Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

jmonroe

driver100 said:

explorerx4 said:

@driver100,
Interesting layout in the trailer. It looks like the door to the bedroom area is also the bathroom door.

My bro said the bedroom door can be closed - shutting it off from the rest of the space. My guess is the think panel next to the refrigerator across from the bathroom is a pocket door that slides across. Not good if you have to open the door to the bedroom to close the door on the bathroom

Where are the washer/dryer and wine cooler being hidden?

jmonroe

iluvmysephia1

Hey, tbirdmarco, if you meant me by your post three posts up, thank you, I'm hoping to stay a tad longer this time, too. Challenges are still ahead, but we're glad to be outta Washington state and back down in the desert.

28firefighter

Do any of you here have experience with adding AC to an existing forced air gas furnace? We are getting bids to have it added to our home and there is a massive spread between them. I am out of my depth here.

Home was built 5 years ago and has a Bryant downdraft single-stage 95.5 efficiency 3.5 ton furnace and blower. Furnace is fully vented, returned and insulated, and apparently is sitting on top of a non-standard empty AC coil box. Furnace is in the garage along the outside wall with a straight shot to both the electrical panel and the location outside where we want to put the AC compressor. All of the bids have been for a 16 SEER 3 ton system.

The 4 bids have literally ranged from $5200 + tax to $8100+ tax, and for the life of me, I can't figure out (1) why this is so expensive, and (2) the explanation behind the spread in cost.

Questions:
(1) The furnace is 5 years old and not especially high end. Is there a benefit here to getting a Bryant/Carrier system vs. say, a Lennox? I've read a lot of mixed bag advice on mismatched systems.

(2) One of the bids suggested that at some point in the future it would be worth installing a multi-stage blower. Is there any point to this if the furnace is only single-stage?

Car related, having the furnace and hot water tank in the garage is why I've lost 3 feet of extra length for parking in my garage...

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

"stickguy">
I could never do that job. The driving is fine. Just not with kids on the bus

.

Stick, unfortunately not much demand for school bus drivers driving empty buses.

Well, actually there is. I almost interviewed for a school bus transporter until I found that the pay was only 60 cents more than I'm making now.

ab348

driver100 said:

Marco, I watched that bit about GM dropping the Buick name from the car. They said Hyundai and VW are doing this now. Buick will still have the emblem though. I wonder what the thinking is? Is it that these cars sell because people want them for the car, the brand name isn't a help, like it would be if it was a BMW or Cadillac. Sometimes, when I see a nice looking car I check what brand it is......won't be able to do that.

There aren't many cars these days that actually spell out the name in letters on the outside. Not a big deal.

ab348

@28firefighter , your low bid sounds low based only upon my experience getting quotes on a similar thing a couple of years ago. My furnace is a Tempstar, high efficiency gas, variable speed fan. I got quotes from Lennox, a Tempstar, and a third brand which I don't recall, might have been York or Goodman. I did some research and got turned off Lennox. Ended up going with a heat pump instead.

stickguy

a few years back when I had to do it on an emergency basis (furnace died) the couple bids I got were a huge spread. Similar system specs (efficiency, dual stage), just different brands and companies. A Goodman and Lennox. I think it was 6K and 9.5K. something along those lines. I ended up committing too early I think, and got the Lennox, which I have not been all that happy with. Works well, but had some issues and very high maintenance. Should have gone with the other guys and got the Goodman.

point is, I can't help with your technical questions, but can confirm there can be a huge quote variance.

imidazol97

I went again with a Lennox heat pump. My last one was 23 years old and I should have replaced it when a control valve needed replacement for $400 or so months earlier. The original Lennox that was installed with the house lasted longer than average. The neighboring home, built a year earlier than ours still has the original Lennox unit. LOL

I'm not sure what the problem about Lennox is in the MSM, but mine is well engineered and works with the Honeywell digital thermostat to run for about 30 seconds after heat cycles off to glean all the heat from the system before shutting off the blower.

Backup heating and defrost cycles are hardly perceptible. That wsn't true for the previous two units.

Is Goodman related to the Haier units that came into the US market from China was it several years back. Another neighbor had a shadetree mechanic replace his heat pump and it was a Goodman or Haier. First unit failed early. Replaced by another cheapie. Maybe it's a Goodman now. I should sneak over and see what brand it is.

