What's your opinion on Goodman?

[J8500]

Hello. I live in the Atlanta metro area and we are looking to replacing our basement HVAC system which is a Trane XB10, 1.5 ton. The system serves the basement which is mostly finished (2000 sq ft finished) and the unit died on us a few weeks ago. I have had a few companies come out and one of them quoted us on Goodman, but after reading many reviews it seems like I should stay away from it. Some reviews say it's all about install. This is really starting to confuse me. I have also received quotes on Trane and Lennox.

So what's your opinion on Goodman? Each company did a manual j but all the units that I was quoted on were all different sizes which is also confusing me. I do know that basements don't need much heat or cool. Any advice appreciated.

[kangaroogod]

Which do you prefer ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, or Chrysler?
Your going to get the same type if answers. The installer is the most important part of the equation. I personally love goodman and have both a goodman furnace and a/c in my home. The warranties are one of the best on the market but many others have had bad experiences and will bash them as I would some of the ones they suggest. Personally I think any of the brands would provide you with years of comfort.

[catmanacman]

i dont care for goodman because 90% of them i run across are poorly installed by low ball installers ,

[J8500]

Which do you prefer ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, or Chrysler?
Your going to get the same type if answers. The installer is the most important part of the equation. I personally love goodman and have both a goodman furnace and a/c in my home. The warranties are one of the best on the market but many others have had bad experiences and will bash them as I would some of the ones they suggest. Personally I think any of the brands would provide you with years of comfort.

Thanks for the info. I forgot to mention that the Trane XB10 is a heat pump matched up with a fan coil with electric backup heat. Here's the quotes, and I do know that pricing is not allowed here:

Company A: Quote #1: Trane XB13 1.5 ton heat pump 4TWB3018C with Air Handler GAF2A0A18S11SA.
Quote #2: Trane XR13 1.5 ton heat pump 4TWR3018C with Air Handler TAM4A0A18. Contractor said thermostat is fine and does not need replacement.

Company B: Quote: Lennox 13HPX 2 ton heat pump (he did not say the exact model) and Air Handler CBX26UH along with new thermostat (don't know what model or brand of thermostat yet)

Company C: Quote: Goodman 2 ton SSZ14 heat pump with Air Handler ASPF 183016 (He did not mention anything about the thermostat)

So obviously install matters more than brand. Do these match ups sound right to you? I'm a bit worried that they are aren't. Thanks in advance.

[J8500]

i dont care for goodman because 90% of them i run across are poorly installed by low ball installers ,

After doing some research I found out that Goodman's reputation is bad because they pretty much sell to anyone. This obviously means that many hacks pick up their equipment and install the units poorly, and Goodman is everywhere on the internet which means that anyone can order the systems and DIY install them. We all know that HVAC is NOT a DIY trade.

[jtrammel]

I agree the main reason any equipment gets a bad name is bc their eqipment is sold to anybody's brothers uncle and it is not done correctly so it has problems. As long as the goodman or any if the others are installed, sealed, and ducted properly you should have minimal troubles out of them and get 15-20+ years of service out of it. Go with the contractor you trust will do the job properly and will be in buisiness long enough to back it if you have problems.

[wahoo]

You need to keep in mind that Goodman is the single largest selling brand equipment in the U.S. and is now owned by the largest manufacturer in the world. So they'll be around for quite a while. We've sold Goodman and Amana (their premium brand) for about 10 years after a long (+20yr) association with another brand (whose quality seemed to become crap). As mentioned, Goodman is as good as anyone else, and their warranties are usually better (lifetime comp. on 14 SEER unit!). As for the internet sales, they refuse to warranty internet sold equipment, however along with Goodman there are a lot of other brands sold that way. As for pricing, as you've probably noticed Goodman does not do much advertising nationally to public. They do a lot of advertising in trade magazines to contractors and it must work. But these large national public ad campaigns cost money so the ones you've mentioned usually charge you for this widespread advertising. Quality of equipment does not positively correlate with ad money spent, in fact I'd guess the correlation would actually be negative. It's truly the contractor and the installation that count!!

[J8500]

Thanks for all the input. Goodman was purchased by Daikin, correct? The SSZ14 does come with a lifetime compressor warranty and ten years on parts. The contractor said that the ASPF features an x13 blower motor and will increase the efficiency of the heat pump up to 15 seer. Is this true? I believe it is but I'm not quite sure. Does a 2 ton system sound right to you for the basement or is a 1.5 ton fine?

