HVAC Denver Area - any rec's on installers and systems?

[Ramsker]

Well, my 30 year old AC system might finally be dying. Outside unit is a Ruud UAKA-048JAZ and furnace is a Rheem. Looks like I have a control board issue (outside unit runs seemingly fine, but indoor blower doesn't come on with it anymore either on Auto or On). Blower itself is fine--I have it running by wiring it to the power with a piggyback spade connector. I just manually cut the power a few times a day to give it a rest. Also is leaking some water on the floor, which might just be a clogged drain situation but I haven't dug into that yet.

Anyway . . . gonna have some folks come out and give me their opinion. But, at 30 years old, the smart thing to do is probably to just look to replace the system. I know that's what the HVAC folks will say and they're probably right. Not sure how much sense it would make to throw too many $$ at it only to maybe get limited time from it.

Any recommendations for HVAC installers based on your experiences (or if you are an owner/operator)? I'm in Highlands Ranch. Will plan to get opinions/bids from a few places and figure out what to do.

Also, any recommendations for manufacturers to lean towards and to stay away from? I hear a lot about "it's the install that matters most", but have also heard that some manufacturers are definitely better than others. Tend to hear that Trane, American Standard, Rheem/Ruud are good to go and to stay away from Goodman, Carrier and Lennox. But again, this is just based on talking with friends/neighbors and what I've read on some forums. I'm not looking to go on the cheap. I'd rather buy once, cry once as we'll be here for the rest of our lives most likely.

Appreciate any thoughts or recommendations!

[kidicarus13]

Rheem installed by Front Range Mechanical Services (Englewood) ~5 years ago. The owner came to my house and explained everything in detail and answered all of my questions. No high-pressure sales or unnecessary upselling. Happy with everything. Price was mid-range compared to two other bids, but owners' knowledge of product and HVAC sold me. No personal affiliation.

[Ramsker]

Rheem installed by Front Range Mechanical Services (Englewood) ~5 years ago. The owner came to my house and explained everything in detail and answered all of my questions. No high-pressure sales or unnecessary upselling. Happy with everything. Price was mid-range compared to two other bids, but owners' knowledge of product and HVAC sold me. No personal affiliation.

Thank you! Front Range Mechanical is actually on my list to connect with . . . apparently my mom works with them and she's been happy. I actually have a call out to them from Sat, so hoping to hear from them today. Might have to call them back.

[BladesNBarrels]

Front Range installed our new one just 10 plus years ago.
Last winter the blower had an electrical fault and started smoking.
My daughter was house-sitting and smelled the smoke, turned off the blower and called Front Range.
Immediate response, fast replacement of blower, and no charge since it was a couple of months within the 10-year warranty.
They service it once a year.
Front Range has my business.

[Ramsker]

Front Range Mechanical will be out Wed sometime to take a look. Already had one guy swing by today and confirmed that it's my control board. He's gonna poke around and see if the board is available and how much it costs to see if I want to temporarily fix it. He did say I was extremely lucky to get 30 years out of what I had and said he'd really recommend replacing the AC & furnace--if not now then soon. So we'll see what he says and what Front Range says and maybe get another set of bids or two . . . then will make some decisions.

Also, I did have a clogged drain line. I was kinda afraid to poke around where the coil is located to investigate, but this first guy was super cool and showed me how that worked. I thought the panel was more complex than it really was. But you can remove it without disturbing where the lines go in. So I got that open and we saw that it was full of water. After he left, I plugged the coil catch pan drain with my finger and used my compressor to hit the extension on the line and blew a huge glob of gunk out the end of the drain. Drains great now.

[Wolfshoon]

30 years is a miracle! Consider yourself blessed. Time to replace. Figure 8-12K $ for both furnace and AC installed by reputable company

Beware the upsale of “upgrading” to a 2 stage system for both furnace or AC. All the two stage system does is run at a slower fan and compressor speeds for about 20 minutes then switches to hi speed to finally cool off or heat up the house. Waste of $$$ and added complexity that isn’t justified, wish I had just gotten a single stage. Get a super high efficiency single stage system for both AC and furnace.

