May need a heat pump. Any brand suggestions?

[EE_Bota]

My Lennox heat pump is over 20 years old, and there is a good deal of corrosion and such in the outer unit. Now, even though all motors run, and the compressor too, it does not cool much. I suspect the line set. A few years back, the line set leaked due to being run on the ground under the house.

Fellows, what brand Heat Pump is considered the best these days?

I will buy very hight efficiency, though my payback will be slight, since in the summer, my electric runs around $50 and in the winter, less than $150.

So, what is the best brand?

 

[Bird]

So, what is the best brand?

Isn't that kind of like asking what's the best brand of tractor (or car, or pickup, or ATV, or lawnmower, or anything else)?:laughing:

We had a complete new system installed one year ago this month; not a so-called high efficiency unit, but we've been happy with it so far and it's a Goodman.

 

[ustmd]

I can't give too much advice on the brand.

Depending on the size of your house, you might what to look at at a Mini split unit(s). I have one for my home office and it is very efficient and effective. I know they have mini-splits designed to handle houses.

I am sure you know this, but because of the change in refrigerant, if you replace the outside unit, you need to replace the coil in the air handler unit. Some installers claim they can purge the lines, but if the old refrigerant interacts with the new refrigerant, it creats an acid and will cause leaks.

Good luck.

 

[LD1]

Rheem and Trane both come to mind as being top quality.

But there are several other good ones as well. It is a matter of what HVAC outfit you go through and what they carry at a price you are happy with.

You got 20 years out of your Lennox, I consider that pretty good, why not stick with them?

On a side note, consider the size of your existing one and how well it did for you. Now would be the time to weight the options about upsizing or downsizing to be most efficent for YOUR house.

A good HVAC guy will be of more help to you than any of us will:thumbsup:

 

[richamor]

It is kinda like tractors. Except that there isn't really a big difference in HVAC units. The scroll compressors are all Copelands. The thing to do is find a dealer you're comfortable with and go with the unit they recommend within your budget. I went through this last year and bought a York. A little more expensive, but I'm happy with it so far. It isn't quite paying for itself, but it has cut my power bill by a third.

 

[Gator6x4]

I personally like Lennox equipment. All systems today are good. With that said the air/heat pump systems of today are not those of years gone by. A lot of electronics are used in todays systems. My recommendation would be purchase from a reputable dealer/installer. I would also insure the system is grounded good and have a lighting diverter installed on the 220 volt electrical input lines to the unit and on the air handler. The lighting diverter only cost 20-30 dollars and is well worth the money. If you have a well pump you may also consider having/or/install one of the lighting diverters on it as well. Without opening a can of worms and it ain't happening debate, our weather systems today are not like those in years past so we must take precautions we did not have to take years ago.

 

[jinman]

I know York is out of OK and Goodman is from Houston, TX. While I'm not sure about Rheem, American Std, Trane, Lennox and others, I would check to see a common brand in your area and make sure I bought a unit that was 12.5 SEER or better. Probably the long-term condition of the outside unit is going to be more in how you maintain it than how it is manufactured.

 

[EE_Bota]

Thanks guys, for the feedback.
I know it is a bit like tractors, but I know more about tractors (I lie and tell myself.)
I have studied refrigeration on and off for years, since I was responsible for huge chillers, and ac units as a plant engineer. But I am simply not "up" on modern/recent offerings for residential heat pumps.

A guy in my department says that there isn't but about two compressor manufacturers in the market. I don't know.

My old Lennox was great, and lived far longer than it should have. It has an old Copeland Scroll.

There are lots of gotcha's it seems, and I have tried to read reviews, and they are few and far between, and they are disproportionately bad it seems.

I am in the process of arranging my first quote, and the fellow is supposed to call me back. He will be (most likely) quoting Trane. I am interested in the highest efficiency of Train because of their flat cover over the fan. Why? I abandoned my master bedroom because I got tired of hearing the unit..the way the rain hits the fan as it is running makes a loud ring. Also, if cold and rainy, the unit used to defrost its coils (check!) but the fan would get completely blocked by two or more inches of ice if conditions were right.

Also, as a troubleshooter, my mind is easily captured by noises, and I spent countless hours in the middle of the night listening to the Lennox. "Oh, it just defrosted again, seems like it just finished, what time is it, 3:00am, hmmm, when did it defrost last, heard the fan kick on, is the compressor running, or is it locked, what time is it, 4:00, defrost AGAIN, what time is it...BEEP BEEP BEEP 5:00 AM, time to get up, maybe I will go check it right quick before work." So, I moved to a room far enough away that I could not hear it at all. (In that room, I discovered that the foot valve of my well pump was bad, just by listening to a slight "bump" noise that happened at recurring intervals.) I am quite insane sometimes.

 

[KTurner]

My Lennox heat pump is over 20 years old, and there is a good deal of corrosion and such in the outer unit. Now, even though all motors run, and the compressor too, it does not cool much. I suspect the line set. A few years back, the line set leaked due to being run on the ground under the house.

Fellows, what brand Heat Pump is considered the best these days?

I will buy very hight efficiency, though my payback will be slight, since in the summer, my electric runs around $50 and in the winter, less than $150.

So, what is the best brand?

With a 20 year old heat pump, your summer electricity costs in North Carolina are $50 a month? We just replaced our 25 year old Carrier heat pump in south east VA about 10 days ago. Our summer electricity costs ran about $200 more (per month) than our winter (we used woodstove exclusively for heat).

We went with a 18seer Amana (lifetime compressor warranty). So far so good, but, we've only had it ten days. It's much quieter than the old unit was.

Get several quotes. We got three quotes from three businesses that were all BBB listed and had been operating in our area for 20+ years. One company looked at the existing nameplates and just gave a quote on the modern equivalent of what we had. The second company took more time looking at the house (including looking in crawlspace) before giving quote. The third company was here several hours, and while appeared to be very in depth, lost all confidence due to poor communications (and we added this component to the quote "because, well, what the hey"). Look buddy, it's my hard earned money, I'm not going to throw it around because "what the hey". We went with the second company.

I was told that many of the companies share some common parts, such as the compressor. And that there have been mergers/buyouts/etc, so a BrandX from 20 years ago could only share the name with a BrandX from today.


Keith

 

[Chuck52]

My SIL is in HVAC. He installed a Goodman for us. I told him to buy the unit he liked because he would be keeping it running. He likes the Goodmans for ease of service and such. Turns out many parts in heat pumps are made by just a few manufacturers, and he likes the parts in the Goodmans.

Chuck