| Name: |
RickLake
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| Subject: |
Heating & A/C recommendation
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Date:
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2/1/2011 10:35:09 AM (updated 2/1/2011 10:35:55 AM)
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Any recommendations (from personal experience) for a Heating/Air contractor to install new heat pump (both inside and outside units)? Looking for a company that has been around - no man working out of his truck. My unit is working ok but is old and time to get my ducks in a row. Also, the existing electric heat strips are terribly expensive to operate. For month of December with thermostat set at 50F, my power bill was $198.
House is SW side of lake in Elmore County off Mt Hebron Rd. Thanks.
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| Name: |
George
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| Subject: |
Heating & A/C recommendation
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Date:
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2/1/2011 10:57:03 AM
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Patterson Air in Tallassee 283-8278. They install Trane. I'll give you more info at lunch.
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| Name: |
The G Man
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| Subject: |
Heating & A/C recommendation
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Date:
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2/1/2011 11:33:06 AM
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We had good service from John Sims Electrial 5/07.W 256 329-3360 C 329-6370.
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| Name: |
lakngulf
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| Subject: |
Heating & A/C recommendation
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Date:
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2/1/2011 11:57:21 AM
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Gordon's Heating and Air
Steve Gordon 256 234-5052
A good guy to work with, and they have helped with items from their truck.
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| Name: |
Mountain Man
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| Subject: |
Heating & A/C recommendation
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Date:
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2/1/2011 12:21:31 PM
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Pinson Heating and Air installed my heat pump. Did a great job at a fair price. I believe he is a Rheem dealer. 567-2347 or 850-5794.
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| Name: |
Maverick
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| Subject: |
Heating & A/C recommendation
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Date:
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2/1/2011 1:28:27 PM
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Agree on John Sims. Have used him for routine maintenance on our heat pump, as he was the original installer and he is on time, professional and fairly priced.
Also asked him he could drop by later one afternoon as main trunk line was making a popping noise when the pump kicked on and off. He stopped by, agreed where I thought noise was coming from and he fixed the issue in about 10 minutes and not charge.
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| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 2:51:21 PM
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Gonna need a new one soon. Is there really much difference among the major brands other than advertising budgets?
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| Name: |
Talullahhound
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 2:58:29 PM
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I'm no expert, but I think you get what you pay for. We have Trane and have been very pleased with it -- but it's only 2 years old.
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| Name: |
RickLake
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 3:04:47 PM
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Mack, who you gonna use to install? I am thinking the same ... Get a Goodman and save or a Trane and spend .... Also, if a weekend home, should I spend any extra since won't be used but 3 days a week in spring/summer and less other times of year.
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| Name: |
MrHodja
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 3:32:25 PM
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I just had one of those super-efficient HPs installed - cost me an extra grand but I'll get a grand and a half of someone else's money back when I file my tax return. The brand is Goodman, which I know nothing about. What's the skinny on them?
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| Name: |
HARRY
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 4:48:41 PM
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Not an industry leader but I've had one for four yrs with no problems and a lifetime compressor warranty.
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| Name: |
Talullahhound
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 4:53:43 PM
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I wonder if it is a "trade" brand. When I lived in VA, we replaced our PoS Comfortmaker with a Rudd on the advice of our HVAC person. (we knew him so well by the time we replaced those PoS Comfortmakers, we felt good about his opinion) I had never heard of Rudd, but they turned out to be good units and we never had a problem with them. Proabaly find out that one of the big companies make them, just under a different brand name.
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| Name: |
RickLake
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 5:15:46 PM
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Goodman is contractor grade. Nothing special. Typically cheapest brand.
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| Name: |
MrHodja
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 5:19:34 PM
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That's comforting....hopefully it will save me enough in electric bills to be able to replace it when it dies.......According to the tax credit certificate it is made by Goodman but also sold as Janitrol, Amana Distinctions, and others I've never heard of.
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| Name: |
RickLake
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 5:27:11 PM
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A tech once told me than Janitrol is aka Junkitrol. Oh well. I have a Goodman at home and the capacitor died at 5 yrs, 1 week.
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| Name: |
MrHodja
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 5:38:48 PM
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Just checked my paperwork - 10 year parts and labor warranty, and was just installed this past September. Probably by the time the warranty expires it will be someone else's problem...meanwhile the house is warm and the bills aren't too egregious.
