need new heat pump system in coastal area

10 years ago

Contractor is recommending the Carrier coastal 3 ton heat pump w/ the FX4 air handler as the best and most reasonable option for my 1 level aprox 2500 sf home. he also carries Trane and says that he was a Trane believer until 2 yrs ago. he will sell me a Trane, but he recommends the Carrier unit for about $5400. It is the Comfort 13 HP w/ a SEER of 14.5. Is this a good unit and deal and should I also consider the extended warranty for another $1500. I was leaning toward Trane because my neighbor got one 2 yrs ago, but his contractor does not even carry Trane anymore, he went to Tempstar units now. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks

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Comments (15)

tigerdunes
10 years ago
Location please...

And complete model numbers for Carrier system.

Still believe Trane/AmStd are superior to Carrier for coastal environments.

IMO
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dannyboyy
Original Author
10 years ago
Model 25HBB3C This # is on the broshure. He said it was 14.5 seer.
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Thanks for the help! The 2 ton a/c system that is in place performed fine (actually better than fine since it lasted 19 years) with good air flow to the upstairs. This may be due to the fact that the basement a/c system also reaches the upper floor (the original design of the house had just one system but it was inadequate for the upper floor). So, the upper floor system that is placed in the attic is sort of a supplemental system. Three of the bedrooms are cold in the winter so I've opted for a heat pump system this time. The upper floor is 1755 sq. feet with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. The existing attic system has one large return vent in the hallway between the master BR and the other 3 bedrooms. I plan to stay in the house indefinitely so I'd rather spend the money up front for the highest efficiency system so as to deprive Pepco, our local power company, of as much money as possible. While budget is certainly not unlimited, I want the most efficient system, properly sized and installed. For a long term purchase like this, I do not mind spending more to get the best.
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Tigerdunes, thank you for the reply. Yes, we should have known about the filter location. When the installation was in progress, we didn't think to ask and they didn't bring it to our attention. I looked this morning at the thermostat and it showed 80% humidity. It was after pre-sale inspection that the new vapor barrier was installed. Some areas had no vapor barrier whatsoever. The inspection was done after a heavy rain and it was discovered that one corner of the crawl space had water. That is where the sump pump was then installed. It worked only for a short time. I could hear it run but there was not even a dribble of water coming from the pipe. I phoned the company that installed it last fall ( probably Sept), but they told me if there wasn't standing water, it was working. Recently we had a new sump pump installed and that, too, didn't start up. The company does not warranty the pumps. The serviceman was here yesterday and adjusted the float which made it start up. I don't think I will ever use that company again. Yes, we have vents and they are open. We are in an area with underground springs and have water flowing along in part of the back yard. We also have a drainage culvert pipe system ( concrete) that was failing when the flanges deteriorated so we had major digging in the back yard to replace much of that old line of pipes which is well below grade of the house and not close to the house. At that time we had almost all of the downspouts hooked into that drainage system. Only one downspout in the front goes above ground. The rest( 5)are piped away from the house. I have an extension ladder and clean out the gutters at first sign of a problem. We placed sieves at each downspout to keep large material from clogging the underground drainage. I guess we felt the inspection and subsequent recommended course would take care of things. Obviously it did not. Another potential problem is moles. They have tunneled and dug up so much of the property. When I would walk next to the house, the ground would sink. I've tried all sorts of repellents from granular to sonic, to castor oil. So far nothing has worked. I believe that constant digging is a problem as the ground along the house foundation should be firm and higher than elsewhere. I keep pounding it down. We are not in a floodplain. At least that is good!
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Thanks again for your input. I think we've decided on a Trane. The Carrier our friend quoted was the base model 25HBC536A with FX4DNF037T and even at $3368 it'd be a few hundred more for permit and hurricane pad, which would make it close to the cost of the company who quoted 25HCC536 and 25HBC536 models. Also with our friend, we'd need to pay it all by check. we have the funds, but Carrier is offering zero percent for a year or so - minus well use thier money for a year! Both the Carrier Comfort and Trane XR15 seem comprable in function and effeciency, so then I had to decide which one looked better to me. That's a woman for ya! :) I'm going to try to get the company who quoted the 2 Carriers and the TRANE TWR536 with TEH3F4ZB $4150 to come down a few hundred and see if he'll include the $125 for the MERV 11 1 year filter. Is it common to ask for lower price on this type of service? The only company that even asked about our windows was the One Hour AC franchise that did the only load calculation. He factored our house needs 2.5 ton unit. We had the windows in a few months before the ac broke and there was not really a significant change in our electric bill. We did go from aluminum single pane 30 year old windows to impact laminated insulated glass vinyl windows. You could feel the heat coming in on the old - the new you can barely hear any outside noise and it's got a coating that helps block the solar gains. neohioheatpump - it's always hot here in Daytona! ;) I think we're only expected to not hit 90 today because it's raining.
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I hadn't looked at the info for that thermostat until just now. Wow. That really is the next generation (web connectable, controls every equipment permutation, wireless sensors). Fair warning that I know enough to be dangerous, so take that into account when reading the rest of this. The link below shows the install manual. Pages 19-20 explain some of the backup heat options/settings (although not in as much detail regarding settings as the manuals for the Vision Pro series). I'd let the installer make any changes, but this may help you get a little better informed about the options- or it may just confuse things worse. The adaptive intelligent recovery (set 'on'), not having too big a setback due to the HP system, the backup heat differential setting, and the backup heat upstage timer setting look to be the key settings to minimize how much your backup heat gets used. As for the register air temperature, the important thing is the temperature differential between the room and the air coming out. For example, it was 32F outside at my house last night, my house was holding at 68F, and the air coming out of a register at the end of a branch of my HVAC was 81F. For my system, a 13F differential is OK (not great), but it's also right above the outdoor temperature where my heat pump is locked out and the gas furnace comes on. As the outdoor temperature rises into the upper 30's, the register air temperature rises to 88F or higher. You want to know what this temperature differential is, with just the HP running (no strips) to tell whether the HP is doing its job. Low temperature differential means the charge is off or something else is going on. I have a BBQ/oven temperature probe that's stuck in the register in my laundry room (when I'm not using it for BBQ). After my system lost most of its refrigerant 18 mo.s ago, I started watching to get an idea if it was happening again. It looks like you could add sensor(s) to your super-snazzy Honeywell and it could measure this and warn you all by itself. Here is a link that might be useful: Honeywell Prestige stat install manual
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tigerdunes
10 years ago
And location?
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dannyboyy
Original Author
10 years ago
atlantic beach, nc
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sktn77a
10 years ago
That's a high price for the system and an awful price for an extended warranty (should be half that, unless it includes 10 years of annual maintenance). Carrier has a no-cost 10 year parts warranty on all its equipment but no longer offers manufacturer-backed extended labor warranties. The dealer should give a 1 year labor warranty and appears to be offering you a 10 year third party extended labor warranty for the $1500. Bear in mind, HVAC dealers come and go so if you pay up-front for an "extended warranty" make sure its with a company that has a long business history and has a high probability of staying in business.

