A/C Advice please - I'm clueless

18 years ago

I have a 13 year old Rheem A/C unit that I've never had a problem with. I have a service contract with a local HVAC company and had it serviced in April. At that time, the technician said he checked refrigerant and it was fine. I haven't used it much yet this year because it hasn't been that hot yet, but I turned it on Monday and it's been running since then. When I came home today, the house was hot and there was water leaking through the floor under where the indoor part of the unit is. I called the company I have the contract with and someone came out and said it was very low on refrigerant, which caused the coils to freeze and caused the leak. He said it would be around $500 to fill it up, but he recommended a new unit because he said 13 years is a long time for a unit and he didn't think my unit would last the summer. He said he couldn't try to find where the leak was tonight and didn't really talk about trying to find it another time. He said he thought the current unit was 10 seer.

He quoted me the following prices for Carrier units (didn't offer any other brands):

13 seer -- $4384

15 seer -- $5315

17 seer -- $6073

21 seer -- $7024

The 17 and 21 seer come with a new thermostat. These prices include everything, installation, take the old one away, etc.

My house is 3 floors, about 2500 square feet. The old unit always cooled the house very well and my electric bills were rarely over $150 even in the hottest part of the summer. I have a chow mix so I keep the house pretty cool, even when I'm not home.

My questions are: Is 13 years a normal amount of time for a unit to last? Should the technician who serviced the unit in April have found the problem with the refrigerant being low or could it have happened between then and now even if I wasn't running the unit much? Should I buy a new unit or have my current one filled? If I buy a new unit, which one do you recommend? Should I go with one of these Carriers or look at other brands?

In general, I trust the company I'm dealing with; I've had a contract with them for about 5 years, but really would like some outside advice before committing to such a big purchase. I'm also a bit concerned that this problem came up not long after I had it serviced.

Thanks in advance and sorry this was so long.

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Comments (6)

ontariopl
Original Author
18 years ago
I've been reading through postings here so I'm adding some more information:

The four carrier quotes are for the following models -- 13 seer is the comfort, 15 seer is for the performance, 17 and 21 are for the infinities.

The size is 4 ton, which is what I think I have now.

I live in Washington, DC where it gets hot and humid so I need good A/C.

Thanks!
PRO
WF Smith, Inc.
18 years ago
Is he including new coil? What about furnace? Refrigerant lines?

The 17 and 21 are designed to work with variable speed furnaces/air handler. If he is simply quoting off the price book without consideration to the other pieces, or without asking you how you use the system, how long you plan on being in the house, etc., then he doesn't have your best interest in mind.

If you like the company, call up their sales department and ask for an appointment for a "comfort counselor" or sales person. Have them help you to figure out the right thing to do for your particular situation.

In any case, get a second or third opinion - call reps for other product lines (Trane and Lennox are of comparable quality as Carrier). Consider Dual Fuel applications if rates are appropriate.
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fluffybunnysui
18 years ago
Personally... i would fix the leak. If your electric bills are not thru the roof, why spend the money? It doesnt take that long to find the leak and it might be something simple to repair like a rusted filter dryer or a valve core leaking. Kinda strange how he checked it in April and now all of a sudden you are "very low" on freon. Maybe when he took his gauges off the unit, the valve core was leaking and he didnt notice it. Who knows.
All i'm saying that its alot easier (and profitable for him) to replace the whole thing than spend a little time and repair the leak. Even if the leak in inside the evaporator coil, that can be replaced alot cheaper than a whole new system. Now if your compressor was bad or someone smashed your outdoor unit with their car, then yes..replace the entire system. BTW the oldest unit i ever replaced that was still running was a 35 year old Rheem.

Hope this helps
ontariopl
Original Author
18 years ago
Thank you hvacsalesguy.

He did ask how long I plan to be in the house and I told him basically forever. I also told him I need to keep it cool all the time. The quote does include the coil, but I don't know about refrigerant lines. He said that includes everything so do you usually need new refrigerant lines?

I was not planning to replace the furnace, but I've now spent the last 2 hours reading this board and am starting to wonder if I should replace the furnace as well. It's probably the same age as the A/C unit, but I don't know because it was here when I bought the house 8 years ago. Do you think I should replace it even if it's not broken because it's better to do all of this at once? I have to act somewhat quickly because I have no A/C now and will be in trouble if it gets hot because my dog can't handle the heat.

Also, what are Dual Fuel applications? I live in the city and have a gas furnace. I don't know if I can get any other fuel here.

I definitely will talk to the sales dept in the morning, but need to know what else to ask them.

Thanks again.
PRO
WF Smith, Inc.
18 years ago
Dual Fuel means installing a heat pump outside instead of a AC only unit - i.e. the "fuel" is electric, the gas becomes the backup source. It is not as important if you are on natural gas, but worth considering anyway IMO. It may only add a few hundred dollars to the job, but could provide you with substantial heating cost savings in addition to the new cooling system.

Refrigerant lines need to be flushed or replaced when switching refrigerants, which you should be doing (your existing system uses Freon, which is being phased out, most new systems use R410A, aka Puron). They need to make sure the lines are the right size too.

Replacing the furnace may not be needed - just understand that you won't get anywhere near 17 or 21 SEER without a variable speed fan available in the higher end models today.

Fixing the leak is always an option too. It could extend the life for a few more years. If you plan on being in the house forever, then it makes sense to really evaluate your usage and energy costs to see what the best path is for your unique situation. A good salesperson should help you with this, but it sometimes takes calling several companies to find the person willing to take the extra time.
tigerdunes
18 years ago
a "gas and go" without any effort in finding a leak should be a crime.

if you don't have a var speed blower on your furnace and plan to keep furnace, then I would go for a 13-14 SEER heat pump and matching evap coil with the highest HSPF that you can find.

IMO