3 years ago Got quotes from Applewood and ARS (home depot reference) for 16K and 18k (minus Home depot “discount” 10% for 16.2 k) for cheap low end 80% furnace and low end 14seer AC. Very disappointing, high end quote for crap hardware. Quote guys came in company vehicles to house with semi-hi pressure sales.

Wound up getting a 96% efficient furnace and 16 SEER 3.5 ton compressor and install kit from Goodman for 5k delivered and had local guy install for 2.5K. AC compressor did lose a start capacitor within 6 months, but that was a $30 repair. System has run good with no issues outside of the start capacitor. Keep in mind that converting to a high efficiency condensing furnace will require running new intake/exhaust ABS/PVC piping of at least 3 inches diameter.

Winter natural gas consumption went down by about 40% with the 96percent furnace, very welcome for the pocketbook with all the price increases in gas recently. Electrical bill in summer was equal to previous years bills, but house was kept cooler.

Again, focus on getting a 96-98 percent efficient single stage furnace and at least a 16 seer or higher AC condenser unit. I also got Colorado State rebates on my taxes, check to see if they still have those for extra savings.

[Ramsker]

30 years is a miracle! Consider yourself blessed. Time to replace. Figure 8-12K $ for both furnace and AC installed by reputable company

Beware the upsale of “upgrading” to a 2 stage system for both furnace or AC. All the two stage system does is run at a slower fan and compressor speeds for about 20 minutes then switches to hi speed to finally cool off or heat up the house. Waste of $$$ and added complexity that isn’t justified, wish I had just gotten a single stage. Get a super high efficiency single stage system for both AC and furnace.

3 years ago Got quotes from Applewood and ARS (home depot reference) for 16K and 18k (minus Home depot “discount” 10% for 16.2 k) for cheap low end 80% furnace and low end 14seer AC. Very disappointing, high end quote for crap hardware. Quote guys came in company vehicles to house with semi-hi pressure sales.

Wound up getting a 96% efficient furnace and 16 SEER 3.5 ton compressor and install kit from Goodman for 5k delivered and had local guy install for 2.5K. AC compressor did lose a start capacitor within 6 months, but that was a $30 repair. System has run good with no issues outside of the start capacitor. Keep in mind that converting to a high efficiency condensing furnace will require running new intake/exhaust ABS/PVC piping of at least 3 inches diameter.

Winter natural gas consumption went down by about 40% with the 96percent furnace, very welcome for the pocketbook with all the price increases in gas recently. Electrical bill in summer was equal to previous years bills, but house was kept cooler.

Again, focus on getting a 96-98 percent efficient single stage furnace and at least a 16 seer or higher AC condenser unit. I also got Colorado State rebates on my taxes, check to see if they still have those for extra savings.

Yeah, I'm kinda thinking the smart thing to do would be replace before something else goes wrong and my odds of that happening are almost certainly increasing with each added month. But I've also managed to outsmart myself before. lol. I do want to know if it's repairable and what cost would be, but guessing it's at least $1k (if lucky) and that $1k is probably better spent towards new rather than patch old and roll the dice.

Guy that came out today did mention that the high efficiency units would require different exhaust setup. Fortunately, the utility room is in a corner of the basement and has what should be pretty easy access to the exterior. So that part shouldn't be a huge issue for an install. Appreciate the advice on the single stage vs dual stage.

[Eric P]

Are heat pumps available in Denver metro?

[Ramsker]

Are heat pumps available in Denver metro?

They are. I had always heard that they weren't very good where it gets cold . . . which we do get. The HVAC guy that came out actually said that he has heat pumps on his house. He only uses them for cooling and he has a gas furnace for heat.

I guess there are some big rebates for heat pumps from Excel. But if we replace, I would be leaning much towards just standard AC and not a heat pump just because I am more familiar/comfortable with the regular style.

[electronman1729]

Tobin Heating and Air did my HVAC in 2020, really reasonably priced.