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410A HAS LOT HIGHER PRESS. THEN R22 SO YOU HAVE PIN WHOLE LEAK WITH 410 A YOUR OUT OF FREON LOT FASTER CONDESSOR COIL DID NOT CHANGE THICKNESS. EVEN TRAIN HAS LEAKS 1N THERE NEW 410A SYS.THANK YOU al
I know you are in Charlotte but can you PM me reputable names of HVAC people in the triad area? I have heard good things about Absolute Comfort here but if you can make a recommendation, I'd greatly appreciate it:-)
Sorry my PM's are turned off. It's been a while since anyone I know has dealt with contractors in the Triad area but Williams Heating and Air was who my parents used. Don't take this as an endorsement but just another name. I've found numerous things they should have done differently but their system is 12 years old and using R-410a and it's still running, for whatever that's worth.
Boy, this is a revived old thread. I am interested in this topic because I recently installed new systems in both my NY home and my Florida home. My son just graduated HVAC school and is a union Air Handler.
In my NY home, I installed one of the last 10 seer R-22 units sold. Why? Because up here it is only run a couple of weeks a year, if that. I got a killer deal on it. I'm selling the house in a couple of years, and up here it is more of a luxury then a necessity. The payback for a better efficiency unit would have been over 10 years or more.
At the Florida home, I had installed, (Could not do that one myself, living in NY)
a Rheem R-410a with an engineered SEER rating of 15. It replaced a 15 year old trane that was quite inefficient. My electric bill plummeted. The only thing I may do down the road is install a UV light system in the duct. We'll see.
What many folks do not know is the importance of proper sizing. The right combo of condenser and air handler can optimize your seer rating.
When it comes to HVAC, the installer is more important then the brand.
The question to ask is yourself, is $400 that big of an issue ? I was in the field for a long time in Florida, based on my experience upgrade to 410A. You will save money in the long run. As R22 is phased out its price per pound is going to go through the roof. One R22 leak in the years to come will equal your $400 difference. Save yourself future head aches and money and put in 410A. As far as goodman, its pure garbage. Rheem is middle of the road, but good machines. Amana is junk, worst coils in any company I have ever seen. I am biased towards Train, simply put they are the best made machines out there, but they are bigger. Go with the Rheem if it fits, you wont be unhappy with it, I have installed hundreds of systems with few problems.
Last edited by Old Man Winter; 01-02-2010 at 10:00 AM..
Reason: spelling
One factor to consider is the "perceived" value down the road. What I mean is that if you say sell your home in 5-6 years, and the normal lifespan for the system may be 12-15 years, will a perspective home buyer perceive the R-410a as better then the R-22....regardless of what the truth may or may not be. I could just hear the new buyer say, "Oh good, it's R-410a"...
I mean even here, you have folks weighing in on both sides of the issue. R-22 may be fine as long as it stays in the system, and there is no reason to think it would not. OTOH, if say the condensing unit goes bad down the road, you may be able to just replace that without changing the lineset, etc if it is already R-410a. If size is an issue, the R-410a condensing units are bigger then the R-22 units, but rarely is size an issue outside.
I'll throw in some other things to consider. Have your ductwork inspected. In the Florida home I found cuts in the flex ductwork.......probably there from the install 15 years prior......so for years some of that cool air was cooling the attic. I fixed them, and also had all the ductwork insides cleaned. Perfect time to do it when everything is apart. Since I was replacing the lineset anyway, I had the condensing unit moved about 10 ft, because of a future project.
The outside 13 seer 3 ton and an inside 10 seer 3 ton....this is a definite no-no!!!!!!! The inside 10 seer will put pressure on the outside 13 seer and it will not perform as it should plus the fact that the 10 seer inside will BURNOUT the 13 seer outside in about a couple of years. Also this will void ANY warranty having "MISMATCHED" units. Make sure you get your drier changed out as well.......
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