Air Conditioning - To pump or not to pump

I am in a place I thought not possible.

I am in need of a complete central air conditioning unit.

System has been in the house now since 1972.

Upstairs unit overflow pan is rusted and leaking, and freezing over.

Out side unit line is freezing over.

I had one person come and add freeon worked for a little while, had another person come and said unit had to much freon took some out I guess and worked for less time then the guy that said he put some in.

So, I have decided to get a new system.

I have called atleast five people to get bids. Out of those five, three came and looked, said they would get back with me. Two weeks later only one has called and given me an estimate.

I have not a single thing to compare this bid to, and am in need of your help as to what to do or if this is a good price or do I need to wait for the other people to come through, the trouble with waiting for them I think is apparently they do not need the work anyway and would give a high price but do I know.

Estimate or price given I do not know which at this time, but I would assume it is the price, since he said he would need half now and half when completed.

Price 5000 dollars for 10 seer 3 1/2 ton unit. ( Trane )
Price 5700 dollars for 12 seer 3 1/2 ton unit. ( Trane )

Work to do: Take out old units and replace with new, replace trunk line and feeds to ceiling vents. ( old trunk is of insulation board and duck tape that leaks everywhere)

Working conditon: Work to be done in the house is in the attic, house is built on concrete slab, you can stand up only at the very peak, the rest of the time bent over.

House is 18oo sq ft one level ranch. in panhandle of WV

I had asked one of the other havac people to give me a price on a heat pump, because of high gas prices but I guess I will never know now how much that would have been since I called him up and gave him a piece of my mind, I am a bricklayer, and do work for people all the time and you simply do not treat people this way. All he had to do was call either way, after all it was not just his time he wasted but mine as well.

Is anyone at this DIY site able to give me an idea how much more a heat pump would cast, and if I should even go that route, I have now hot water baseboard heat.

The units quoted and the seer numbers, do you think they are compatible for this house, should I go with the 12 or 10 seer unit? Should I use a 3 ton unit, that is what is in the house now, as you can see I have more questions then my keyboard would hold up to.

I just hate to tell this guy to go ahead with out knowing anymore then what he is telling me, I have half a mind to buy the units and replace them myself, please send all the help and advice my way that you can possible spare.

In talking to these HVAC system people I had so much conflicting advice I am at a loss as to what I really want any more, and this coming from only five guys.

I truly believe that in this area, I could use the heat pump unit up until January, but do not know if this heat pump, heat is effeicent as the gas or not, I know that after the temp goes to below 30 my gas would be called upon to take over. Do you think that the heatpump in my case would pay for itself I do not have plans of moving from this house. I know that gas prices are going up, and I know electric will have to follow soon, due to supply and demand.

How much more will heat pump cost over a regular central air, I was told heat pump would have to be a 12 seer unit. I would also have to have return lines put in for each room as for now I have one cold air return and know that this will not be adequate for heating, I have electric heat in the attic now, when used the rooms get warm half way down and no more because vents are in the ceiling and the cold air reurn is there too, so there is nothing to pull the heat to the floor, Thanks for your help.

I woudl stay with regular cooling, and your hot water baseboard.

if you give up the hot water, you are going to feel cooler in the winter with the heat pump.

if you have an old boiler, have ti looked at.. if it needs to be replaced, you can get a higher effecent boiler now days, and use the outdoor sensor to run the boiler at a lower temp.


As for SEER, 12 maybe low for your area.. can you get a higher one. Check with your local power company to see wht type of rebate they offer.. Seeing you are from WV, I'd say go around 14-15 SEER.

Did the old 3 ton keep up ok on the hot days?? did the dealer do a manaul j (Heat lost/gain) program on the house??

For the level of work involved $5700 don't sound to far off. If this guy is a authorized Trane dealer then I'd start talking to him.

I like the comfort of the hot water heat over a heatpump anyday and the Trane dealer should be able to give you a comparison on what the price difference is and what kind of savings you would be looking at, and like Jay mentioned a new boiler could be in line also. Another thing to think about going with a heatpump is the life span of the system. You will "on average" get double the life out of a staright a/c over a heatpump due to it running twice as much.

going with an a/c unit only I was led to believe that a 10 seer unit would be efficent. The difference between the 10 and the 12 SEER is 700 dollars, I am not even sure if I have the time to call the guy to change the order but if I were to receive infor soon enough I will try.

Will the 12 SEER last longer then the 10?

For where you are Id ask ?Will you stay in this home more than 10 years. If so go for a better unit like a SEER 14 to 16. It will pay you back. Also go to http://www.warmair.net and compare fuel cost for where you are. To see if you want electric are gas for heat.

ED ;)

In talking and listening to you guys, I have made a decision as to what to have put in, a decision with out your help would have just been a guess.

I want to thank you for your help and advice, I know that the 14 and 16 SEER is better, but it is not in my budget to go that high, because of the suggestion to go that high has prompted me to go to the next levl up, which would be a 12 SEER unit.

I have before, without asking went from a 3 ton unit to a 3 1/2 ton unit, as we do plan to add on to are kitchen by opening up the sunporch, an area that was never air-conditioned before, I thought that if the unit were a little bigger it would not have to work as hard, thus lasting longer.

With the three ton unit it has lasted since 1972, so I do not how much creedence I can place on my thinking but what the heck.

Again thanks for everything, and I will post to let you know how everything goes smooth I hope.