Purchased Used Standard A/C and Furnace (furnaces, heating, insulated)

[deucer]

I recently came across an American Standard A/C with Furnace in good working condition. The individual upgraded his home system and sold this unit to me for $300. Well, I already have a good system in my home, but my pea brain said buy it and I did. The system is a year 2000 manufactured and it is rated as a 5 ton system. I have a 1200 sq. ft. shop I was thinking of installing this system in as it certainly would be nice to have cooling and heating year round while working in my shop, here in Texas. My concern however is this system maybe "over kill" for my shop. I am not an A/C or heating guru so I'm hoping someone might be able to give some ideas or tips on using this unit is it feasible. If there are any A/C technicians or knowledgeable folks that can guide me, please feel free to advise me and I appreciate it.

[K'ledgeBldr]

Well if the shop doesn't have any insulation in it- yeah, you'd probably be OK. But I sure as Hell wouldn't want to pay that bill!!!

If it is insulated; and insulated well, I'd try and resale what you have and use that $$ toward a correctly sized unit.

[Billy_J]

New A/C systems can use HALF the electricity of older units! Same with new refrigerators and freezers.

Do the math on your monthly electric bill. You will see that a new unit will easily pay for itself over several years.

Furnaces are much more efficient too.

A/C is difficult to calculate due to other electric costs and the climate where you live, but a new refrigerator I bought reduced my electric bill by $15 a month. So saving $15 a month is $180 a year. Or $900 over 5 years! It has paid for itself in electric savings!!!!

Also adding insulation is a one time expense. But can drastically reduce cooling and heating expenses. Do that and get a new unit and the monthly electric bill will be much less. A BIG savings in the long run.

[Coldjensens]

When I looked into buying a used system for our carraige house, our HVAC guy told me that often a used system ends up costing more than new. You need to clean it completely. Often there are small connecting parts missing which must be purchased or made. Sometimes, it must be modified for your particular application.

If you want super efficient (and quiet) insulate with foam. Costs more, but it works a lot better.

[boomtownfunlover]

5 tons is probably too much capacity for your shop.

[deucer]

Thanks for the reply folks and I do appreciate the input. My Shop is insulated for what it's worth. I figured the 5 ton might be a little too much for the shop, but for 300 I couldn't pass it up. If I were to attempt installation, my first issue is the ducting as my ceiling is low slung 8.5 ft transitioning to 10 ft as it moves towards the front of shop. So trying to figure out the ducting would be a nightmare due to clearance issues. Only other alternative would be to attempt a direct blow from the furnace plenum pointing to center of shop, but that in itself seems goofy and impractical. Man what to do??? Big system, not enough space, but I do have plenty of beer Perhaps I should drink a little more on this issue... Thanks for the input folks!

[Barking Spider]

Your shop could probably use a 2 ton unit and be fine, even in hot Texas. You might try putting the unit agains one wall and run a duct with drops in several places. Not the best for uniform air flow, but may work. Maybe get a HVAC guy to look at it and suggest a layout.

[cjski]

Originally Posted by deucer

...Big system, not enough space, but I do have plenty of beer Perhaps I should drink a little more on this issue...

Accepted answer^^^

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by deucer

I recently came across an American Standard A/C with Furnace in good working condition. The individual upgraded his home system and sold this unit to me for $300.

Put it up on craigslist
You may even get your $300 back