Homeowner in Los Angeles - Is Amana the Hyundai of HVAC?

[jtdavis75]

Having HVAC put into my 1926 Spanish-style home. 1 story house, 1160sf, no duct work currently, radiant floor furnace. I'm in Los Angeles and the house isn't that well insulated but does have dual-pane windows. All estimates were for a 3 ton unit - every installer has agreed on that point, at least...

I've gotten two installers recommending Amana 14 SEER with a 95% furnace (ASX14 with AMH95). A third recommendation was for Carrier and was quite a bit higher overall and SEER rating was 15 or 16. The fourth recommended a 16 SEER Ruud with an 80% efficiency furnace and his price was right in line with the Amana guys. (Mr. Ruud says he would stay away from Amana as they are the Hyundai of the HVAC market.)

So, my questions are - What's the verdict on these Amana units? Are they as good as Trane and Carrier? Are they considered low-end or are they comparable to the others?

Thanks for reading!

[beenthere]

Amana is fine.

It ain't no Hyundai.

[jeepsterman]

If you mean will they take the unit back if you lose you job NO

[RyanHughes]

Definitely would suggest the AMV95 furnace over the AMH95, for the variable speed blower and better 2 stage control (use 2 stage t-stat). 3 tons for 1160 sqft. in Los Angeles sounds a bit oversized to me. Did they back this up with a load calculation?

[steve f]

Not sure the advice to stay away from Hyundai is that good actually. Per the latest JD Powers reliability survey, Hyundai is grouped in the top half of automobile companies, ahead of BMW, Nissan, Saturn, Volvo, Suburu and others.

[2old2rock]

3 ton sounds too big. Did they do a load calculation?

[udarrell]

If at all possible, & cost effective, insulate the house so you can install a smaller A/C for the LA area.

Summer Design is 89 dry bulb & 70 wet bulb or only around 39% relative humidity.

Amana & Ruud are both good equipment. Make sure the condenser has a Scroll compressor & the evaporator a TXV metering device.

Winters are mild; believe more insulation would negate needing a high efficiency furnace, but that is your decision.

Evaluate all the options before you make a decision.
California Research Report on EER SEER in CA: SEER Payback Savings cannot be accurately represented.

[hvaclover]

Amana is fine.

It ain't no Hyundai.

Of course not. It's a car. Amana is Hvac equipment.....MADE IN THE USA BY AMERICANS

...now the Hyndai on the other hand........

[hvaclover]

Not sure the advice to stay away from Hyundai is that good actually. Per the latest JD Powers reliability survey, Hyundai is grouped in the top half of automobile companies, ahead of BMW, Nissan, Saturn, Volvo, Suburu and others.

One model only....don't get a Mi man started..please!

[AvantGarde]

Having HVAC put into my 1926 Spanish-style home. 1 story house, 1160sf, no duct work currently, radiant floor furnace. I'm in Los Angeles and the house isn't that well insulated but does have dual-pane windows. All estimates were for a 3 ton unit - every installer has agreed on that point, at least...

I've gotten two installers recommending Amana 14 SEER with a 95% furnace (ASX14 with AMH95). A third recommendation was for Carrier and was quite a bit higher overall and SEER rating was 15 or 16. The fourth recommended a 16 SEER Ruud with an 80% efficiency furnace and his price was right in line with the Amana guys. (Mr. Ruud says he would stay away from Amana as they are the Hyundai of the HVAC market.)

So, my questions are - What's the verdict on these Amana units? Are they as good as Trane and Carrier? Are they considered low-end or are they comparable to the others?

Thanks for reading!

safety and practicality, so maybe. Its not Toyota or Honda but they're good cars and my Amana 18 SEER HP is just fine thank you.

I wouldn't trust any installer that downs another brand. I'd put a RUUD/Rheem in my house in a Los Angeles minute but the Amana's heating specs kicks arse.

[local553]

it is as good as the rest depends on how much you want to spend. i think the warrenties are better than the name brands.

[bmathews]

I don't know where you've been living. But Hyundai is one of the better cars out there. All brands are pretty much the same junk these days anyways. The biggest thing is whether you can get parts in a prompt manner once whatever particular brand of junk you purchase breaks down. (And it will) That being said. 3 tons sounds rather large even if you do the rule of thumb calculation.

[jtdavis75]

Maybe I should have left the Hyundai comment out. I am, personally, NOT bagging on Hyundai, people. (Rented an Azera once and was amazed by it.) The installer was simply stating his opinion and frankly he's difficult to talk to/deal with so he's out of the running for this job anyway.

I'm not too concerned about brand, just that the unit operates well and - hopefully - for a long time. Sounds like - from these posts - that there's no reason to think that Amana will be any worse than any of the other brands.

I now have some confusion about the size of the unit, however. If all of these guys have been in the HVAC business for 20 years+, come highly recommended by co-workers and friends, and all come up with the same unit size independently and with no input from me, I should still ask them for backup calculations? Normally I'd just assume them to be experts with the same opinion and not question it...

I've been told by almost all of them that the only time they get complaints from customers is when they install a 2 1/2 ton unit instead of a 3 in a home like mine.

Thanks again for all the responses. I appreciate all the advice.