What's new
By:
Filters

Home HVAC.

Wildjon

Wildjon

Active member
Joined
Jan 16, 2021
Member Number
3387
Messages
34
I think I need a new system, I had to get an AC tech come out to pump 6ish# of 410 into my system. Upon investigation on potential leak points, I found that the coil is flaking rust and it looks like the condenser motor is also.
Question 1...what systems should I stay away from?
Question 2...Current system is 2 ton, house is 1137 sq ft block construction near Jacksonville, FL. I would consider it well insulated. I don't ever remember having issues with the house being comfortable with this system until it needed refrigerant. Tech that came out recommended a 2.5 ton. Would there be any advantage to going bigger? One thing I do not want is an oversized system to not run long enough to get this Florida humidity out of the house.
Question 3...Any reason not to order online from a place like HVAC direct and grab a moonlighter off one of my apartment projects that I'm working on to install it or just do it myself?
 
All of them.... everyone will have a opinion on each brand. I got a lenox it

.0016 x sq ft puts you at 1.8 tons. Round up 2 is good.
Recommend for zone 2
2 to 3

Go for it. Just might not warranty the units.
Some manufacturers only sell to supply houses. Not on line.
1000006339.jpg
 
2 ton is probably fine, if your place is insulated well and more importantly, sealed well.


I did my unit (Goodman seer 16 heat pump with strips) for $5k, self-installed + service call. That's a new air handler, line set, outside coil/compressor.

Since I hd a 50' line set, I needed 1 lb of freon (part of the service call).


There's only 3 manufacturers of hvac equipment. Find the one that's popular in your area and do a good job installing it.


2 Ton 16 SEER Goodman Heat Pump Air Conditioner System based on what you already said. I bought my stuff from hvacdirect or ecomfort.com
 
Last edited:
I like Trane, I have 3 on my house. What I'd like to add is an inline dedicated dehumidifier.
 
Please don't get Rheemed like I just did... And to double that, I went with Progressive for the best service / bend over without even a reach around. My system lasted all of 3 years before the coil failed just last month. The contract I went with, the parts were under warranty but labor expired after 2 years. It was all a gimmick because they charged me like $800/hr to replace the coil. So far I'm down over 10k in 3 years for a 2 ton ass Rheemer...

Covid plus the gov't really screwed us. Covid wiped out supply jacking up prices and gov't regulations are getting stricter with like every year (I was told) making them even shittier.

Back in the 90's before my grandparents passed away, their system sucked electricity like sugar water but it was 35 years old and still going. Had some minor issues along the way but nothing to kill it. It was so old the service dude had to machine a part himself once to fix it.
 
Here4memes said:
Please don't get Rheemed like I just did... And to double that, I went with Progressive for the best service / bend over without even a reach around. My system lasted all of 3 years before the coil failed just last month. The contract I went with, the parts were under warranty but labor expired after 2 years. It was all a gimmick because they charged me like $800/hr to replace the coil. So far I'm down over 10k in 3 years for a 2 ton ass Rheemer...

Covid plus the gov't really screwed us. Covid wiped out supply jacking up prices and gov't regulations are getting stricter with like every year (I was told) making them even shittier.

Back in the 90's before my grandparents passed away, their system sucked electricity like sugar water but it was 35 years old and still going. Had some minor issues along the way but nothing to kill it. It was so old the service dude had to machine a part himself once to fix it.
Click to expand...
$800 a fucking hour??? Holy shit I'm in the wrong business.

My parents built their house in '84 and it still has the original unit.
 
Last edited:
Another vote for Trane. It's been a few years since I did some research into it, but they had the lowest failure rates by far when I last installed a unit.
 
east_beast said:
$800 a fucking hour??? Holy shit I'm in the wrong business.
Click to expand...
My invoice - $2,710.16. It took him 3.5 hours. So $774.33 per hour and I had to pay before they would do the warranty work.:mad3:

But I priced a new coil and it was about the same price to have someone else do it and skip the warranty.

Regardless, don't go with a contract for parts extended past the labor warranty. It just reeks of "gimmick". And they have you on the hook.

Live and learn.:shaking:
 
Here4memes said:
My invoice - $2,710.16. It took him 3.5 hours. So $774.33 per hour and I had to pay before they would do the warranty work.:mad3:

But I priced a new coil and it was about the same price to have someone else do it and skip the warranty.

Regardless, don't go with a contract for parts extended past the labor warranty. It just reeks of "gimmick". And they have you on the hook.

Live and learn.:shaking:
Click to expand...
I would've probably gone with the outside work just to avoid giving those assholes more money.

I'd read through any paperwork you have on that contract to see if it makes any mention of labor prices. If it doesn't, it might be worth an email to a local attorney just asking if a company can utterly rape you with astronomically above market rate labor prices on a parts warranty.
 
Warranty does not matter unless they give you parts and labor.
my Carrier at my house I think was parts and Labor , but never used it , I changed a cap and contactor once myself.
My rental in Fl has a Reem parts only warranty, I did get a thermostat out of it but still paid labor and a leak also cost me $300 , I will throw a cap at it this year to save $150-$200.
 
I had a Carrier once and it was still chugging past the warranty when I sold the house. Had to bypass the safety switch which was nothing but a wire. It had the scroll compressor. Extremely quiet. I was pleased.
 
east_beast said:
I would've probably gone with the outside work just to avoid giving those assholes more money.

