House Air Conditioner
 

Hello,

My son and his wife will have to replace their house air conditioner. Live
in Mass.
Typical 3 bedroom Split style.
I'm trying to help them out a bit, but certainly no expert with this.

Unit is very old now, and the type where the condenser is located outside,
and the evaporator is mounted to the duct work by the furnace (hot air
heating system).

Before we call in some contractors, thought I'd ask you experts he

Is Trane still considered the "best" brand re reliability, etc. ?

I guess most important, are there any brands (or models) to stay away from ?

Any thoughts on what to ask contractor, things to look out for, gotchas,
etc. would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

House Air Conditioner
 

On Jul 21, 7:47�am, "Robert11" wrote:
Hello,

My son and his wife will have to replace their house air conditioner. Live
in Mass.
Typical 3 bedroom Split style.
I'm trying to help them out a bit, but certainly no expert with this.

Unit is very old now, and the type where the condenser is located outside,
and the evaporator is mounted to the duct work by the furnace (hot air
heating system).

Before we call in some contractors, thought I'd ask you experts he

Is Trane still considered the "best" brand re reliability, etc. ?

I guess most important, are there any brands (or models) to stay away from ?

Any thoughts on what to ask contractor, things to look out for, gotchas,
etc. would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

goodman very affordable with great warranty

House Air Conditioner
 

On Jul 21, 6:47*am, "Robert11" wrote:
Hello,

My son and his wife will have to replace their house air conditioner. Live
in Mass.
Typical 3 bedroom Split style.
I'm trying to help them out a bit, but certainly no expert with this.

Unit is very old now, and the type where the condenser is located outside,
and the evaporator is mounted to the duct work by the furnace (hot air
heating system).

Before we call in some contractors, thought I'd ask you experts he

Is Trane still considered the "best" brand re reliability, etc. ?

I guess most important, are there any brands (or models) to stay away from ?

Any thoughts on what to ask contractor, things to look out for, gotchas,
etc. would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

Consumer Reports did a long term pole, read it. The installer is the
most important item and sizing the unit is #1. A pro will do a written
load calculation if you request it [if hes a real pro] and check out
ducks and any other issues, dont let them "guess" as you will find
most will. [ Who said train is best, the TV adds?] You should do alot
of research online as to what is a great install and setup. Pulling a
permit gets you a free inspection [I dont view it as a tax], and dont
pay until its passed. Hire someone with refrences thats well known, My
installer threw in a Blower Door Test free, what it saved me in a year
was more than it would have cost. If you will insulate anything soon
it has to be figured in now, 99% of installers oversize you, which is
wrong for real comfort, im oversized and its real bad.

House Air Conditioner
 

I'd stay away from Trane. Too many proprietary parts. Hard
to get parts, except through other Trane dealers.

My boss used to install Heil. Which includes Tempstar, and
Airquest. Three brands for the same machine.

Rheem and Rudd are also good, which are different brands for
the same equipment.

Some people lampoon Goodman, but it's worked for me.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Robert11" wrote in message
...
Hello,

My son and his wife will have to replace their house air
conditioner. Live
in Mass.
Typical 3 bedroom Split style.
I'm trying to help them out a bit, but certainly no expert
with this.

Unit is very old now, and the type where the condenser is
located outside,
and the evaporator is mounted to the duct work by the
furnace (hot air
heating system).

Before we call in some contractors, thought I'd ask you
experts he

Is Trane still considered the "best" brand re reliability,
etc. ?

I guess most important, are there any brands (or models) to
stay away from ?

Any thoughts on what to ask contractor, things to look out
for, gotchas,
etc. would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

House Air Conditioner
 

ransley wrote:
On Jul 21, 6:47 am, "Robert11" wrote:
Hello,

My son and his wife will have to replace their house air conditioner. Live
in Mass.
Typical 3 bedroom Split style.
I'm trying to help them out a bit, but certainly no expert with this.

Unit is very old now, and the type where the condenser is located outside,
and the evaporator is mounted to the duct work by the furnace (hot air
heating system).

Before we call in some contractors, thought I'd ask you experts he

Is Trane still considered the "best" brand re reliability, etc. ?

I guess most important, are there any brands (or models) to stay away from ?

Any thoughts on what to ask contractor, things to look out for, gotchas,
etc. would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

Consumer Reports did a long term pole, read it. The installer is the
most important item and sizing the unit is #1. A pro will do a written
load calculation if you request it [if hes a real pro] and check out
ducks and any other issues, dont let them "guess" as you will find
most will. [ Who said train is best, the TV adds?] You should do alot
of research online as to what is a great install and setup. Pulling a
permit gets you a free inspection [I dont view it as a tax], and dont
pay until its passed. Hire someone with refrences thats well known, My
installer threw in a Blower Door Test free, what it saved me in a year
was more than it would have cost. If you will insulate anything soon
it has to be figured in now, 99% of installers oversize you, which is
wrong for real comfort, im oversized and its real bad.

I would get a veterinarian to check my ducks rather
than an HVAC dealer. ROTFLMAO
I'm sorry, I couldn't help it.

TDD

House Air Conditioner
 

"Robert11" wrote in message
My son and his wife will have to replace their house air conditioner. Live
in Mass.
Typical 3 bedroom Split style.
I'm trying to help them out a bit, but certainly no expert with this.

Unit is very old now, and the type where the condenser is located outside,
and the evaporator is mounted to the duct work by the furnace (hot air
heating system).

Before we call in some contractors, thought I'd ask you experts he

Is Trane still considered the "best" brand re reliability, etc. ?


