Cost of a new central air system

[PWMDMD]

Yeah I wish they had. They would have had to run lines up the wall outside the house, which I was fine with, but they didn’t want to. Hopefully not replacing them doesn’t come back to haunt me.

I really thought it was standard procedure. I've replaced two ACs in two different houses and solicited at least 5 or 6 quotes in the process and not a single company didn't recommend a new line set. Fingers crossed for you!

 

[hrv]

I really thought it was standard procedure. I've replaced two ACs in two different houses and solicited at least 5 or 6 quotes in the process and not a single company didn't recommend a new line set. Fingers crossed for you!

When I had my HVAC replaced in 2017 they used the same linset...They did flush it out with a product to clean the line out.. The old unit was a r22 unit...

 

[John105]

When I had my HVAC replaced in 2017 they used the same linset...They did flush it out with a product to clean the line out.. The old unit was a r22 unit...

In such a case the furnace was not replaced, right? The implication is the a coil or evaporator was reused. Furnaces seem to be way cheaper than the AC aka condenser and last longer. I thought I read if a furnace is no older than 5-7 it may not make sense to replace it when replacing AC….with the differing refrigerants I have wondered what if tech uses gauges that have been connected to different types and trace amounts are in the manifold

 

[hrv]

In such a case the furnace was not replaced, right? The implication is the a coil or evaporator was reused. Furnaces seem to be way cheaper than the AC aka condenser and last longer. I thought I read if a furnace is no older than 5-7 it may not make sense to replace it when replacing AC….with the differing refrigerants I have wondered what if tech uses gauges that have been connected to different types and trace amounts are in the manifold

No all was replaced..New 2 ton carrier unit and furnace...

 

[John105]

No all was replaced..New 2 ton carrier unit and furnace...

Interesting I guess I assumed lines would always be replaced with a new unit both outside and inside. Is it that much more expensive? None of the quotes I got were to reuse the line set, also R22 to 410A.

Hate to have that fail and ruin the condenser and furnace needs to be opened up…imho just the lay person’s perspective brazing lines introduces potential failure..

 

[brianl703]

Interesting I guess I assumed lines would always be replaced with a new unit both outside and inside. Is it that much more expensive?

If the lines are behind a finished wall, the cost to replace them goes up. Even with a compressor failure they don't usually replace the lines, they just flush them clean.

 

[John105]

If the lines are behind a finished wall, the cost to replace them goes up. Even with a compressor failure they don't usually replace the lines, they just flush them clean.

Makes sense…ours goes through the foundation and very short distance

 

[doublebase]

If the lines are behind a finished wall, the cost to replace them goes up. Even with a compressor failure they don't usually replace the lines, they just flush them clean.

That’s why my lines weren’t replaced, they went up into the attic (two floors) and were behind finish walls the whole way. The bottom unit in the basement was a clear and easy shot, but he didn’t replace those lines either, he just flushed them out - that disappointed me because he said he‘d replace those lines, yet when it came time to install he didn’t. He flushed them out. Price was low, and I’m not complaining if everything holds up. My lines weren’t leaking or anything, I was just a bit concerned with cross contamination of the refrigerant oil.

 

[doublebase]

When I had my HVAC replaced in 2017 they used the same linset...They did flush it out with a product to clean the line out.. The old unit was a r22 unit...

Good, and you’ve had no issues?

 

[hrv]

Good, and you’ve had no issues?

None at all....

 

[PWMDMD]

That’s why my lines weren’t replaced, they went up into the attic (two floors) and were behind finish walls the whole way. The bottom unit in the basement was a clear and easy shot, but he didn’t replace those lines either, he just flushed them out - that disappointed me because he said he‘d replace those lines, yet when it came time to install he didn’t. He flushed them out. Price was low, and I’m not complaining if everything holds up. My lines weren’t leaking or anything, I was just a bit concerned with cross contamination of the refrigerant oil.

Makes sense. The AC I replaced was a retrofit and so the line set runs outside the house and penetrates into the unfinished attic in a single spot. I was surprised the crew did not scavenge the old line set which I think is copper with some value - it’s about a 50’ run.

 

[doublebase]

Makes sense. The AC I replaced was a retrofit and so the line set runs outside the house and penetrates into the unfinished attic in a single spot. I was surprised the crew did not scavenge the old line set which I think is copper with some value - it’s about a 50’ run.

Yeah, honestly I wanted them to run the lines outside the house up the backside. He clearly didn’t want to - probably because of the time of year - it’s busy season now for these guys and they are packed with jobs.

