15 year old scroll compressor locked-up

[MickM]

We have a locked compressor and our local HVAC guy says he can either replace it with a used compressor or a compete system. WE have two carrier units, one is a 3.5Ton 40,500BTU nat gas and the other is a 2.5Ton 29,600 BTU.
The 3.5Ton unit has the bad compressor(and a very slow leak up at the evaporator somewhere (we add a little R22 every other year). Is is worth replacing just the compressor or should we take advantage of some healthy rebates from the power company and the manufacturer for two complete units? I'm sure our SEER is in the 6 range from 1997 builder units. I think Rheem is being used for the replacement estimate.

Thanks for any help on making this decision, we plan to stay in this 2,460Sq Ft house in Tucson for at least 10 more years. Good insulation, well sized AC units, light colored roof and 6-8 feet of attic air space above the high ceilings.

Thanks,

Mick

[Rcb2875]

If you can afford the complete replacement I would go that route on a 15 year old unit. If your luck is like mine.. you will spend **** on a used compressor ( that will last how long?) and labor only for another part of the system to fail. I wouldn't want to keep putting money in a unit that old when you can save money just in savings from a more efficient unit in the end.

[MickM]

Thanks Rcb, I'm leaning in that direction for the 3.5T unit but leaving the other 2.5T on alone for now, it's not used nearly as much as the bigger one.

Mick

[Rcb2875]

Thanks Rcb, I'm leaning in that direction for the 3.5T unit but leaving the other 2.5T on alone for now, it's not used nearly as much as the bigger one.

Mick

I believe you will be better off that way. The problem with putting money into systems that old is that most people feel that they should keep making repairs since they have already invested X amount of dollars over and over and don't want to feel like they are throwing that money away. And that is if you can keep finding parts for it.

[udarrell]

We have a locked compressor and our local HVAC guy says he can either replace it with a used compressor or a compete system. WE have two carrier units, one is a 3.5Ton 40,500BTU nat gas and the other is a 2.5Ton 29,600 BTU.
The 3.5Ton unit has the bad compressor(and a very slow leak up at the evaporator somewhere (we add a little R22 every other year.

Is is worth replacing just the compressor or should we take advantage of some healthy rebates from the power company and the manufacturer for two complete units? I'm sure our SEER is in the 6 range from 1997 builder units. I think Rheem is being used for the replacement estimate.

Thanks for any help on making this decision, we plan to stay in this 2,460-Sq Ft house in Tucson for at least 10 more years. Good insulation, well sized AC units, light colored roof and 6-8 feet of attic air space above the high ceilings. Thanks, Mick

The 1997 models should be in the 10 to 12-SEER, being a builder model does not change the SEER rating.

I doubt that I would ever put a new compressor on an old 15-year old system, also with a coil leak; the healthy rebates sound good too.

You have a total of 70,100-Btuh of cooling, you might want to have an Home Energy Efficiency Audit performed to see if you can cost effectively reduce the cooling heatload which should save on utility bills, even if cooling tonnage is not reduced.

That will also tell you 'if' the 2.5-ton could be reduced in size when it needs replacing. Only suggestions...

[MickM]

The 1997 models should be in the 10 to 12-SEER, being a builder model does not change the SEER rating.

Thanks Darrel,
I was just assuming the builder did not spend a lot of $$$ on the A/C units.
I was wrong, I found my original product data and you are correct, it's a 12 SEER system 38BRB042-30 matched system. The other unit is a 38BRB030-30.

Mick

[MickM]

Our AC guy came back with a proposal for a Rheem 14AJM42A01 and a Goodman coil for the evaporator. We will retain our existing furnace.

I'm now researching the 14AJM 14.5 SEER Value line in the Rheem products. Obviously our furnace is not used nearly as much as our AC but it DOES get into the high teens here every winter.

[beshvac]

Our AC guy came back with a proposal for a Rheem 14AJM42A01 and a Goodman coil for the evaporator. We will retain our existing furnace.

I'm now researching the 14AJM 14.5 SEER Value line in the Rheem products. Obviously our furnace is not used nearly as much as our AC but it DOES get into the high teens here every winter.

Ask you contractor to prove that's a matching combination. you can go to the ARI website and verify, but you're not gonna find a rheem matched to a goodman.

[MickM]

Ask you contractor to prove that's a matching combination. you can go to the ARI website and verify, but you're not gonna find a rheem matched to a goodman.

I assume you meant http://www.ahrinet.org/ and not ARI

Thanks

[beshvac]

I assume you meant http://www.ahrinet.org/ and not ARI

Thanks

Yep, i don't go there much-their site is hard to use. I just print the certs from my dealer account.

If you already know about AHRI, why are you asking about a mis-match?

[MickM]

Yep, i don't go there much-their site is hard to use. I just print the certs from my dealer account.

If you already know about AHRI, why are you asking about a mis-match?

bes,
I did a search on ARI and found AHRI, does that mean I know all about AHRI? No. Thanks for all your help..


Mick