Good house air conditioner brands?

[fishrdan]

Well, our home AC unit is on the fritz and I'm looking to have a new AC/gas heating unit installed, but not sure which brands are good and which ones to stay away from.

Carrier, Lennox, Amana, Goodman, Trane, York.....

BTW, I hiked up on the roof and the condenser motor (which I have replaced 3 times over the past years) was working fine, it sounds like the compressor is making bad noises...

Oh yeah, the old one is a 3 or 3.5 ton unit and we are looking at buying a 4 ton unit.

Thanks, Dan

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Good house air conditioner brands?

Carrier is top of the line, we have been using a Payne, which is built by Carrier, for the last 6 years, with out problems.

then i would say inorder

Lennox
York
Trane with has problems with rust in Fl.
you have a much dryer climate than we do.

 

[xxxflhrci]

Re: Good house air conditioner brands?

I don't know what are good brands nowadays, but I do know that I have a 24 year old Carrier heat pump that is still going strong. I never get a scheduled service and have only replaced 2 parts...A circuit board that got hit by lightening and a faulty contacter, just last winter.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Good house air conditioner brands?

Well... I'm an idiot

After crawling up on the roof and checking things out I got the bright idea of checking the house filters, they were 100% clogged. I washed them out and the house temps are slowly coming down.

I still would like to hear about good AC units as the compressor didn't sound normal. Maybe it was from running too long and the added stress of plugged filters, but I don't remember it sounding like it did when I worked on it a couple years ago. The unit is 22 years old and probably getting close to replacement.

 

[dwco5051]

Re: Good house air conditioner brands?

Well, our home AC unit is on the fritz and I'm looking to have a new AC/gas heating unit installed, but not sure which brands are good and which ones to stay away from.

Carrier, Lennox, Amana, Goodman, Trane, York.....

BTW, I hiked up on the roof and the condenser motor (which I have replaced 3 times over the past years) was working fine, it sounds like the compressor is making bad noises...

Oh yeah, the old one is a 3 or 3.5 ton unit and we are looking at buying a 4 ton unit.

Thanks, Dan

Do a heat gain calculation before you a buy a larger unit just to get one bigger that will cost more. Properly sized the unit will operate more efficiently and provide better dehumidification than the larger one that may be short cycling under the load thus causing more wear and tear on the compressor. All the major makers have produced good ones and bad ones over the years. Once you narrow your choice down to two or three specific models do your home work and check on the reliability of those particular models.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Good house air conditioner brands?

you are suppose to change filter every month, when you test the smoke detectors. ever tested or do you even have them.

 

[cougar1985]

Re: Good house air conditioner brands?

you might find that the unit will work much better now ,no sorry ,it will work better now.think of it like a car filter ,plugged ,lousey performance and fuel mileage .new, properly running vehicle that is running at its most efficent.

 

[NW Redneck]

Re: Good house air conditioner brands?

Out of what you listed, I would rank them as:

1. Carrier (Bryant, Payne, Day & Night same thing, different lablel)
2/3. Lennox/Trane (about the same)
4. York
5. Amana
6. Goodman

I work for a Carrier dealer so have more experience with them, but have worked on many other brands over the years and still think that Carrier is one of, if not the best. Their Infinity control system is the best by far.

Remember that ALL brands have high, middle and low end models, so make sure you are comparing apples to apples between brands.

At 22 years old, that existing system doesn't owe you anything. You would be lucky to get 10 SEER out of it, more likely 8. A new unit will be much more efficient and save you $$$ on your bill.

 

[Philip_G]

Re: Good house air conditioner brands?

Carrier is top of the line, we have been using a Payne, which is built by Carrier, for the last 6 years, with out problems.

then i would say inorder

Lennox
York
Trane with has problems with rust in Fl.
you have a much dryer climate than we do.

Agreed on any of the carrier brands, carrier, payne, and briant, oh and fly by night too

 

[Philip_G]

Re: Good house air conditioner brands?

Do a heat gain calculation before you a buy a larger unit just to get one bigger that will cost more. Properly sized the unit will operate more efficiently and provide better dehumidification than the larger one that may be short cycling under the load thus causing more wear and tear on the compressor. All the major makers have produced good ones and bad ones over the years. Once you narrow your choice down to two or three specific models do your home work and check on the reliability of those particular models.

pretty dry in vegas, but you can plus size the coil too for better dehumidification.

 

[smclear]

Re: Good house air conditioner brands?

Do a heat gain calculation before you a buy a larger unit just to get one bigger that will cost more. Properly sized the unit will operate more efficiently and provide better dehumidification than the larger one that may be short cycling under the load thus causing more wear and tear on the compressor. All the major makers have produced good ones and bad ones over the years. Once you narrow your choice down to two or three specific models do your home work and check on the reliability of those particular models.

+1 on the calcs. It's critical for a efficient system. Also true that most of the larger manufacturers produce equipment of nearly equal quality. The most significant factor will be the technicians selling/servicing your unit. Find someone (company) with a good rep that you can trust and you'll do fine.

 

[hrdwrkingacguy]

Re: Good house air conditioner brands?

I am a commercial tech here in phoenix, I specialize in chillers and large industrial equipment but I also have a lot of unitary experience also...Vegas is a lot of the same conditions as phoenix my list is

1. Trane/Carrier
2. York
3. Rheem/Ruud
.
.
25. Amana/payne/bryant/ICP/Goodman/Coleman/Heil/comfortmaker/Lennox.

All of the off brands made by carrier corp. look the same but don't have the same quality of parts...Copper wall thickness of carrier units is more then the off brands like day and night and bryant...There is a reason the same unit in a carrier costs 600$ more my cost...BTW lennox is actually a good machine right up to the point where you need to get it fixed...The lennox company makes me hate their equipment...2 hours on the phone to order a fan motor and blade OEM is a waste of time...