The HVAC guy arrived yesterday afternoon late, checked my entire system, determined that the heat strips are working, defrost cycle is working, etc. Everything was working correctly until he got to checking the thermostat. He determined that the thermostat (a Honeywell), was making the heat strips turn off early unless there is a six degree temperature difference between the room temperature and the temperature I set. The blower was continuing to blow cold air instead of heat, cycling on and off, over and over. Odd. . . don't know how long it's been like that, but I'm guessing a few months and the effect was magnified by two nights of 26 deg. temperatures. So he recommended a new thermostat, and I let him put one in. After a slow start last night, the heat did come on and had a heating effect like it was supposed to rather than the air conditioning effect it has had for the last few nights. It still seems a little too cold and blowy to me, but I'll have to wait until my nose bleeds stop (from the dryness with all that blowing) to give it a good assessment. Even with a vaporizer running, the humidity is down from 55% to 38%, but I expect that will slowly change. Tiger: This repairman determined I do have the system that was proposed for me. Thank you for mentioning that. I do have a HP system, and the heat strips are working at full capacity. Given the excellent service my AC gives, I'm sure you're right about keeping a heat pump system. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate your advice. Thank you!! This is SUCH an invaluable forum. I'll keep the information on a new system for a few months, of course, just in case!

happs I will assume you are sized correctly but that is alot of firepower on the AC side and of course that furnace is only 80% efficient. I would prefer an upgrade price to the XR13, a nicer condenser than the XB series. And you might want to look at the XR15 in a 5 ton model. I believe the 5 ton comes with two stg and certainly would be a less expensive alternative to the XL20i condenser.Verify with dealer. The thermostat will work but it will not give you full two stg functionality. I would want a true two stg thermostat for that furnace. You get all kind of opinions of Goodman Brand. Better than they use to be in the higher end mdls. Low end stay away from. I personally would not have it for my home unless strictly budget driving my decision. I would want to know how long you intend to be in home. IMO

Augie What size and efficiency systems both up and down do you have now-cooling and heating? Any specific issues with existing systems? I will assume you have conventional furnaces now. If you replace only outside condenser and inside evap coil and pair with existing furnace, you are just as well off staying with basic 13 SEER condensers. If you want higher SEER 15+, you must go with either two stage var speed furnace or at very least a single stage furnace model with high eff x-13 blower. I also question the sizing of the furnaces you were quoted. I will give a pass to the dealers on furnace models because these Trane furnaces whether down flow or upflow are adaptable to horizontal application which I suspect is what you have now. In other words, not a big deal. I do take exception to Mike's statement above about a two stage furnace running on low stage 90% of the time. Not true unless you have a true two stage thermostat. In fact if you use the timer on the furnace, you would be running probably 90% of time in high stage. A pet peeve of mine what dealers do to homeowners in this area. And yes a two stage stat costs more but will easily pay for itself. At this moment AHRI site is down. I will look up a system using both two stage furnace XV80 and single stage high eff blower XT80 for upstairs. I also recommend a pleated filter media cabinet that Mike suggested. IMO This post was edited by tigerdunes on Tue, Apr 30, 13 at 7:32

"How often should I regen if I have iron in my system?" With iron I'd say every 4 or 5 days and you'd need to do routine maintenance with Iron Out or a similar product. "Should I go with the two tank Softener? if so, do I need two control valves? If not, then how does the 2nd regen?" You'll be fine with a single resin tank softener regenerating at 2AM unless that poses a problem for you. "Would I still need the Acid Neutralizer if I get a new system?" Your PH is low so a neutralizer is indicated. Make sure they supply a tank with a top dome plug so it's EZ to add media when necessary. "Is resin cleaner the same as Iron Out? How often should I use it? Do I just pour it in the canister? Which one?" Resin cleaner is Iron Out or Super Iron Out and you can buy those locally and use them yourself. I'll post an EZ regimen when you decide what to do. "Should I move my Hot Water heater closer to the system?" Why? "Using the calculations in these threads, I will need a 48K Softener. Is that the same for all tanks?" A 1,5 cu ft softener may be correct but the neutralizer will increase the hardness the softener must remove so that has to be considered. You may require different tank sizes for the different apparatus because the different media has different characteristics. "What system would you recommend? My wife is always complaing about the laundry, showers, etc. So I want to do this right the first time." Sounds like you found a local water treatment pro that knows what they are doing. Call a competitor and get other quotes and details on the recommended hardware and post them here. "I will have 2 bypasses for this system (factory and 3-ball)." A VERY good idea.