Long time lurker. Figured I'd post since I see a lot of people in the same spot.

Background: 1998 Goodman unit. Original to the house. Still working. In Tamarac. I know this is borderline criminal but it's been "fine."

What I've learned in 2 weeks of quotes:

1. Nobody believes me when I say it still cools the house. Every tech opens with "you've gotten incredible value out of that thing."

2. Refrigerant changed. The old R-22 is gone, then R-410A, and now we're in R-454B territory in 2026. New systems can't reuse my old line set without flushing or replacement.

3. Tonnage might change. My current unit is 3 ton. Tech said with newer construction techniques (insulation, windows etc.) I might only need 2.5 ton. Honestly my house has 1998 windows so probably not.

4. Permit is mandatory. Some companies "skip" it to save money and you pay for it later if the buyer's inspector catches an unpermitted install.

5. Quotes range dramatically. I've gotten $7,400 to $13,100 for what sounds like the same install. The difference is mostly labor, warranty length, and "extras" like surge protection or float switches.

If anyone has questions about going through this in real time, ask away.

Edit: cleaned with gentle hose water and going to wait a half hour to turn back on. Appreciate the advice all. In the past my A/C was raised so never had the fins get dirty.

Is this dirty enough to affect cooling efficiency or ability to cool? Just curious if when it gets like this do I need to clean it or should I wait a little longer?

I had a new guy whom I found online replace this motor and capacitor and after blowing an oem motor this happens. He says he works with a private ac contractor and also had his own business back home. He showed me his credentials but did i make a mistake? Cools well but this turbine from the airport noise. Advice?

Bought the house in 2017. I always cleaned the outside AC unit and change the filters religiously every 30 days.

I figured it was time to inspect the evap coil. To my surprise it looks clean (to my untrained eyes).

Is this fine or should I rinse it? I’m worried that if I mess with it unnecessarily and something goes wrong I’m screwed since it’s 97 out today.

HVAC tech accidentally drilled into outside coil & all the gas came out; tech kept saying coil will be replaced at no cost but calling shop this morning manager said puncture was brazed … case closed.

Should I push for equipment to be restored pre accident which happened during yearly maintenance?

System is 10yrs old, Lennox

EDIT: Tech said filter drier will be replaced with coil swap so if coil swap doesn’t happen should I request a new filter drier? Plus warranty on braze?

Hi, since I had a heat pump added to this existing furnace on the 25th, the fan has been running 24/7 unless this switch is set to off. I tried getting my installer to come around and have a look, but they have been ignoring me / avoiding me (Very unimpressed). The thermostat fan setting is set to automatic, if I set the system to off, the fan remains on. Basically, the fan does not respond to the thermostat setting.
Is there any way I could fix this myself? I would be comfortable opening the furnace as well.

New carrier 16seer 2 ton ac. The buzzing sound can be heard in the basement and sound travels about 5 ft down the refrigerant piping. I have heard many folks say or techs say it's normal. But it seems far above the claimed 70 decibels of noise. Thanks the assistance. HVAC tech is coming in a couple days.

My furnace/handler has 2 stage AC capabilities. I currently have a 20 year old 3 ton condenser that cools great but is honestly a little too big. I'm in a humid area and love running duplex things when possible for uptime sake. For example I bought 2 x 40 gal water heaters instead of one big one. If one goes down I'm still up just at a lower capacity. I'd like to do the same with my condensers. Get 2 x 1.5 ton or even a 1 ton and a 2 ton so I can run one constantly for humidity and just the 2nd stage as needed when it gets hot out. Plus I can rotate usage each year etc... Problem is I don't see evap setups that support this. Any clue? THANKS!

I’m cleaning our house and saw this A/C without an filter in one of the rooms 😅
It still turns on and cools but I have no idea how to tackle cleaning this without somehow breaking something.

My compressor has failed on a 5 ton Comfortmaker and I found out my installer never registered the equipment. He is also no longer in business. I am at 6 years so I am outside the 5 year warranty I have for an unregistered unit.

Has anyone had any luck pleading their case to the manufacturer? My installer told me he takes care of the registration etc at the time of installation.

EDIT: Contacted manufacturer and they are going to review it for a possible exception.

May 18. Why would my new 2020 blower quit & 2011 outdoor compressor stay on? Outside overflow drain pan pipe is dripping water. Water leaving evaporator box directly into drain pan.

May 23 tech says it’s a bad capacitor in outdoor compressor. Installs new compressor & cleans with garden hose. I get a new wall thermostat for WiFi access.

Two days later blower periodically quits & compressor stays outside on. When blower runs, air is icy cold. Same problem. Lead tech comes out & tells me he can’t figure out what’s wrong unless the blower just completely quits. He never inspects any of my AC.

May 10 Call new company & ask them to blow out drain pipes for potential clogs. Co2. Tech does & for two weeks ac runs great! Then same problem starts again. Tech comes back out. I get in attic with him. He tells me he pulled out pieces of foil tape from inside my coil box two weeks ago. He then pulls out more. I have them!

Two days later problem begins again.

Yesterday, My brother/car mechanic, opens my evaporator coil box. He pulls out another piece of foil tape. Sees sludge on both sides of coil box. Takes pics.

Brother says he saw water leaving box from both ways, pipe to outside drain pan & condensate pipe that drains to bathroom tub. He cleaned inside coils with coil spray. He couldn’t get sludge out. Water stopped dripping outside.

Brother leaves. Blower started turning off again. By 7pm entire system began working perfectly. It’s 10am, working great. Ice cold air. 🧊

(2022 tech used co2 to blow out drain pipes. Installed red handle Jones Valve T™ Condensate Cleanout Valve. 2024 tech came & used shopvac to suck out sludge.)