Not huge differences between the "best" and the runner ups. More important
is a good install.

I've had quite a few units installed and service by Peak Heating & AC in
Uxbridge, MA (508-234-3633) They do a lot of American Standard but can do
others. Find a reliable contractor and you will get good performance.




I guess most important, are there any brands (or models) to stay away from
?

Any thoughts on what to ask contractor, things to look out for, gotchas,
etc. would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

House Air Conditioner
 

On Jul 21, 1:53*pm, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:
"Robert11" wrote in message
My son and his wife will have to replace their house air conditioner. Live
in Mass.
Typical 3 bedroom Split style.
I'm trying to help them out a bit, but certainly no expert with this.

Unit is very old now, and the type where the condenser is located outside,
and the evaporator is mounted to the duct work by the furnace (hot air
heating system).

Before we call in some contractors, thought I'd ask you experts he

Is Trane still considered the "best" brand re reliability, etc. ?

Not *huge differences between the "best" and the runner ups. *More important
is a good install.

I've had quite a few units installed and service by Peak Heating & AC in
Uxbridge, MA *(508-234-3633) They do a lot of American Standard but can do
others. *Find a reliable contractor and you will get good performance.



I guess most important, are there any brands (or models) to stay away from
?

Any thoughts on what to ask contractor, things to look out for, gotchas,
etc. would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I think American Standard was best in the long term CR poll, I looked
at them, their Stainless exchanger is better than the aluminum plastic
coated units and I think the furnaces went to 96% efficency, it was
years ago that I checked. A.S. is under rated, but all you hear on TV
is, cant stop a trane, Dave Lennox is a good guy, and buy a Carrier-
Bryant.

House Air Conditioner
 

On Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:47:18 -0400, "Robert11"
wrote:

Hello,

My son and his wife will have to replace their house air conditioner. Live
in Mass.
Typical 3 bedroom Split style.
I'm trying to help them out a bit, but certainly no expert with this.

Unit is very old now, and the type where the condenser is located outside,
and the evaporator is mounted to the duct work by the furnace (hot air
heating system).

Before we call in some contractors, thought I'd ask you experts he

Is Trane still considered the "best" brand re reliability, etc. ?

I guess most important, are there any brands (or models) to stay away from ?

Any thoughts on what to ask contractor, things to look out for, gotchas,
etc. would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob


Always step one is to find your installer. If you get a good
one, and let them take a look at what you have and rely on them for
what you need you will have a good result.

If you pick the best brand on the market and get a second rate
installer, you will have a second rate system The Installer is the
most important part.

Also consider that a house air conditioner is a system and
includes the ducts and returns. It is not something that is simply
added on.

House Air Conditioner
 

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in news:h44h74
:

I'd stay away from Trane. Too many proprietary parts.

aka expen$ive

Hard
to get parts, except through other Trane dealers.

My boss used to install Heil. Which includes Tempstar, and
Airquest. Three brands for the same machine.

Rheem and Rudd are also good, which are different brands for
the same equipment.

Some people lampoon Goodman, but it's worked for me.

House Air Conditioner
 

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in
:

I'd stay away from Trane. Too many proprietary parts. Hard
to get parts, except through other Trane dealers.

My boss used to install Heil. Which includes Tempstar, and
Airquest. Three brands for the same machine.

Rheem and Rudd are also good, which are different brands for
the same equipment.

Some people lampoon Goodman, but it's worked for me.


The installer is the key!

Goodman worked for me too. Put Goodman gas pack and new ductwork in 35yr
old house 14mos ago. Zero issues/no callbacks. Week before the 1 yr full
parts & labor warranty was up I called for an annual. Everything fine. No
charge. Been using this local family owned company for all HVAC work.

I CHANGE THE FILTER RELIGIOUSLY THE FIRST OF EVERY MONTH! Coil did not
even need a blowoff or hose down at the annual. Think the filter changing
had anything to do with it? :-) I just use the basic blue filters.

House Air Conditioner
 

Red Green wrote in
:

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in
:

I'd stay away from Trane. Too many proprietary parts. Hard
to get parts, except through other Trane dealers.

My boss used to install Heil. Which includes Tempstar, and
Airquest. Three brands for the same machine.

Rheem and Rudd are also good, which are different brands for
the same equipment.

Some people lampoon Goodman, but it's worked for me.


The installer is the key!

Goodman worked for me too. Put Goodman gas pack and new ductwork in
35yr old house 14mos ago. Zero issues/no callbacks. Week before the 1
yr full parts & labor warranty was up I called for an annual.
Everything fine. No charge. Been using this local family owned company
for all HVAC work.

I CHANGE THE FILTER RELIGIOUSLY THE FIRST OF EVERY MONTH! Coil did not
even need a blowoff or hose down at the annual. Think the filter
changing had anything to do with it? :-) I just use the basic blue
filters.


p.s.

After sunset it pushes out 52-54 degrees. Hottest part of day (unit in
afternoon sun) never less than 58. Mid-south. Upper 90's very common July
& Aug.

House Air Conditioner
 

Our filter who art in furnace
Renewed be thy name
With dust unseen
Thy air to Clean
Remove dirt and dust all day

(The Filter's Prayer).

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Red Green" wrote in message
...

I CHANGE THE FILTER RELIGIOUSLY THE FIRST OF EVERY MONTH!
Coil did not
even need a blowoff or hose down at the annual. Think the
filter changing
had anything to do with it? :-) I just use the basic blue
filters.