Edit: Goodman now owned by Daikin, a Japanese company.

tjc78

explorerx4 said:

I thought I had some ceiling paint, but it was a satin finish. No good.
Went to the store and am looking at a bunch of ceiling paint.
They have a choice of colors like purple and pink. Huh?
Looking closer, they all 'Ultra Bright White'.
Turns out they have paint that goes on one color and dries white, that way you don't miss any spots.
That's progress!

Love that stuff. Use it whenever I paint a ceiling.

oldfarmer50

Hey, what's the group consensus on repo cars. Enterprise has a 2017 with 4K miles that Edmunds says is worth $18k at the dealer that I can get for $16k with my employee discount.

stickguy

what do you mean about Repo? how does that end up at Enterprise? And do you need it?

explorerx4

I replaced HVAC with a HE Lennox system plus water heater. Whole shebang was about 10k. Got some rebates on back from that.
I'm kind of thinking installation is what has/causes the most issues.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

what do you mean about Repo? how does that end up at Enterprise? And do you need it?

I've leaarned that Enterprise buys cars at auction for their car sales opperation. This particular one was a private sale in Virginia that was repoed and sold at auction.

jmonroe

28firefighter said:

Do any of you here have experience with adding AC to an existing forced air gas furnace? We are getting bids to have it added to our home and there is a massive spread between them. I am out of my depth here.

Home was built 5 years ago and has a Bryant downdraft single-stage 95.5 efficiency 3.5 ton furnace and blower. Furnace is fully vented, returned and insulated, and apparently is sitting on top of a non-standard empty AC coil box. Furnace is in the garage along the outside wall with a straight shot to both the electrical panel and the location outside where we want to put the AC compressor. All of the bids have been for a 16 SEER 3 ton system.

The 4 bids have literally ranged from $5200 + tax to $8100+ tax, and for the life of me, I can't figure out (1) why this is so expensive, and (2) the explanation behind the spread in cost.

Questions:
(1) The furnace is 5 years old and not especially high end. Is there a benefit here to getting a Bryant/Carrier system vs. say, a Lennox? I've read a lot of mixed bag advice on mismatched systems.

(2) One of the bids suggested that at some point in the future it would be worth installing a multi-stage blower. Is there any point to this if the furnace is only single-stage?

Car related, having the furnace and hot water tank in the garage is why I've lost 3 feet of extra length for parking in my garage...

As you have probably guessed I have some experience with HVAC systems. I even installed A/C myself in my first home that I had built in 1969. Installed the A/C in the latter part of the 70's. Believe it or not it was not hard to do. Three of us at work did it about 2 years apart. Sears sold A/C units back then that had pre-charged refrigerant lines so it was bold it up and turn it on. Of course I had to run the 220 VAC line but that is also not hard to do. I did, however, have a metal shop make the plenum piece to hold the A-coil because the original plenum was about 2 inches too narrow.

You said your furnace is "95.5 efficiency 3.5 ton". I'm going to be a little nitpicky here. Furnaces are rated in efficiency and BTU's not tons. A/C is rated in efficiency and tons (just for your info 1 ton of A/C is 12, 000 BTU's).

I had a new Lennox furnace and A/C installed in 2008. I went with Lennox because it was a name brand and it was the best price by at least $1800. Don't ask me why but it was. I got quotes from Carrier, Trane, Goodman, Bryant, and Rheem. I considered all the name brands to be equal in quality for the ones I got quotes for. Although Goodman and Rheem, around here, is considered just a notch below the large name brand guys. I wasn't going to get multiple quotes for each brand because I didn't want to spend all Summer getting quotes.

The Lennox furnace and A/C units I got were the next to the top of the line. The Lennox guy that gave me the quote said he could give me anything thing in the Lennox line up, mix and match if I wanted to do that but felt the second from the top was the best way to go. I questioned him about the top of the line furnace having the variable speed blower vs. the multi 5 speed blower and he didn't think that was worth the price, but again, if I wanted that he'd provide it. Of course the price for the top of the line units was more but he didn't feel it was worth the difference.