If you go for the Carrier equipment, get the FV4CNF005L air handler. At the coast, it has better dehumidification performance. Also make sure the L suffix (the new aluminum coil).
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dannyboyy
Original Author
10 years ago
Carrier Coastal System

25HBB336C003 OUTDOOR UNIT

FX4DNF037T00 AIR HANDLER

CE0901N10 HEATER

Thanks for your advice SKTN77
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tigerdunes
10 years ago
This appears to be the AHRI HP matching number.

Average performance/efficiency numbers.

6938002 Active Systems CARRIER AIR CONDITIONING COMFORT SERIES PURON HP CARRIER AIR CONDITIONING 25HBB336C31 FX4DN(B,F)037L 1200 35200 12.00 14.50 35000 8.50 21800 1 HRCU-A-CB 301 818

Pay attention. You want the L suffix on the air handler model number for aluminum coil.

Still believe Trane or AmStd is a better choice for coastal environment.

IMO
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dannyboyy
Original Author
10 years ago
Would I be better off going with the FV4CNF005L variable speed air handler? Matched up with the 25HBB336C003. Thanks, Dan
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zippity1
10 years ago
our new home, south of houston, tx has a Tempstar, which we had never heard of- we won't be moving there until next week
the builder assured us that tempstar was "an excellent choice" --as if we had one??)
our neighbor in Houston owns a HVAC company in houston reassures us that we'll be happy with a tempstar-he's thinking of picking up that line himself he uses American Standard now
hope these guys know what they're talking about.....
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tigerdunes
10 years ago
for dannyboy

Yes a nicer system.with the var speed air handler. Make certain you get the Edge Thermidistat. I would think an 8-10 KW heat strip.

6938000 Active Systems CARRIER AIR CONDITIONING COMFORT SERIES PURON HP CARRIER AIR CONDITIONING 25HBB336C31 FV4CN(B,F)005L 1050 35400 12.00 15.00 34200 9.00 21400 1 HRCU-A-CB 293 772

Still prefer Trane/AmStd for coastal environments.

IMO
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jackfre
10 years ago
Aftermarket warranties give me heartburn. Manuf do not like to provide the factory ext warranty. Because they have to carry those liabilities on their books, hence the aftermarket type. If you go with one, I'd push very hard on price reduction on the warranty, once all other costs have been settled. It is a separate transaction, in my mind.

In my experience Warranty companies are good for about 10 years. They sell a lot of product and once the payments become to much they go belly up. Research it carefully..
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ryanvu1
10 years ago
Hey tigerdunes, which model or series of Amstd or Trane condenser units would be best for the original poster? Having trouble finding the "coastal" units that these companies make. I would be interested in "heat pump" models rather than straight cool. Thanks
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tigerdunes
10 years ago
It's bad forum etiquette to piggyback onto another person's thread.

However, Trane coils are designed with material that fights harsh coastal environments more so than other brands. For most applications, there is nothing that needs to be added. However, at one time they did offer an add on protective shield. Not certain it is still available and not sure I would recommend it. Why?. Not necessary.

IMO
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fsanto
10 years ago
Which is the best model 15 seer heat pump for price and efficiency .
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tigerdunes
10 years ago
For above poster...start your own thread...go to bottom of home page...size?

TD
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need new heat pump system in coastal area

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need new heat pump system in coastal area

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