AC replacement recos - and questions (Dallas, Irving: rental, condo, homes)

[MovingtoDFW]

Our upstairs 5 ton condenser / outside AC unit is dead and needs to be replaced. The overall HVAC system is 15+ years, but 2 separate techs who looked at it said the evaporator coil / inside unit is working good.

Of course, several of the AC companies giving us estimates are recommending upgrading the entire condenser / evaporator / furnace to new standards, which will cost us 9k plus, versus 3.5- 4k for replacing the outside unit only.

My problem with the "obsolete" argument is that even if we upgraded the entire upstairs AC, we would still have an "obsolete" downstairs system. For replacing both upstairs and downstairs AC systems, I have been quoted ~17k, which is way beyond what we have budgeted.

Our conundrum now is if replacing condensor + evaporator or condensor + evaporator + furnace at this time is worth it at 9K when we just need to replace the upstairs condensor? We are new to the home, and not really sure how long we will live there at this time (the sellers did discount 5k for condenser replacement).

Looking to hear any arguments for or against - thanks!

Also, pls post or PM regarding AC companies you have received good price or service from!

[richard88]

heard Furnace can last longer than AC. Really need to replace furnace ?
How do we know it's about time to replace AC ?

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by richard88

heard Furnace can last longer than AC. Really need to replace furnace ?
How do we know it's about time to replace AC ?

I replaced one of my units, a 5 ton entirely last summer. This unit gets the most use as the open and living high ceilings seem to cause it to run most. I got a high efficiency system and its quitter, much more efficient and my electric bills have dropped at least a hundred per month during peak cooling period. I use perryaire and highly recommend Dallas, its owner. He is honest and leans toward fixing when it makes sense rather than and out and out replacement. If you want another opinion get him to give you a recommendation. He is a small company but as a working owner so overhead isn't there, he covers all my d Dallas over to Irving at least in my experience as he handles a business we own in Irving as well as homes in Dallas area.

[WorldKlas]

I have a few ideas. You can replace the faulty condenser with the new refrigerant type and get an adaptor so your air handler can use the updated. This is a good way to manage it if you want to start using the new (and cheaper refrigerant). Or, you can buy a used/newish condenser on Craigslist and have a tech change it out. Or you can get a new system for the non functional zone and next year get a new system for the zone that still works.

I have done all these things on the rental properties and renovations in my business. If you want some contact names for techs who and do a change out, or HVAC companies I have used, DM me.

Something like this will likely solve the problem for a few seasons if the condenser is less than 8 years old. Find out how old it is: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/for/5007117521.html

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by MovingtoDFW

Our upstairs 5 ton condenser / outside AC unit is dead and needs to be replaced. The overall HVAC system is 15+ years, but 2 separate techs who looked at it said the evaporator coil / inside unit is working good.

Of course, several of the AC companies giving us estimates are recommending upgrading the entire condenser / evaporator / furnace to new standards, which will cost us 9k plus, versus 3.5- 4k for replacing the outside unit only.

My problem with the "obsolete" argument is that even if we upgraded the entire upstairs AC, we would still have an "obsolete" downstairs system. For replacing both upstairs and downstairs AC systems, I have been quoted ~17k, which is way beyond what we have budgeted.

Our conundrum now is if replacing condensor + evaporator or condensor + evaporator + furnace at this time is worth it at 9K when we just need to replace the upstairs condensor? We are new to the home, and not really sure how long we will live there at this time (the sellers did discount 5k for condenser replacement).

Looking to hear any arguments for or against - thanks!

Also, pls post or PM regarding AC companies you have received good price or service from!

Is your condo huge? 5T seems awfully large.

I've replaced outside units twice only to have the coils fail within weeks. I won't do that again.