As for mixing different brands of furnaces and A/C units, I wouldn't worry one iota about that, it's done all the time. Neither unit knows what the other one is, honest. However, you do need at least a 2 speed blower for heat and A/C. Since cold air is heavier you need a higher speed for A/C and a lower speed for the less dense heated air. That is almost a must. But, if you only have a one speed blower it better be what is considered a high speed blower. I don't know off hand what RPM that is but when you get a multi-speed blower the installer will almost always select a mid-range speed for heat and the very highest speed for A/C and to do that you need a relay to accomplish this. That much I do know but don't worry about this because it is the norm for heating and A/C system.

As you know I can go pretty deep with this, it's almost a bedtime story as it is, so if you want more specific info let me know.

Just remember, mix and match is NO PROBLEM. Just get a reputable brand and installer.

jmonroe

tbirdmarco

 And 348 and driver 100 yes I guess all car brands I’m gonna do that now just the symbol in the name of the car name doesn’t really matter too much to me if I like it everything about it the way it drives and I need the interior feels why not you only live once but we will have friends that we fever over other ones ha ha of course 

tbirdmarco

 I love yes I was referring to you sorry I’m sure you saw empire postings me mentioning the voice dictation are using on my phone if I don’t talk super slow right what it wants to with your Kia have you ever change the spark plugs how many miles do you have money now and the fuel filter and air filter 

tbirdmarco

 Talked in the past used to have a different name couple of months ago this is my original name that I’ve had over the years when I started on here in 2005 

tbirdmarco

 Oh interesting talk on the furnaces for the house 

tbirdmarco

 All former 50 I had no idea they bought cars from the auction for the car sales I thought it was all X rental cars that they didn’t need anymore when we get to certain mileage and they’re going to get new ones replaced him with every year something new that I learned I’m sure pretty much each rental car company does this to cool cool good to know 

driver100

tbirdmarco said:

Driver nice trailer. That your brother has from what you are saying the data go  is no good for your brother  meads to look at other   Options 

He has pretty well sealed the deal. Just has to work out some details. The JEEP was executive driven so they say. Is that better than a trade in? I would think it would mean carefully maintained.

driver100

jmonroe
As you have probably guessed I have some experience with HVAC systems.

Oh oh, you know what that means? Those are words you never want to hear!

tjc78

I agree with @jmonroe, my mother’s house had mix matched brands for years with never a problem.  

I just had a Coleman (York) HE system installed when I did the remodel.  I really wanted Lennox as that is what I had and was a stellar set. The system was 24 years old and never missed a beat.   It wasn’t dead, just not big enough with the new addition.   

So far the Coleman has worked great too and even though my house grew by almost 600 sq ft my bills were slightly lower running the bigger unit.  

The reason I went with the Coleman was the GC gets stellar pricing from “his guy” and the system and all the new ductwork to the addition was only $5400.  If I went with a Lennox from a dealer he didn’t deal with it would have been closer to 9k.  

abacomike

abacomike

Pictures above are my grandson - graduation photos.  Hope you like them.  I am proud of that kid!

nyccarguy

Sharp Looking Kid

28firefighter

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I’m fried from the day (we are doing our will right now, too). Will provide some thoughts and additional detail tomorrow. 

xwesx

28firefighter said:

Do any of you here have experience with adding AC to an existing forced air gas furnace? We are getting bids to have it added to our home and there is a massive spread between them. I am out of my depth here.

Home was built 5 years ago and has a Bryant downdraft single-stage 95.5 efficiency 3.5 ton furnace and blower. Furnace is fully vented, returned and insulated, and apparently is sitting on top of a non-standard empty AC coil box. Furnace is in the garage along the outside wall with a straight shot to both the electrical panel and the location outside where we want to put the AC compressor. All of the bids have been for a 16 SEER 3 ton system.

The 4 bids have literally ranged from $5200 + tax to $8100+ tax, and for the life of me, I can't figure out (1) why this is so expensive, and (2) the explanation behind the spread in cost.

Questions:
(1) The furnace is 5 years old and not especially high end. Is there a benefit here to getting a Bryant/Carrier system vs. say, a Lennox? I've read a lot of mixed bag advice on mismatched systems.

