Anyone A Home Air Conditioning Expert?

[dasburb]

My 30 year old home AC unit needs replaced. They are giving me an estimate for $6500 for a new high efficiency unit installed, heater and all. 4.5 ton unit. 10 year warranty. Does this sound like a fair deal?

[Freak]

My 30 year old home AC unit needs replaced. They are giving me an estimate for $6500 for a new high efficiency unit installed, heater and all. 4.5 ton unit. 10 year warranty. Does this sound like a fair deal?
What SEER and is this is a heat pump and what brand?

[Boozer]

My 30 year old home AC unit needs replaced. They are giving me an estimate for $6500 for a new high efficiency unit installed, heater and all. 4.5 ton unit. 10 year warranty. Does this sound like a fair deal?
What brand is the unit? Also how many square feet is your home?
I just went through the whole Heating/AC deal in my fathers house and found out a couple things. Most importantly that the size of unit you pick is the most crucial part.
If the unit is to big it will switch on and off constantly due to the fact that it will cool your home down VERY fast but the cool air will dissipate quickly. If the unit is to small the unit will run to often for to long and your electric bill is going to sky rocket.
You also want to check out the efficieny rating on the unit. The lower end units waste a lot more energy then a mid-high end unit but the cost difference between low end unit and mid-high end unit is usually 2-3K higher.
When all was said and done it cost about $8,500 for my fathers system and that included all of the duct work and vents due to the fact that his home never had central heat and ac before. I believe the system we had installed is a 4 ton unit. His house is 1850 sqft.
Hope this helps.

[JetBoatRich]

More information as said above is needed.
I am not an expert I did sta at a Holiday Inn Express Last night :rolleyes:

[Tom Brown]

If the unit is to big it will switch on and off constantly due to the fact that it will cool your home down VERY fast but the cool air will dissipate quickly.
Yes and it will be very clamy due to the larger units lack of ability to take humidity out of the air.
If the unit is to small the unit will run to often for to long and your electric bill is going to sky rocket.
I've never heard of that.
They taught us to calculate the cooling load for the house and size the unit so it has to run constantly on the hottest day of the year. This, we were told, is the most comfortable and efficient unit to select.

[dasburb]

My house is about 2200 square feet, 2 story. I believe this is a heat pump unit being that the ac unit is outside, and the gas fired heater is inside. I am not sure of the seer rating as my wife is at home and got the estimate for us. The unit they are quoting us on is actually a 5 ton, high effieciency unit made by American Standard. They are giving us a "commercial" rate being the company that is giving us the estimate does the work at my wife's law firm. Thanks again for all the help!!!

[Greaser]

If it gas fired heat, then its not a heat pump. Heat pumps have back up electric heat strips. 5 tons seems like the right size unit for the size of your house. Do you know what seer it is?
If I was quoting this job for my buisness, my bid would be roughly around $5000. That would be for a 5 ton 12 seer gas heat unit. If you wanted 14 seer, it would be $600 more. But I'm sure the cost of living is higher over there then it is in Texas. :D

[jas0502]

I'm a controller of an ac company. Doesnt sound like you have a heat pump. Need to know seer rating, and size of old unit to compare pricing. Also duct size is important. If they upgrade the size of the unit and not the ducts, it wont run correclty and you wont be happy.

[Hal]

I can do a 5 ton 12 SEER system for around $4300.00 or a 5 ton 14 SEER with a variable speed furnace for about $6350.00. Would have to look at job before I cound give you a firm bid. Were in Corona,let me know. Hal
They don't make a 4.5 ton unit.

[syke-o]

i need a quote on just the outside unit.. the unit is an old westinghouse and i got the model number off of it, but i cant tell the tonage or the seer #?? how can i tell those 2 things?? any website i can go to???
model # SS042CAW
style - 3973A03G01

[Hal]

Its a 3.5 ton unit. Close to 7 SEER . It will run around $1600.00 just to replace the outside unit with a new 10 SEER unit.
Just looked this up in another book and the unit is only 39000 btu or about
3 1/4 ton. SEER is 7.5 and it was manufactured in 1981. I would replace the complete system if its all that old. Pretty hard to match up a new 10 SEER condensing unit to a 24 year old 7.5 SEER evap coil.

[redi4fun]

Hal,
Do you do PM work on AC units. I just want somebody to run through the AC before the heat kicks in. It is a Payne unit. How much for a good check up?

[NorCal Gameshow]

checkout this forum. hvac-talk (http://hvac-talk.com/vbb/) they don't discuss price, but you'll get some good questions to ask the rep giving you a bid. there's more to it than one ton per 400-500 square feet
at times there's a little drama over there also :rolleyes: :D

[Freak]

I can do a 5 ton 12 SEER system for around $4300.00 or a 5 ton 14 SEER with a variable speed furnace for about $6350.00. Would have to look at job before I cound give you a firm bid. Were in Corona,let me know. Hal
They don't make a 4.5 ton unit.
5 ton 14 SEER with a variable speed furnace for about $6350.00.
ummm...14 seer vari speed. NICE!

[Hal]

Hal,
Do you do PM work on AC units. I just want somebody to run through the AC before the heat kicks in. It is a Payne unit. How much for a good check up?
Give me a call. 951-737-1792 Hal

[redi4fun]

Thanks Hal, I will give you a call.

