From: "Michael White" 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Advice on Central Air Conditioner
Date: Sat, 02 Sep 2006 02:13:54 GMT

Thanks much for all the good advice.

"Jeanne"  wrote in message 
news:JYWdnV9dyYZqe2vZnZ2dnUVZ_tSdnZ2d@comcast.com...
> Michael White wrote:
>> I have a one-story 1,900 sq. ft. house in North Texas. I'm thinking of 
>> replacing my 20-year-old, 3-ton, SEER=  9 Lennox air conditioner.
>>
>> I've been told to replace it with a 4-ton Bryant unit. Any comments or 
>> recommendations?
>>
>> Thanks.
>
> Get at least three estimates;  more - 4 0r 5 - is better. You'd be 
> surprised at the variation of recommendations in terms of price, size, and 
> system configuration.
>
> We just got a 30 year old air conditioner/furnace replaced (GE which 
> apparently went out of the business in the 80s).  I called five places - 
> based on personal recommendations, whether or not I knew they did the 
> Manual J calculations, and a local consumer guide.  One company did not 
> show up.  Of the remaining four, two did thorough Manual J calculations 
> (they measured, went away and a few days came back with figures to show us 
> along with a recommendation on size), and other two did quick calculations 
> of some sort (went to their truck and came back 15 minutes later).
>
> First, the A/C size recommendations ranged from 2 ton to 3 ton.  Looking 
> at the Manual J figures, we knew we sat just at 2 tons (24,000 lb?). One 
> company said to go higher at 2 1/2 tons and one recommended to go 2 ton. 
> One quick calculation company recommended 3 ton to give us "space" (they 
> were immediately eliminated).  The second quick calculations guy came up 
> with 2 1/2 tons - he didn't really justify his recommendations except by 
> saying he had about 20 years of experience (and to be honest, he was the 
> only one who was NOT just a salesman - he also did the installation and 
> service of these units).
>
> Then, there was the price.  There was a good $2000 range in the pricing. 
> It was difficult to compare apples to apples because the warranties 
> differed as well as the scope of work and maintenance contracts (if any) 
> as well as any accessories and extras.
>
> Jeanne