Which coil, Ruud, Amana, Trane, American Standard

[trpltongue]

Hey all,

A couple months ago I had 3 different A/C contractors out to the house to give me an opinion on fixing my A/C system. I would be comfortable with any of them, but they each sell and install different brands and I'm having a hard time deciding who to use.

I currently have a 4-ton Trane furnace and a 3.5 Ton Trane condensing unit, both in good shape, though I may want to upgrade to 4 ton in the near future. All 3 contractors identified that my coil is not only of the poorest quality, but also is leaking. My current evaporator coil is a U-coil (I think). The whole supply plenum is the coil rather than a slab or A, or N coil. They all said this is the worst type of coil and now I need help in deciding which coil to replace it with. I've listed the contractors below in order of expense.


Contractor 1: Definitely the most knowledgable and actually is a regular on this site. As expected his experience comes at a bit of a premium.

He has suggested an Amana CHPF4860D6 A coil or Trane TXC with expansion valve and rebuild supply plenum.

Contractor 2: Very knowledgeable, measured the refridgerant levels, inspected condenser and coil, very friendly.

He has suggested an off-brand slab coil with 5 yr warranty, expansion valve, hard start kit, installation of dampers in all of the existing supply lines to control flow better, and rebuild supply plenum. I can't remember the brand of the coil but it's the top of the line coil from a company here in Houston.

Contractor 3: Not as knowledgable as the others, but friendly and straight-forward.

He has suggested a Ruud N-coil, expansion valve, hard start kit, and rebuild plenum.

As I mentioned, I would be comfortable with any of them doing the work, just wanted to do a check on the forum for thoughts first.

Thanks in advance,

Russell

[glennac]

I would go with the Rudd N-coil with their factory installed TXV. A 13 seer N-coil will fit in the space of most low efficiency U coils with no problem. I used them a lot to replace old 10 seer coils in the existing furnaces without a problem with a matching 13 seer condenser.

[BaldLoonie]

I'd vote to go with one of our members :D

Since you have Trane equipment now, going with the Trane coil is closest match. Since it will have TXV, you probably need a hard start kit for the job like #2 said. Then when you need to change the outdoor unit, you are ready for a new Trane unit.

You say #2 is a good contractor but he's suggesting a 3rd party coil. While many are good, compatibility in the future may be an issue. Also SEER ratings are computer generated so you may not really be getting the efficiency they claim. Also many 3rd party coils sacrifice latent capacity which is humidity removal, not something you want to do in Houston!

Personally I don't care for Rheem's N coils. Biggest drawback is how restrictive they are to airflow!

The 4821 cased coil at 1600 CFM has a .36"WC drop. A similiarly sized TXCC coil would be .25" so lots less restrictive.

[glennac]

I'd vote to go with one of our members :D

Personally I don't care for Rheem's N coils. Biggest drawback is how restrictive they are to airflow!
The 4821 cased coil at 1600 CFM has a .36"WC drop. A similiarly sized TXCC coil would be .25" so lots less restrictive.

Loonie, I wasn’t aware that the Rheem N coil had such a large drop. What about Carrier’s N coil does it also have the same drop? The reason I liked Rheem’s coil was that you could get it uncased where as Carrier’s you had to buy the cased version with more bucks.

[ga-hvac-tech]

Well, I was about to type some wisdom... But Loonie beat me to the keyboard.

I agree with his post; if it were me I would follow his advise on this one.

And being a RUUD dealer, I had not looked at the SP specs on the N coils. I will have to have a chat with the tech guy at the distributor on this one... :confused:

BTW: I grew up in Houston... and as you well know: humidity is a big issue down there. Use the Trane coil.

[BaldLoonie]

The 3617 Rheem N coil has a .41 drop, the 3617 Carrier N coil is .31

Hard to shoot for a total static of .5 when you evap is 80% of it :mad:

[glennac]

The 3617 Rheem N coil has a .41 drop, the 3617 Carrier N coil is .31

Hard to shoot for a total static of .5 when you evap is 80% of it :mad:

I guess so and that is when it's new and clean. I think twice about the Rheem coils now.

[trpltongue]

Thanks for the info and opinions!

I didn't realize the N-coil static drop was so high. I already have a bit of a return sizing issue. I have a 20x25 return and a 12x12 return in the house now. I use merv 5 pleated filters and they get pulled on so hard that they go concave even when brand new. Contractor 1 suggested 2 more returns to help with the static drop so I definitely don't want to go putting in an even more restrictive coil.

