Big problems

[Gasser64]

Bad things happened. My central air unit bit the dust today. Local air conditioning place sent a tech out for the service call and it was $120 to tell me its f'd.

He said im looking at about a $5600 bill to get a new one in there. Only upside is the new one should be a fair bit more efficient because the old one was from 1999. Its a 10 seer.

http://www.nordyne.com/Literature/325a.pdf

Anything i should know before i crap out 5600 bucks? I could do it for $5200, but then i only get a 5 year warranty on parts and nothing on labor. For the extra money I get a 10 year parts and labor. After this Im buying it. He said the higher the seer rating, the higher the efficiency. But more seer equals more money. The $5600 job buys me the warranty, the installation, and a 14 seer unit. Is this the best deal or should i go elsewhere?

[ceyko]

So it is 5600 to replace a single 5 ton unit?

I'd recommend getting 2 additional quotes. That seems on the steep side to me. Not necessarily a rip off, but a bit high.

[zemog]

I know I live out in the sticks, but I paid 2600 for my outside unit this summer , not if I replaced the part in the attic also it would have been around the price you stated

[black2002ls]

Yeah seems a bit high. One of our homeowners had theirs replaced when it went out. 2 story home with a single unit running dual zones. Compressor and air handler cost her $6400 I believe

[snacksnack]

what city are you in?

[GeorgeG.]

Sounds like your old unit is R-12 and the evap system can't be retro fitted. I could be wrong but that's the only thing I can think of that would get you a quote that high.

I got a "rough" quote by a tech to replace my 5 ton condenser for about half that...I don't remember the $$ exactly but it was no where near your quote. However, I had already replaced my air handler/evap which is new enough that it would just need a different valve to work with the new refrigerant.

[Doug Hatton]

Is the $5600 for an entire new system? If so, that's not too far off. I think I paid just under $4k for my 4-Ton.

[juiceweezl]

The posts are correct. That's high if just the compressor but accurate if replacing it all to bring up to new standards for refrigerant.

[JordonMusser]

<random> I have a brand new (installed never started) 4 ton blower/96% furnance 16seer Armana for sale. $1K. </random.

[Gasser64]

Current unit is a 5 ton but it always looked a little small. But what the hell do i know, i dont know AC systems. House is 2300 sq ft if that is any indicator. It ran non stop too. I am always walking by it and it was seldom not running.

I have heard of people cheaping out and buying ones like that, if they were moving soon when it died. The old concrete square its sitting on is much bigger than it is, but again what do i know

And is there any hope of getting say, a 15-18 seer unit for any kind of reasonable price? I assume not but oh well. It would be nice to have a lower bill. My electric bill has been near $400 for the last 2 months. Probably due to that damned AC. Switched to reliant from TXU to save 3.1 cents per KWH. That should help.

[zemog]

Just checked , mine is a 5ton unit and my house is 2400 sq ft, it ran 2600 ish
That is the condenser only replaced other part a couple years ago and it was about same

[Rreemo]

http://www.arcticairdfw.com/

One of my best friends owns this place...they will not steer you wrong or sell you crap you don't need. I've referred numerous people on the board, co-workers, neighbors, friends, etc.

He's a fellow car guy, his name is Mark Kuban....tell him Jason sent you.

[Chuck_Finley]

When they replace the condenser (outside unit) they will have to replace the coil inside too. You're going to be converted over to R410 and there could be a possibility your existing lineset may need to be replaced. You should ask them if they are going to flush out the existing one and reuse it or put in a new one.

If that's all they're doing, yeah that price does seem high, but if they include the air handler/furnace too, then that's much more reasonable. But you're not really providing enough info either.

Is the new condenser just a simple 5 ton swap? Is the new one a 2 stage, or a dual compressor setup? What brand? What seer? Is the compressor a scroll (most 5 tons are, but just ask anyway) Is the coil all aluminum?

You need to provide more info on the quote for better feedback.

[BlackGT]

Current unit is a 5 ton but it always looked a little small. But what the hell do i know, i dont know AC systems. House is 2300 sq ft if that is any indicator. It ran non stop too. I am always walking by it and it was seldom not running.

I have heard of people cheaping out and buying ones like that, if they were moving soon when it died. The old concrete square its sitting on is much bigger than it is, but again what do i know

And is there any hope of getting say, a 15-18 seer unit for any kind of reasonable price? I assume not but oh well. It would be nice to have a lower bill. My electric bill has been near $400 for the last 2 months. Probably due to that damned AC. Switched to reliant from TXU to save 3.1 cents per KWH. That should help.

5 ton should be plenty for 2300sqft. I have 2,000sqft and either a 4 or 5 ton (don't know the seer rating) and my highest bill this year (since April) has been $147...