to help spread the air
around.

Deflectors are a much less expensive option. You can by them at most
home improvement centers. This will not however solve the temperature
problem, it will only provide better mixing; a more even temp throughout
the rooms.



Vendor #2 wants to install a Bryant 80% efficient 2-stage furnace
(70,000 BTUs) and a Bryant Puron Plus AC unit (13.5 seer - upgradable
to 14.5 for some extra $$$). He said that my cooling problem is
probably due mostly to improper air flow, and that I'd need to have
the asbestos removed so that he could make the return air trunk line
larger.

See above. You don't want this guy either. More airflow may be in order,
but a modification to the central return isn't going to solve the supply
balance issue. You'll get more airflow into both zones, but in the same
proportion as before.


The Bryant guy's quote is almost exactly $1,000 less than the Trane
guy's quote, but having the asbestos removed will even that out.
Anyhow, my questions are many - I know that they're difficult to
answer without actually seeing the situation, but here they a

- Could there be any equipment differences between the Trane and
Bryant brands that would explain the vendors' difference of opinion on
the size of the return air trunk line.

Again, return air size isn't the problem. It may be a problem as far as
capacity and efficiency is concerned, but it isn't the cause of the temp
imbalance. The Trane guy may have been correct about the size, but I
can't see it from here. I can tell you that the Bryant guy's plan isn't
going to work as intended.


- Any opinions on Trane vs. Bryant?

- The Bryant guy wants to charge an extra $250 to install a Honeywell
T8600 programmable thermostat.

That's your call. If you want to DIY on part of the install, then they
may or may not be willing to work with you on that. Your time is free,
ours is not. My company wouldn't bargain with you on this however. On a
new unit we install the stat, period! The reason for this is that we
don't want you ****ing up any of our equipment and then crying about it
and threatening lawsuits when it was entirely your fault that the board
is now fried. Don't be surprised if you and whoever you chose end up not
getting along so well.

I can buy that same model on the web
for $106.

So? See above.

Is there any great skill/advantage to having the contractor
install it? For $250, I could buy the thermostat and have my handyman
buddy install it - *and* wallpaper my bathroom after he's done.

I did the same when it came to treating my new fence. Bought a Wagner
sprayer and the wood treatment for a fraction of what they wanted to
treat the fence for me. The time required turned out to be considerable
however. (They were quoting mostly labor.) Normally I wouldn't have done
something like that, but it wasn't my idea to install the thing, but I
digress.

As it so happened a few of the slats warped (before treating), and they
refused to replace them for me. I didn't push the issue. I still had
enough savings left to replace a bunch of those *******s myself. But
there is no comparison between a fence and a piece of gas/electrical
equipment located within a house.

In the case of the t-stat, there is much more at stake, namely
liability. Your house could actually burn due to a miswired stat. It is
also likely that their price includes pulling a new t-stat wire. The
warranty issue is however enough on its own to refuse the bid under your
conditions. Even minus the new wire, they could lower the price, but
they would have to add it back to the unit. The profit has to come from
somewhere, where it is distributed on paper is sometimes just a formality.


Any other opinions, advice, etc. will be greatly appreciated. I really
would prefer to install the Trane - the warranty is better, and it's
just better looking, darnit - but the whole airflow argument concerns
me, and I don't want to put out a bunch of money for a new furnace/AC
if its performance is going to be hampered by inadequate ductwork.

Thanks much! - Ali


I'd shop around until you get somebody else who knows at least the
minimum basics about air distribution.

hvacrmedic

Would you change out the radio on a brand new car you just bought

Poor analogy because millions of people do exactly that.

Tony Hwang wrote:
m Ransley wrote:
Unless you live where your heat bill is mimimal like Fla get a 90%+
unit, my Ng is up 60%.

Hi,
I am in Alberta. When NG price goes above 8.50 per Giga Joule,
provincial government provides cushion above that in the form of
rebate on our NG bill. Throughout heating season the program costs
about 800 mil. Your country can invade a sovereign nation at a great
monetary/human cost but no such program for people struggling with
basic needs? Every one in Alberta gets 400.00 check in the mail new
year comes. Government is swimming in black ink.
Tony

If your meal at a restaruant exceeds 2,000 calories, does the government
step in and pay the difference?

Why should the US help someone struggling with "basic needs" in Alberta?
Your provincial government has a monopoly on that area. If you're talking
about "basic needs" in the US, we do. It's called Florida.

And in the pot/kettle mechanism, Canada invaded a soverign nation, at a cost
of 1000 lives in nine hours. August 19, 1942. Canada tried again two years
later, with even greater loss of life.

