Question about heating and air conditioning unit

[Janier]

Our CV was built in 2011 and after a routine service call we were told the evaporator coil was leaking and advised to replace the unit with a mid priced Carrier heat pump to the tune of $6200. My question, is that the typical life span of the standard unit with Villiages construction? Also I could use some recommendations. We have talked with someone about installing a Trane unit. What has been your experience? Appreciate your advise

[Toymeister]

IMO you should be able to get 15 years of service life.

6,200.00 is excessive.

Do YOU notice reduced performance? Disregarding what the tech stated.
Often, the tech will get a commission for selling a new unit. Unsure of your tech and his firm.

[villagetinker]

You should definitely get a second opinion, many times a "leak" can be repaired, or the element that is leaking replaced without replacing the entire unit. I have seen many posts praising Chuck Ferrel (I think I spelled it correctly), he would probably be my next call.

[JohnN]

Our villa was built the same year, we had a HVAC problem last summer.
I'd suggest you not use Munn's (if you were).
Chuck Farrell is a top choice, but they weren't taking new customers,
they referred me to Kalos 352-243-7088 , who came quickly, did a nice job at a decent price, and the tech shared a lot of info with me.

Absolutely get a 2nd opinion.

[collie1228]

My Carrier unit in a courtyard villa developed an evaporator leak two years ago (it was seven years old at the time), and I called the installer, Munns. They came out, ran a leak detection process on the evaporator, fixed the leaks (there were several), ran a pressure test, and the unit is running fine today. I don't recall the cost, but it was certainly way less than a new unit, probably a few hundred dollars.

[RaunchyRich]

Wow 6200.00. You need a Second opinion buddy ... if the evaporator leaks your unit won't cool, .. watch for wool !

[retiredguy123]

You need to get at least two more opinions. But, if the evapoator coil cannot be repaired, it is not unreasonable to consider a new system. You can replace the evaporator coil, but it may cost almost half the cost for a new system because the refrigerant needs to be replaced and the entire system checked for leaks, and you will only get a warranty for the evaporator coil itself. A new system will come with at least a 5 year or longer warranty on everything.

[Bonnevie]

Chuck Farrell may come for a replacement estimate. If you do replace, definitely get a quote for him. I put in a new one from him with a 10 year warranty for almost $2000 less than what was quoted to you. My CYV unit was 2006 model.

[John_W]

Our CV was built in 2011 and after a routine service call we were told the evaporator coil was leaking and advised to replace the unit with a mid priced Carrier heat pump to the tune of $6200...

My CYV was also built in 2011, I've had two service calls, once was to replace the capacitor and the other was to replace the blower fan. I called Chuck Farrell A/C both times. Even though Chuck didn't install my A/C, that was done by Munn's, he replaced it when it was four years old for free, said the part was under warranty for 10 years, he charged just $70 for the service call. The same week another poster wrote they had called Munn's and was charged $313 for the same job.

For the fan blower, Chuck's tech replaced the fan with a temporary unit that was on his truck so we have immediate A/C, he ordered a new one which came in two days later. He came back a second time and replaced the temp with the new fan and charged $175 total.

Here's a thread not long ago where Chuck Farrell's name is mentioned 12 times, so it's not just me. He will look at unit and fix whatever it really needs. If he needs to install a new unit, he'll probably be at least $1500 to $2000 cheaper.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/need-replace-central-air-conditioning-unit-311478/?highlight=chuck+farrell

[karostay]

Like a Dr get second opinion Up selling is rampant by big companies
Tecks are expected to push new units

[J1ceasar]

Munn's, DeSantis, both long time and deserve whatever profit they make to their long-standing ties to the community

[Sabella]

Munn's, DeSantis, both long time and deserve whatever profit they make to their long-standing ties to the community

I am glad you have a lot of money to not care if you get ripped off paying for a service that other reputable companies that offer quality, great service and a REASONABLE price can do. There are a lot of seniors living here who don’t have money to burn but being overcharged for services seems to be the norm here.