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| Name: |
Summer Place
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 8:14:48 PM
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We have had this coversation several times on this forum. If your place is on the water the most efficient,and cheapest form of heating, and cooling your home is a geothermal unit. They are more costly than any other units but will pay for themselves in 8 to 10 years. I have had my Waterfurnace for 5 years and my power bill averages about $82 a mo. Yes that is correct $ 82. My house is about 2000sf.
It is the best investment I have ever made. Do not take my word for it do your own homework like I did. Research and gather all the information you can find. I even visited some owners of the system before I made my choice. Good luck with your research.
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| Name: |
GoneFishin
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 8:28:59 PM
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The company name is Goodman. We have a Janitrol which was the name of the unit made by Goodman when we bought the house new in 98. I later learned it was contractor grade. That being said, the unit is 13 years old. The compressor went at year 9 and it was replaced free as I had purchased a warranty with labor from Goodman for $100 when we bought the house. I would register it so if you misplace the paperwork you are covered.
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| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
Geothermal??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 9:09:08 PM
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Summer, is your heat exchanger field in the ground or in the lakebed?
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| Name: |
Summer Place
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| Subject: |
Geothermal??
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Date:
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2/1/2011 9:14:09 PM
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In the lake.
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| Name: |
roswellric
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/2/2011 9:38:51 AM
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Goodman is good news-bad news. Overall they are good units but I would recommened the middle grade unit not the lowest grade. The low grade is designed for apartment replacements. For a 2-2.5 ton unit you can expect to pay $800- $1,000 for that unit plus labor.
Now we get to the lineset/a-coil problem; The HVAC company might tell you that you need to replace the line set and the A coil because the new EPA required refrigerant is different than your old unit and your lines are undesized. This is not necesarrily so. If they insist I would check with some other folks. One other thing - you may be able to find a new R-22 unit that was shipped with Nitrogen to the supplier that took advantage of a loophole in the law.
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| Name: |
Summer Place
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/2/2011 2:18:39 PM
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Try this site for some Geothermal information.
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbiq_yd-znM
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| Name: |
sniperei
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/3/2011 5:40:27 PM
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we used chads a/c, installed a goodman with a ten year warranty on parts and labor.
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| Name: |
MrHodja
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| Subject: |
Best/Worst Heat Pumps??
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Date:
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2/3/2011 5:45:11 PM
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Same here. Goodman 10 yr P&L warranty. Chad's has been really responsive and professional and the 10% military discount helps.
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| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
So, Which is the Best Heat Pump??
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Date:
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2/3/2011 7:04:28 PM
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Sounds like a Crap-Shoot, make the best Price deal situation. I am suspicious that some obscure company makes the majority of all HP compressors, and the differences among major brands is zero, or nearly so. Oh well,,,
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| Name: |
Mack
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| Subject: |
Hey, Summer Place??
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Date:
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2/3/2011 7:38:43 PM
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I looked at geothermal last year, anticipating a problem at the lake with my HP. Sounds good, but I could never get a feel for the cost of instalation, especially the lakebed part.
I can replace the existing system for maybe $4K, HP and air handler, installed. But, Big But, my APC bill last month was $165 with only the Fridge running and the thermostat set at 50* (not well insulated cabin at all).
Will you share the installed cost of your geo system, especially the cost of burying the dissipation field in the lake bed? My lot is fairly flat, with lots of dry area during the Winter drawdown. Really interested in something like this.
Thanks, Mack
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| Name: |
Pontoonfisher
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| Subject: |
Heating & A/C recommendation
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Date:
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2/4/2011 7:30:16 AM
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Mack is right on the money. They all contain basically the same internal parts from the same menufacturers. Most have Copeland compressors. It really doesn't matter which brand you go with just make sure you get a good warranty, parts and labor. Goodman is gaining a strong following b/c of their warranty. If you research all brands you will find good and bad experiences about all of them. I have Yorks at my house in Bham that I purchased this past May. York is considered to be junk. They are 13 years old and look awful but they still run. Be careful of the upsale from a 13 Seer to 16 Seer unit. In my opinion the initial cost does not save enough money over time.
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| Name: |
MrHodja
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| Subject: |
Heating & A/C recommendation
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Date:
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2/4/2011 9:07:43 AM
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Except in my case upgrading for an additional $1000 got me a $1500 tax credit......:>)
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