Thanks again all,

Russell

[deacon]

Sorry, don't mean to hi-jack this thread, I have a quick question.
Hey Bald is the drop on the Rheem A coil any better?

thanks
deacon

[BaldLoonie]

I know some hate it, but I sure liked the old Multiflex! .15 drop on a 3 ton, hard to beat.

Anyway, the RCQD-3621 gigantic high SEER A coil is .18" drop so also a coil that is not at all restrictive. Just big and pricey!

[thurston]

What is an N coil? And what does the drop indicate? By the way are the Rheem corsaire cubes decent? Thanks Gentlemen.

[mark beiser]

Since it is a horizontal system, if there is room, I would go with a Trane slab coil. This would require a transition between the furnace and coil, and a new supply plenum.
Slab type coils have lower pressure drop through them than cased A or N type coils, tend to have fewer condensate drain problems, and in my experience, tend to have fewer problems with refrigerant leaks.

I always use a slab type coil in horizontal systems if there is room.

[Mr Bill]

Anyway, the RCQD-3621 gigantic high SEER A coil is .18" drop so also a coil that is not at all restrictive. Just big and pricey!


And I don't mind the big, but your right on the pricey Wow! I about had a
heart attack when I saw what that coil cost but it really is a real nice coil. :D

[BaldLoonie]

The cube A/C units do great. Fairly quiet, no problems. The 10 & 12 SEER pumps have been a horrible nightmare. Everything is crammed inside, constantly finding tubes rubbing together and leaking, wires draped on copper rubbing through. No low pressure switch the compressor runs til it fries and contaminates everything. Starting to ask Rheem for replacements when we find horrible contaminations. Got one going next week, gotta talk to the rep tomorrow about another one.

Back to replacement coils, the TXF-41 has about 1/3 the resistance of the TXC models so listen to Mark on that idea :o

[trpltongue]

So is the TXC an A-coil? I just assumed it was a slab. There is plenty of room to install a slab coil, but will the A-coil do a better job of humidity removal? Here in Houston humidity removal is a big problem.

Thanks again for all the info gang,

Russell

[Mr Bill]

So is the TXC an A-coil? I just assumed it was a slab. There is plenty of room to install a slab coil, but will the A-coil do a better job of humidity removal? Here in Houston humidity removal is a big problem.

Thanks again for all the info gang,

Russell

I am not positive on this but I am just using some common sense if the RUUD "N"
coil has more static or more surface and the air travels across the "N" coil slower to me
this would look to be better for latent, now it's late and I am tired so I may be completely wrong. :D

[munanee]

I go along with glennac8. I believe the Ruud to be the best. I am partial to all Ruud products. They are extremely reliable and easy to work on when someting does go wrong.

[classical]

When considering an option brand is not the consideration nor is the nominal coil rated capacity.

You must consider what you are trying to accomplish with the coil and condenser combination.

In this particular case just replacing the coil is not the only concern. The condenser is a 3.5-ton unit and the load on the house is nearly 47,000 BTU's with the existing flex duct which is just junk. The duct is rated R-6 but is a very cheap brand that really is meeting that rating. If the ductwork were to be replaced with new R-8 flex the load requirements would be reduce to 39,000 BTU's.

So since the OP does not want to replace the ductwork the best coil option is either a TXC horizontal "A" coil or the Amana CHPF4860 horizontal "A" coil. These coils both have reasonable wet coil static resistance and provide greater sensible capacity than do either the Amana CSCF or AM/Std TXF horizontal slab coils. Humidity control can be improved by installing a TXV and if necessary the Fan Handler control or the similar control built by ICM.

We need to have facts about a job before making recommendation about product and not just state that I like the Rheem, Trane or Amana coil.

[trpltongue]

classical,

I'm glad you saw this thread! I hope you don't think I'm stepping on any toes, I just want to fully understand the benefits/drawbacks of the different coils and if there were a preference among the folks here. You obviously know the details much better than the folks reading this thread and I appreciate you taking the time to post in it! I did receive your message and will be calling you back later.

Like I said, contractor 1 is very knowledgable :)

[classical]

Thank you going to Fogo d Cho for dinner this evening so may not answer after six.

Congrats on the baby my wife chatised me because I didn't tell her of your wifes condition when I came to your home. She also asked if you had a gorl or boy told her men don't think of those things first off.

I take no offense to your post I prefer dealing with well informed caring customers they are my best customers.

[trpltongue]

mmmm....Fogo..... I love that place, the cheese poofs are the best :)

Tell your wife we had a baby boy!

Sorry for the off-topic discussion here, and thanks to all for the opinions and information!

Russell