Forget York even the price is enticing. I have had problem with my 3.5-ton York. It is 10-year old and so far needed 4 service calls, recharging freon. Currently there is a leak in the system and was told if it is located in the coils, it will cost $700 to fix. And not sure if the coil is already available.

I sent this email to York customer's support and never get answered.

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Dear Sir/Madam

I have a 3.5 ton York heat pump. Its model and serial are as followings:

,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,

Since its installation, I have not had good experience with this system. Last Summer (09) the system was recharged with new freon (the technician did not mention any thing about the leak).

Last winter even though the thermostat was set low the eclectric bill was very high and the house was not heated adequately. Very likely, the freon was installed in the Summer was gone by the time the Winter came.

The Summer (10) arrived and the AC did not work. At first we ran the system all night thinking it takes long to cool. Finally we call the technician (same company). New freon and dye were installed. The AC seems working. A leak if any is not addressed.

My question. What is the company recommended procedure to repair the problem mentioned?

Thank you

savannah

3 1/2 ton sounds oversized for a 1600 sq ft townhouse. I would want a load calculation performed and results given to you in writing.

is townhouse stand alone unit, exterior or interior unit? This makes a difference in correct sizing.

Townhouse is considered in a coastal environment or inland?

difficult to say about dust in the airducts. renters have a terrible habit of not changing filters regularly and/or running HVAC without filters. Just a thought. You might have better luck providing the filters and getting them changed. It could save you a service call. Ductwork with dust accumulation can damage your coil and blower motor. you need to get more information on dust in the ductwork-ie show me.

as far as your quotes, the price is better than the equipment. The Lennox is a low end condenser-even for rental property I would not have it. You might ask for price on Lennox XP13 or XP14 with CBX27UH air handler. Be prepared for higher price but a much nicer unit.

what have dealers said about refrigerant lineset-replace or flush existing? replace would be better.

IMO
Good Luck!

Tigerdunes - thanks for specifics. Do you know how this Lennox 13HPX-042 condenser (that you dislike) compares to what it is replacing (Coleman 10 SEER BRHS0421CD) or to the York?

Also, is it necessary to replace pad? Pad not included in Lennox quote

Total sq ft is 1883. 4 townhome units - mine is attached on 2 sides to other units. Savannah is not right on coast but humid, hot environment now

Load calculation - results do show 3.54 required tonnage. I have copy (but it means little to me other than to verify that replacement of 3.5t old system with 3.5t new system is accurate)

Line set - flush

I'll check price on unit you mentioned. You are right about renters not changing filters. I was told by York HVAC tech that 1/2" dust was in ducts. I'm out of state so I'm relying on others.(Lennox dealer is HVAC person for my property management co) Very frustrating & stressful & I need to do something SOON because I cannot put townhome on market to rent until a/c replaced.

savannah

The Lennox HPX mdl is a low end POJ. It is cheaply made and normally what you see in new construction where homeowners don't know the difference.

pads don't necessarily have to be replaced as long as they are correct size. ask dealer about this. you don't want part of the condenser hanging over an edge.

you need to find someone trustworthy to check this dust situation.

what size heat strip was quoted? for Savannah climate, I would think no larger than a 10KW. what size do you have now?

linesets have to be correct size. this is not worth a shortcut that will bite you later on.

IMO

Here is a link that might be useful: Lennox HPX

Per tigerdunes suggestion, checked out pricing on Lennox XP13-042 with CBX27UH-042 air handler (vs 13HPX-042 with CBX26-UH-042 air handler)

To answer previous question - airhandler has 10KW heat strip.

Is $4650 a good price?

Thermostat on original quote is Aprilaire 8465. Approx $170 to upgrade to Lennox ComfortSense 5000. Is it worth upgrade to get dehumidify setting? Are there other benefits to the ComfortSense?

