Just had a new company doing my yearly maintenance, and seems they found some issues. I have had to top off Freon the past couple years and knew this was coming. I had a feeling the coil was failing, but they listed a few other things as well, including some sagging duct work. I have one Lennox unit cooling a two story 2300 SQ ft house using a dampening system.

I plan to get 3-4 quotes but like to know some thoughts on tip units, and maybe some education on what i should be asking .

You have a thermostatically-controlled damper off the main trunk line?

Since selling HVAC, I became a big proponent of "fan on" operation. But if you are replacing condenser/coil/lineset, and the existing fan is part of your heater, talking about the type of blower you get is not applicable.

If you are replacing a fancoil, then my primary advice is to get a blower with the top line motor. That makes fan-on operation very inexpensive. The better systems now can run in an inexpensive dehumidification mode.

Highest seer you can afford a 16 seer is good

A variable speed blower

If high humidity area - dehumidifier

Have a custom filter box built in so you
are not stuck having to buy the odd size manuf
filters, get a 4 inch tall filter box, you can get the filters at costco, home depot etc.

Programmable thermostat

Most important, reputable installer, the install is the key.

Carrier, Bryant, Lennox, all are good, Bryant is the generic line of Carrier, it's all the same stuff, different badge, lower cost.

thanks for the start doing all the research i can

he is the quote just to get it up and running if i don;t change it all out.


Task # Description Quantity Standard Price Your Price Your Total
REF-0002 R-410a 1STLB PLUS LEAK SEARCH 1.00 $135.00 $114.00 $114.00
REF-0011 EVAP COIL REPLACEMENT OVER 3.0 TON (INCLUDING REFRIDGERANT) 1.00 $2,582.00 $2,195.00 $2,195.00
CAP-2001 REPLACE DUAL MFD PHASESHIFTER ABOVE 35 MFD 1.00 $299.00 $254.00 $254.00
CAP-2001 REPLACE DUAL MFD PHASESHIFTER ABOVE 35 MFD 1.00 $299.00 $254.00 $254.00
FMC-002 OEM OUTDOOR CONDENSER MOTOR 1.00 $789.00 $670.00 $670.00

How old is the unit, since you are using freon (unless thats just the generic term) most have moved to Puron at some point keeping an old unit running to save a few bucks on install just isn't worth it.

What seer are you at now, should be on sticker on unit, if you have an old unit 10 seer going to a 16 will really help lower the summer bills. Its not going to pay off in one year, but energy costs are going to continue to rise, so if you have to do it, go efficient.

The new units are so much more efficient and your options are wider, better comfort, lower utility bills, or colder house in summer LOL (I'm in FL so the AC part is key, havent turned the heater on in 10 years)

quote:

Highest seer you can afford a 16 seer is good

This is bad advice. He lives in N.Carolina, not S. Florida. 14 seer is fine for where you are.

We asked around with friends and neighbors and we found a small outfit to install and maintain our hvac system (instead of going with the premium big-boys)- on referral from a friend.

We went with Carrier because we felt they used the best materials at a reasonable cost. I don't remember where on the web I did the research but all the others,IIRC, seem to use the same parts and put their names on it. But Carrier still makes their own parts.

you should never need a "top off" on refrigerant.

Well have had a few guys by to give estimates, first one ranged from 4,000- 7,500


I have a 3.5 ton Lennox 13 SEER , install on it i am finding seems to be sub-par. Number of little details pointed out by different people. I have two more companies coming by to bid, and then i will make a choice.

so far Trane and Lennox will most likely be the main choices from those that have been by. Trying to find a Goodman and Amana dealers to give me some more quotes