[riverroyal]

6500$ for all that isnt bad,could be cheaper,you dont really need hi efficiency equiptment,how long did the last stuff run for?bet it wasnt hi-anything,yes you will save a few bucks on your elec bill,but not much.The labor on the furnace maybe time consuming,is it in the garage,a closet ,or attic?There will be some duct work from the old tie-ins to the new that will take some time.I may have a few connections up there if all else fails,I think 6500 is about a 1000 too high.

[SHAKE-YO-AZZ]

PM me your number one of the guys with my company does elec and AC work

[dasburb]

6500$ for all that isnt bad,could be cheaper,you dont really need hi efficiency equiptment,how long did the last stuff run for?bet it wasnt hi-anything,yes you will save a few bucks on your elec bill,but not much.The labor on the furnace maybe time consuming,is it in the garage,a closet ,or attic?There will be some duct work from the old tie-ins to the new that will take some time.I may have a few connections up there if all else fails,I think 6500 is about a 1000 too high.
Thanks riverroyal. There is quite a bit of labor. The unit is in a closet, in the garage,they have to upgrade the breaker, and they have to replace the line that runs from the outside ac unit to the heater. I am going to try and grind him down the $1000 like you said. Thanks,

[riverroyal]

theres always some room to move,even if its 500$,,but there will be alot of labor,thats over 50% of the cost,thats a guess without seeing the job,,,also if they can do the work soon you maybe safe paying a little extra,summer is here,A/C guys get busy and typically dont move much on the price,they dont need to

[Jrocket]

Call Hush Air...Ask for Darren Hushcher,he is the owner and they are a local Riverside company.
951-789-4148

[Hal]

I would say the first thing you need to do is get at least 3 bids and go from there. There's a lot of hacks out there working out of their garage. A quality installation by a reputable company should be one of the most important part of making your decision.

[riverroyal]

thats good advice,if you arent moving soon then you do want a good job

[LLGirl]

This is llgirl's husband. I happen to be an A/C contractor. Not trying to sell my services, just wanted to comment on this thread. There seem to be a few differing opinions in this thread about sizing, price, etc. I think Hal seems like a straight shooter and everything thing he has said on this thread is totally accurate. As far as price goes, his numbers are right there (for a second I thought he was copying my bid sheets). While you're right, you can probably get the work done for less money. However, there are A LOT of hacks out there. Be very careful shopping prices. By all means get more estimates, but I wouldn't show contractors each others pricing. Let them give honest bids and go from there. Lots of guys will undercut just to get the job. Qualtiy installations make a big difference in the long run. As for efficiency ratings, I could talk for hours about payback on 12 vs 14 or higher SEER units. If it only costs you a few hundred dollars a year in your bill to run the a/c, payback will take a long, long time.

[Hal]

Thanks LLGirls husband. We are in the same business for sure. Hal

[rsoscia]

My house is about 2200 square feet, 2 story. I believe this is a heat pump unit being that the ac unit is outside, and the gas fired heater is inside. I am not sure of the seer rating as my wife is at home and got the estimate for us. The unit they are quoting us on is actually a 5 ton, high effieciency unit made by American Standard. They are giving us a "commercial" rate being the company that is giving us the estimate does the work at my wife's law firm. Thanks again for all the help!!!
I dont like the "commercial rate" Our rate is the same Residential or commercial... 5 ton should work...im installing a 5 ton 12 seer in fullerton for around 5 k

[riverroyal]

I dont believe its worth the money,the contractor makes a few more bucks selling you the equiptment,the labor is the same.10 seer units today are much better than 10 years ago.I installed a 10 seer at my house,and Im a a/c guy

[LLGirl]

MR llgirl here. It's not even about the contractor making more money on equipment. My cost on a 14 seer condensing unit is MORE than double what cost is on a 12 seer. Enjoy your option for saving some money on 10 or 12 seer equipment now. The current minimum standard is 10 seer. As of next year, the govt standard ups to 13 seer.

[riverroyal]

are gonna love that

[rsoscia]

nice thing about the 12 to 14 seer units their so quiet i was charging a system one time, walked to my truck for something and on the way back i thought someone turned it off...couldnt hear it till i was about 5 feet from the condenser

[NorCal Gameshow]

nice thing about the 12 to 14 seer units their so quiet i was charging a system one time, walked to my truck for something and on the way back i thought someone turned it off...couldnt hear it till i was about 5 feet from the condenser
what brand was it ?
what brand, or brands do you prefer?

[rsoscia]

Carrier Tech 2000....It was my cost 1550 for a 3 ton condenser, ya dont have to go with carrier ya pay a lot for the name....Day and Night, Braynt, Payne units all made by Carrier...Much less money

[NorCal Gameshow]

Carrier Tech 2000....It was my cost 1550 for a 3 ton condenser, ya dont have to go with carrier ya pay a lot for the name....Day and Night, Braynt, Payne units all made by Carrier...Much less money
thanks, i've got a 25 + year old payne that i keep fixing,might be time for an upgrade$$$

[rsoscia]

Some times those old units run for ever...Dont fix it if it aint broke...they dont build em like they use too