[wahoo]

yes, the 14 SEER becomes 15 with this X13 air handler. Sorry, but can't size your system without more information. Just don't oversize a basement system as it's easy to do. If a 1.5 ton has worked well in the past, I'd be hesitant to go larger without a good manual J figure helping me make that decision. The more this unit runs, the better the humidity control, so run time is important!

[J8500]

yes, the 14 SEER becomes 15 with this X13 air handler. Sorry, but can't size your system without more information. Just don't oversize a basement system as it's easy to do.

Thanks. Sorry I should have provided more info in my first post. As I already mentioned our basement is 2000 sq ft. We have an 8 inch supply going into the media room, 6 inch supply going into bedroom, 6 inch supply in man cave, 6 inch supply in other bedroom, 6 inch supply in workshop, and a 4 inch in bathroom. The basement has one 12 inch return. All three contractors said that the supply in one of the bedrooms will be enlarged to an 8 inch to supply better heating in there. Hope this helps.

[wahoo]

AS far as air flow goes, the 1.5 ton is limit for a 12" round return, and the 15 SEER will have a 2 1/2 ton blower behind it. If this system is using flex pipe, then I'd just stay with the 1.5 ton system, regardless of whether or not they change run to bedroom to 8". You'll need the ability to move 800 cfm/minute for 2 ton system. IMO anyway.

[J8500]

AS far as air flow goes, the 1.5 ton is limit for a 12" round return, and the 15 SEER will have a 2 1/2 ton blower behind it. If this system is using flex pipe, then I'd just stay with the 1.5 ton system, regardless of whether or not they change run to bedroom to 8". You'll need the ability to move 800 cfm/minute for 2 ton system. IMO anyway.

Thanks. I dropped company A (one recommending Trane) because the contractor seemed unwilling to help. I'm still trying to decide between the Lennox and the Goodman. The system is using flex pipe. I forgot to mention that the contractor who quoted us on the Goodman said that another 12 inch return will have to be added.

[wahoo]

What did your manual J figures come out to? If 2 ton is needed and an additional return is added, then do it. Oh, the two companies you are considering? We made that decision about 10 years ago, and have NEVER regretted it. Many of the folks we deal with at the Goodman Corp. level USED to work for same company I'm talking about. Used to....think I know why.

[J8500]

What did your manual J figures come out to? If 2 ton is needed and an additional return is added, then do it. Oh, the two companies you are considering? We made that decision about 10 years ago, and have NEVER regretted it. Many of the folks we deal with at the Goodman Corp. level USED to work for same company I'm talking about. Used to....think I know why.

The manual J came out to 1.9 tons. Thanks for asking though.

[Twilly]

Twilly says hahahhahhahahahhahahah.

[J8500]

Twilly says hahahhahhahahahhahahah.

What's so funny???

[J8500]

By the way I was wrong on what I said the manual j came up to. The actual manual j did come close to 2 ton. The basement ceilings are lower than most basements in this area. Four of the rooms have drop ceilings (7 ft) and the rest of the basement drywall ceilings (8 ft). Most basements around here have 9 ft ceilings.

[Bsmith816]

If it were my house I would go with company B. the one who is offering the 2 ton Lennox 13hpx-024 with cbx26-024 fan/coil.
I wouldnt go with AMANA. They do make good beef but not air conditioners.
Same with Coleman.. Good camping equipment but not air conditioners

[J8500]

If it were my house I would go with company B. the one who is offering the 2 ton Lennox 13hpx-024 with cbx26-024 fan/coil.
I wouldnt go with AMANA. They do make good beef but not air conditioners.
Same with Coleman.. Good camping equipment but not air conditioners

Thanks. Right now we are really considering the Lennox because the contractor recommending it seemed to be the most knowledgeable and worked the hardest in evaluating our current system. He also said that a new 12 inch return will be installed as well as enlarging some of the 6 inch supplies to 8 inch. Company C did a good job as well, but something is telling me to go with the Lennox over the Goodman. I will probably make my final decision tomorrow as I'm having one more company come out who sells Rheem.

[Twilly]

http://www.furnacecompare.com/air-co...odman/reviews/