Anyone with HVAC knowledge on here?

[A.Nonymous]

I'm needing to replace an external heat/ac combo unit that is getting close to the end of it's life. It's not dead currently, but I want to replace it before it gets there. I had one company look at it and gave me the following pricing:

 

[Bomfy]

I have a family friend that might know. He's a general contractor (for about 40 years), he will know someone who knows and will probably get back to me tomorrow. I cut and pasted into an email. Which state are you in? I am in Ca., so I will bet labor will probably be less where you are.

So, a SEER rating from what I gleaned, is fancy ass talk for BTU's.

Here's a good explanation:

What is a SEER Rating?

 

[A.Nonymous]

I'm in KS. Further research tells me I need to do some sort of fancy calculation to calculate how many BTUs I need and what size unit I need. I never knew buying something like an AC was so complicated and complex.

 

[pool_shark]

I know nothing about them but will share my experience.

Mine was dead, the compressor was shot as well as the contacts. I had a company come out last year, they gave me an estimate of $1700 to fix and $2100 to replace.

Had another company come out this year, wanted to replace the entire unit, it's foundation, it's fuse box, the lines, and something inside the house (don't remember the name). They wanted $5002.

A friend of a friend has been doing hvac work for 30 years, he fixed it for $1200.

I said all of that to say make sure it has to be replaced before spending $4000.

 

[olbriar]

If you are anywhere near the Wichita area I have a name of a honest HVAC man I'd recommend for at least a second opinion.

 

[A.Nonymous]

I know nothing about them but will share my experience.

Mine was dead, the compressor was shot as well as the contacts. I had a company come out last year, they gave me an estimate of $1700 to fix and $2100 to replace.

Had another company come out this year, wanted to replace the entire unit, it's foundation, it's fuse box, the lines, and something inside the house (don't remember the name). They wanted $5002.

A friend of a friend has been doing hvac work for 30 years, he fixed it for $1200.

I said all of that to say make sure it has to be replaced before spending $4000.

I'm fairly certain it's close to the end of it's life. It's an ancient unit. A computer board in it died several years ago and although it only cost a few hundred dollars to repair, it took several days (maybe even a week) to get the part because the company had to spend time finding someone who still had parts for this particular unit. You can tell by looking at it, that it's pretty old. It doesn't need replacing right this second, but it will down the road sometime in the (hopefully) not too near future. I'm trying to avoid waking up one day in the dead of summer or the dead of winter and finding myself needing to shell out $5k immediately.

If you are anywhere near the Wichita area I have a name of a honest HVAC man I'd recommend for at least a second opinion.

I am in the Wichita area. Feel free to PM me the info or post it here if the guy doesn't mind his personal info being all over the 'net.