[Catalina36]

A/C Unit Evaporator coil leaking?? It is possible, It is usually repairable or It is replaceable. Without knowing what kind of system you have is really difficult to estimate. You said something about a heat pump system?? Is that what you have now?? I have a gas furnace for heat and there is a A/C evaporator coil inside for cooling. The blower is used for both A/C and Heat. I really don't like heat pump systems. It is just reversing the A/C system to make the evaporator a condenser and the condenser then becomes your evaporator. Like many others stated get a second or third opinion. I know its a pain getting contractors in but you could save a great deal of money and get a learning experience by asking lots of questions. Being a smart consumer is always best.

[GRACEALLEMAN]

Our CV was built in 2011 and after a routine service call we were told the evaporator coil was leaking and advised to replace the unit with a mid priced Carrier heat pump to the tune of $6200. My question, is that the typical life span of the standard unit with Villiages construction? Also I could use some recommendations. We have talked with someone about installing a Trane unit. What has been your experience? Appreciate your advise
My husband who used to be in the air conditioning business says that it's possible to let that coil can last up to 20 years, I would get a second opinion, as far as the two brand names carrier or trane... Both of them are good brands, he said that is not an unreasonable price to replace a system.his question is is that the entire system indoor and outdoor? Does it include the indoor furnace and the outside condenser?

[banjobob]

Maybe replace the leaking coil .Most contractors are happy to sell new ac and furnace , have had friends say they paid 8-9000.00 for it.

[HJBeck]

Most units aren’t going to last 15 years. I would bet your existing unit is a SEER 14. Technology has changed a lot, allowing for optional SEERS of 19 to 21. By upgrading to a 19 SEER UNIT or above you will get your money back over the life time of the unit in electric savings. Bad part is that a 19 SEER UNIT will start at $12K.

[LuvVillages]

In Florida the average life of a heat pump is 10-12 years. Do you want to spend a $1000 or more for a new evaporator coil just to have another big ticket repair in the next couple years? Like the condenser or compressor?

[Reese8899]

$6200 is expensive . You can buy just coil, and have it replaced. Also for purchasing brand new units, check ebay. Prices are slashed for new units, and all comes with warranties. It is a blessing to have a honest AC technician . Good luck.

[mrf6969]

DeSantis AC Company replaced my neighbors whole AC system recently for around $4200. with a rebate program. Replaced with a Trane system.

[DAVES]

Most units aren’t going to last 15 years. I would bet your existing unit is a SEER 14. Technology has changed a lot, allowing for optional SEERS of 19 to 21. By upgrading to a 19 SEER UNIT or above you will get your money back over the life time of the unit in electric savings. Bad part is that a 19 SEER UNIT will start at $12K.

I do not claim to be an expert. Our unit is 8 years old, original unit made by carrier and it is 15 SEER. I do wonder if that drops over the life of the unit. I would expect so.

I called one of the radio talk shows and asked about saving were we to switch to 19.
The math 15 to 19 roughly 21%. His guess was we would save 10% on our air conditioning bill. Reminder your entire electric bill is not AC. Your refrigerator, perhaps more than one, freezer are also major energy users as is hot water.

To get the higher efficiency they use variable speed fans and compressors. Parts are far more expensive.

Honest repair? I always watch people servicing my stuff. First of he/she does not know what you know. Not likely to break something so the can charge you to fix it.

