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Heating & Air Conditioning

Trane quote - questions about amount and details of quote

14 years ago

I am replacing a 17 year old Trane system in a 2400 sq ft single story house in west Tennessee. The dealer did a manual J. I do not know the size of the quoted furnace.

A/C: XR 15, 5 ton with Trane components and coil

Furnace: XV 80

$9850

Optional XR 95 furnace for an additional $2350.

Optional CleanEffects filter system an additional $1695

The quote includes Trane stat (don't know model), and proposes to reuse the existing refrigerant lines.

Re my question about a 4-5" media filter instead of the CleanEffects option, the dealer stated, "I would not recommend the 4" or 5" media filter unless you use the variable speed blower (XV model furnace). If you choose to go that route the cost for such a filter would be $250. Once again this is a cheap alternative, but I do not recommend them as they drastically restrict air flow"

Apparantly the system would not qualify for the $1500 rebate unless the XR95 furnace was included.

Based on posts I have read here the quote seems high, unless the 5 ton unit runs the price up quite a bit. I am also concerned about the reuse of the refrig line and the comment about the 4-5" media filter.

I am just getting started with the process and would appreciate input. Thanks

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Comments (5)

ryanhughes
14 years ago
I don't see how the CleanEffects would be any less restrictive than a 4-5" pleated filter, especially when dirty.

Should the XR95 upgrade option be the XV95 instead? Doesn't make sense to go from a variable speed 80 to a 95 with a standard blower. But I could be wrong as I haven't seen the product data in quite some time. Either way I would recommend either the XV80 or XV95 (which should qualify for the tax credit as well, but worth double checking).

This quote is high (especially for upgrades) and not very detailed. I'd get 2-3 more estimates for comparison.
dougl99
14 years ago
Your furnace will be either 21" or 24.5" wide. The static on the pleated filter @ 2000cfm (5 ton airflow) on the 21" model is .27 and on the 24.5" model .20 . On the cleaneffects it is .34 on the 21" model and .26 on the 24.5" model. This all assumes new/clean. Your dealer wants to use v.speed w/ an air cleaner because the v.speed can handle more static pressure and still deliver airflow. Five ton systems are tough to put air cleaners on . You almost need one mounted on each side of the return can, but no one does. Another option, if it is a horizontal system and you are using the 21" cabinet, is to back the 24.5" cleaner off of the return and 'transition' to the furnace. It helps some w/ the increase in static.
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A load calc shouldn't take 6 hours. Obviously some are right on the sizing, and some are wrong. So essentially we're looking at a 4 ton or a 5 ton unit. If 4 tons is the size required, then it would be less efficient to use another 5 ton. It is said that today's units don't dehumidify quite as well as older units - another reason to get the sizing right. I'd ask to see the calculated heat gain/loss figures from each company. Really can't say much more without evaluating the home and doing a Manual J. You mention the 5 ton kept the home comfortable but ran short cycles. The good part about the 20i, however, is it has roughly a 50% capacity drop in low stage, so low is around 2.5-2.75 tons.
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Thanks for all your replies. I didn't make it very clear that I can't stick with my current 80% unit (a 14 yr old XL80) because it isn't variable speed. Everyone said I needed variable speed & it is likely to be at end of life within a few years. I got a quote for an XV80 and it was actually about $100 more (not factoring in the tax rebate) than the XV95 - crazy. I also got 3 more contractors to quote it & all were within $1200 of each other. Heating wise I spent about $900 on gas last year - old house with leaded, single pane windows (that make the whole look) and perfect, but sadly uninsulated plaster walls with only a 3" air cavity. I hope to spend $200 or less on gas this fall after this project is done. Based on what you all said, I'm going to go XV95.
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wyarbrough
Original Author
14 years ago
ryanhughes: Thanks for pointing out the XR furnace issue. I checked the quote again and the contractor IS quoting the XR rather than the variable speed XV as he did for the 80% model. Interestingly, he did quote the XV95 furnace on more expensive packages that included A/C models XL20i and XL16i.

What is the downside to reusing the refrigeration line (as quoted) and is that an expensive replacement?
tigerdunes
14 years ago
wyarbrough

your post raises too many questions/issues about this Trane dealer. I would discard him in the trash and start over.

questions about sizing,pricing, equipment selection, tax credit, air filter cabinet, re-using lineset. I don't think the Trane dealer is looking out for your best interests.

IMO
ryanhughes
14 years ago
Wouldn't make sense to use the XV95 on the XL20i and XL16i since they can make use of the communicating XC95. I agree that there are too many questions about this dealer, and his price is high.

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