Home HVAC issue

[Sean]

Anyone knowledgeable care to give an opinion.

AC is not working. I had a guy look at it, from Company A, he was a xxxx. He filled it with coolant, said I have a leak, cost to find leak = $400 plus repair. I should not bother it is 10 or 11 years old, just replace the unit. $5000.

Unit still does not cool.

I understand things wear out, but he was a xxxx, so I called Company B.

Turned it on, said pressure was good to start, them dropped. He checked the heat, crawled under the house. Turned it on, off, I couldn't tell what he was doing. Bottom line: Bad expansion valve, shuts down after system runs. est. $800. But the unit is 10 or 11 YO, so I should consider replacing it. He said if the previous guy put freon in it, I may also have a leak. So another expense.

Quote:

16 SEER 2.5 ton unit, Var. speed airhandler, Back-up heater, New lineset, New fancy thermostat, removal of old stuff. $7000. Minus today's visit and $400 rebate, and I will get the tax credit of $1500. This is the way I will probably go.

Any HVAC people out there have an opinion. $7K seems reasonable?

Thanks.

 

[Skins_Brew]

get another quote. I am not an AC guy but the owner of the house I rent had the furnace and AC replaced last fall for $5500. They might give you a deal if you replace both

 

[Sean]

I probably will get a second est. I should add, that the 16 SEER is the higher efficiency unit. His ballpark for replacing the unit with a similarly efficient unit was around $5k. That unit would not qualify for Obama's tax credit of $1500.

 

[brew hoperator]

I think those quotes sound fairly close to what I was quoted when our outside unit crapped out.
You definitely want to get the higher eff. unit that qualifies for the tax credit, because the less expensive units will end up being more expensive to fix in the future because parts will become harder to find. Apparently, they are phasing out a lot of current units that dont fit the efficiency standards.

 

[adx]

A co-worker just had his replaced with a 15 seer Trane unit and it was around $6000. I think his was 2.5 ton also.

 

[david_42]

I put in a 2-ton high-SEER heat-pump four years ago and it ran $7300. That included running power outside, as I had a resistive heater previously. When the electrician called to schedule, he asked me if it was a 30-amp or a 25-amp unit. I told him 20 amps. He 'politely' told me that couldn't right and asked me to check the name plate. 20-amps. So, he brought out a 25 and a 30 amp breaker, just to be certain.

For reasons no one, not even the manufacturer, can understand the variable speed inside fan will only run on maximum. Even replaced the controller board. Not really a problem. As a bonus, I now have A/C just in case. I use it about three days a year.

 

[HBRunner]

I'm assuming this is a heat pump instead of a Gas-pack?

I had a 2 ton gas-pack installed for right round 2400.00

I have ben told by friends that do HVAC that look at around 1K or so per ton....

But mine was also only a 13 seer unit...


And charging $400.00 to find a leak is ridiculous! I mean you charge it up and either run a sniffer or do the soapy water thing.....depending on if it is a split unit, which will be harder to check......

Check prices on the internet for the make and model they gave you a quote on, that will help you compare the prices.....


And by all means, get 3 or 4 quotes for the same size unit and make/model if possible

 

[big_steve]

I'm a Hvac owner in Michigan. The price sounds in line. It doesn't hurt to get a couple more quotes. Good luck

 

[Sean]

Thanks for the input. I got two more estimates. $7300, and $5900. The $5900 is for a 13 SEER unit, and I kinda don't have a lot of faith in the individual. So he is out. Looks like $6994 for both inside and outside units (Carrier), new lines, evaporator, fancy thermostat, installation, 10 yrs on the parts, 5 on the labor.

I get a $400 rebate from Carrier, and $1500 tax credit, plus they are taking off the diagnostic fee = 5019 Net. In addition from what I have read and discussed, the added efficiency will save $30 - $50 per month. So it will pay for itself in only 125 months.

 

[beerthirty]

A leak should be obvious to the trained man. Not only is there refrigerant in the line but oil also. The oil will produce a dirt stain at the site of the leak. In the event of a discharged system and no evidence of a leak the tech should have charged the system with 200PSI of nitrogen(an inert gas that does no harm to the environment) then used the soapy water test. Filling a known leaking system with refrigerant is costly and illegal per the EPA. It is the same as venting the old refrigerant to atmosphere instead of recovering it for proper cleaning and reuse or disposal. That being said I had my roof top 4.5 ton 14 SEER American Standard(same manufacurer as Trane) gaspack replaced about 5-6 years ago for $5500( This included installation, crane rental, running a second individual return and running wiring as the old wiring wasn't rated for that much power. I'm not sure how cold it gets there in NC but you might want to check into a gaspack VS a heatpump. Heat pumps are slightly more effeicient but maximum vent temp is much lower so it has to run longer to get the rooms warm. Its also not the toasty warm you get from a gaspack. I went for the immediate gratification over slight effiency and have never looked back.

 

[david_42]

Sounds like a very good deal. I suspect you will find it much quieter as well. My Rheems has a variable displacement compressor that I can't hear inside. Considering the outdoor unit is next to my bedroom, this is good.

 

[shmoo]

you could also probably save a bit of money if you replace just the indoor coil and the outdoor unit. you could have them pressurize the lineset and see if the leak is there, and if its not, they could flush the lineset in order to convert over to r-410a. if your current unit is a trane unit ive worked on hundreds of them, they had a lot of problems with their tx valves going bad. and i know a few months back you couldnt get any indoor coils for trane units because sporlan the manufacturer of their tx valves dropped them. and i did hear something about getting their valves from china instead, not sure if it actually went through. but that quote you recieved seems pretty close to what it should. you may also be able to save a few bucks if you didnt go with one of the top companies (trane, carrier, rheem) if the company you went with offers any Goodman products, they are pretty decent and a bit cheaper, and most of the time carry a good warranty like the top manufacturers.

 

[Sean]

Done, Thanks for the opines. They helped me become comfortable with the expenditure. Of course it has been 75deg. and sunny with low humidity since they installed it.

It took 6 hours or so, and It will improve the resale value. Which may be soon if I cannot find a job in the area..