Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Been a long time since we've been in the market but our heat pump just broke down. We've talked to 1 installer about a Lennox unit and another about a Rheem.
I am reading all over the board, good and bad about both. What recent experience have any of you had with these or other brands?
You'll always have good and bad no matter what the brand. I have a couple of Lennox systems that are going on 21 years old. I've never really had any complaints.....
You'll always have good and bad no matter what the brand. I have a couple of Lennox systems that are going on 21 years old. I've never really had any complaints.....
Most pumps from various companies share similar components, ie Copeland scroll compressors. None are built like they used to be. R410a doubled the pressures involved to eek out greater efficiency, this will significantly shorten life spans moving forward IMO.
Your best choice depends on a lot of factors including how much you're willing to spend, unit size requirements, and how long you intend to stay in your current home. Both Ruud & Rheem are owned and manufactured by the same parent company so the units are basically the same except for the name on the outside. Lennox is considered higher end than Rheem and then you have Carrier, Trane, and Goodman. Goodman is a good choice if you just want low cost and plan to sell the home within five years. If you plan to stay in the home for many years then you might consider choosing a higher end replacement unit which will of course be more expensive.
My HVAC guy says the install counts more than the brand. Says he makes most of his money fixing problems in tract neighborhoods where builder has nickle and dimed the HVAC company to take shortcuts like not using enough refrigerant, installing lineset too close to wall surface where it is easily pierced by nails, etc.
My HVAC guy says the install counts more than the brand.
I agree with your HVAC guy. If you don't have a good installer or service tech, the brand will not matter much.
Find a local company that has been doing business for a long time. I try to avoid the big companies that change their names every few years.
One negative about Lennox, many times their parts can't be interchanged with other units. For example: If you need a fan blade for the outside unit, it has to be ordered from Lennox because other fan blades will not fit. You will pay a premium on Lennox parts, especially after your unit is a few years old. Also, in my experience, almost no one locally stocks many Lennox parts, so repairs take a long time.
I prefer Trane/American Standard because of their Spine Fin coil. It stays cleaner (ie more efficient) and is less likely to develop a leak and easier to fix. That said, as others have mentioned, a good installer trumps a good brand.
Goodman is probably your lowest cost option.
My neighborhood was built with Carrier systems in the late 90s. Most of the systems have been replaced with Tranes. Anecdotal, but we'll see how they look in 10 years.
This is personal experience with one house and is therefore anecdotal (without statistical significance).
My Apex residence is heated and cooled by a heat pump. The original builder-grade 2.5-ton unit lasted 14 years. Service Experts did a careful heating/cooling analysis and replaced the dead unit with a new 2.5-ton Lennox heat pump. The whole system: outside compressor unit, inside air handler, thermostat. Fairly expensive. Clear warranty -- we (the vendor) will not be satisfied until you (the customer) are.
The warranty promised a 20 degree delta. In summer, the indoor temperature would always be at least 20 degrees lower than the outdoor temperature. The new system could not meet this performance standard (though the original system did). Unsatisfactory.
Service Experts did not dispute the complaint. They replaced the entire 2.5-ton system with a new Lennox 3-ton system, all at no cost to me. The house still failed to achieve the 20 degree delta. Then, Service Experts decided that the builder's original ductwork was inadequate. (No explanation as to why it had been good for 14 years.) They replaced about half of the ducting with new up-sized insulated ducting. Once again, no cost to me. This change got the house (just barely) to the 20 degree delta.
This new 3-ton system lasted only seven years, a disappointingly short lifespan. Service Experts said the warranty had expired (true) but they wanted to keep me as a customer so they sold me a new Lennox 3-ton system at their cost. I accept this as true because their price was considerably lower than a competitor's bid.
This latest system has required expensive repairs. The big circuit board failed ($$$) and subsequently two electrolytic capacitors were replaced (two separate service calls).
A long sad story but the bottom line is this: Service Experts is a good company which keeps its promises and "goes the extra mile" to keep its customers happy. On the other hand, Lennox equipment has disappointed me (and them) over and over and over again.
After purchasing a Rheem and having issues with it (google dirty sock syndrome), I'd recommend Trane by comparison, as Trane stands by their warranty while Rheem does not.
Thanks for all the feedback, more is welcome. More info, what we are replacing is Lenox. We bought it in 1992 so it has been fairly good for 22 years. Installer has always done a good job on service too, but the price is really high and these are hard times for us. I got the Rheem quote from a co. I used to work beside on construction jobs. Just got a lower quote too on a Trane. The Trane contractor comes highly recommended as well.
Yes, I know how brands improve and decline. As an electrician, I used to praise Hubbell brand electrical products. Expensive but good quality. Nowadays, they price is still high but quality is rapidly declining on several of their products. I don't like GE brand electrical products at all (their appliances are OK).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
