We have an 18 year old Amana 70,000 BTU propane furnace and a 2 1/2 ton matching AC unit that is 18 years old. Right now it is working fine but has reached its life expectancy. I have replaced a few small parts over the years and most recently the condenser fan. The HVAC business is apparently booming right now and a new complete unit is about $11,000 installed in Trane or Bryant and a little less in Amana. Should I get it changed out now or wait for possible slightly lower prices or run it until a major failure? I would replace the ten year old gas hot water heater at the same time. Thanks for any advice.

My dirt ball neighbor has a 30 yr old unit. I over heard the HVAC guy talking to her that he could put $500 into it to keep it going a little longer. They run the crap out of that thing and I never seen a window open in that house in 6 years.

My HVAC guy was just at the house last week for a check up. He said this was the first year in his career there are two supplier price increases in one year. The next one is scheduled for Aug.

I would try to wait it out a little longer and see what happens.

I am not understanding the statement it is working fine, but has reached its life expectancy...

Yes, you can expect "roughly,about" 15 years for most HVAC systems, BUT, if it is working fine, I would ride it out until it is not.

That said, there are mitigating factors to consider...

#1 Avoid replacing in heat of summer, or dead cold of winter... pricing is always higher in an emergency.

#2 If it dies suddenly, are you going to be able to survive a week or two to get it repaired or replaced? Depends on your geographic location. And your family. :-)

#3 Cost or repair vs replacement... If coils start leaking, heat exchanger is cracked, those are bigger ticket items. A fan motor, circuit board, electrical components... inexpensive and easily repaired.

#4 Selling house, part of retirement planning, came into money, always breaking down, Tax breaks, remarkable energy savings... then maybe a consideration.

Just some things to consider.

quote:

#1 Avoid replacing in heat of summer, or dead cold of winter... pricing is always higher in an emergency.

#2 If it dies suddenly, are you going to be able to survive a week or two to get it repaired or replaced? Depends on your geographic location. And your family

These are the reasons I replaced my working A/C. I didn't want to wait for service and I wanted it done when convenient for me. I had a buddy install mine and just said let me know when you're slow and I'll do it then. Him and his helper came on a nice cool Saturday and swapped it out. I ran new electric for the HVAC and installed a new disconnect while he was putting the system under vacuum.

Between doing that and insulation the system paid for itself in three years and that was on the lowest efficiency A/C legally able to be sold. As a bonus a week or two before he came out my CC company called and said they were giving out .9% home improvement loans. During the summer the savings paid more than the loan payment. Got $5000 loan. HWH + A/C was $4,800. Insulation was $500. Only had to lay out $300 upfront.

As a bonus to it all, my house is way more comfortable and my A/C doesn't run all day long anymore when it gets over 90°.

I think the general rule of thumb is 15 years and anything after that is gravy and borrowed time.

I did have a Trane AC that was still running just fine at the house we bought in late 2017, the manufacturer plate had a date of 1989 on it. We were changing out the oil heater to natural gas so I had the whole thing replaced with a Lennox in the summer of 2018.

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I am not understanding the statement it is working fine, but has reached its life expectancy...

Yes, you can expect "roughly,about" 15 years for most HVAC systems, BUT, if it is working fine, I would ride it out until it is not.

I bought a house in the mid-1990's that had the original gas furnace from 1954 (AC was added later).
It still worked fine. I replaced the 40+ year old unit simply for a more efficient unit.
I don't think the current ones will last that long.

My neighbor's unit just died a few weeks ago. He got 25-26 years out of it. And that is in Orlando, FL, where the A/C runs pretty much 365 days per year.

While I know it is large inconvenience if it dies, I would also hate to shell out a ton of cash when it might function for 10 more years.

If it's been a good system, keep running it.

Ours is in its 21st year, we're in our 7th year in the house. It's had a few things replaced over the years, capacitors, circuit boards, etc. Big thing now is the freon, R22 is $100 a pound here so adding even just a few pounds is an expensive proposition.

I don't know that I'd pull the trigger on changing it given the current market.

