Need a new A/C

/ hsoi

*sigh*

I have 2 central A/C units on my house, one for the upstairs one for the downstairs. It was evident something was wrong with the upstairs A/C unit because things weren’t very cool and were rather humid. Had an HVAC guy out today. Put in 2 pounds of R-22 and detected a leak in the evap coil. *sigh*  It’ll probably cost me $1500 or so to replace the coil (parts and labor). But the real kicker is that these types of systems are about to be phased out due to the Clean Air Act of 1990. Need to get a Puron-based system.

So… that’s the thing. Do I save some money now and gamble for later? Or do I just dive in now and replace the whole system?

I really don’t want to spend a ton of money right now, but I just know that in the long run this system has to be replaced anyway. It comes down to whose problem will it be. If the system lasts long enough then I sell the house, not my problem BUT could it become a sticking point on house sale? On that note, having a new system could help with the house sale down the line (one less cost for the buyer).

Some months ago a circuit board had to be replaced on that same unit (ignition problems with the gas heater). So it feels to me like the system is on the way out. It feels like I should just bite the bullet and buy a new system.

*sigh* That’s a lot of money I didn’t want to spend.

So to that end, if any reader has advice on buying a home central heating/cooling setup, please share in the comments. I’ve never had to buy one of these before and I want to get the right system for my needs (want to learn how to determine that). Yes I want to spend as little as possible. 😉  But I do want to ensure quality and long-term cost savings.

Some points I’ve already picked up:

  • City of Austin does have some rebates for installing new systems, so that should knock a few hundred off the price.
  • There apparently is now a federal tax break that I can get for such things.
  • A quick Google search turned up this forum and thread. Looks like a place to start research.
  • The tech that was out said Bryant/Carrier are basically the same and are probably the best, especially since they’ve been doing the Puron systems longer than anyone. Second would probably be Lennox (if I remember correctly). Trane is good, but they only just started making Puron systems apparently.
  • Tech suggested getting a 10 year P&L warranty. That doesn’t sound like a bad deal, depending what all is involved. I usually don’t go for such extended warranties (they’re usually money in their pocket and out of mine) but heck, when I look at what I spent 7 months already on this one unit, I spent more than the quoted P&L warranty price so….. yeah.
    • I purchased Sears Master Protection Agreements on various major appliances I purchased there, and those paid for themselves if for nothing else in having Sears techs come out once a year for a service checkup.

Anyway, time to start reading. Please give me any suggestions you may have. I’m all ears.

2 thoughts on “Need a new A/C”

  1. FWIW, when I put the new HVAC in my old house, I went through Home Depot and was able to use my Home Depot credit card. No payments and no interest for 12 months. That helped lessen the sting a little bit.

    ‘Course if I had known I was going to move in 18 months I would have gotten a cheaper system.

    The other thing I would say is, get 1/2 ton more than they recommend. The salesman came out and put some numbers in his little thing and said I needed 2 ton capacity. I told him to make it 2 1/2. He fought me and kept saying it would freeze up, blah blah blah. Long story short, it was perfect, never froze up, or any of that. The house was finally cool in every room for the first time since we had bought the house.

    • One thing I figured was that yes, I’m going to search around and get quotes from a few places. Seems that in the end, the products are all the same, it’s the labor that matters more.

      I remember when you got your system and how chilly things were. 🙂 I’m going to take a similar approach of getting something slightly bigger. This is the upstairs unit which naturally deals with a lot more heat issues, especially given how the flow of the house works… heat up the stairs, through the upstairs hallway, the intake vent is at the end of the upstairs hallway in the ceiling, so basically all the hot air in the house is sucking right up into it thus why the outcoming air is never quite cool enough and when we get to July/August in Texas the upstairs A/C runs all day and fights a losing battle. So yeah, I wanted to do something just like that, a 1/2 ton more.

      We’ll see what comes of it all.

      Meantime I’ve got reading to do. Trouble is, it’s hard to find prices to know what I’m up against. Whee.

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