Air Conditioning - New Condensor

First, forgive me for any incorrect terminology - I know little to nothing about A/C units. We have been in our house for 4 years. In the past 2 we've had our outside unit (Condensor?) replaced twice by our home warranty. They've given us Carrier units both times. These units have tripped our circuit breaker about once a month and made it so the upstairs unit is constantly running but no cool air is coming in. Finally the thing dies and they come back out and say we have to replace it. This is our 3rd round with this same scenario. I've also noticed that the Carrier unit is extremely loud and drains power from everything else when it kicks on (ie. the lights dim, etc.) We have a quote to install a Trane XR13 5 TON, 13 SEER CONDENSOR W/ PAD for $3820. My questions are:

1. Is this a good deal?
2. Is this a good unit?
3. Will this new unit solve the aforementioned problems (power drain, tripping circuit breaker, needing to replace the unit every year?)
4. Am I being naive and this is a bigger issue, maybe with the inside unit and how it connects or something? I just think it's crazy that this has happened 3 times in 4 yrs.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Summer

When they replaced the unit, they find anything wrong with the compressor? (grounded, burnt out,...ect)

A few things I would have checked out..

-Breaker matches to what the unit calls for?

-Wire gauge matches with the amp rating of the system?

-Breaker maybe week, and may needs to be replaced.

-What is used on the coil, TXV or Cap tube? If TXV, has superheat been checked?

(I did a quick look at the chart, the home should have 50amp breaker for the A/C unit, and wire should be 11 or 10 gauge wire.)

There is nothing wrong with the Trane XR13, just a good basic unit, and

Hi Summer,

1. Not sure since labor charge really depends on location and work included but i can let you know how much this exact unit cost, please message me if you like that info so you can answer this question yourself.
2. Trane makes good products and so does Carrier.
3, 4. It is crazy to keep replacing the condenser without finding what causes them to die in the first place. You'll just have to replace it again if the problem is not found and fixed.

Hope this helps.

gsistore

something is going on there i would demand a install of a high pressure/low pressure control that will lock out the condenser if trip pressures are reached,and bring the tech out to you.if these were burn outs from the get go,and not cleaned up thru the system the remaining acid in the system could and would work its way onto the new compressor windings,and this would cause a failure.this acid when a burn out occurs is so caustic it will burn you nose when you smelled it off the hose.did you get new freon/dryers on the first change out or did they just flip in a new condenser and let if fly?

No,No,NO, you have other problems. A carrier condenser should run at least 8 to 10 years, may be even longer. You said home warranty pay for the unit, may be that is why, some bad AC tech just want to make more money, so they say you need a new one. and the warranty company doesn't check the unit themself, so the bad guy can fool them. The way you described about the Carrier unit, tripped once per month, drains power, etc.. it sounds an electrical issue, not the condenser unit problem. Anyway, if you want to get it fixed once for all, you need to find a real and honest AC tech first before investing thousands of dollars into it.

You could put the best unit made in this situation (whatever that is) and you will still have problems there is something else wrong. I am sorry I can't tell you what it is because there are too many possibilities. You could be overcharged and flooding back refrigerant on start up, have a plugged orifice or expansion valve and not be equalizing so that you are starting against high pressure, your system could be ducted improperly. And these are just a few but be sure there is something wrong with the installation. You may want to call someone besides the company the warranty company sends out you need someone who is working for you then hash it out with the warranty company after you get some good advice.