(2) One of the bids suggested that at some point in the future it would be worth installing a multi-stage blower. Is there any point to this if the furnace is only single-stage?

Car related, having the furnace and hot water tank in the garage is why I've lost 3 feet of extra length for parking in my garage...

FF, given your climate, I would think that mini-splits, which are heat pump units that can cool or heat, would be an ideal solution for your primary needs. Not sure of your house layout or needs on number of units, but these are generally far less expensive installs than central units, and their comparative cost of use is fractional to conventional systems.

isellhondas

abacomike said:

Pictures above are my grandson - graduation photos.  Hope you like them.  I am proud of that kid!

Good looking guy!You have every right to be proud!

28firefighter

xwesx said:

Do any of you here have experience with adding AC to an existing forced air gas furnace? We are getting bids to have it added to our home and there is a massive spread between them. I am out of my depth here. Home was built 5 years ago and has a Bryant downdraft single-stage 95.5 efficiency 3.5 ton furnace and blower. Furnace is fully vented, returned and insulated, and apparently is sitting on top of a non-standard empty AC coil box. Furnace is in the garage along the outside wall with a straight shot to both the electrical panel and the location outside where we want to put the AC compressor. All of the bids have been for a 16 SEER 3 ton system. The 4 bids have literally ranged from $5200 + tax to $8100+ tax, and for the life of me, I can't figure out (1) why this is so expensive, and (2) the explanation behind the spread in cost. Questions: (1) The furnace is 5 years old and not especially high end. Is there a benefit here to getting a Bryant/Carrier system vs. say, a Lennox? I've read a lot of mixed bag advice on mismatched systems. (2) One of the bids suggested that at some point in the future it would be worth installing a multi-stage blower. Is there any point to this if the furnace is only single-stage? Car related, having the furnace and hot water tank in the garage is why I've lost 3 feet of extra length for parking in my garage...

FF, given your climate, I would think that mini-splits, which are heat pump units that can cool or heat, would be an ideal solution for your primary needs. Not sure of your house layout or needs on number of units, but these are generally far less expensive installs than central units, and their comparative cost of use is fractional to conventional systems.

Normally yes. However the house is only 5 years old and requires no additional work aside from the coil and compressor. A mini split system would be close to $30,000 for our home. 

Sandman6472

Waiting to hear if my Golf will be totaled, but it's looking that way. Did some test driving today with more to follow on Thursday. This is not the right timing for me but might not have any choice soon. Just hope to get a decent payout as my Golf was, is, in excellent condition except for the damage the other kid caused. Coming a couple years too early but when life throws you lemons, best to just make lemonade and enjoy the taste.
More details will follow eventually, I only have the rental for 30 days, until the 28th then it's on my dime. I am not a happy camper right now and it's unfortunate because getting a new vehicle should be something fun. We are so far from fun right now though!!

The Sandman

28firefighter

jmonroe said:

Do any of you here have experience with adding AC to an existing forced air gas furnace? We are getting bids to have it added to our home and there is a massive spread between them. I am out of my depth here. Home was built 5 years ago and has a Bryant downdraft single-stage 95.5 efficiency 3.5 ton furnace and blower. Furnace is fully vented, returned and insulated, and apparently is sitting on top of a non-standard empty AC coil box. Furnace is in the garage along the outside wall with a straight shot to both the electrical panel and the location outside where we want to put the AC compressor. All of the bids have been for a 16 SEER 3 ton system. The 4 bids have literally ranged from $5200 + tax to $8100+ tax, and for the life of me, I can't figure out (1) why this is so expensive, and (2) the explanation behind the spread in cost. Questions: (1) The furnace is 5 years old and not especially high end. Is there a benefit here to getting a Bryant/Carrier system vs. say, a Lennox? I've read a lot of mixed bag advice on mismatched systems. (2) One of the bids suggested that at some point in the future it would be worth installing a multi-stage blower. Is there any point to this if the furnace is only single-stage? Car related, having the furnace and hot water tank in the garage is why I've lost 3 feet of extra length for parking in my garage...

