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Wonder if we are getting an honest quote! Our 12 year old TRAIN 14 Seer is not cooling the upstairs of our 3700 square foot house.
The A/C repair man is telling us we need to replace the air compressor for $2700 and they can't get in touch with TRAIN for the actual "TRAIN" parts until Monday?! This was on Friday and I live in Phoenix and it's hot - is this a typical wait time and a realistic cost for replacing the air compressor?
Judith, I have had to wait 10 days for a Maytag part before in August in Tennessee with 95 degree temps and high humidity. It sounds about right. Just call them every day to check on it. Be a squeaky wheel.
Be glad he isn't telling you that you need a whole new unit or a separate upstairs unit (which you probably do). That's the setup we had in our 4,000 sq ft house.
The OP doesn't mention the tonnage of the unit, but it is likely one of the larger ones. The price and wait times are pretty much in line. Unless there is some contractor that keeps spares on his own shelves (quite possible in that area), it is a wait.
I never understand why people will put one AC to cool a large 2 story house. Instead of a 4-ton (which is what I suspect the OP has), it's so much more economical to have 2 2-ton units one for up and one for down. I have my upstairs unit in the attic and the supply vents in the ceiling and it only takes a short time to cool the place down. And yes, that price sounds about right.
Many businesses are only open Monday through Friday - not open weekends.
Why don't you go buy a window air conditioner for now which will cool one room at least? (Note get a 120 volt type and be sure you have an outlet available which is on a 20 amp (not 15 amp) circuit. Each circuit breaker will say 15 or 20 on it.)
I never understand why people will put one AC to cool a large 2 story house. Instead of a 4-ton (which is what I suspect the OP has), it's so much more economical to have 2 2-ton units one for up and one for down. I have my upstairs unit in the attic and the supply vents in the ceiling and it only takes a short time to cool the place down. And yes, that price sounds about right.
We actually have 2 units - the one for the downstairs is fine, but the upstairs unit is not working. I called another AC company and they told me I should consider replacing the whole unit for what you pay for just the compressor. They are TRANE units 14 seer -- pretty heavy duty. I've heard they last only 12 - 15 years which does make me wonder if it is worth the money to put $2700 into a 12 year old unit.
Thank you to all for your replies they have been very helpful.
We actually have 2 units - the one for the downstairs is fine, but the upstairs unit is not working. I called another AC company and they told me I should consider replacing the whole unit for what you pay for just the compressor. They are TRANE units 14 seer -- pretty heavy duty. I've heard they last only 12 - 15 years which does make me wonder if it is worth the money to put $2700 into a 12 year old unit.
Thank you to all for your replies they have been very helpful.
We replaced ours a couple years ago, same specs. It was $6100.
Maybe one of the HVAC folks can answer this, wouldn't a 12 year old Trane have R-22? Replacing the compressor will let them still use the rest of the unit, but replacing the entire condenser will also require changing the evap coil ($$$ especially if evap is in a tight attic) also, wouldn't it?
I has a similar issue on a purchased use home, but decided to replace the enite package (Condenser, evap coil, furnace, elect filter, etc) as it was the most cost effective based on age and potential future breakdowns. But if I was on a budget or knew the reminder of the items was very well maintained, I would just go with the compressor.
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Dirt cheap
