Regular Guest
Tired old Lennox
I have a 1970’s house up here in Minnesota. My air conditioner is Lennox brand HS6-261-8FF-FW. Last summer it stopped working, the compressor would cycle and the fan would not spin. A local service tech removed some refrigerant and it worked for a month and then died again. We are selling our house and the compressor not only is broken, it is unsightly. Researching the part number I learned that it is 2 ton or 26,000 Btuh. I would like to replace just the compressor in interest of saving money. My question is what to replace it with. I found that Lennox has a Merit series 13ACD that uses R22. (I think that mine is R22). Would that be a good economical choice? Should I stay with the same type refrigerant? My furnace is a Lennox as well. What price range would I expect to pay for a compressor unit? We have several local HVAC companies around but I would like to be informed going into this and any information would be most helpful since I am likely to take it in the shorts on the sale of my home.
Professional Member*
Make sure you change that indoor coil, too. Putting a new condenser on a coil that may very well be as old as the HS6 was is NOT a good thing. That said, the 13ACD is of Lennox's low end line. They make better stuff than this. I did however catch my eye on a 13HPD-024 (I think) and was impressed at how quiet it was. That doesn't make it any tougher though--it's basically a builder model.
Regular Guest
If the furnace is the same age you should have it thoroughly inspected; the heat exchanger could be cracked.
Also note that the replacement equipment doesn't have to be Lennox.
Professional Member*
just replace the complete system, do you know how many people tell you they dont want to spend alot because they are going to sell .so replace the complete system and enjoy the savings and comfort until you do sell even if you go with the builders line like the 13acd
Regular Guest
If a compressor is rated at,say 2 tons, shouldn't it perform the same throughout the different lines? Is a better model going to last longer and/or be quieter but still provide the same amount of cooling??
Regular Guest
Pretty much; capacity varies slightly however.Originally Posted by 270degree
Professional Member*
some 2 ton units have only 21000 btu and some have 25000 btu depends on the complete system i dont know about where you live but here in south Texas home inspectors really ding old hvac systems
Regular Guest
Thanks. I want to go cheap and I will likely only replace the compressor since my house will be on the market in a few weeks. Your help is appreciated.
Professional Member*
I don't know about where you guys are from but we charge $1700 to change a compressor...and for about 500 bucks more we can change the entire outdoor unit. Something else to think about...what if you don't sell the house in the time frame you're thinking? Maybe I'll make this my signature but do it right or don't do it at all. With a new unit you get a warranty on all the parts and the compressor. what happens if you change the compressor and then this summer on a hot day the capacitor goes? theres another couple hundred bucks...wouldn't it be worth it to just get an new unit and not worry about it? Oh, and be sure they do an acid test before installing a new compressor. If there is presence of acid you MUST replace to evap coil as well. Also if you do change the outdoor unit make sure that you don't have to add a TXV inside as well.
Last edited by addamsmasher; 03-19-2008 at 11:56 PM. Reason: thought of something else
Global Moderator
The HS6 had the old RFC system where the liquid line is the meter. It was designed for super low SEER. If you hack a new outdoor unit on that system, your performance and efficiency will be compromised and you will shorten the life of the unit. The only way to do it right is new lineset & coil. You cannot just change the coil either, do it all. If you do the cheap way, hopefully the buyer's home inspector will warn them of the hackery
Professional Member*
By compressor, I think you may mean condenser due to your previous reference of the 13ACD. Do you mean the actual outdoor unit or one part of the outdoor unit? You're not doing yourself any favor by just doing the outdoor unit--you need a matching coil (not necessarily furnace).
Regular Guest
Baldloonie, is that the series that the liquid line was basically a capillary tube?
Global Moderator
exactly
Regular Guest
Yes this system does have a legnth of coiled line at the compressor, perhaps being the capillary line referenced. Would a new outdoor unit (not just the internal compressor) work as its own system and ignor the design of the previous HS6 design? Say, if I took out the coil in the line during the installation, have the R22 set to the correct level, wouldn't the compressor unit do the math? The condenser could match closely (2 ton). I don't pretend to understand the physics like matching condenser to compressor unit, but I thought that staying with the same brand would help match a little better. I am really trying to go cheap for many reasons. I don't mind being a hack and cobling up the system a bit,so long as it works pretty good when I am done. If it doesn't work, then I am only out the cost of recovering and charging the refridgerant plus whatever additional parts I would add. It would seem to me a fair gamble. What blatant thing do you guys see that I am missing? Please be candid. Any thoughts to the unique nature of this antique system that maybe a tech unfamiliar with this HS6 might have serviced it different than would be sraight forward? maybe my system just needs a better tech and a correct refridgerant level?? Wouldn't that be a prickfer.
Professional Member*
new units will not work with that old cap tube and compressors can't do math.
either replace it with a complete system or give the buyer an allowance to do it right.
Professional Member
exactly!! remember it's a buyer's market.
Regular Guest
Yes, you would have to replace the evap coil inside, the complete lineset, and outdoor unit.
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