tigerdunes - I have learned a lot from reading your postings on this forum and I appreciate your inputs. Your minimum specs list has already been very useful (though a lot of sales people really struggle to find answers about some of the items on that list), and IâÂÂm leaning now toward the XL15i instead of the $660 more expensive XL16i. I still havenâÂÂt completely ruled out Carrier and Rheem, but a neighbor has had a 4-ton Trane XL14i for over three years and I like the way it does not seem to have collected very many of the evergreen needles that are everywhere around here. I am curious though just why the XL16i has so much trouble with dehumidification, and whether that is important to our well-shaded house just outside of Seattle. We havenâÂÂt bothered to run our heat pump in cooling mode for at least the last decade, so I remain mostly concerned with heating performance and expect to use very little cooling. Also, is the XL16i any less reliable that the XL15i, or is it just (as I understand from other forum postings) that it is more complex to hook up and hence more prone to improper installation? I am also puzzled when I compare ARI heating performance of the XL15i and XL16i. At 47 degrees their ARI heat capacity and COP are identical, and at 17 degrees the 15i has only 1% more heat capacity. The 16i has the better 17 degree COP, 2.86 versus 2.82, but it falls down on HSPF to 8.50 versus 9.00 for the 15i. This seems to imply that the 16i spends more time in defrost mode, but I do not understand why. Returning of your spec list, I assume âÂÂstaged backup heat stripsâ refers to the capability to selectively turn on part instead of all of the backup heat? Our old heat pump has this feature, but I have yet to find a sales person who can tell be whether modern systems can do this. One issue is not really relevant until our new heat pump is being installed, but opinions about it are so amusingly diverse I cannot resist asking. Our power utility offers an extra rebate if we install a lockout control. What should it control? We have a lockout set at 32 degrees on our old heat pump and I understood it prevents the backup heat from coming unless the outdoor temperatures is below 32 degrees. The âÂÂenergy expertâ I talked to at our power company agreed, but said the lockout should also turn off the heat pump compressor at 32 degrees to âÂÂprevent a spike in our electric bill.â I recognize efficiency is down at that temperature, but unless there is a lot of icing up it still seems to make sense to run the compressor. Sale personnel were about evenly split whether the lockout should turn off the compressor. Is there any clear answer on this?

My outside condenser is 8 years old. It is a lennox signature collection model 3.5 tons. It says it has 10 year warranty. Do you know if it is worth going after the warranty . I am shopping for prices for new condenser rather a whole new system which l can not afford at this time. Thanks much for your time and info.

My furnaces were installed by a Carrier FAD (Factory Authorized Dealer). I have had no issues so far with getting replacement parts under the warranty. Of course you didn't. Many of the problems with Carrier warranty parts are self inflicted by the way they are set up. You have Watts Co and then you have Carrier. But just because these problems exist doesn't mean your servicer will tell you. When you call for service, the company sends a tech. If a part is needed they go get the part. The back end office deals with reimbursement of the warranty part. If you have a FAD that is set up to sell Carrier, the process is more streamlined. But these relationships are only 'greased' by the movement of money, the more the money the easier it becomes... imagine that. But that doesn't spell anything good for a customer who doesn't want to spend more and more money. Does it? These things go on behind the scenes. I know they do because I am not only the Tech, but I am also the Licensed Contractor and back office all in one. If I have a customer with so and so brand. It's not my job to air dirty laundry, my job is to provide a service to the customer. If the FAD relationship goes bad between the dealer and the manufacturer, the manufacturer can just jack pricesif they choose to do so. Now what do you suppose that does to you?

It would seem to me you would not be having these issues if he installed the correct parts. ah another blanket statement to soothe your fears from a keyboard warrior. We have no idea how old the equipment is in question. All we can do is assume this or that, when the OP has demonstrated he has no real knowledge how or what this equipment is supposed to do during certain sequences of operation. It's a heat pump for God sakes. If the unit is older, the fan motor was replaced one year doesn't mean the system will then operate without 'something else' breaking on most likely an older heat pump system. The fan was replaced a year or so ago... the tech or who ever had to come back because they improperly attached it. Does this mean it's the wrong fan? no. While I wouldn't make a newbie mistake like that doesn't mean much. After that the unit ran for a year, until further problems developed. It's an older unit most likely. Because fan motors can operate a long time before they ultimately fail.... do some fail prematurely? Yes. But it's not that common. Old units break, it's what they do. Certainly if the unit was repaired improperly that could cause further issues, but this unit was probably older already because the OP never said anything about this part being under warranty from the manufacturer.