I have a rental house and need to replace a 15 year old a/c unit, I got a quote to replace the air handler and compressor for $3700 not really sure how good of a deal that is. The unit is a 13 seer American Standard, is that a good brand? Should I get a Trane or Carrier instead? I don't know much about these things looking for some help with this.
Oh and it is not a heat pump the house has a nat gas line so it was 60k btu nat gas furnace.
I had a new 75k btu 95%+ efficiency natural gas furnace, 3 ton AC (16 seer, I think), new A coil, air handler, almost all new ductwork, and a new return vent cut in, all for $4,100. Granted, the guy who did it works for a very small HVAC shop and I know him pretty well, so I got a deal. So to me, that seems a little high, but I really don't know.
It's in the ballpark, that I can say. Shop it. Just make sure you're comparing apples to apples and not 13 SEER to higher efficiency units. I think 13 SEER is the bottom of the bucket these days.
The HVAC people I know say buying a Trane is throwing your money away.
What do i need to look for as far as warranty? What is standard with these things?
Mine's so old that anything is a step up. I got quoted $3300 to replace my system.
My furnace was from the late '40s/early '50s, and my AC unit was a 10 seer(I think). Not only did I get a deal on mine, but I also did it in December of 2010, so I got the full $1,500 tax credit. I also sold the old AC unit on craigslist for $100, scrapped the old copper lines, stripped and scrapped the old A coil, and cut up the old furnace for scrap, and have a bitchin' shop fan/squirrel cage from the old furnace. So in the end I got a complete high efficiency heat and air system and a nice shop fan for $2,200 installed. Did I mention I'm a cheap, cheap bastard?
3700 is fine. American standard is good. Most every system comes with warranty information in the package. If the house isn't too big a 13 seer is enough.
Trane and Carrier are a waste of money, you're just paying more for a name. I can't recall the names, but they both sell budget minded stuff under different companies and they're the exact same units.
American standard and trane are the same thing... I used to work in a Trane factory ("small" commercial a/c units)... depending on the order sometimes we'd slap an American standard sticker on them... as I understood it the American standard was a "premium" brand over the trane brand
Just put a 3 ton package (all in one) Rheem heat pump on my house for $3700.00. The price for a split unit is usually a bit higher for the labor, so I'd say you aren't far off.
In 2009 we dropped $10k (actually less out of pocket with incentives and rebates) on a 24 seer 2.5 ton Maytag. Not sure I'd do it again. I think a good 16 seer unit for $4-5k would've been just fine, especially when it comes to repairs. But the Maytag did come with a 10 year parts & labor policy (which we unfortunately have had to a few times already).
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