I replaced my system earlier this year before the madness started and prices/availability started to get stupid. My outdoor unit was 16 years old and had previously been replaced, but the air handler/furnace was almost 30 years old and was starting to worry me, strictly based on age. My original stuff was 10 SEER R22 and expensive to run, the new unit is 16 SEER R410A and will probably take 6-7 years to get ROI.

If you're in pretty much the same boat as I was, I lived with it until it was convenient for me to get a replacement, I don't think that time would be now if I had waited much longer into this year...

I have a 26 yo Weatherking (rebranded Rheem) with heat pump that won't quit. I have the money tucked away for a replacement when the time comes.

Let's see- I have a Carrier, 23/24 years old. Last year, the condenser fan motor gave out. The "rescue" fan they had on the truck wouldn't fit, so I laid out 1100 bucks for the OEM part installed. Other than that, a shot of freon a couple of years ago, and basic maintenance every few years, it keeps us cool.

I say I'd buy another Carrier in a heartbeat, but there's no doubt that much has changed in the quarter of a century since mine was built, so, Carrier might not be so durable now. All these manufacturers seem compelled to send jobs out of the country now, so, who knows what you'll get these days?

quote:

Originally posted by Puckpilot78:
Big thing now is the freon, R22 is $100 a pound here so adding even just a few pounds is an expensive proposition.

There are a couple of refrigerants that are compatible with R22, 427B is one, if I’m remembering the suffix correctly, much less cost than R22.

In an effort to meet new Federal guidelines on efficiency, Manufacturers have raised the coil temp. Still cools but depending on your needs and location, you may now need new a dehumidifier. 79 degrees and 60 percent humidity on new heat pump
Sorry, 70 degrees

This message has been edited. Last edited by: oldbill123,

I just had to replace the condenser on a rental unit in Arizona. Nothing was available except a Day/Night unit; I would have preferred a Bryant, Carrier...basically any of the higher end units, but they were not available or would have cost $1,000 + more. HVAC guy had to drive to Prescott from Phoenix East Valley to get the one unit available. But summer in AZ AC is almost a life or death thing. If HVAC stops cooling and not repaired within 24 hours, landlord has to refund rent or put tenant up in hotel room until fixed.
The unit replaced was installed 2008, so that's not a good life expectancy and that was a higher-end unit.

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Originally posted by Gene Hillman:
Right now it is working fine but has reached its life expectancy.

2021 has seen price increases across the board. link

It is not a great time for optional projects. Building activity is off the charts, supplies are low and prices are up. I'd recommend you be glad you wound up with having had a good system put in, back in the day, and hold off replacing it until you see potential issues start to come up (or see prices dropping.)

We have the original unit in our home since 1982 still running strong. We also have a home warranty and the entire HVAC is covered. My father was telling me that they no longer make this type system and the whole system will need to be replaced if it ever goes bad. I believe the home warranty covers up to $25K. God Bless

My 1983 Carrier lasted 34 years. It had a reversing valve, two fan motors, two contactors and three starting capacitors during that time. I took care of it myself except for the reversing valve.

I just sold the canister of R-22 for $200 and it had 13 pounds left.

I used an ice pick and put a hole in the intake duct and one in the output duct. I plotted a curve for the outdoor temperature verses the difference in input/output temperature. That way, I could monitor the performance of the unit.

What failed was the heating elements which burnt the electrical panel.

I replaced it with a Goodman in Nov 2020 which uses 410-C and the installer did an excellent job. The people that installed the new electrical panel left holes cut in the wall. A inspector would probably pull their license.

My Bryant was leaking. Service call with added refrigerant was over 600 dollars, next trip for leak detect started at 239 dollars. 10 years old.
I replaced it for a little over 5000.00 with the cheapest Carrier line. Hvac unit was in short supply for this region. Should have tried for next level up to get a TXV valve. 2 ton

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Originally posted by sjtill:
I just had to replace the condenser. Nothing was available except a Day/Night unit; I would have preferred a Bryant, Carrier.

All three are the same company.