Air Conditioning - Time to replace central unit?

I live in St. Louis, and have a 10 year old York 10 seer 5 ton system. The unit has blown two capacitors in the last year (each spring). The service tech said this is an indication that the compressor is going bad and I should replace it. His company suggests a 5 ton seer 14 Trane unit as a replacement at a cost of $5500. This includes a new coil.
My questions: Does the capacitor issue really indicate a need for a new system? Is this pricing reasonable? What other brands are quality units so I can get additional bids?
Thanks

5500 isn't bad. But what is the amp draw on the compressor? What about the fan that is connected to the same capacitor?

You need someone to find the cause, fix the problem and not just change parts or the whole system and make the problem go away.

10 years old still has some life left in it.

Chris

The capacitor issue is not that unusual other than you have had two in a row. You may want to try another service company? Something as simple as a bad terminal end (bad connection) can blow a capacitor. As Dad said they need to check the compressor amp draws and also the condenser fan if this is a dual capacitor. I understand why service companies love to do total replacements it seems that no matter what you do on some older systems they just keep having problems once they get a bit older, these things will nickel and dime the owners to death plus the service companies!! Since a lot of times the service companies end up eating cost, when something crazy happens as soon as they drive off that had nothing to do with the part they just fixed!!! All the poor owner knows is that THEY WERE JUST HERE THE OTHER DAY AND NOW IT DOES NOT WORK AGAIN THEY DID SOMETHING TO IT lol. Note: You may have a easily repaired problem, I certainly hope so, and before I spent 5k I would probably have at least one more opinion on this puppy.

I agree with Jarredsdad. Something is causing the capacitors to go. He brings up a good point about the fan & compressor being on the same capacitor. Dual caps just don't hold up as well as single dedicated capacitors. Anytime I encounter a bad dual capacitor & have room in the cabinet, I put in two separate capacitors. I also prefer 440 volt capacitors to 370 volt. The 440's seem to hold up better & will not harm the system in any way.

Everything should be checked out carefully including amp draw, all connections (already mentioned), including the connections at the compressor itself. Even the contactor should be checked.

The 440 volt capacitor is my preferred choice too. It's also possible you got a capacitor that just didn't last. Most capacitors are now being made out of the country at very lost cost and quality. Remember the days when capacitors seemed to last forever? They were also much larger than current units.

Another way to look at it is. you say 10 years old and a 10 seer.Most of the time we say a unit is good for 15 years. Have units much older that still run good. But with the cost of power you might look into a unit with a higher seer. Best buy on a Trane would be the one with a seer of 15 . You can also get a tax credit from the IRS on that one. Also with UE might look into a heatpump. Thats all we put in here at the lake. With the high humidity we have here in MO. The V/S blower sure helps a lot If you go all new you can get the 10 year warranty on it all. That cost they gave you for a 5 ton is very good

First to everyone use the return/enter key. Seperate stuff and make it easier to read.

Mr Fixit, thats one of the many reasons why they try to push new systems. More money and what ever was wrong in the first place is probably gone.

Grady good point! Split it up and see who is the culprit. You can always go up but not down.

Ed, that's good info. But I thought we were all here to keep things running and repaired cheaply (DIY).

ntd19, I regularly work on York units older than I am (41) and they are still trucking on. Your cap blows at the same time every year? Could be the power company.

Here is a story. When I lived in Hampton Roads VA, I was returning from a trip to NC. My wifes best freind called and explained she had lost power. When power came back her outdoor unit only hummed but would not come on.

I re-routed my travels to her house and found a bad cap, since I didn't have the exact thing I made a duel cap with two caps of the correct size.

Next day I picked up the correct dual cap for 20 buck and she was fine.

But at the same time the lady next door called a company to check her unit, same problem. $700 later the lady next door had a new compressor, and a new cap which was the problem in the first place.

Bottom line, you've lost two caps in two years at about the same time.

Call another company, request a full sytem check out, be specific, you want superheat, subcooling, amps of the fan and comp. You also want return temps and supply temps.

Report back.

Chris