American Standard Really the Best?

[Athensanna]

Hello experts,

I wrote yesterday asking about the pros and cons of the Goodman vs. Armstrong residential AC units. So, several salesmen have come to the house and as you can imagine, they all have different opinions.

The latest guy who came is selling American Standard units, saying that they are rated the best according to consumer reports. He said, "I won't install an Armstrong, sorry."

What do all of you think--is American Standard really the best residential unit?

thank you!
Anna

[a314sparky]

I think most brands have good and bad what's most important is who puts it in. Will they be around in the future for maint and maybe even a repair?

[Swampfox]

I would rank it among the best

Proper sizing and installation is key however, or any brand will be a lemon

[tranedog]

If you cant go TRANE then go American Standard. Trane makes all American Standard Heating and Cooling Product.:D :D :D :p

[m kilgore]

no, its not the "best". You need the best installers.

[tpa-fl]

With a few exceptions (like the new Nordyne unit and the Mitsubishi units), AC equipment in the US is outdated junk. That said, we don't have much of a choice on the issue, so make the best of it -- get several quotes and try to find a contractor who knows what they're doing. From the low-end brands to the high-end brands, many of the components are 100% identical, bought from the same companies, just reassembled by Trane/Carrier/Lennox/Goodman/etc and shipped out their door with their nameplate on it.

For all practical purposes, American Standard = Trane. There are some minor differences between them, but they're both owned by the same company, share MANY of the same designs and parts.

[Athensanna]

I sure appreciate all of your advice, experts!

It sounds like it all boils down to finding someone who knows how to install the thing. The guy who works out of his home has the lowest prices (several hundred less than equal units from bigger, established HVAC places).

But how do I know if he (or anyone) is a good installer?

Also, how about the Amana units? Same story (that is, same parts as

[CottyGee]

Amana is the "top-of-the-line" from the Goodman company. I just bought two 16 SEER Amana heatpumps for my Phoenix, AZ house, and so far, so good. The install actually isn't 100% complete, but we've been running on the units now for 3 weeks.

I based my decision almost exclusively on the company, and I only considered companies that did an ACCA Manual J calculation on their own without any prompting from me. (Out of 7 people that came to my home, 3 did a Manual J.)

In the end, though initially I was scared of the bad rap Goodman products have seen on forums like this one, I went with Amana. The 10 yr. warranty was pretty convincing, plus my contractor included a 10 yr. labor warranty in the price. I figured with a 10 yr. parts AND labor warranty, I didn't have much to lose! Price was a factor (my house needed to be retrofitted to 2 units from having a single unit, which added about 1/3rd to the cost!) but trusting the reputation of the company and their willingness to not take shortcuts and put things in writing convinced me in the end. They were neither the most expensive nor the cheapest. And I think I've gotten a pretty good install. It's all in the install.

By the way, I'm just a homeowner.

[chucko615]

If you cant go TRANE then go American Standard. Trane makes all American Standard Heating and Cooling Product.:D :D :D :p


It looks like somebody's been Trane-washed............:eek:

[hvaclogic]

Personally I think it would be a much better world we live in if every home had a Carrier system.:)

[tpa-fl]

I would have done all Mitsu inverter mini-splits throughout this place, but I know Americans aren't familiar with them and it would have negatively affected resale...which is a shame. Great comfort and zoning if I had.

[BaldLoonie]

I still have scratches on my bald head (yes my handle describes me well) from changing a brand new right out of the box dead Mexican recip in a shiny American Standard. Those units are not make for easy compressor changes. I had to get down IN the sucker, (I'm 6'2" and pudgy) to change the CCH and hook up the terminals. And hit my head on the Spine Fin to boot. No, they aren't the best though with their advertising and Consumer Reports help, many think they are.

Regardless of brand, reread m kilgore's post, it's right on :)

Actually until the corporate name gets changed (reminds me of a Starship song) American Standard makes all of the Trane stuff!

[CottyGee]

I would have done all Mitsu inverter mini-splits throughout this place, but I know Americans aren't familiar with them and it would have negatively affected resale...which is a shame. Great comfort and zoning if I had.
I was gettin' ready to do the exact same thing until I considered the resale issue... I was lookin' at 18 SEER inversion type mini-splits. Woulda been sweet!

Maybe in 15 years, if we're still in this house, we'll install a couple of DC inversion systems with zoning. ;)

[tpa-fl]

BaldLoonie: I must say that I rather like the new Carrier Infinity series HP/ACs for the accessibility of everything, *BUT* at the same time it's made the units MUCH larger than necessary. My new system got the homeowners association commandos all over my case because of how big it was.

I still say Trane needs to go back to the drawing board and take advantage of newer technology. While I can't speak on their furnaces, their HP/AC line is virtually unchanged for the past 10 years. Unfortunately for them, everyone else has. Even Goodman makes a decent unit now, with a better warranty than most in the industry. Resting on your name's reputation only goes so far, as General Motors has found out in recent years.

CottyGee: If you were in a major city with old construction (Chicago/NYC/Boston/San Fran), or had a large population of Euros/Asians, you could have gotten away with it. I'm still not sure that Mitsu hasn't released their mini-ducted air handlers to the USA yet. Still waiting Mitsu, if you're listening.