Since the new system is for a rental townhome, I'm a bit more interested in reliability/durability than lower bills/efficiency. Keeping this in mind, is the increase in price ($780 - 950) worth it (i.e. hoping for less repairs + longer system life)

savannah

I would like to hear from another forum member, Ryan who is a frequent visitor and knows Lennox HVAC very well. I really do not like Lennox HPs but think the XP13 is a much nicer outside condenser than the 13HPX. with that said, this system has relatively poor HSPF heating efficiency but you are not paying the power bill. other numbers such as EER and SEER are OK as well as delivered BTUs in both cooling and heating.Perhaps Ryan can comment on this system as well as thermostat. I would prefer a HW over the AprilAire.

IMO

The 13HPX is still marketed as a lower end unit. However for what it's worth (truly) I do not think it is a bad unit. It now has louvered coil protection so no more wire coil guard, which wasn't too impressive. It also will have a 10 year warranty when registered by the owner (may be a tricky situation if this is a rental home, check with dealer). For your initially quoted price compared to the upgrade price, for a home that is not your primary, I don't think it's necessary to go with the XP13. You'll still have the coil protection, and (unless they changed it), high and low pressure protection for the compressor. As far as the Comfortsense 5000 thermostat, I don't think it does much in the way of humidity control, especially without a variable speed indoor air handler. At the most it can overcool by up to a few degrees in an attempt to lower humidity, but if you want true humidity control, you'd have to look into higher-end Lennox equipment.

Just to qualify my response, I'll add that I have seen one of the new 13HPX models installed, in person. It was reasonably quiet (again, it is and always has been marketed as a base model), and it seemed rather durable with the new cabinet they put on it. No sound blanket around the compressor, of course. Smaller cabinet which can be good in terms of installation and landscaping.

Thank you tigerdunes & ryanhughes for your responses. I have seen some of your replies to other inquiries, & they always seem to post good points.

ryanhughes - if I interpret your reply correctly, I might be OK with the 13HPX/CBX26UH (for the price) without giving up too much quality/reliability? I know installation is most important, but that being equal, do you have any idea of whether repairs/leaks/failure/shorter system life are more likely with the lower end unit than the XP13/CBX27UH? How much more likely?

Since the ComfortSense5000 thermostat may not make much difference in humidity if I go with the 13HPX/CBX26UH, do you have a thermostat make/model# recommendation (or is the Aprilaire OK)? Are some thermostats a better match with a specified system?

Also, is it worth the price of using a long life (7-12 mo)pleated filter instead of the standard? I think I saw somewhere that there could be problems in some systems (fit? clogging? don't recall). Dealer quoted cost of about $60 if changed as part of maintenance agreement ($170 yr)

I wouldn't say the 13HPX is any more or less likely to fail than an XP13. You can have a top end unit fail sooner than a bottom end unit, really depends on installation practices and quite simply luck. So I would not let that be a factor in your decision. Again, all things considered, aside from noise, the new 13HPX is very similar to the XP13. Double check with the dealer that the 13HPX you are getting has the louvered cabinet. I believe all newly-manufactured ones do.

The Aprilaire thermostat is fine. An equivalent Honeywell would be a Pro 6000 or Pro 8000 (which is personally my preference).

Pleated filter is up to you. Hard to say whether it would be a problem for your system without seeing the ductwork and setup. Most of the time they are installed and no problems arise from them. If nobody will be living in the house, the longer filter life may be beneficial. If somebody will be at the house at least once per month (and that's assuming this system gets average runtime), I see no problem with throwaway filters.

Can you clarify what type of house this is? My first impression was that it was a rental, which I took into account in giving my thoughts above.

ryanhughes - townhome (2 story) is a rental. Between renters now as we clean up the damage from the last tenant & replace the a/c system. Hot & humid in summer + renters who don't seem to keep the place clean nor always (or correctly) change the A/C filters. Previous Coleman A/C was manufactured 2002, put into use in mid 2003 (had evap coil leak in 2007 & grounded compressor now from probable lightening) but I've been told that it looks twice its age.