Where can I find info on brands?

[matermusic]

1300 sq foot home in Nashville.

I've been patching up and old 2.5 ton Lennox Gas Pack for the last couple of years, and know that I'll soon need to find a replacement.
I've gotten bids on several different models, with 12 seer units coming in around $xxxx, and 13 seer units coming in around $xxxx.
So if everything else is more or less equal, which brands are more well thought of?
Or is there one I should particularly avoid?
I've been pitched Trane, Heil, Lennox, and Goodman.
No one has bid out a Rheem yet.
Thanks in advance.

(No pricing, due to site rules )




[Edited by senior tech on 02-25-2006 at 12:07 PM]

[re2ell]

Originally posted by matermusic
1300 sq foot home in Nashville.

I've been patching up and old 2.5 ton Lennox Gas Pack for the last couple of years, and know that I'll soon need to find a replacement.
I've gotten bids on several different models, with 12 seer units coming in around $xxxx, and 13 seer units coming in around $xxxx.
So if everything else is more or less equal, which brands are more well thought of?
Or is there one I should particularly avoid?
I've been pitched Trane, Heil, Lennox, and Goodman.
No one has bid out a Rheem yet.
Thanks in advance.

(No pricing, due to site rules )




[Edited by senior tech on 02-25-2006 at 12:07 PM]

here is the homepage of member BaldLoonie, he enjoys helping people who need answers.

http://www.johnmills.net

[t527ed]

lennox has a new 15 seer gas pack with v drive blower. for residential use i would take a look at that one.

[turtle]

This is Turtle.

Why don't you try to get some dealer to pitch a very good and quality in a installation !

Good installation is about 90% of a good running system. Then 10% is the brand you pick.

yes Avoid any brand that does not have a good installer to do the work.

i'm not getting into the brand game but i would look at getting a price from a Rheem dealer.

You should be looking at the installer and not too much at the brands.

TURTLE

[Special-K]

I agree with Turtle. I really can't say any of the brands are bad, but give any of them a bad install and they're gonna be crap.

I constantly see good equipment that is so poorly installed 25% or more of the capacity and efficiency is lost. Very sad me thinks.

[dan sw fl]

edited ... double post .. see below

[Edited by dan sw fl on 02-26-2006 at 09:16 AM]

[dan sw fl]

Originally posted by matermusic
1300 sq foot home in Nashville.
... need to find a replacement.

, which brands are more well thought of?
Or is there one I should particularly avoid?
I've been pitched Trane, Heil, Lennox, and Goodman.

[Edited by senior tech on 02-25-2006 at 12:07 PM]

Avoid Rheem & Goodman.

Should you use a Heat Pump instead?
How many hours annually <25'F in Nashville ?

Gas Rate $1._____ / Therm
Electric Rate $0.__ /kW

Look for Heat Pumps with H.S.P.F. > 8.5 to
lower your heating bill further.

http://www.trane.com/residential/pro...mps/xl16i.aspx

[re2ell]

Originally posted by dan sw fl

Originally posted by matermusic
1300 sq foot home in Nashville.
... need to find a replacement.

, which brands are more well thought of?
Or is there one I should particularly avoid?
I've been pitched Trane, Heil, Lennox, and Goodman.

[Edited by senior tech on 02-25-2006 at 12:07 PM]

Avoid Rheem & Goodman.

Should you use a Heat Pump instead?
How many hours annually <25'F in Nashville ?

Gas Rate $1._____ / Therm
Electric Rate $0.__ /kW

Look for Heat Pumps with H.S.P.F. > 8.5 to
lower your heating bill further.

http://www.trane.com/residential/pro...mps/xl16i.aspx

165 annual hours <25ºF in Nashville

[wyounger]

Nashville is a great place for a heat pump, or at least dual fuel. The gas burner portion of a gas pack can't be set up for high efficiency like a separate furnace can be- so there may not be tons of room for you to cut your gas consumption, unless your old unit is really, really old. Also keep in mind as you look at energy sources that you have pretty attractive electric rates in your area.

If you are at all noise-sensitive or will have the unit installed near sleeping areas, ask questions about noise levels. They can vary quiet a bit from brand to brand, model to model, and even size to size. Lower-end equipment, and package units overall, have a tendency to be unusually noisy.

The only proper way to quote sound levels is in decibels (dB) or bels/sones (which is just decibels divided by 10). It's a logarithmic scale, though, so while small differences are significant, bigger differences are huge. This isn't the most common number to discuss, so salespeople may not have hard numbers on them on an initial sales call. They should be able to find out for you, though. Most residential equipment falls in the 69-80 decibel range. For a package unit, I would call 75 relatively quiet. It's pretty common that they're rated at 77-78 decibels, though, which I find fairly obnoxious.

Find a good company to install and service it first and foremost. Second, stay out of builder grade equipment. Basically every brand makes it, and nobody's builder grade stuff is very good. Beyond that, brand isn't all that important.

[turtle]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dan sw fl
[B]

Originally posted by matermusic
1300 sq foot home in Nashville.
... need to find a replacement.

, which brands are more well thought of?
Or is there one I should particularly avoid?
I've been pitched Trane, Heil, Lennox, and Goodman.

[Edited by senior tech on 02-25-2006 at 12:07 PM]

Avoid Rheem & Goodman.


This is Turtle.

As you leaving Rheem and Goodman out , you must know they have a bad installers of those units in that area. That could only be the reason.

TURTLE

[stonefly]

you wont get that info here.to keep peace in the family we all compromise on the point that the install is the most important thing.and it is.just how old did your lennox get to be?

[matermusic]

Thanks to all for the replies.
It's been very helpful.
We fixed the old unit, so I bought some time.
I am starting to look at dual fuel units, and I'm leaning towards a Trane.
I think we've found a good installer.
All the posts were much appreciated.
Bob