Heat Pumps

[Grreatdog]

Mine is toast. The company I have a service contract with isn't married to any particular brand. They will warranty and install Trane, Ruud, Carrier or Lennox. They can get other brands but they won't come with a service contract. The company has been in business here forever and I have had a service contract with them for years.

So I am not especially worried about the company, the price or the installation. But they surprised me by recommending Ruud. Aside from the warranty a two year service contract comes with anything I buy. The manager guy said he recommends Ruud because they have the least service calls on them which matters to him because of the service contract.

He said it isn't the most expensive or the least expensive, the most efficient or least efficient only that they are the easiest to service and are currently the least likely to break with a ten year warranty. Sounds good to me. I like reliability (yes I am prepared for the KTM jokes). So what says the collective to Ruud? I know zero about this crap.

I haven't signed anything so I can change my mind. The opinions I have so far from the HVAC techs they have sent out in the past year or so all agree. So either they are well coached or they all agree. The tech guys (and woman) all said Ruud first, Carrier second due to price, Trane third because they aren't doing well these days and Lennox last for unspecified reasons.

BTW price is a little under $5k for the complete system with new basement duct work, condensate pump, humidifier, filter, thermostat, etc.

[Kris]

We have a Trane heat pump. It is 12 years old. It came with a 10 year warranty. The compressor did fail at year 9 and was replaced under warranty. Other than that it has been trouble free. Our electricity bills have been low using this system.
One important thing is a good trust worthy installer and service after the sale.

[crawdad]

I can't speak to their heat pumps but I had a Ruud central air unit installed 8 or 9 yrs ago and have done nothing but clean the filter and hose off the outside unit

[Dave]

Trane system here. 13 SEER if I recall. It's super efficient. Our utility bill didn't crack $250 once this past winter, including gas hot water.

Mrs. Dave doesn't care for the system because it 'blows cold air'. She got quiet quick when she found out our next door neighbor, with virtually the same house was paying almost $700/mo. on heating oil this past winter.

[perterra]

I had a new one installed last fall, tech said the best seems to change every year, what's best then may stink now so I wont say anything other than the techs you talked to probably know what's hot right now.

[DirtMerchant]

We have a Ruud 4-ton ac with resistance heat. It will be 16-years old in June and aside from maintenance we haven't put a wrench on it. The service kid was out last week and asked how old it was, couldn't believe it when I told him...

Pretty good for southwest FLA, I will buy another Ruud if this one ever dies....

[Grreatdog]

Ours doesn't and won't blow cold air. It has a duct temperature monitor that will get transferred to the new system. It hurts the efficiency a little but is well worth the few extra dollars we pay BGE. Our house is so well insulated that even our ancient system is cheap to run. So efficiency isn't my highest goal anyway. I just don't want to think about it again for a decade.

[McB]

You've obviously figured out already that your relationship with the local service company is at least as valuable as the brand you choose. Go with their recommendations. The company we have worked with for years convinced us to buy one of their lower-priced lines (both AC and furnace) because of their own track record with the reliability of the systems. A servce call in critical weather usually has someone out within hours. Before we replaced the system, when repairs were somewhat more frequent, they had a key to my house.

[Grreatdog]

The cheapskate in me balked a little at the idea of a service contract since I am pretty handy. But it has proven to be well worth the money. Especially in winter or summer when they are here in minutes with a call and leave with just a signature and the cost of parts.

At least no Ruud horror stories so far.

***Edit***

Call back this morning, "Sorry, we quoted you the wrong price. It will be $7888."

That is a game changer. Now it is time for second and third estimates and some Internet research. Which shows their wholesale cost for the system spec'ed is maybe $1800. That is a lot of installation money considering the air handler is sitting in the open in my basement with maybe six feet of copper to the outside unit.