[eschiavo]

Had my A/C unit and furnace replaced last June by Sun Kool $6200 for Carrier units. Best investment ever. My electric and heating bills down 50%. Units were 15 yrs old. I keep looking at my bills thinking they must be wrong.lol. New units are so efficient. You won’t be sorry u replaced your units. 👍👍👍👍

[Jerry Leinsing]

Look up the original docs that came with the house and you should see a warranty statement for Carrier for the Villages. If you read it carefully, it looks like the Villages got some kind of warranty particular to them. Ours is warrantied for ten years. We had to replace the fan motor intelligence unit 3 days BEFORE the 5 year parts and labor portion of the warranty ended. The rest of the 10 years is just for parts. If something goes wrong, we are stuck for Labor. Be careful of what you are told by the technician or office. I had conflicting info and produced the warranty papers. Repair at no charge, including the service call $ for the diagnostics. End of story

[Bilyclub]

Munn's, DeSantis, both long time and deserve whatever profit they make to their long-standing ties to the community

I'm assuming this is satire. If it's not please get some professional help.

[MegandSteve]

Almost 3 years ago I was told my unit had a leak and needed to be replaced. It was refilled and still works great. Unfortunately they make more money replacing units and they do fixing them.

[Boston1945]

In Florida the average life of a heat pump is 10-12 years. Do you want to spend a $1000 or more for a new evaporator coil just to have another big ticket repair in the next couple years? Like the condenser or compressor?

Knock on wood. My carrier 3-ton heat pump was installed in 2003 and it's still running. Still have the sales ticket. Total cost back in the day with tax was $1840. Years ago I use to sell heating and air for Sears. Been here for over 50 years and I can tell you this much. Without naming names here, when certain trucks pull up "bend over". By all means, get a second opinion.

[rmd2]

I paid that price for a brand new Trane AC. I've had both Trane and Carrier and I like Trane better.

[retiredguy123]

I do not claim to be an expert. Our unit is 8 years old, original unit made by carrier and it is 15 SEER. I do wonder if that drops over the life of the unit. I would expect so.

I called one of the radio talk shows and asked about saving were we to switch to 19.
The math 15 to 19 roughly 21%. His guess was we would save 10% on our air conditioning bill. Reminder your entire electric bill is not AC. Your refrigerator, perhaps more than one, freezer are also major energy users as is hot water.

To get the higher efficiency they use variable speed fans and compressors. Parts are far more expensive.

Honest repair? I always watch people servicing my stuff. First of he/she does not know what you know. Not likely to break something so the can charge you to fix it.
Most of the condenser units (outside unit) in The Villages use a one speed fan and a single stage compresser. The higher SEER rating is achieved mostly by making the unit larger with more surface area on the coil for a more efficient heat transfer.

[Toymeister]

Most units aren’t going to last 15 years. I would bet your existing unit is a SEER 14. Technology has changed a lot, allowing for optional SEERS of 19 to 21. By upgrading to a 19 SEER UNIT or above you will get your money back over the life time of the unit in electric savings. Bad part is that a 19 SEER UNIT will start at $12K.
In a few words NO, a higher SEER WILL NOT pay for itself in savings. You are the victim of a salesman's bad math

First I know 50 - 60% of an all electric homes electricity usage is hvac. I tracked electricity cost with my a monitor which checked usage 10,000 times a second.

Let's say all of your SECO bill is electricity cost (ignoring service charges), of the annual 1,200 to 1,700 bill is hvac or 600.00 to 1,020. An increase for for a 14 to 19 SEER unit is 26.3% savings of hvac costs, WOOT!

So 600.00 to 1,020 hvac cost equates to 157.80 to 268.26 in savings. Using your numbers a 5,800 upgrade to a 19 SEER unit over the overpriced 6,200 unit will take 21.62 to 36.75 years to pay for itself.

It pays to comfirm the facts.

[GeeWhiz]

Our CV was built in 2011 and after a routine service call we were told the evaporator coil was leaking and advised to replace the unit with a mid priced Carrier heat pump to the tune of $6200. My question, is that the typical life span of the standard unit with Villiages construction? Also I could use some recommendations. We have talked with someone about installing a Trane unit. What has been your experience? Appreciate your advise

My designer home was built in Mar 2006 and I replaced the Trane 2.5 ton 14 SEER in Mar 2014. It was still running but difficult to hold temp and humidity with temps above 90. Avg. live in US is 15 yr life span and avg use is 5 months. Requires more use of A/C in FL than Avg in US. I bought a 2 Stage American Standard (Trane and American Standard are essentially the same product), 12 inch air filter and programmable thermostat with 16.5 SEER for ~ $5800 and a $400 rebate. Single stage A/C is cheaper. Get multiple estimates from large and small companies. You may be surprised at proposed prices. Good luck.