As you have probably guessed I have some experience with HVAC systems. I even installed A/C myself in my first home that I had built in 1969. Installed the A/C in the latter part of the 70's. Believe it or not it was not hard to do. Three of us at work did it about 2 years apart. Sears sold A/C units back then that had pre-charged refrigerant lines so it was bold it up and turn it on. Of course I had to run the 220 VAC line but that is also not hard to do. I did, however, have a metal shop make the plenum piece to hold the A-coil because the original plenum was about 2 inches too narrow. You said your furnace is "95.5 efficiency 3.5 ton". I'm going to be a little nitpicky here. Furnaces are rated in efficiency and BTU's not tons. A/C is rated in efficiency and tons (just for your info 1 ton of A/C is 12, 000 BTU's). I had a new Lennox furnace and A/C installed in 2008. I went with Lennox because it was a name brand and it was the best price by at least $1800. Don't ask me why but it was. I got quotes from Carrier, Trane, Goodman, Bryant, and Rheem. I considered all the name brands to be equal in quality for the ones I got quotes for. Although Goodman and Rheem, around here, is considered just a notch below the large name brand guys. I wasn't going to get multiple quotes for each brand because I didn't want to spend all Summer getting quotes. The Lennox furnace and A/C units I got were the next to the top of the line. The Lennox guy that gave me the quote said he could give me anything thing in the Lennox line up, mix and match if I wanted to do that but felt the second from the top was the best way to go. I questioned him about the top of the line furnace having the variable speed blower vs. the multi 5 speed blower and he didn't think that was worth the price, but again, if I wanted that he'd provide it. Of course the price for the top of the line units was more but he didn't feel it was worth the difference. As for mixing different brands of furnaces and A/C units, I wouldn't worry one iota about that, it's done all the time. Neither unit knows what the other one is, honest. However, you do need at least a 2 speed blower for heat and A/C. Since cold air is heavier you need a higher speed for A/C and a lower speed for the less dense heated air. That is almost a must. But, if you only have a one speed blower it better be what is considered a high speed blower. I don't know off hand what RPM that is but when you get a multi-speed blower the installer will almost always select a mid-range speed for heat and the very highest speed for A/C and to do that you need a relay to accomplish this. That much I do know but don't worry about this because it is the norm for heating and A/C system. As you know I can go pretty deep with this, it's almost a bedtime story as it is, so if you want more specific info let me know. Just remember, mix and match is NO PROBLEM. Just get a reputable brand and installer. jmonroe

No joke, I was really hoping you had some knowledge here and would weigh in.

The furnace is 42,000 BTUs supported by a single stage 3.5 ton blower. The installer I’m leaning towards, who only does Lennox, suggested a multi stage blower but also pointed out that given the climate it isn’t crucial.

The Lennox bid is coming in fairly middle of the road in terms of price but is also the best unit at 18 SEER efficiency. The cheapest is a 16 SEER Carrier unit. I also recognize there is additional cost simply by going with Lennox. 

The other middle of the road bid is a 16 SEER 3 ton system from Bryant. Basically the same as the carrier just with the Bryant nameplate. 

I know a substantial part of the cost here is simply living in Seattle. But man. Crazy prices across the board. 

oldfarmer50

tbirdmarco said:

 All former 50 I had no idea they bought cars from the auction for the car sales I thought it was all X rental cars that they didn’t need anymore when we get to certain mileage and they’re going to get new ones replaced him with every year something new that I learned I’m sure pretty much each rental car company does this to cool cool good to know 

It was a shock to me too. They have all sorts of arrangements. Some of the cars are only leased not owned as well.

oldfarmer50

sandman_6472 said:

Waiting to hear if my Golf will be totaled, but it's looking that way. Did some test driving today with more to follow on Thursday. This is not the right timing for me but might not have any choice soon. Just hope to get a decent payout as my Golf was, is, in excellent condition except for the damage the other kid caused. Coming a couple years too early but when life throws you lemons, best to just make lemonade and enjoy the taste.
More details will follow eventually, I only have the rental for 30 days, until the 28th then it's on my dime. I am not a happy camper right now and it's unfortunate because getting a new vehicle should be something fun. We are so far from fun right now though!!