I'd read through any paperwork you have on that contract to see if it makes any mention of labor prices. If it doesn't, it might be worth an email to a local attorney just asking if a company can utterly rape you with astronomically above market rate labor prices on a parts warranty.
Click to expand...
Will do. Wife is pulling the contract today. She's the "keeper upper" of paperwork. I have several lawyers walking distance from my job.
 
east_beast said:
$800 a fucking hour??? Holy shit I'm in the wrong business.
Click to expand...

I posted on reddit just to see where my price stood and so far it's been checked out by 2 other technicians as normal. Yes, we are in the wrong business. I know I definitely am. I have a friend that is a residential plumber that charges $350/hr. Times are good for certain trade technicians.

I forgot that my state charges state taxes on labor now. So there goes another 7.5% on my entire experience.

So OP needs to do his homework before deciding on a brand, which contractor and the best contract. I just know what NOT to do. Which is par with my luck.
 
Dam 4memes. I just had an HVAC tech yesterday do a vac and charge on a mini split I got for free off a buddy that didn't want it on his cabin. He charged me $150/hour which I thought stung a bit.
 
HVAC is crazy priced here, not enough techs. My 20 year old goodman heat pump is on it's way out, I might get an adapter for my car HVAC gauges and replace it myself. I've installed a few furnaces, and done a bit of auto HVAC. I'm not paying a tech $300+ an hour. Parts are ~$2500 delivered for a pump and new evaporator.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DMG
New units are like new cars. Designed to break right after the warranty is up. Longevity is all on how it was installed. Where exactly is it leaking from? Fan motor is easy.
 
I just had a whole new heat pump system installed for 13K. The furnace installed in 2006 had the drain line installed wrong, it had been sitting in it's own juices for 18 years and rusted out completely.

If upsizing the units be aware that intake plenum and filter sizes have increased by a lot already.. add a bigger unit and you may have to get creative to feed it more air.

I don't know WTF was going on but they had a crew of 5 guys and it still took them 12 hours to install. :homer:
 
Norm said:
HVAC is crazy priced here, not enough techs. My 20 year old goodman heat pump is on it's way out, I might get an adapter for my car HVAC gauges and replace it myself. I've installed a few furnaces, and done a bit of auto HVAC. I'm not paying a tech $300+ an hour. Parts are ~$2500 delivered for a pump and new evaporator.
Click to expand...
There’s a reason there’s not enough techs

My so was a service tech and the company he worked for charged customers $103/hr and paid him $14/hr
And he’s running service calls solo InTheir van , wasnt just a helper / gofer .

After about six months of making slightly more than the folks working the drive thru at chick fil a , he found a much better paying job in Heavy haul trucking .
 
Friend of mine just bought a Dr Cool mini split unit that’s designed to fit where the indoor unit, coil and fan etc , is.

Comes pre charged with a pre charged lineset .

Easy to Install
 
  • Like
Reactions: DMG
Here4memes said:
I posted on reddit just to see where my price stood and so far it's been checked out by 2 other technicians as normal. Yes, we are in the wrong business. I know I definitely am. I have a friend that is a residential plumber that charges $350/hr. Times are good for certain trade technicians.

I forgot that my state charges state taxes on labor now. So there goes another 7.5% on my entire experience.

So OP needs to do his homework before deciding on a brand, which contractor and the best contract. I just know what NOT to do. Which is par with my luck.
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t say that’s normal pricing, those companies will go out of business quickly if people would stop paying their crazy rates. There are a few competitors that will be ~14k+ for an install we do for 6500-7000. Maybe they are the smart ones. We would be ~1400-1600 for a 2 ton coil replacement. If the company has a Good/better/best sheet you’re about to get fucked, likewise if the “tech” is wearing a white button up prepare for the fucking.
 
Bowe said:
I wouldn’t say that’s normal pricing, those companies will go out of business quickly if people would stop paying their crazy rates. There are a few competitors that will be ~14k+ for an install we do for 6500-7000. Maybe they are the smart ones. We would be ~1400-1600 for a 2 ton coil replacement. If the company has a Good/better/best sheet you’re about to get fucked, likewise if the “tech” is wearing a white button up prepare for the fucking.
Click to expand...
I would imagine location would make a huge difference in this profession. I'm in what is still probably one of the top 5 US housing locations where all the Cali's and New Yuckians are moving to.

And AC is more/less a luxury kind of thing that a husband has to live with a nagging wife day in and day out without. So it becomes priority no matter the price in the summer time. So yes, I probably bent further over than most when I took it.:barf:

Most the guys that I work with that I talked to went with Trane and all seem happy.
 
Here4memes said:
I posted on reddit just to see where my price stood and so far it's been checked out by 2 other technicians as normal. Yes, we are in the wrong business. I know I definitely am. I have a friend that is a residential plumber that charges $350/hr. Times are good for certain trade technicians.

I forgot that my state charges state taxes on labor now. So there goes another 7.5% on my entire experience.

So OP needs to do his homework before deciding on a brand, which contractor and the best contract. I just know what NOT to do. Which is par with my luck.
Click to expand...
Holy shit. I'm gonna have to look into this before all the doctors and lawyers and hedge funders quit their jobs to start working HVAC.
 
If you are considering a new system now is the time, new regulations take effect Jan 1 2025, transitioning from 410a to R454b and R32, new evaporator coils will be required to have flammable gas detectors that turn blower on to mitigate “mildly” flammable refrigerants.
 
Santa said:
All that metal and you can't miter a piece to cover the bend in the lines.:flipoff2:
Click to expand...
It was hot and I was pissed off about the lineset coming down on top of the damn outlet. Condensate drain comes out there anyway. Fuckin get it done mode.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh