Is the cost to replace HVAC system too high? (rental, home)

WestieJeff · 03-13-2021, 08:40 PM

Should be able to get more than 13 years out of a unit, I typically expect 15-20 but some run longer. It's fairly common that the run capacitor or contactor will fail around 15 years which is a $30-$50 part each + labor (typically around $300 to replace) . Poor quality companies (there are many) will use that opportunity to give you a high quote try to upsell you other things and tell you it's better to just replace your unit now since it's "on it's last legs".

Assuming your AC units are on the ground outside (that means you have a split system, half in the attic, half on the ground) you can look on the label and see the cooling BTU's, divide that number by 12,000 and it will tell you the number of tons (60,000 cooling BTUs = 5 ton). It's pretty common in Vegas that it's 1 ton per 400-500sf so I would expect you have two 4-5 ton units.

I would expect around 8-12k per unit to replace.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LVguy

I have never replaced HVAC before, but the AC units are 13 years old so it might be time. So do I just let HVAC do everything or can I buy the AC units myself and then have HVAC install it? Wha'ts the best way?

I need to find out how many tons each of the AC are right? Then go from there? I have 1 unit for each floor, house is 3700 sq ft, could cost me 8k to 12k I suppose?

tijlover · 03-13-2021, 09:20 PM

I said Good Bye to HVAC's and have gone with duct-free mini-splits instead. More and more people are going that route. 12 year warranty on parts/labor and they're so quiet you hardly know they're on, and my electric bill went from $350 a month to barely over a hundred.

usnftcret · 03-14-2021, 09:40 AM

I have Lennox 2-ton and 2.5 ton ac units which are 13 years old. I had to replace the outdoor run/start capacitor and the indoor fan blower capacitor at the 8 year and 10 year mark. Thankfully I have experience fixing electronics in my former life so it was fairly easy to troubleshoot and repair.

airics · 03-14-2021, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tijlover

I said Good Bye to HVAC's and have gone with duct-free mini-splits instead. More and more people are going that route. 12 year warranty on parts/labor and they're so quiet you hardly know they're on, and my electric bill went from $350 a month to barely over a hundred.

its not the mini splits that are saving you money... its the fact that they are newer and have a higher seer rating than the hvac unit. you are also in a smaller living space. I had a 2600sf, 3 floor, facing west, with a pool and my bill was never 350 after I did a few mods such as more insulation, variable speed pump on the pool, and tinting the windows. My average bill was 210-230 in the summer months (June-Sept), under 100 (Jan-Mar), and 140 average the rest of the year... December was always around 120 since I put up a lot of Christmas decorations.

My Hvac was under 15yrs old... If replaced now with a 16 seer, my bills would be under 150 year round..

DAXhound · 03-14-2021, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by airics

its not the mini splits that are saving you money... its the fact that they are newer and have a higher seer rating than the hvac unit. you are also in a smaller living space. I had a 2600sf, 3 floor, facing west, with a pool and my bill was never 350 after I did a few mods such as more insulation, variable speed pump on the pool, and tinting the windows. My average bill was 210-230 in the summer months (June-Sept), under 100 (Jan-Mar), and 140 average the rest of the year... December was always around 120 since I put up a lot of Christmas decorations.

My Hvac was under 15yrs old... If replaced now with a 16 seer, my bills would be under 150 year round..

Incorrect. Quite a bit gets lost in the ducts.

Scrat335 · 03-14-2021, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joe weed

Aloha, I am an out of state condo owner with a 2nd floor unit. My HVAC (2 ton heat pump split) is from the 90's and the fan motor went out. Compressor works, but sounds like there's rocks tumbling around in it. Estimate to replace the fan motor, capacitor, and compressor is 3k. Cost to replace with a Trane 2.5 ton 14 seer is 7k. Got a second opinion and that repair estimate is 3.3k to repair and 10k to replace with a 2.5 ton American Standard 14 seer. From what I understand Trane and AS is the same company. Since it's 14 seer, no NV Energy rebate. Are these reasonable prices to pay for a replacement system? Seems extremely high to me but again, I'm not experienced in this situation. Any constructive advice/recommendations is appreciated.

The 10k bid seems a little high but considering the efforts that may be required perhaps not. 7k I would consider normal sight unseen.

Get as many bids as possible and maybe look at other less costly brands. Rheem and Ruud may not look as good but those thing are tanks. Rugged and dependable, just ugly.

airics · 03-14-2021, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LVguy

I have never replaced HVAC before, but the AC units are 13 years old so it might be time. So do I just let HVAC do everything or can I buy the AC units myself and then have HVAC install it? Wha'ts the best way?

I need to find out how many tons each of the AC are right? Then go from there? I have 1 unit for each floor, house is 3700 sq ft, could cost me 8k to 12k I suppose?

600sf per ton, so 1800sf-1900sf for each unit... 1 3 ton and one 3.5 ton..... but prices there seem out of wack.. here in Florida, I replaced single unit with a 4 ton, 14 seer, fully installed for $3900...new thermostat and a pump to drain the moisture out...

joe weed · 03-14-2021, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WestieJeff

I would say the 7.5k is in spec. Trane is usually a pricier product than AS so that is strange. There is a fair amount of labor involved with replacing a split system particular in older homes (pre early 200s) where they often don't have great access to the attic air handler.

Split systems are significantly more complex to install vs a packaged rooftop unit so you don't want to have rink dink install done.

What's the warranty on those? I've found the length and type of warranty (manufacturer vs installer supplied, parts only, parts + labor, etc.) can vary the price quite a bit as well.

Good point regarding the warranty, I'll have to read up and find out what is being offered. Thanks for the response.

joe weed · 03-14-2021, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

First, being that the system has been working since the 1990s you can smile knowing that you got your money's worth out of it.

Second, I'd prefer a new system over fixing an old.

We spent about $15k to replace the two systems (a 5 ton and a 2.5 ton) on our 2600 sq ft home here in the Phoenix, AZ area. End result was a price of about $8.5k for the 5 ton and $6.5k for the 2.5 ton. Pricing included a full day of work by four men, two up in the attic and two down on the ground. They hauled away all the old stuff to recycling, and also installed two new Trane XL824 thermostats.

New units are by Trane, rated 16.0 SEER and 14.0 EER.

Trane Warranty: 10 year limited warranty on compressor, coils and internal functional parts; 20 year limited warranty on heat exchanger.

My electricity bills went down just over a third from whatever was put in this house when built in 2004.

FYI: We also added a Reme-Halo air cleaner on the one system for another $1k. The thermostat allows for a slow speed fan motion to come on 15 minutes per hour just to move air through the cleaner; you can't hear it running at that speed but we can smell the clean air, a sort of ozone smell.

I agree regarding getting my money's worth and am going with new. Looks like the first quote I got is in the ballpark as my install would probably require a crane or boom truck since it's on the 2nd floor rooftop. Thanks for the response.

joe weed · 03-14-2021, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lvmensch

We deal with two 35 year old carrier systems. We maintain a deluxe home warranty that will pay to replace them on failure. The home warranty won't actually pay the whole bill but most of it including some expensive items like the crane rental.

The bad news is that home warranty costs almost 100 a month...so we have lost a bundle over the last 15 years. I think we broke even only one year when we lost a whole mess of stuff in a couple of months.

I too would go for a new unit rather than try to repair either of these old units. May be an interesting discussion depending on what fails.

Never had a home warranty before. What do you think would happen if I purchased a plan and called them a few days later to file a claim?