One thing I did feel good about was BOTH the A coil and the outside condenser units were being replaced, and I figured most of the remaining refrigerant oil would be remaining in the old compressor/A coil/condenser fins. A good flush should remove everything out of a line set (you’d think). The receiver drier was replaced too, and removed prior to the flush. Fingers crossed it works because I don’t think I’ll ever see this guy again. I tried to ask him about warranty before he left and was very vague. Another words, I don’t think I have a warranty.

 

[John105]

Yeah, honestly I wanted them to run the lines outside the house up the backside. He clearly didn’t want to - probably because of the time of year - it’s busy season now for these guys and they are packed with jobs.

One thing I did feel good about was BOTH the A coil and the outside condenser units were being replaced, and I figured most of the remaining refrigerant oil would be remaining in the old compressor/A coil/condenser fins. A good flush should remove everything out of a line set (you’d think). The receiver drier was replaced too, and removed prior to the flush. Fingers crossed it works because I don’t think I’ll ever see this guy again. I tried to ask him about warranty before he left and was very vague. Another words, I don’t think I have a warranty.

As I've gotten older I think I've become more practical. 2016, got a new hot water heater through that orange home center store and yes got robbed, it was like $1,000 for a 12 year. Installer said you don't have a shut off (cold side), I can put one in for you, $30. In my mind I was thinking, $6 valve, $24 labor? Um, no thanks. He said no problem.

Then, I kept thinking I'm already spending $1,000, and I don't want to spend another $30? OK go ahead. Here it is 2023 never used it

anyway, with my system, the chimney liner and the extended warranty contract were rolled into the total price (as was the Aprilaire 413 nobody asked nor the smart thermostat)--this made it more palatable imho, 0% equal payments 60 mos made it truly painless. I don't need to really know how much they added for these items. I know a co who broke it out showed $800 for the extended contract. If I saw it and it were optional, I know myself, I would have said no. I think overall just better it's in there...the installer has been around since 1971 so it would seem they survived a bunch of downturns...

 

[doublebase]

As I've gotten older I think I've become more practical. 2016, got a new hot water heater through that orange home center store and yes got robbed, it was like $1,000 for a 12 year. Installer said you don't have a shut off (cold side), I can put one in for you, $30. In my mind I was thinking, $6 valve, $24 labor? Um, no thanks. He said no problem.

Then, I kept thinking I'm already spending $1,000, and I don't want to spend another $30? OK go ahead. Here it is 2023 never used it

anyway, with my system, the chimney liner and the extended warranty contract were rolled into the total price (as was the Aprilaire 413 nobody asked nor the smart thermostat)--this made it more palatable imho, 0% equal payments 60 mos made it truly painless. I don't need to really know how much they added for these items. I know a co who broke it out showed $800 for the extended contract. If I saw it and it were optional, I know myself, I would have said no. I think overall just better it's in there...the installer has been around since 1971 so it would seem they survived a bunch of downturns...

It’s funny you mention the chimney liner - I had a liner installed last winter, long story, actually there’s a thread on here somewhere about it. Cost me (I think) $3,600 total…liner, cap, sealant for the top of the chimney. I have a tall tall chimney and they had to rent this huge bucket thing. They did it dead in the middle of winter. Can’t complain, whatever they do worked. And they had to remove some bricks to get the liner down and through, and reinstall them. Lot of work.

 

[JHZR2]

My upstairs GE window ac cost 270 bucks. I could by TEN of them for $2700.00

that's 60,000 btu total. Ten compresors, ten evaporators, ten condensers.

See the ridiculous overpricing of the whole house AC equipment? And it is usually LESS reliable.

then most contractors are charging over 500 bucks an hour for labour. What blue collar working stiff makes that?

Just a rant. Now I return you to the regular channel.

Spot on. I’ve never seen the level of theft from other trades that I’ve seen for hvac.

I’ve gotten some decently overpriced quotes for some jobs, and also had some jobs where permits were claimed to be pulled but weren’t. But hvac is the worst with this.

I’ve seen some wild quotes to backfit central air into my house. Supposedly mostly due to running ductwork. Ok, I kind of get it. I may even do it if we ever do an addition or something major. I’ve installed split ductless diy and they have been great.

 

[John105]

It’s funny you mention the chimney liner - I had a liner installed last winter, long story, actually there’s a thread on here somewhere about it. Cost me (I think) $3,600 total…liner, cap, sealant for the top of the chimney. I have a tall tall chimney and they had to rent this huge bucket thing. They did it dead in the middle of winter. Can’t complain, whatever they do worked. And they had to remove some bricks to get the liner down and through, and reinstall them. Lot of work.