[mike1921]

Bought my CV in 2015 when it was already a year old so I was shut out on a lot of the warranty. I had multiple problems with my unit from 2016 until 2019 that totaled up to over $3000. When I had an evaporator issue in 2020 that finished me off and I put in a new unit....cost was around under $6000 but I bit the bullet and replaced the complete unit.

[vettman17]

I like Trane better than Carrier. Be warry of Sunshine, I think the service people get a commission if they sell you something. Told me I needed a $500.00 part that turned out was a lie.

[Garywt]

Are you the original owner and who did the install. I was told my unit has a 10 year warranty on parts through the manufacturer. So if you have been using them for maintenance I would talk to them. If not, get a second estimate.

[CWGUY]

In a few words NO, a higher SEER WILL NOT pay for itself in savings. You are the victim of a salesman's bad math

First I know 50 - 60% of an all electric homes electricity usage is hvac. I tracked electricity cost with my a monitor which checked usage 10,000 times a second.

Let's say all of your SECO bill is electricity cost (ignoring service charges), of the annual 1,200 to 1,700 bill is hvac or 600.00 to 1,020. An increase for for a 14 to 19 SEER unit is 26.3% savings of hvac costs, WOOT!

So 600.00 to 1,020 hvac cost equates to 157.80 to 268.26 in savings. Using your numbers a 5,800 upgrade to a 19 SEER unit over the overpriced 6,200 unit will take 21.62 to 36.75 years to pay for itself.

It pays to comfirm the facts.

:) I agree! Also I hope people remember that some of the info. and advice here is worth just about what they paid for it. :ho: As always thanks for posting facts.

[daddymc]

Very interesting. Our home in TV with heat pump was built in 2009 and I had same conversation with HVAC vendor 2 weeks ago because there was rust on the evaporator coil. Had 3 different vendors out for repair or replace quotes ranging from $4800-$6000 for new Carrier unit, and $2200-$3200 to replace evaporator coil. Further research shows that refrigerant level is fine and that some rust will generally show on coil within 2 years of initial installation. I have elected to wait until HVAC unit shows signs of inefficient operation and/or refrigerant needs to be added before doing any repair or replacement.
Whatever you do, please do not sign up with "home warranty" company like " American Home Shield". I had a terrible experience with this company at my other home location in Tennessee.

[Topspinmo]

Very interesting. Our home in TV with heat pump was built in 2009 and I had same conversation with HVAC vendor 2 weeks ago because there was rust on the evaporator coil. Had 3 different vendors out for repair or replace quotes ranging from $4800-$6000 for new Carrier unit, and $2200-$3200 to replace evaporator coil. Further research shows that refrigerant level is fine and that some rust will generally show on coil within 2 years of initial installation. I have elected to wait until HVAC unit shows signs of inefficient operation and/or refrigerant needs to be added before doing any repair or replacement.
Whatever you do, please do not sign up with "home warranty" company like " American Home Shield". I had a terrible experience with this company at my other home location in Tennessee.


Most A coils end plates will show surface rust do to end plates made out metal that rusts. Surface rust don’t hurt anything other than looks bad to untrained eye. So the tech will show the pigeon the rust and they convince them they need new unit when the unit is working find but looks crappy from the cheap end plate metal the corroded when in moisture rich environment.

[wyatt1963]

Complete new system for $3,500 - $4,500
Don’t over pay these companies

[capecoralbill]

Our CV was built in 2011 and after a routine service call we were told the evaporator coil was leaking and advised to replace the unit with a mid priced Carrier heat pump to the tune of $6200.

