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A/C & Heater Replacement?
QUESTION:My wife and I moved into a 30 year-old house a year ago. Everything
worked ok over the past year but I have never been please with the
A/C. Well, as winter slowly approaches here in Louisiana I go to turn
on my Gas heater and smell a small hint of gas. Again, my pregnant
wife smells it too. So I shut everything down including the pilot
light and call someone to come and inspect it. I am clueless when it
comes to this equipment and service so I just picked someone out of
the yellow pages that appeared professional. A man shows up and
immediately panics and says I have a cracked chamber. He says the
evidence of this is to look at the flame where it is yellow? Isn't
most fire yellow to some degree? I go down to my gas stove and see
the same type of flame. Of course I do plan to get a second opinion.
Anyway, he has his boss come out and take a look to see what it would
cost to basically replace everything and do some needed duct work.
Here is what he proposed:
Rheem 12 SEER (electric a/c and inside gas furnace part)
redo and add some duct work throughout the house
redo some of the piping that goes from the outside unit to the inside
unit
raise the slab where my outside unit will be so it is to code
Cost: $5600 (includes tax and everything)
Ultimately, it does sound like quite a bit of work and everything he
proposed makes sense. However, if you haven't already been able to
tell from my description (i.e. outside unit vs. inside unit) I am
completely naive about this whole process. So if anyone out there can
help me I sure would appreciate it.
My concerns are this:
How should I choose someone to do this type of work? I want it done
right but I can't really tell from the yellow pages who is
professional and who isn't.
Is Rheem the manufacturer I should go with? I have always heard that
Trane and American Standard was best. This guy that gave me this
quote even said that American Standard is probably a little better
than Rheem but given my installation he said Rheem would be best.
Again, I just don't know.
Is electric A/C and Gas heat really the way to go? Should I be
considering other options?
Any advice is greatly appreciated. Simply put I am lost but have to
get this done since Winter will be here before I know it and I don't
want to risk any development issues with our new baby.
ANSWER: If you have any yellow in the flame of the gas furnace AND the gas stove
TOO. You have a Gas / Air mix problem on your gas system. Here is the list
of possible thing wrong with it.
1) Bad gas pressure to your home. Most of the time the regulator is
malifuctioning.
2) Both stove and Furnace are not set right on air to gas pressure mix. I
see this a lot but mostly on Propane and not Natural gas. You sure you don't
have propane and not natural gas.
3) BOTH the stove and the furnace need cleaning bad enough to cause a poor
air to gas mix.
4) You have a HVAC professional Salesman and Not a HVAC Professional
Repairman looking at it. If you wanted it replaced call a saleman ,. If you
want it repaired, call a Repairman.
5) The system being 30 years old is a good reason to change it out for
efficency and maybe some safety too , but changing it out for poor gas
pressure to your home or poor air fuel mix setting on the equipment is not a
reason to change it out.
6) Here in Louisiana we have a disclosure law when a realestate agency
sells a home and the furnce is found defective with in 2 years. The cost of
fixing or repair of the equipment will be paid by the realstate agent's
coverage insurance that they must carry to be a agent. If they told you that
the furnace was defective and needed some major repair. they are off the
hook and only if they told you in writting [ look in the conditions of Sale
on the contract ] . Anything not disclosed at time of the sale is covered
under insurance.
Now the brands you spoke about. i would go with the Rheem here in Louisiana
for parts are real easy to get and warehouses are everywhere. The American
standard / Trane parts are hard to get here in Louisiana and would be a
problem if you need them in a hurry. Alway buy brand / equipment that you
can get parts for them easily in your area or state. Now to the quality of
the AS / Trane verses the Rheem . Well I see very little difference in
quality as to speak of but let the price and avaiability of parts be your
guide.
Where you at Boy? I live in Louisiana Too at Oakdale , Louisiana / Central
Louisiana. E-Mail me or get with me and i will look at this circus forming
around you. I can't stand it when people start lieing to others around me.
Use the E-Mail address here on the website or post back here.
My Bull Indicator is reading 9 out of a scale of 1 to 10.
I'm not saing not to change it out but not for the reason stated here. After
30 years of service. I would say you might need to get a new one.
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