There always has to be at least one ass ready to turn a question about
a new furnace into a political attack. For your information Tony, the
US has plenty of programs to provide heat, food and shelter to those
unable to provide it for themselves. We tend not to like folks like
you though, who expect welfare checks to come in the mail from a
socialist government for everyone. The money the govt sends out has to
come from somewhere, but then you probably don't have a job so you
don't care about paying for socialist programs with taxes.

m Ransley wrote:
Unless you live where your heat bill is mimimal like Fla get a 90%+
unit, my Ng is up 60%.

Did either guy do a load calc or ductwork calculation in writing, Guy
# 1 sounds like a real hack and is larger in btu on a more efficient
unit, not good. You don.t want to oversize, ask to see the written
load calculations they performed to come to their conclusions on
sizing of unit and ductwork, I bet you wont, so get someone that will
do them.

Poor second floor cooling , is a return upstairs, you need a real pro
not a guy that says to just raise registers and that " your AC Might
be the wrong size". There is no guessing for a real pro, they use
math and formulas.

Asbestos we cant see it but often best is leaving it and sealing it in
place, encapsulating it, so it cant be knocked loose, taking it off is
costly and Will spread it around.

Check out what other manufacturers offer and even all the options of
the companies you are looking at, today there are more optiions then
ever that make for a more comfortable home and greater efficiency than
what you have been shown. Go online.

I have to agree with all of the above and emphasis a few things.

The most important part of your choice is not what unit to buy or what
manufacturer, but what installer is going to do the job.

That job includes doing the proper calculations to determine what size
equipment you need, not just a quick look around and considering floor
space.

No matter how cheap your NG is now, it is very likely to be much more in
25 years so I suggest throwing out that bid for a 80% unit.

The cost of the new thermostat may include additional or replacement
wiring to it if the new equipment needs it. You may or may not be able to
do that yourself depending on your skills and the complexity of your
specific situation.


--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Yes get a Guarntee of performace in writing as Bubba said, I forgot
about this, when my folks had Spacepack installed they had a Written
Guarntee of 30f drop and when it reached 115 it was 75 inside. It truely
is the installer who makes it work. We had other hacks bid who wanted to
run ducting on the floor of the attic or put in 2 bigger units , So
truely it was The installer that did the pro job and made it work and us
happy. In my home my installer told me when retrofitting AC " You need a
return on the second floor or it wont cool" So one was put in and it
works. You have probably 2 hack bids, it all has to be calculated by
industry accepted Load calculations called manual J and D? I think those
are the designations. Of all the bids Ive recently got on a furnace Ive
had to finally demand a load calc from the installer I liked, and to his
suprise he found he oversized his original assumption, since I have done
things like insulate basement even under concrete and R 100 attic. Don`t
do anything till you see and get a copy of the written load calculations
and temp drop or house temp in writing .

alix wrote:
- The Bryant guy wants to charge an extra $250 to install a Honeywell
T8600 programmable thermostat. I can buy that same model on the web
for $106. Is there any great skill/advantage to having the contractor
install it? For $250, I could buy the thermostat and have my handyman
buddy install it - *and* wallpaper my bathroom after he's done.

Are you sure you can buy a 2 stage T8600 for $106 on the web? That
sounds like the price of a single stage model.

FWIW, you should be able to negotiate that $250 down to $150. That's
what it would cost here (in Florida) for a 2-stage Chronotherm IV (or
Vision Pro) if done at the time of system installation.

Why save 100 $ on an unwarranted thermostat, or one you could ruin or
have not work by improper install.

Carrier- Bryant, Lennox, and others have thermostats that have outside
sensors, fan run speed, humidifier controls, Low Speed humidity removal
modes in AC " which with VS DC pull double the moisture out, good on 72f
days", etc etc, more than you want to hook up or know how to do right.
Put the wrong wire on or with power on and things can fry.

And if your " handyman buddy " ruins it or cant make it work, then
what. He aint you "handyman buddy" anymore and you pay.

"CJT" wrote in message
...
Tony Hwang wrote:

m Ransley wrote:

Unless you live where your heat bill is mimimal like Fla get a 90%+
unit, my Ng is up 60%.

Hi,
I am in Alberta. When NG price goes above 8.50 per Giga Joule, provincial
government provides cushion above that in the form of rebate on our NG
bill. Throughout heating season the program costs about 800 mil. Your
country can invade a sovereign nation at a great monetary/human cost but
no such program for people struggling with basic needs? Every one in
Alberta gets 400.00 check in the mail new year comes. Government is
swimming in black ink.
Tony

Bush used up all our black ink and then some.

PRESIDENT BUSH DOESN'T CARE ABOUT BLACK INK!!!

