Tigerdunes,to your questions: 1. The existing furnace and AC are both by Lennox, 3 ton condenser. Not sure of the exact furnace specs. 2. The insulation seems fine, but I'm certainly no expert. Replaced some of the windows in the house recently with energy efficient vinyl windows. 3. I'm about 4 miles from the coast, so the winters are mild (typically lows in the 40s and 50s during winter) and the summers can get pretty hot (hottest month is probably August, with typical highs in the mid to high 80s). Even when our AC did work fine, we didn't usually run it unless it was very hot (i.e., 90s). I never thought I would complain about getting a low quote, but what I've received was lower than expected. I would be more suspicious, except that both of these contractors come very highly recommended on Yelp (for whatever that's worth). Thanks again for your help, I appreciate it.

Maybe it is this? http://www.hvacpartstore.com/product_details.php?products_id=14 Or perhaps this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260419514629 This is an interesting article/response to a somewhat similar problem. Though for the life of me I can find no little white button to temporarily save the day: >>>> http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/heating-air-conditioning/hvac-split-unit-heat-works-fine-c-compressor-fan-off-364882.html Old Jun 14, 2009, 12:01 PM #2 Joshdta Ultra Member Joshdta is offline Joshdta's Avatar Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: West Virginia Posts: 1,802 Joshdta See this member's comment history on his/her Profile page. Send a message via AIM to Joshdta sounds like your fan center relay has went bad. pull the little white botton on the fan limit intill you get one and you should have ac the rest of the weekend. >>>>

"I am replacing them because they are 13 yrs old and not energy efficient, nor heat or cool the 3rd floor well". If the system does not heat or cool the 3rd floor well, there could be a problem with your ducts - either leaking or not properly sized. "What size gas furnace do I need?" - A "Manual J" heat gain/loss calculation needs to be performed by a qualified HVAC pro to determine sizing. "What brand is best? One neighbor said American Standard, another said Carrier, a third said York." - A quality install is generally more important than brand name. You should get a 10 year PARTS AND LABOR warranty regardless of brand so you can rest assured that you'll be covered. "Can some people give me advice?" - Get as many quotes as you can. The more quotes you get, the more informed you become. Remember, if you are replacing an 80% efficient gas furnace with another 80% gas furnace, you gain zero efficiency. Make sure you know the efficiency of your old furnace as well as the new furnace. As far as A/C, they are now 13 SEER minimum (yours is probably a 10 SEER at most). In my opinion, I would not get anything higher than a 14 SEER as these have the best combo of purchase price and true operating costs. "Thanks for your help." - Best of luck to you in NJ.

I live in Michigan. My home is a colonial with approximately 2400 sq ft. The current heating system, when it worked, was excellent. The house would heat up in a matter of minutes. The temperature also stayed pretty consistent. In the old house we also had the furnace replaced. I hated, hated, hated the new furnace. The furnace would turn on, the house would get warm, then the temperature would go down about 5-7 degrees before turning back on. The air was also super dry and we had never had that problem before. I don't want to make that mistake again. Here's the actual information from the quote: Remove and haul away old equipment. Install Carrier 110,000 BTU 80% efficient furnace with 35ft chimney liner. Install a Carrier 3.5 ton 13 seer central air package with 25ft copper lineset, ac pad, a coil cond (can't figure out what he wrote) pump to pump to laundry. Elect (can't figure out what he wrote) and disconnect. All permits, sheet metal, work, taxes, and cleanup included. Warranties: Furnace - 20 year heat exchanger Parts - 10 year Service & Labor - 2 year Total Cost - $4890 Extras: air cleaner - $200 95% Carrier 100,000 BTU furnace $700 more It seems that it makes more sense to get the 95% or 96% furnace but I really don't know.