I found it:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/chimney-condensation-any-experts-out-there.349327/page-3

What ever happened? Reading it reminded me of when in August 2020, I bought a kit on amazon, I believe for $114, to seal a basement crack where water was coming in (my buddy told me I have to observe when there is a bad rainstorm to find the problem, and I did, locating this crack). I made a mess and didn't use the nitrile gloves provided, very big mistake. Couldn't get material off my skin for almost 3 weeks--that was one of the dumbest things I ever did (it's not the same as working on a car without gloves).

At any rate, I was gonna have to wait to see if it worked or not, but we got a really bad storm the very next day! lol and it worked! Funny to think we put up with water in the basement for 10+ years, and this $114 kit fixed it.

 

[doublebase]

I found it:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/chimney-condensation-any-experts-out-there.349327/page-3

What ever happened? Reading it reminded me of when in August 2020, I bought a kit on amazon, I believe for $114, to seal a basement crack where water was coming in (my buddy told me I have to observe when there is a bad rainstorm to find the problem, and I did, locating this crack). I made a mess and didn't use the nitrile gloves provided, very big mistake. Couldn't get material off my skin for almost 3 weeks--that was one of the dumbest things I ever did (it's not the same as working on a car without gloves).

At any rate, I was gonna have to wait to see if it worked or not, but we got a really bad storm the very next day! lol and it worked! Funny to think we put up with water in the basement for 10+ years, and this $114 kit fixed it.

There was a leak on the inside wall in the attic, the chimney was right up against it. This was always dry in the summer, but winter it would weep through, drip down, freeze, stain, inside. Figured it was the flashing, it wasn’t. Then figured it was the actual roof itself, it wasn’t.

Finally had a chimney guy come out, he was stumped. He added a sealant to the flashing. That didn’t help. Then he sealed the cracks on top of the shimmery, that didn’t help. He said the inside of the chimney liner was damaged. That the insulating blocks has shifted and a lot of the heat was going right through and inside the chimney itself, said it was dangerous and possibly could be causing condensation to build up on the inside of that wall (The chimney is directly against that wall outside). He suggested a liner for safety, and the possibility that it could be causing the leak. $2,600 bucks later, he installed the liner. It seemed to help immediately, HOWEVER at the same time he also applied a coating on top of the crown of the chimney (at my request, based on product reviews online I read of this sealant). Anyway, in a matter of days it began to dry up. Then a week or two later he installed a stainless steel chimney cap as well. Haven’t had a problem since. The whole thing probably cost me $3,600 bucks by the time I was done...liner, cap, flashing, sealant, inspection. Awful experience to spend $3,600 bucks on something like that. I’m just waiting for the next thing to break in this house.

 

[John105]

There was a leak on the inside wall in the attic, the chimney was right up against it. This was always dry in the summer, but winter it would weep through, drip down, freeze, stain, inside. Figured it was the flashing, it wasn’t. Then figured it was the actual roof itself, it wasn’t.

Finally had a chimney guy come out, he was stumped. He added a sealant to the flashing. That didn’t help. Then he sealed the cracks on top of the shimmery, that didn’t help. He said the inside of the chimney liner was damaged. That the insulating blocks has shifted and a lot of the heat was going right through and inside the chimney itself, said it was dangerous and possibly could be causing condensation to build up on the inside of that wall (The chimney is directly against that wall outside). He suggested a liner for safety, and the possibility that it could be causing the leak. $2,600 bucks later, he installed the liner. It seemed to help immediately, HOWEVER at the same time he also applied a coating on top of the crown of the chimney (at my request, based on product reviews online I read of this sealant). Anyway, in a matter of days it began to dry up. Then a week or two later he installed a stainless steel chimney cap as well. Haven’t had a problem since. The whole thing probably cost me $3,600 bucks by the time I was done...liner, cap, flashing, sealant, inspection. Awful experience to spend $3,600 bucks on something like that. I’m just waiting for the next thing to break in this house.

Well I threw $1200 away getting an ultrasound mid Dec, where from Jan 1 on it would have been $40. I made 6 monthly payments and just paid the 6th payment a week ago. Money is meant to be thrown away! . (Just joking you did get something out of it…)

 

[doublebase]

Well I threw $1200 away getting an ultrasound mid Dec, where from Jan 1 on it would have been $40. I made 6 monthly payments and just paid the 6th payment a week ago. Money is meant to be thrown away! . (Just joking you did get something out of it…)

Well, hopefully they found nothing on your ultrasound! My daughter is a neuroscience major, graduated last year and quickly realized she was not going to make any money in that field without a doctorate degree - went into ultrasound last fall - she has one semester left. wish she went into HVAC

 

[Kozman011]

Just had installed an Armstrong Air 3 ton unit with new A coil. 5010 OTD. 10 year warranty on labor AND parts. Get the best contractor, not the cheapest price.