Thanks much to everyone for replying.

the load calculation: Both guys measured the furnace and basement
ductwork. The Trane guy measured all rooms individually and did look
into the crawl space at the insulation; the Bryant guy took an
aggregate measurement of the footprint both upstairs and downstairs.
They both appeared to be doing lots of math; whether that math
resulted in the load calculation is not clear to me. I will find out.

(As an aside - the first quote I got was from a guy who walked in,
wrote down the numbers from the existing furnace, said "I'll get back
to you," and left. His quote was cheapest of all, but I ruled him out
based mostly on the fact that I couldn't even get him to stop to talk
with me about the job... although I did ask the question about getting
the AC upstairs as he was backing out the door. He basically said, "We
can't do anything about that." Sheesh...)

Very good points the thermostat - thanks. I'd hate to invalidate
the warranty or service contract over a few bucks. (BTW - Travis, you
are correct. I was looking at single stage.) It might be worth noting
that the Trane guy included a programmable thermostat (also Trane
brand) in his quote at no additional cost. He also will also reinstall
my existing humidifier (an Aprilaire 550, I think); the other
gentleman proposes installing a new Honeywell electronic air cleaner
for an additional fee. I don't know anything about "air cleaners," so
I'm not sure whether it's worth going that route or not.

Regarding the returns: I know that they exist upstairs - they are
positioned exactly opposite the supply registers in each room - but
that's all I know. HVACmedic - if I'm reading the link you provided
correctly, I have a "trunk and branch" config in my house.

So - I will get a few more quotes, and will be able to ask more
intelligent questions as a result of your input. Thanks again for your
help.

Ali

have the handyman run 3/4" conduit with a couple of puller nylon cords
from your basement to the desired bedroom three thermostat on a new
second floor zone and to each of the first floor bedrooms for new zone
thermostat controls.
install an insulated door at the bottom of the steps to the second
floor to allow separate zoning and minumize heat loss from the first
floor.
insulate all indoor walls as well as outdoor walls to retain individual
room heat as desired by closed bedroom door zoning as well.
arrange the furnace to have a fresh air option subject to outdoor
temperature and humidity. when you exhaust all stale air outdoors by
intaking fresh air, sending it up the delivery ducts, and exhausting
the stale return to the outdoors on a timer on a nice day.




alix wrote:
Hi everyone - my apologies in advance for the long-ass post:

The time has come to replace the 25 year old furnace in my recently
purchased house. I'm planning on also replacing the central air while
I'm at it. While I'm not thrilled about having to put out the dough, I
am looking forward to resolving my biggest peeve with my current
system - which is that the air conditioning has trouble getting to the
upstairs of the house in the summer.

My house is tiny - about 1,200 square feet. It's a Cape Cod -
officially it's 1.5 stories, meaning that the upstairs bedrooms are
actually in the attic, so to speak.

I have 2 quotes that I'm dealing with. The first vendor wants to
install a Trane furnace (2 stage, 92% efficient - 80,000 BTUs) and a
Trane AC unit (I think it's 14 SEER). He noted that I have asbestos in
my basement, which butts up against the "main" ductwork (sorry, don't
know the correct terminology); he said that the existing ductwork was
fine and that I wouldn't need to have the asbestos removed. He said
that my cooling problem might be the result of having the wrong sized
AC unit installed; he also suggested that I raise the registers in the
upstairs bedrooms to the middle of the wall (about 3 feet up - they
are currently down around the baseboards) to help spread the air
around.

Vendor #2 wants to install a Bryant 80% efficient 2-stage furnace
(70,000 BTUs) and a Bryant Puron Plus AC unit (13.5 seer - upgradable
to 14.5 for some extra $$$). He said that my cooling problem is
probably due mostly to improper air flow, and that I'd need to have
the asbestos removed so that he could make the return air trunk line
larger.

The Bryant guy's quote is almost exactly $1,000 less than the Trane
guy's quote, but having the asbestos removed will even that out.
Anyhow, my questions are many - I know that they're difficult to
answer without actually seeing the situation, but here they a

- Could there be any equipment differences between the Trane and
Bryant brands that would explain the vendors' difference of opinion on
the size of the return air trunk line?

- Any opinions on Trane vs. Bryant?

- The Bryant guy wants to charge an extra $250 to install a Honeywell
T8600 programmable thermostat. I can buy that same model on the web
for $106. Is there any great skill/advantage to having the contractor
install it? For $250, I could buy the thermostat and have my handyman
buddy install it - *and* wallpaper my bathroom after he's done.

Any other opinions, advice, etc. will be greatly appreciated. I really
would prefer to install the Trane - the warranty is better, and it's
just better looking, darnit - but the whole airflow argument concerns
me, and I don't want to put out a bunch of money for a new furnace/AC
if its performance is going to be hampered by inadequate ductwork.

Thanks much! - Ali