Condensor and Evaporator Coil Replacement - What Options Are Really Necessary?
Current system:
Year: 2004
3,100 sq ft 2-story house
York - 3.5 ton - 11 seer compressor
York - evaporator coil
York - gas furnace
Issue:
No cold air on 2nd floor. Technician confirmed freon level ok. Determined some bearings missing from blower wheel, causing damage to motor. As a result motor was stopping and lines froze up. Replaced blower wheel and motor. Cold air resumed.
1 month later no cold air. Technician determine freon levels were too low. Performed leak test and determined leak in evaporator coil.
Options:
Option #1: Replace coil
Option #2: Replace coil & condensor
Option #3: Replace coil, condensor, & furnace
Think we are going w/ option #2 as condensor is 8 years old and uses R-22 freon. From what we understand, if condensor breaks, will most likely need to replace coil again as option #1 will need to convert coil from R-10 to R-22 and will not be compatible w/ new condensor.
Quote:
Trane - 2.5 ton - 11 seer compressor
Trane - evaporator coil
Trane - thermostat
Square to round metal transistion
Metal Y
Extended warranty (10 year labor)
Questions:
- Is it ok to downgrade from a 3.5 ton to a 2.5 ton compressor though we are upgrading to 13 seer from 11 seer?
- Is an extended warranty really worth it? It costs about $$$$, plus we must perform routine maintenance, such as yearly A/C check-ups, otherwise the warranty is void. The yearly check-ups will runs us about $$$$/year.
Our thinking is that in 3 years, we would have paid a total of $$$$ for warranty and check-ups and if something happened, can use the money we have spent on the warranty and check-ups on repairs instead.But are unsure if we are just seeing the whole picture.
- Do we really need a new thermostat? Our existing 5 year-old programmable thermostat works great. Will not getting a new Trane thermostat void the warranty?
- Do we really need yearly system check-ups?