Need Advice on Best Home A/C Brand -

[YY1]

260 for a capacitor???

Labor.

 

[YY1]

The OEM York in my 1985 house lasted until about 2011!!

I should have forced them to repair it.

Instead I naively got talked into replacing it with a piece of CRAP Westinghouse unit.
Problems developed very soon, and continued until I'd had enough after less than 10 years.


My mom had a 1965-ish Fedders (Chrysler) heavy window unit in her house that was still working when it was pulled around 2004.

I should have kept that.

 

[toolmanmike]

We have a old R22 Heil unit. It was old when we moved in 30 years ago. If the quality is still there I wouldn't hesitate buying another.

 

[Burnout68]

Trane(American standard)
Carrier (Bryant)
Rheem (Ruud)
The ones in the bubble are there off brand
I’m a HVAC Tech
These are my fav Residential units in order

 

[Burnout68]

Mitsubishi actually makes a awesome unit variable speed compressor & fans super efficient and whisper quiet
They are pricey almost double a reg unit put one in my home aprox 4 yrs ago love it
Blower runs 24/7 and keeps temp even through out the home
Blower runs on a very low speed

 

[moparedtn]

I think heat pumps are like a lot of manufacturing these days:
Lots of companies made good stuff a couple generations ago, not so much now.
I had a Carrier back in the 80's-90's that was battleship tough and Carrier was
THE name to have...

When I put up this place in 1999 though, I got talked into a Goodman setup.
Huge mistake....with a compressor made by the old Bristol Compressors (a factory
I've walked more than once over the years - 1.5 million SF!), that thing was junk
after only 5 years. We nursed it along with a Copeland compressor transplant for
a few years more, then I scrapped the whole mess.

TVA had a 0% financing program in those days to help folks upgrade their homes
to more efficient systems, so I took full advantage and after conferring with friends
who carry HVAC licenses around here, went with Trane - which TVA approved immediately.
I was advised to get one with a scroll compressor and did so; made the authorized
distributor warranty the whole she-bang for 10 years, too.
TVA came out and actually flow-tested the system once installed, inspected the
install and were impressed - and the system has worked flawlessly for the last dozen
years now. Very quiet, very responsive!

 

[YY1]

2 Goodmans, one 6 and one 8 years old, and only one issue between the two.

...and they're operated by renters who likely drive'em like they stole 'em.

I call that pretty good.

 

[bandit67]

I have bought many home units and the last five have all been Trane units. I have been very happy with all the Trane units, not so happy with the other brands. Trane USUALLY has about four options in efficiency to choose from, and being down here in the south, I buy to one under the top of the line. And no call backs or problems with any of them....

 

[YY1]

How old are they?

 

[AR67GTX]

I hate Lennox - nothing but trouble on two units installed in a new house in 1994. I used to mutter what I would do to Dave Lennox’s corpse if I knew where he was buried. But 28 years is a long time ago so hopefully they have improved.

 

[bandit67]

The first one of my five last Trane units was put in in 2005, the last of the five went in last year. Two gas packs, two heat pumps, and a split system.

 

[toolmanmike]

Mitsubishi actually makes a awesome unit variable speed compressor & fans super efficient and whisper quiet
They are pricey almost double a reg unit put one in my home approx. 4 yrs ago love it
Blower runs 24/7 and keeps temp even through out the home
Blower runs on a very low speed

I could use one of those. Our old house temps stratify between the floors. It might be 15° or more between the floors. I do run the blower only at times but it is a huge squirrel cage fan run by a 220v. motor. I could benefit from something more efficient. Also the constant running fan works well with a air filter system.

 

[AR67GTX]

I think most of the brands make a similar unit now. Our bigger American Standard unit has two compressors inside and brings the second one in for demand. It also has a variable speed fan that operates on demand. Most of the time it’s idling away on low speed running on the one compressor, and this keeps our house comfortable without big temp swings. But Mitsubishi is great - I have one of their mini-slit systems in the garage and it does a great job. Seems to be pretty efficient.

 

[Billccm]

My AC guy will now only install American Standard. If I want another brand I call another shop.

In Tucson AC gets a workout 4 months a year. I've had Carrier and Rheem, and both were constantly breaking down weeks after the warranty ended.

My opinion is the chinesium content in any brand is what will fail. That $0.39 integrated circuit, or $0.07 capacitor on a printed circuit board is what will fail weeks after the warranty ends and ALL BRANDS of AC use this chinesium.

Buy the cheapest AC and just plan to replace it often!

 

[toolmanmike]

Also a good idea to buy from a reputable dealer. It might cost a little more up front but cheaper in the long run. It sounds like you may need some repairs along the way and possibly warranty. We are looking at kitchen appliances. Cheaper at Lowes but I will buy from the local appliance store. They service what they sell and if you need some service your name is at the top of their list and not down at the bottom with the Home Depot purchasers.

 

[Under Pressure]

Lot of sound advice here, my 2 cents:
We’re an Oxbox distributor, a Trane product that we have product sales/success with.
An equal in price to Goodman, quality seems very good based on lack of any negative contractor feedback, and the lack of replacement part sales to our contractors.
1.5 to 5 ton condenser units.
Always do your research, there site is
Oxboxhvac.com

 

[r4sedan]

My last house I replaced the Old Bryant with American Standard and absolutely loved it.
I built my new house 2 years ago they used a Rheem. A switch and low-pressure valve
went bad within a year half. Rheem gives you a 10-year warranty on parts, but I still had
to come up with the Labor. Still grateful and glad they fixed it fast.

 

[Budnicks]

Trane or Carrier used to be good, had both at one time or other
in different houses

But;
I had a buddy that owns a HVAC service/installation company
suggest using it, he does it daily & services the **** all the time
& on his recommendations
I now have a 4 ton Bryant HVAC split system now
(Owned by Carrier #1, Bryant is/was #2 rated)
& I love it
way better/cooler in summer & warmer in winter/efficiently
& less $$$ on electricity than the (Trane) old unit (from 1989) was,
by like 1/2 the costs in energy

 

[themechanic]

My Rheem HVAC was installed in mid nineties and still works as good as the day it was installed. I replaced the motherboard on the furnace and the contacts on the condenser.

 

[zyzzyx]

Goodman is what I what I call a "Frankenstein". They don't make any of the parts, they buy already made parts and
put them together to make a functioning unit. They make a nice sheet metal case though!