Any HVAC guys in the house?

So what is currently the best system to buy for reliability? Is Trane still the go to? My 80 yr old neighbor is fighting with Lennox right now to try to get some warranty work done as the shit assed condenser coils failed after only 6 years. Now the techs are trying to convince him that he needs to spend money and upgrade to a "better" Lennox system and are drying to dodge the warranty work. I said I would ask around and see if I could find out anything about current systems.

 

Per Consumer Reports:

Five brands got a top rating of Excellent for satisfaction, including Trane, American Standard, Bryant, Lennox, and Carrier.

We have Rheem at home, it has been good. Most of the city's buildings are Trane - chillers, package units and split systems.

 

How did the coils fail?

And frankly they’re all shit. Cheapest components they get their hands on, with a MTBF or about two weeks beyond the warranty period

 

Excellent question.

 

Apparently there is a current class action lawsuit going on against Lennox for this. I just looked at it briefly but it looks like substandard coil material, coil develops pinholes and all the cold juice leaks out.

 

So in other words, he won’t live long enough to recover anything. :/

 

I was just talking to him and he said basically the same thing.

 

Great just bought a Lennox about 2 years ago. Always heard they were one of the good ones.

 

Arent Trane and American Standard made at the same plant with different badging? I believe the same applies to Carrier and Bryant.

 

I've seen them all fail. Branding is branding. Pick one...

 

Probably. I see more AS in residential and Trane on commercial. YMMV.

 

Well, he won't be recovering the refrigerant.

 

My current unit (Rheem) is going strong at 19 years. Just had it serviced and bar a VERY minor leak and not being the most efficient unit, I'm amazed how well it's held up here in FL.

I did get a quote for a new unit recently and price for a full system replacement was around $6.5-8K, depending on SEER and options like single vs. variable speed etc.

Unit in my last house was a Trane and barring a couple capacitor failures (which I was able to fix myself) it worked perfectly for the 8 years we lived with it.

 

Hope you were knocking on wood when you typed this.

 

was there an express warranty for a length of time, and is he still within it?

commercially speaking, most systems are warranted for 1 year parts and labor. for residential and commercial, you can get 5 years on the compressors (compressor only, not coils) so i would question the validity of said warranty if that call had come in to me.

the question of how the coil failed is valid however. do you and your neighbor live near the ocean? within 5 miles we have all coils coated aftermarket for a 5000 hour rating on salty air, as coastal air eats this shit up quick.

finally- commercially speaking i despise trane. worst support, worst build quality in my opinion. residentially, when i do side work i try to go carrier or york, but every mfg has their "off brand" made in the same factory. bryant (carrier), Guardian (york), American Standard (trane), Goodman (now acquired by daikin) blah blah its all the same product so the key in longevity is in the skill of the installer.

 

Same plant does not mean same parts. Yes similar, yes similar support but this is a common myth that they are the same with a different label slapped on. Perfect example was Pontiac Firebird and Chevy Camaro, close but not the same.

 

He said it was under warranty and he doesn't seem to be the type that would make up stories. So I am assuming that it is. We did not get in to the fine details. I know the paperwork I got from the installers of the system that was put in at my house specified 10 yrs parts and labor.

We are about 200ish miles from the coast so that should not be an issue.

When I talked to him this AM he said he was just going to do a bit more research to figure out what he was replacing the busted system with and decide whether it would be worth his time to get in on the class action suit. But today he was going to go to work on his sailboat and hang out at the lake.

 

For your car example, it would be more accurate if you are referring to early 70's type cars. But once the powertrains went corporate, as opposed to each marketing division having their own engine designs, the differences were really more of a cosmetic nature, not a durability/functional nature. Just like todays Chevys and GMC's are basically the same, besides some sheet metal and trim configurations. The powertrains are the same, along with most all of the suspensions etc. Of course, the tuning of the suspensions will be a little different, based on the customers each has. But even then, from a durability standpoint, I would consider them the same. It's not like they used a cheaper radiator on the Chevy vs. the GMC, which I think is the implication regarding the various A/C units going down the same assembly line for the differently branded units.

Now where is Roy to tell me I am full of shit, and that GMC's are better than Chevys, even though the powertrains are all the same. (Same engines/transmissions etc.)

 

Well I don't know about all that, but I'll volunteer if Roy fails to show.