Home AC questions

[Plantman]

Acutally, it's for my warehouse.

I have a warehouse that I would like to put central air in. I need a 5 ton unit and am contemplating doing so within the next month or so.

Is there any difference between all the different brands?

I was told that there were only 3 companies that manufactured compressors and that most of them are all rebadged under another name.

Example, Carrier makes Bryant.

Anyone have any clues? Suggestions?

[TOPGUN]

I would get a high efficiency type, high seer rating with a scroll compressor. A scroll is more reliable then a recipricating type. Copeland scrolls are like the Mercedes Benz of the compressor world. You are correct about the rebranding. Goodman makes many of the brands. I do not like Trane. I am sure I will hear about that. There is a lot of Chicom junk out there, beware.

[Larry Delor]

My home unit is a Rheem (Scroll), and I have been most pleased with it!

[dannym]

Do they even make reciprocating AC units anymore?
Either a scroll or screw would be best.
You also may want to consider noise. Does it have to be quiet or do you not care?

[Plantman]

Originally Posted by dannym

Do they even make reciprocating AC units anymore?
Either a scroll or screw would be best.
You also may want to consider noise. Does it have to be quiet or do you not care?

Everyone in my development has a Carrier, and they don't seem too quiet to me. They all have a slight electrical buzzing sound to them.

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[SwampYankee]

Originally Posted by Plantman

Acutally, it's for my warehouse.

I have a warehouse that I would like to put central air in. I need a 5 ton unit and am contemplating doing so within the next month or so.

Is there any difference between all the different brands?

I was told that there were only 3 companies that manufactured compressors and that most of them are all rebadged under another name.

Example, Carrier makes Bryant.

Anyone have any clues? Suggestions?

We've got a 10yo Carrier R500 10-ton unit that replaced a 20yo Carrier of slightly larger size and that was far more inefficient. That only cools our 5K sq.ft. front office area, the remaining 40K sq.ft. of warehouse isn't AC'd.

We are looking to get an energy audit done in the coming months, insulate the corrugated metal ceiling (just a layer of foam underlayment insulation over top of the corrugated metal and under the rubber roof system now) and then explore cooling options for the warehouse. Depending on your ceiling height and height clearance requirements, running the cooling ducts (or even the flexible vinyl one) closer to the the work floor can cut down on the usage considerably. A new produce warehouse and a high-end grocery store built the next town over utilized them and both said they saw noticible savings.

We also have a 5T Carrier that is strictly used for our climate controlled seed storage area. It's pushing 15 years now but that doesn't have to work that hard since it's cooling an insulated "bunker" that's below ground level.

We've had good luck with our Carriers. In '98 a 10T system cost us $6500. What does a 5T run now?

[gmercoleza]

Goodman is a good brand, I put one in my house this past January. It has a Copeland scroll compressor. Goodman and Amana are made in the same factory and spray painted different colors, sort of like American Standard and Trane (most people don't know they are the same). $1975 out the door for 5 ton 13 seer heat pump and air handler, including shipping, and I did the labor myself.

Our electric bills have been cut by at least 1/3 and the flow from this unit is so much stronger and more even compared to the 8 year old Carrier it replaced. My only gripe is that it has an orifice rather than a TXV, but you can remedy that for about $100 if you want. I was in the middle of the job when I found out, so I just went ahead with the orifice. As indicated by our electric bill, we're still running far more efficiently even without a TXV.

All the quotes I got were in the neighborhood of $5500 to $7000 from Trane and American Standard dealers. Needless to say, I saved a few bucks.

[Plantman]

I went ahead after talking to the owner of the ac company and I got a 4 ton Bryant unit(made by carrier) installed for 3706.00 with the new puron refrigerant.

Warranty is pretty much the same for both.

Hope it works out, the wife is not too happy I got a ham and egger to come out yesterday and clean the coils.

[kip Foss]

I have had a Lenox for about 15 years and have gotten great service from it. It is about 100 ft. from salt water and so far has not rusted out.

Be careful not to get too big a unit for the area. For a warehouse you may not have to bother, but often people think that if the house needs 3 tons 5 tons is better. Larger acs cycle on and off frequently and after a while will burn out.

[Plantman]

Originally Posted by kip Foss

I have had a Lenox for about 15 years and have gotten great service from it. It is about 100 ft. from salt water and so far has not rusted out.

Be careful not to get too big a unit for the area. For a warehouse you may not have to bother, but often people think that if the house needs 3 tons 5 tons is better. Larger acs cycle on and off frequently and after a while will burn out.

I had a 3.5 and bumped it up to a 4 ton. Should be good because I also converted the garage to a den a few years back.

Can't wait.