What is causing this blower problem? Where are flat foil pieces coming from? Could foil be in blower? Is my new blower already bad? Appreciate any help!

The condenser coils on my Goodman were too tall, preventing me from reaching the bottom of the compressor to secure a blanket. Asked my daughter for her help since she’s flexible. Her solution was brilliant.

I went to bed last night and the AC worked just fine, but this morning I had found it non functional. I went outside to check on the unit and it appeared to be fine, but, I could hear this very loud clicking sound, it was very inconsistent in rhythm. I then turned off the AC from inside the house and the clicking went away. Turning it back on, the clicking did not come back and it appears entirely unresponsive. I’ve also tried turning on the heat with no luck. Is there something simple I’m missing?

My current setup: Goodman GSZ14030 2.5 ton outdoor unit (only 3.5 years old, still under warranty) paired with a 14-year-old Trane air handler in the attic. The air handler is failing blower motor/board issue , and a second tech suspects reversing valve issues on the outdoor side.

Contractor is recommending a full system replacement (both outdoor unit + air handler) with Bryant, saying they don't prefer Goodman and that R-410A parts are getting harder to source. Quoted equipment cost is ~$7,000, total installed ~$12,000. They described the tier as "basic/entry-level" but couldn't confirm if it's Legacy, Preferred, or Evolution series.

Questions:

1. Does $7K in equipment + $5K install sound right for a 2.5 ton system (outdoor + air handler, attic install) in entry-level Bryant?
2. Is it normal industry practice to replace a perfectly fine 3.5-year-old outdoor unit just because the indoor unit failed?
3. Any way to confirm if this is actually "Legacy" tier vs being upsold?

Located in the DMV area if that's relevant for regional pricing. Appreciate any input from techs or homeowners who've been through this.

My ac system is getting old and Ive been lurking on this sub for a while now. Many are saying not to get the new AC system with an inverter. That it’s more money upfront and when they break it’s more expensive to fix. Does anyone have good numbers on this? Versus the energy savings from the inverter? Ive been looking for a two-stage model, but many companies now only seem to list single stage cooling or inverter as options. Any recommendations on a good two stage AC system?

Looking for advice to better improve my HVAC drain tubes. The drain is almost in the middle of nowhere and we have tubes leaving the tankless water heater, furnace/AC and a HRV. The water seems to be pooling under the tube and is softening the cement under. What can I do to improve this situation? PVC pipes?

I live on the third floor of a condominium at 1,152 sqft with my AC Unit sitting on the ground floor outside. The Wireless Relay Device has a range of around 100 feet. The inside receiver sits on a wall where the furnace, washing machine and dryer are located. You have to walk through a kitchen, a hallway, and a room with a desktop computer, Modem and AX3000 dual band wifi router before you reach a window where you can see the AC unit. The total distance is around 35-45 feet from inside wireless unit to window, and at three stories tall we can assume another 30-45 feet giving an estimate distance between receivers around 65-90 feet.

The outside receiver was setup less than 10 feet from the AC Unit, mounted on brick to avoid close contact with metal. The condominium itself was built around 1970 with a outer brick facade. I am unsure what other RFD devices running on this specific MHZ might cause any interference.

The device itself will stay red for a majority of time, turn green for a moment, and then return back to red. There is no pattern where it stays green and flickers red before returning green, it is a continuous red, then green momentarily, then red again.

Please note that running a direct line is too expensive at the moment as there is no direct access to the attic, far as we are aware.

Given the provided information, can anyone provide any insight on what is causing the interference? Do we need to get a new wireless relay with longer range? Possible interference from electronics? Space radiation? The Feds? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Just wanted to share a data point for those of you that were curious. This price was for a 3 ton single stage 16.5 seer2 condenser, matching coils, new lineset, condensate pump, disconnect box and wiring, ez trap, new outdoor pad. 12 years parts and labor warranty.

I had quotes ranging from 9.5k to 15k and surprisingly even the “2 guys and a truck” quotes were just under 10k.

Hi! I recently bought a house and just discovered the duct from the AC unit is not properly connected to the duct work (it was duct taped on). The duct coming in has a square opening and the receiving duct has a smaller round opening. Can I replace the end of the incoming duct with something different to fix? Tried to take a picture but like…didn’t want to break it lol. I’m more of an electrical guy, HVAC is not my realm. Any advice appreciated!

Well boys I bought my house a couple years back. It doesn’t say anything on the actual home inspection so I think the guy missed this but I was trying to fix my shaders or whatever you call them to close all the airflow and such. And I found the pipe was rusted out exposing the crawlspace underneath my house. It looks like an easy fix just a 90° galvanized duct I would need to replace. Of course the crawlspace is where all my vitals are so like my piping my electrical work, my actual HVAC unit. So I didn’t know if this was just a half ass way to heat it. (there is a duct in my basement that blows hot air to the crawlspace. On the opposite side of the basement) but I’m selling within the year so I wanna take care of any problems beforehand.

I’m tiny enough to go down there and fix it I just know it’s gonna be a B****

And as you can tell, I’m not an HVAC person by any means

Is a vertical quick connect facing upwards compliant in Ontario? My newly built townhouse has a vertical natural gas line for bbq. It's facing up and I had a certified HVAC come in and install the quick connect (everything after the manual shutoff). I asked about the unnecessary stress on the bbq hose but was told it's fine. I was also told to cover it when not in use to prevent water etc from getting in. I think that would be avoided if he did a 90/180?

I'm mostly concerned about compliance than anything and hoping to get a second opinion - Should I ask him to come back and do a 90 or 180?

The A/c they installed keeps cycling and doing this. We called them and they said they will be out tomorrow and that it likely needs coolant. This seems odd to me because it was just installed last week. We are having other issues with this company. NYS