The Sandman

It's incredible that the kid could get going fast enough coming out of a parking spot to do such damage. Or am I not understanding how it happened?

oldfarmer50

How are you New England posters fairing with this latest bomb storm? Once again in my area we got blindsided. The snow didn't stick all day and we only had a few inches until night. Then overnight the storm backed up and dumped 11 inches. It's still spitting as I post.

I'm ready to head down and sleep on driver100's couch.

tbirdmarco

 Driver 100 awesome your brother pretty much sealed the deal on the jeep grand Cherokee what color did he end up getting executive driven I would think was taken care of better than a rental but you never know ha ha Ha 

driver100

The Jeep is white Marco. He can put a down payment on it and close the deal subject to final inspection. Now he has to arrange to buy the trailer.....it has to be set up to hitch to the Jeep. He'll fly to Ontario, pick up the JEEP and then the trailer, and probably drive it to Alberta.....then head for Las Vegas in a few months.

driver100

Good looking kid Mike....could be a movie star.

driver100

sandman_6472 said:

Waiting to hear if my Golf will be totaled, but it's looking that way. Did some test driving today with more to follow on Thursday. This is not the right timing for me but might not have any choice soon. Just hope to get a decent payout as my Golf was, is, in excellent condition except for the damage the other kid caused. Coming a couple years too early but when life throws you lemons, best to just make lemonade and enjoy the taste.
More details will follow eventually, I only have the rental for 30 days, until the 28th then it's on my dime. I am not a happy camper right now and it's unfortunate because getting a new vehicle should be something fun. We are so far from fun right now though!!

The Sandman

No matter how good of shape your car is in...they give you book value. It does range depending on condition, a bit. For less than $100 buy "FULL VALUE INSURANCE". That means you get to go out and buy the exact same car and you don't pay anything extra....some companies allow 3 years, some 5 years from the date of purchase.

driver100

28firefighter said:

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I’m fried from the day (we are doing our will right now, too). Will provide some thoughts and additional detail tomorrow. 

Don't forget what my will says. If I go first my wife has to sell my E400. She isn't allowed to let her new boyfriend use it.

qbrozen

sandman_6472 said:

Waiting to hear if my Golf will be totaled, but it's looking that way. Did some test driving today with more to follow on Thursday. This is not the right timing for me but might not have any choice soon. Just hope to get a decent payout as my Golf was, is, in excellent condition except for the damage the other kid caused. Coming a couple years too early but when life throws you lemons, best to just make lemonade and enjoy the taste. More details will follow eventually, I only have the rental for 30 days, until the 28th then it's on my dime. I am not a happy camper right now and it's unfortunate because getting a new vehicle should be something fun. We are so far from fun right now though!! The Sandman

If its a bad time and you want a bit longer to look, maybe check out taking over a lease with 6 mos or less left.

graphicguy

andres3 said:

fintail said:

The site I checked had maybe 15 in stock. The ADM vanishing says a lot, it being replaced by a discount says even more. As we head towards summer, I think there will be some deals. Only 2 in the listing were GT2s, one was a nice blue.

The small engine thing is typical for cars built to lease. I think 95% of Cs in stock are C300.

andres3 said:

I was downright shocked how many Stingers they had, most with the V6. Gave me the impression they missed the mark on the MSRP. The lease deals are probably coming soon! Slapping a 65% residual on them should help move some metal. They had blue, yellow, black, white, gray, and silver. The red one's have either been avoided or sold.

Reminds me when I went shopping for a 335i years back, and they had dozens of the lesser engine 3 Series, and 1 335i, in their special storage lot miles away.

I think I saw some ADM stickers relegated to the round file in the round cup holder, rather than on the window. Strange place to "hide" the ADM. Not sure if it was a mistake, done by a customer, or just a lazy employee.

Kia dealer nearest me has 7 Stingers. I think I mentioned that the one I looked at during the Cincinnati Auto Expo wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be. For $50K+ it's going to need a step up (probably 2 steps up) in materials as the interior felt cheap. Now, driving one may change my perception, but as of now, I'll take a pass.

