EMA
04-25-2008, 12:52 AM
I am hoping for some good advice that will help me make a big decision......I bought a house near Austin, Tx a year ago and the house is now about 10 yrs old. Here's the existing system, it's a Trane Heat Pump:
Two 4 ton/12 SEER condensors and two 5 ton air handlers in a 3600 sq ft house with mostly 9-10 ft ceilings.
Everything's been peachy except for the one air handler's coil has supposedly sprung several pinhole leaks and needs to be replaced, repair not possible supposedly. One thing I've noticed about the system though is that it shuts on and off after short bursts that cool things down; which is consistant with the GC's comment to me that he told the original homeowner that he thought they were putting in too much capacity.
I am now faced with either an expensive coil or complete air handler replacement or the proposition of going ahead and just ripping out the two 10 year old systems and replacing them with ???
I am finding that the more I try to research what is the best choice of HP brand and how much capacity and SEER rating I should try to achieve, the more I get mired down. I've had two companies come out and both seem to be happy just to want to replace my old system with one of equal capacity and neither did any type of calculation to see if I really need 8 tons.
I am trying to decide if I should just do the repairs and hope I'm not going to be nickel and dimed to death with other such problems, or looking for top of the line or the next category under and a brand that is worth the costs and will give me the longest warranty for all parts and labor.
I surely would appreciate any advice and guidance you all could lend, thanks.
Two 4 ton/12 SEER condensors and two 5 ton air handlers in a 3600 sq ft house with mostly 9-10 ft ceilings.
Everything's been peachy except for the one air handler's coil has supposedly sprung several pinhole leaks and needs to be replaced, repair not possible supposedly. One thing I've noticed about the system though is that it shuts on and off after short bursts that cool things down; which is consistant with the GC's comment to me that he told the original homeowner that he thought they were putting in too much capacity.
I am now faced with either an expensive coil or complete air handler replacement or the proposition of going ahead and just ripping out the two 10 year old systems and replacing them with ???
I am finding that the more I try to research what is the best choice of HP brand and how much capacity and SEER rating I should try to achieve, the more I get mired down. I've had two companies come out and both seem to be happy just to want to replace my old system with one of equal capacity and neither did any type of calculation to see if I really need 8 tons.
I am trying to decide if I should just do the repairs and hope I'm not going to be nickel and dimed to death with other such problems, or looking for top of the line or the next category under and a brand that is worth the costs and will give me the longest warranty for all parts and labor.
I surely would appreciate any advice and guidance you all could lend, thanks.