Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - What coil is best and why

I hope this isnt too general of a question, but what coil is best and why? One Trane rep said he would put in an A Coil, another said its a bad idea. Any strong opinions on this?

Why are the companies making their recommendations? They need to explain their recommendations. We do not have enough insight into your unique situation to give you a meaningful answer.

An" A" coil is a shape or configuration of an indoor coil that fits more coil into a smaller space than a "flat" or "slab" coil. Function is another issue. Shape is no reason to change. So WHY is the issue.

I think the goal of the dealers is to confuse the issues, try to make the previous dealers look incompetent, and knock a few dollars off the quote. Then they say you will get a better system, installed by more knowledgeable people. Many times in this forum people have said a properly installed system is better than top of the line not installed properly. But after talking to 7 dealers how do I know whom to trust? Each guy has a better story than the last guy does.

I agree that contractors are struggling to find and edge. Some do it by competence, others resort to lies, exaggeration, and worse.

At first I thought that you were buying a coil by itself. Now I think that a coil is recommended when you are buying an outdoor unit. Is this right? If so, the recommendation to buy a coil is the most competent one.

BUY A NEW INDOOR COIL and don't buy from a dealer who hasn't explained why (or doesn't know why). This is why:

If you don't…you may as well only buy a minimum Seer outdoor unit to save some money... because the old coil will severely limit the performance and life expectancy of any new unit including the minimum SEER unit.

Check Amana at http://www.amana-hac.com/Products/INDOORCOIL.html

I like the detailed info at http://www.climatemakers.com/coil.htm

Also (Tips for Buying a New Air Conditioner) at http://hes.lbl.gov/hes/makingithappen/nrr.html

Yes the inside coil is for the outside unit. They say that the A coil is harder to clean. I was wondering if it was more difficult to clean and if there was any other difference than shape and if it really matters one way or the other?

Thanks

For you help

I think the Trane dealer didn't do a good job explaining his offering.

The bad guy poster child right now is mold. If an evaporator coil holds moisture, you give mold a perfect place to grow. You should have a coil that allows for the removal of water quickly. The Trane coil has several features to help protect you in this regard. The drain pan is sloped in two directions toward the drain to allow quick run off. The coils are taller than most. The fin spacing is wider than most. This allows water on the coil to quickly roll down to the drain pan.

"A" coils are hard to clean? Again in the interest of Indoor Air Quality, the "Trane" coil has removeable interior panels that allow access to the bottom side of the coil for cleaning. Insulation is foil backed to allow for easy cleaning also.

As moderator Comstock stated, no one can tell you what the effeciency will be when you match a new cond unit with an old coil, or even with another manufacturers coil. For best results, get a matched system.

I have also heard that if you dont match the right coil to condensor you will invalidate your warenty. So I will be looking at this very closely.

thanks for all your help