Local dealer is showing $750 off MSRP before you even walk into the showroom. Those trying to foist ADMs need to go into rehab!

graphicguy

imidazol97 said:

I went again with a Lennox heat pump. My last one was 23 years old and I should have replaced it when a control valve needed replacement for $400 or so months earlier. The original Lennox that was installed with the house lasted longer than average. The neighboring home, built a year earlier than ours still has the original Lennox unit. LOL

I'm not sure what the problem about Lennox is in the MSM, but mine is well engineered and works with the Honeywell digital thermostat to run for about 30 seconds after heat cycles off to glean all the heat from the system before shutting off the blower.

Backup heating and defrost cycles are hardly perceptible. That wsn't true for the previous two units.

Is Goodman related to the Haier units that came into the US market from China was it several years back. Another neighbor had a shadetree mechanic replace his heat pump and it was a Goodman or Haier. First unit failed early. Replaced by another cheapie. Maybe it's a Goodman now. I should sneak over and see what brand it is.

Edit: Goodman now owned by Daikin, a Japanese company.

Goodman is made in Houston, TX. The one I had installed 4-5 years ago with the new A/C. Couldn't be happier. You won't see them advertise, so I think the dealers who install them tend to be a little more cost effective than TRANE, Carrier, Bryant, etc.

The quality of the fabrication and installation is at least as important as the unit.

I'd see if you have any Goodman dealers in your area and at least get a quote from them.

Mixing-matching brands really doesn't matter. They all function more or less the same and are similar in the way they are manufactured.

ab348

oldfarmer50 said:

How are you New England posters fairing with this latest bomb storm? Once again in my area we got blindsided. The snow didn't stick all day and we only had a few inches until night. Then overnight the storm backed up and dumped 11 inches. It's still spitting as I post.

I'm ready to head down and sleep on driver100's couch.

Here in Nova Scotia the media was leaning on the alarm button for days in advance as they are prone to do with all of the usual dire warnings. And watching the TV coverage out of Boston it looked like it was going to be bad since they got hammered there. But funny thing - it started here around 5PM yesterday with rain then quickly changed to snow, and it came down hard for a while. I think I had 6 inches or so on my deck in just a few hours. Along with that was a lot of wind, gusts to 50 or 60mph. But then it changed to rain and kept raining all night. It's still raining a bit now. So the only snow left is what the city plow pushed into the end of my driveway along with a bit of slush here and there. Really not bad at all.

houdini1

imidazol97 said:

I went again with a Lennox heat pump. My last one was 23 years old and I should have replaced it when a control valve needed replacement for $400 or so months earlier. The original Lennox that was installed with the house lasted longer than average. The neighboring home, built a year earlier than ours still has the original Lennox unit. LOL

I'm not sure what the problem about Lennox is in the MSM, but mine is well engineered and works with the Honeywell digital thermostat to run for about 30 seconds after heat cycles off to glean all the heat from the system before shutting off the blower.

Backup heating and defrost cycles are hardly perceptible. That wsn't true for the previous two units.

Is Goodman related to the Haier units that came into the US market from China was it several years back. Another neighbor had a shadetree mechanic replace his heat pump and it was a Goodman or Haier. First unit failed early. Replaced by another cheapie. Maybe it's a Goodman now. I should sneak over and see what brand it is.

Edit: Goodman now owned by Daikin, a Japanese company.

Around here they are always advertising, buy a new AC unit and we will throw in the furnace for free. If you get a deal like that, be sure to check the fine print! Your lowest bid doesn't look too bad.

houdini1

isellhondas said:

abacomike said:

Pictures above are my grandson - graduation photos.  Hope you like them.  I am proud of that kid!

Good looking guy!You have every right to be proud!

Handsome young man !!

fintail

Kia dealer nearest to me has 29 Stingers on their site. Discounts on the GT2 (the one you'd want) are about 1K, before clicking on the "get E-price" button that my mouse won't visit. This dealership has a slogan about no second sticker, maybe they didn't play the game at all.

A dealer south of here has a dozen in stock, this one had the 10K ADM on their GT2 models (pushing the price north of 60K). A red GT2, which I believe was part of the initial inventory with a 10K ADM, now has a ~$2400 discount. Someone didn't play their cards right.

graphicguy said:

Kia dealer nearest me has 7 Stingers. I think I mentioned that the one I looked at during the Cincinnati Auto Expo wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be. For $50K+ it's going to need a step up (probably 2 steps up) in materials as the interior felt cheap. Now, driving one may change my perception, but as of now, I'll take a pass.

