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Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coolio69
So we've lived in our house for 6 years. We have a basic central air unit. It's a carrier. It may be 20 years old or so. My A/C technician has been good about keeping it going. 4 years ago it stopped working. He found a grasshopper that was stuck/fried to some control panel. 2 years ago, it was not cooling and he saw that one of the outside pipes wasn't sweating so he added some Freon. Both were about $200 repairs.
Having said that, it has trouble cooling the house in hot days. Hot for us is the lo 90s with high humidity (mid atlantic area). We had a hot day the other day and I noticed there was no sweat in any of the pipes. It may need freon again, but I'm no expert. So, should I replace it or keep with these repairs?
I bought a condo in the Tampa, Florida area a few years ago. It is now 38 years old, and still has the original A/C unit and exchanger. Two years ago it stopped, and the reason was a leak in one of the copper pipes. Had the A/C guy braze it, and bingo, it works fine. I thought I would have to replace it, but I am waiting until it really needs it. Right now it needs a new motor, as there is a flat spot in it, which occasionally means I have to nudge the fan a fraction for it to work. Seems the problem happens once or twice a fortnight, so not urgent.
I'm waiting until it dies it's natural death. I hate putting things down.
I would replace it now. No sense pouring money trying to keep it running. Very few people keep their cars until they die on them, or wait to replace their tires when the old ones blow out. Unless it is a financial burden to replace now, you are really only putting off the inevitable.
A newer unit will be much more energy efficient, and will cost less to operate.
Pumping money into keeping an old unit running is really not that cost effective.
I would plan to replace it. Better to replace it on your terms, than to wait until it breaks during a heat wave. Ours broke for the final time when it was pushing the upper 90's. We had to buy a window unit and it took several weeks to get people out to quote a new system and then install it. I would also go with a zoned system.
It's near the end of its lifespan.
You're having to top it off with Freon, and you're using an obsolete Freon type that is going to get exponentially more expensive as it gets more scarce.
When it finally stops, it will be at the worst possible time when A/C techs are most busy...and giving no price breaks.
As I said, we're in a similar position. Our tech has said, "Maybe a couple of weeks, maybe a couple of years. But it's going out."
We're planning to purchase a new system in November or so when the manufacturers and technicians start cutting real deals...if our old system can hold out that long.
Just re-read your other post. If you have three levels, there is no way a 1.5 T unit is big enough. You should actually have at least 2 zones. Home builders often skinp of a/c size and zones to keep their costs down. Your a/c unit is having to work much harder than it was intended, so it is going to wear out sooner. I'd bite the bullet and have the whole system replaced with a more suitable system.
Here's a good calculator to help you figure out what size you should have:
Give it a good cleaning with soap and flesh water over the unit keeping sure water does not get on the electrical parts , see if that does not pep it up...............................See countless AC goes to the junk yard which are just dusty over the coils
Take with a grain of salt all claims of newer models and "efficiency." To avail yourself of this efficiency it may mean a replacement furnace as well. In my case we have a new but unfancy furnace so pairing it with a high efficiency a/c would be a waste of money as the furnace does not have the variable speed motor necessary to maximize the a/c's efficiency. We have a declining 10 SEER RUUD unit that is fifteen years old but since our furnace is new and not declining we would only be replacing the 10 SEER unit with a 14 SEER unit and may only save $50 in electric a year.
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