Why did you get " a routine service call"""? Was it not cooling? Dont fix what aint broke.

[stebooo]

We installed a not heat pump with electric coils in furnace. Much cheaper than heat pump. Don't use the heat enough to warrant the price.

[rogerk]

Our CV was built in 2011 and after a routine service call we were told the evaporator coil was leaking and advised to replace the unit with a mid priced Carrier heat pump to the tune of $6200. My question, is that the typical life span of the standard unit with Villiages construction? Also I could use some recommendations. We have talked with someone about installing a Trane unit. What has been your experience? Appreciate your advise

My HVAC unit (a Trane) was installed in 2001 by Munns furing the original construction. It lasted 15 years with twice annual service.

Munns does not now recommend Trane. I replaced the old unit with a Carrier unit2 years ago.

I now have a new home south of 44 & the Turnpike. We have a Carrier heat Pump and are very satisfied. It has handled the 'cold' weather with no problem.

Good luck!

[Bay Kid]

My ac/gas heat is circa 2004. Always serviced by Munns. I am not there a majority of the year, so my worry is how long do I wait? I really don't care for gas, even tough fast heat, this is Florida. Would you change all for a new heatpump and should I stay with Munns?

Thank you for advice.

[Tmarkwald]

If you'd like comparative wholesale pricing look at 🔥 Wholesale Heating & Air Conditioning • Ingrams Water & Air (https://iwae.com/)

I've purchased from them several times, brought everything in and only paid a local HVAC person the labor to install. The drop ship, put it in your garage. You find the HVAC person to do the rest.

If nothing else, looking at the website will give you an idea of the true costs of a wholesale unit. The fist time I used them, about 10 years ago, I was quoted 4500 for replacement of my entire system - air handler, A coil, heater and condensor. I purchased upsized units from them for 1100, and labor was 400 I think to install it all. The 2 times I've used them since has been about the same ratio, although obviously costs have increased.

[Lottoguy]

Yes, I agree with contacting Chuck Farrel about an estimate. He installed our new AC/Furnace just two weeks ago. Great work and less expensive vs the other two estimates for the work.

[Labanz]

Our CV was built in 2011 and after a routine service call we were told the evaporator coil was leaking and advised to replace the unit with a mid priced Carrier heat pump to the tune of $6200. My question, is that the typical life span of the standard unit with Villages construction? Also I could use some recommendations. We have talked with someone about installing a Trane unit. What has been your experience? Appreciate your advise

I am a small AC contractor here in the villages. One of the scams from local companies is during routine service, after the 10 year warranty is up on the evaporator coil the tech tells you there is a lot of rust and you had better change now because the coil can start leaking any time. Unfortunately many villagers fall for this scam.
The rusted part of the coil is nothing more than a piece of stell at the ends of the coils that holds the copper tubing. The piece that rusts were rusted at the end of the 2nd year byt they do not mention it until the 10th year has passed when the warranty expires. That is the scam that helped launch my business here after I ran numerous calls to comfort the homeowners that their systems were fine and they were a victum of this scam. The cooper tubing holds the refrigerant, not the rusted metal end plates as that the technician pointed out.
I have been in this business for 42 years and have always worked for quality and reputable dealers.
Please don't fall for this. Manion companies when you call for a second opinion also look at it as a way to hopefully convince you to replace and give you a quote.
If you do not call me, contact Chuck Farrall or Kalos Services for another opinion. I do know Good Guys Air and Chuck Farrrall will tell you not to replace unless you either have a major part failure or just spending money to replace gives you peace of mind and the money you are ok with giving away.
FYI, small companies, like myself can be around 5,000 to 5,500. large companies are usually 6500 for a 2.5 to 3 ton heat pump system.

Mike
The "Good Guy"
Good Guys Air Conditioning