New Unit advice

[p3arljam]

I live in Charlotte,NC and i am selling a house that is now vacant. About a month before i moved out my HVAC system wasnt cooling well and i had the system charged. It cooled well for the month that i remained there and the unit was turned off after i left since then i turned the system back on and its blowing but not cooling. The unit is a York about 11 years old and i am going to replace it i am just wondering what i will need and approximate cost. I have a 2 story 1900sq ft (1600 sq ft) under air. The house only has 1 unit by the way.

[RyanHughes]

Cannot mention any pricing on this forum per site rules (there are others where you can). However, prices vary from dealer to dealer and by region, so the best thing is to get 2-3 or however many estimates you need to find the best company to do the job. Most will tell you it's the installer and not so much the brand name anymore. If it's a heat pump, you'll need an indoor air handler, outdoor heat pump, and any copper, electrical, sheetmetal, etc. you might need.

[sktn77a]

Sounds like you have a leak. Find out what the problem is and get it fixed as cheaply as you can. There's absolutely no point getting a new system if you're selling the house.

[skippedover]

I'd recommend getting an estimate to replace what's there. Add that amount into the price of the home. When they do the inspection and say, "Hey, the AC doesn't work", you can give them the dollar amount you calculated to replace the system and let them put in the system of their choosing. If you put in a brand new system now, you're locking the buyer into what you wanted (the cheapest you could get, naturally) when they may want something more energy efficient or multi-stage or whatever. If you think that having it not working is going to prevent offers, then by all means have the existing one repaired and sell. If it turns out the repair is more than the price of a new condenser, then for a sale situation I'd consider just replacing the condenser and provide some cool air. The sell!

[p3arljam]

I had the system checked for a leak and it could not be found. The guy told me he could charge the system and it may last 1 day 1 week 1 month or 1 year.

[misterfix]

I had the system checked for a leak and it could not be found. The guy told me he could charge the system and it may last 1 day 1 week 1 month or 1 year.

Sounds like a leak to me. Refrigerant does not disappear. I'd try another HVAC service company to FIND your leak.

[beenthere]

Some companies/techs are good at finding leaks. Might want to call someone else.

[BaldLoonie]

Some companies/techs are good at finding leaks. Most want to just sell you expensive new equipment

[kim]

Leaks can be hard to find. The tech should fill the system with nitrogen. That will tell them if it has a leak and tell them the relative size of the leak. It is possible that the system does not have a leak.