To be clear I did NOT say that they INSTALLLED the $30 thermostat for $200. I said they sold me a $30 thermostat for $200! The INSTALLATION and the SERVICE CALL were TOTALLY different charges so the whole thing was about $600 (and it conked out 3 days later so changing the thermostat didn't fix the problem,and so much for thier "diagnosis") so I DO think that the people I dealt with were thieves. I find it interesting that you would jump to such an erroneous conclusion as to me being difficult being the problem. That was REAL helpful. What I had hoped for was somewhere to start educating myself about what to look for in a good central air conditioner and what factors make one better than another, and if there ARE any REAL hazards about one kind of system over another (although I find that unlikely in refridgeration but I don't know which is why I'm asking). Otherwise the NEXT few people I deal with may try to convince me that System X will explode,and that is why Sytem Y which THEY install is better. Thanks

Murph, all air conditioning units have two fans. One is inside the house in the air handler (also referred to as the blower coil, which may be mounted in the attic, a closet, or crawl space under the house) and pulls indoor air through the return-air grill (and filter) and blows it through the evaporator (cooling coil) and out the ductwork and registers. The other fan is part of the compressor unit outdoors and circulates outside air through the condensor coil (which ejects heat outdoors). The indoor/airhandler/evaporator fan should run 1) when the Fan switch on the thermostat is set to AUTO and the system/compressor cycles on to cool the house; and 2) any time the Fan switch is set to ON even if the compressor is not running. The outdoor fan on the compressor unit is not controlled by the Fan switch. It turns on only when the compressor is running. If, for example, the temp inside the house is 72F and the thermostat is set at 80F, then the compressor is not going to run. Setting the Fan switch to ON in such a circumstance will run the indoor fan for circulating air through the ducts, but the outside fan and compressor will remain off. Setting the FAN switch to ON will (or should) also circulate indoor air if the System switch (Off/Cool/Heat) is set to Off ... in which case the compressor will not run regardless of how the thermostat temp is set.

This is an old post, but providing an update. Would like people to know my experience with Coleman air conditioning. In short, their air handler has been nothing but problems from the very beginning, and Coleman has refused To help solve. Very disappointed in this company. Roughly 5 yrs ago we had a licensed, reputable AC company install a completely new Coleman AC system in our house. Unfortunately, every year, the circuit board in the air handler would break down and require replacement. It has been replaced at least 4 times now. Our technician has taken several other steps, as directed by Coleman, to try and troubleshoot and resolve the issue over these years, none of which helped. It really comes down to this air handler being a lemon. Our technician has tried to get Coleman to be helpful and cooperate and understand that he has done everything possible to fix, yet, he has stated that, "Coleman is unwilling to to pay any of the labor or anything for that matter". This is extremely dissappointing from a customer service standpoint. The history of the Coleman company seems to have a little bearing on who they are now.

mike_home, Thanks for the info. I will consider a heat pump. This year the state of new jersey now requires all ac installers to receive training and state licenses in ac installation. In my research it has been stated quite a few times, the ac will work only as well as it was installed. Lennox has premier installers and only a very few of the other brand installers are NATE trained. But the majority are still not ac trained licensed installers. The majority are plumbers and electricians. My concern is the duct work and the refrigerate not being done to specifications. Many hvac contractors offer only one year labor. Unfortunately a number of homeowners found themselves shelving out more money 2,3,4, years later, just for labor. The installer is as important as the ac with 10 year limited warranties. I can accept an annual maintenance contract, but want the ac to work as smoothly as the Luxaire had for 35 years.