I NEED HELP PLEASE. Central Air Conditioners Problems Suggestions.

[jwondering]

I'm replacing my 8 year old working TempStar 2 ton central AC compressor & Air Handler with a 2 1/2 ton Trane central Compressor and Handler.

My Question is. What should I do with the Old unit?
I mean It still works and everything. I live in Florida and man,.. summer just started and boy is it hot already thats why i wanted a more effective AC unit. I was told that Trane is one of the Best Units on the Market hands down. I was also told it would last 13-18 years no problem.

Is my old unit worth anything? The coils are rusted in the handler but thats about the only thing wrong with it besides it being to small to keep the house cooled down to 74 in the summer.

The salesman told me that they'll haul it away for me free and they put it in the back of the shop where someone comes everyday to pick up the old units. What do you think this person who picks up the old units does with them??

Man I'd hate to just give away something for free if it's actually worth something to someone.

So what do you folks do with your older working central AC compressors and Handlers?

Any suggestions or thoughts would be helpful to me.

Thank you.

Jim.

[t527ed]

dump it behind shop and scrap guy hauls away

[jwondering]

But what do they do with it?
I mean is it worth anything? It still works...

The squirrel fan works just fine and i know those arnt cheap by any means. What about all the copper and stuff inside it?

It got to be worth something or else why would there be someone coming and picking them up?

[jwondering]

I'm not the poorest guy on my block but i dont have a lot of money either. Is there anything I can remove and maybe sell on ebay or something??

Should i just let these guys haul it away? What would you do?

[bbk]

We can't use any of the old parts,can't sell used parts to customers.

Some of the hands will come in on their own time and scrap out the copper from the coils and sell it when they have enough.

refrigerant and the old capacitors kinda have to stay in a junk pile on site until they can be disposed of per EPA guide lines.

[jwondering]

Hmm,.. so even tho both units still work theres really nothing i can do with either of them to make my time worth while eh?

[jwondering]

Also,.. What are your thoughts on the Trane AC Systems?
It's a 2.5 ton 13 ser with multi speed air handler.

[bbk]

After 30 yrs. in HVAC,my thoughts are that there's not much difference in brands.

[jwondering]

LOL,.. well i will tell you that my TempStar AC and Handler are both a POS.

I'm hoping Trane will be better than what i have now which is only a 10 Seer 2 ton.

[dnt]

Quote "well i will tell you that my TempStar AC and Handler are both a POS."
Now is this the same equipment that we were going to sell for big bucks???????????????????? LOL

[tpa-fl]

Old package units have some useful life after they've been removed, but the central units are more hassle than they're worth to re-install somewhere else. Installers aren't exactly gentle when they yank out old equipment.

[dash]

I'd be concerned about installing a 2.5 Ton ,when you had a 2.0 ton.

I'm in Florida and most duct systems are undersized to start with,adding a 1/2 ton,and 200 cfm to an undersized duct system ,can be real problems.

Who's your installing contractor?

[jwondering]

A company named "Home Tech" They've been around for a long time.. Longer then i've been here and i've been in florida since `86. It's a big company. I had about 6 companies out here. 2 salesman acted like they hated their job and told me i needed to replace everything from the copper tubing to 1" to adding a cut off switch next to the handler.

The salsman that came from Home Tech was the only one to actually use a tape ruler to measure the current system, took photos and even a drawn diag of the system inside the garage. he checked the copper tubing and said that it was fine for up to a 3 ton and explained that no cut off switch was needed because the breaker box was located right next to the unit in the garage where the others wanted to charge me $200 for that and $400 for new copper Tubing, he checked the Air return and the outside ducts for the handler, plus he was the only one who offered to fix it on his own time until the new system was installed. I tipped him $20 bucks for his time even though i'm sure he would have made more on a real service call. None of the others even showed me what the CFM were of the air handler. Everyone else wanted to sell me a Frigidaire unit because of the warranty but Home Tech showed me that Frigidaire had the lowest CFM of most all other Handlers out there.

Out of the 6 companies that came out everyone of them except home tech could have installed a new system within a day or two where with Home Tech I had to wait for the install. which could mean they're really busy and the other are not or maybe under staffed. it could have meant a lot of things but he wasnt in a hurry to sell me something and get it installed. He even told me that by going with them that they werent even the cheapest to go with but that they'd always be there if something ever happened.

I felt very comfortable with the salesman and the company.
And from what I've read Trane is a pretty good AC unit. lol none of the other companies even sold Trane.

Originally posted by dash
I'd be concerned about installing a 2.5 Ton ,when you had a 2.0 ton.

I'm in Florida and most duct systems are undersized to start with,adding a 1/2 ton,and 200 cfm to an undersized duct system ,can be real problems.

Who's your installing contractor?

[jwondering]

Oh,.. every year i'd get my AC serviced and everytime someone would come out they'd tell me that the unit i had was to small for my house so thats why i went with a 2 1/2 ton.

[Twilly]

we tear out the old units and put Trane stickers on them and resell them for big bucks, I bet they do too.

[travisfl]

Originally posted by jwondering
Oh,.. every year i'd get my AC serviced and everytime someone would come out they'd tell me that the unit i had was to small for my house so thats why i went with a 2 1/2 ton.

I don't know how a service person or salesman would know this without measuring the home and performing a "Manual J" heat gain / loss calculation. It doesn't sound like your choosen contractor did this either. Word to the wise....without the analysis you don't have a clue what size system you need.

[jwondering]

Well,.. What can i say then.. from the sounds of most of the peoples post here it sounds like most you guys are just out to screw us anyway and make your money. so looks like I'm right along with all the other customers out there.... SCREWED.

[karsthuntr]

Originally posted by jwondering
Well,.. What can i say then.. from the sounds of most of the peoples post here it sounds like most you guys are just out to screw us anyway and make your money. so looks like I'm right along with all the other customers out there.... SCREWED.

Actually these guys are trying to "smarten you up". They go about it in an odd way, but you wouldn't understand if we explained it the correct way. We would have to come face to face to explain it properly. You maybe getting screwed but it is not by any of these guys on this site. There are a lot of hacks out there, we are trying inform HO's of these hacks and make sure they get a good install.

Call you contractor and ask them to do a manual J, if they refuse find another contractor.

[duc dowg]

Originally posted by jwondering
LOL,.. well i will tell you that my TempStar AC and Handler are both a POS.

I'm hoping Trane will be better than what i have now which is only a 10 Seer 2 ton.

you say your unit is a pos then want to sell it or some parts on ebay. Then you say most of us are out to screw you.Sounds like you are out to screw someone.

[tinknocker service tech]

no one is trying to screw you that is a tough word
first have a man-j done find out just what size unit you need. decide what seer you want and how much you can afford to spend. get some prices and pick the guy you feel will give you the best job for your money
your old units even though they are still working are scrap
and yes they scrap guy will make a few bucks off them. this is called recycling. he does not make enough on it to even think about. as a service guy for me to tell you the unit is to small or a little light is one thing but to say you need a certain size with out doing a manual j and knowing exactly what size you need is just dumb. if the units you have cant keep up and keep the house at the temp you want then yes you need to size the unit to what you want. but to guess at the size and you being the homeowner paying for this to let them is just you screwing yourself
since you now have all the info needed to make an intelagent choice