Local dealer is showing $750 off MSRP before you even walk into the showroom. Those trying to foist ADMs need to go into rehab!

houdini1

28firefighter said:

xwesx said:

28firefighter said:

Do any of you here have experience with adding AC to an existing forced air gas furnace? We are getting bids to have it added to our home and there is a massive spread between them. I am out of my depth here.

Home was built 5 years ago and has a Bryant downdraft single-stage 95.5 efficiency 3.5 ton furnace and blower. Furnace is fully vented, returned and insulated, and apparently is sitting on top of a non-standard empty AC coil box. Furnace is in the garage along the outside wall with a straight shot to both the electrical panel and the location outside where we want to put the AC compressor. All of the bids have been for a 16 SEER 3 ton system.

The 4 bids have literally ranged from $5200 + tax to $8100+ tax, and for the life of me, I can't figure out (1) why this is so expensive, and (2) the explanation behind the spread in cost.

Questions:
(1) The furnace is 5 years old and not especially high end. Is there a benefit here to getting a Bryant/Carrier system vs. say, a Lennox? I've read a lot of mixed bag advice on mismatched systems.

(2) One of the bids suggested that at some point in the future it would be worth installing a multi-stage blower. Is there any point to this if the furnace is only single-stage?

Car related, having the furnace and hot water tank in the garage is why I've lost 3 feet of extra length for parking in my garage...

FF, given your climate, I would think that mini-splits, which are heat pump units that can cool or heat, would be an ideal solution for your primary needs. Not sure of your house layout or needs on number of units, but these are generally far less expensive installs than central units, and their comparative cost of use is fractional to conventional systems.

Normally yes. However the house is only 5 years old and requires no additional work aside from the coil and compressor. A mini split system would be close to $30,000 for our home. 

Wow! I guess that is why you don't see too many mini split systems around.

abacomike

driver100 said:

Good looking kid Mike....could be a movie star.

He is really a handsome young man.  Blue eyes, blond hair, 6’4” tall, and two big dimples when he smiles.

abacomike

houdini1 said:

Pictures above are my grandson - graduation photos.  Hope you like them.  I am proud of that kid!

Good looking guy!You have every right to be proud!

Handsome young man !!

Yes, thanks Houdini.

28firefighter

houdini1 said:

xwesx said:

Do any of you here have experience with adding AC to an existing forced air gas furnace? We are getting bids to have it added to our home and there is a massive spread between them. I am out of my depth here. Home was built 5 years ago and has a Bryant downdraft single-stage 95.5 efficiency 3.5 ton furnace and blower. Furnace is fully vented, returned and insulated, and apparently is sitting on top of a non-standard empty AC coil box. Furnace is in the garage along the outside wall with a straight shot to both the electrical panel and the location outside where we want to put the AC compressor. All of the bids have been for a 16 SEER 3 ton system. The 4 bids have literally ranged from $5200 + tax to $8100+ tax, and for the life of me, I can't figure out (1) why this is so expensive, and (2) the explanation behind the spread in cost. Questions: (1) The furnace is 5 years old and not especially high end. Is there a benefit here to getting a Bryant/Carrier system vs. say, a Lennox? I've read a lot of mixed bag advice on mismatched systems. (2) One of the bids suggested that at some point in the future it would be worth installing a multi-stage blower. Is there any point to this if the furnace is only single-stage? Car related, having the furnace and hot water tank in the garage is why I've lost 3 feet of extra length for parking in my garage...

FF, given your climate, I would think that mini-splits, which are heat pump units that can cool or heat, would be an ideal solution for your primary needs. Not sure of your house layout or needs on number of units, but these are generally far less expensive installs than central units, and their comparative cost of use is fractional to conventional systems.

Normally yes. However the house is only 5 years old and requires no additional work aside from the coil and compressor. A mini split system would be close to $30,000 for our home. 

Wow! I guess that is why you don't see too many mini split systems around.

Yes. Mini splits are very efficient and do a great job, but the hardware is costly. If you don’t need significant duct work done and already have an existing furnace, it’s much more cost effective to add central air.