Heat Pump - Repair or Replace? (2024)

Hi Folks,

My Trane XL1400 heat pump 'died' over the weekend. The repair person from the company that installed it said the "compressor shorted to ground"... and that it was basically time for a new unit.. This unit was installed in 1993 - so - 13 years... He then arranged a Sales call (who said they couldn't get out here for 4 days!!)

Later in the afternoon, I contacted an independent guy, that's been in ac for a number of years and is just recently starting on his own business - he came highly recommended by my electrician (who is a friend that i trust). This second person basically said "This is a Trane - a top of the line Trane - your air handler is in good condition, and the outside unit is in good condition... minus the compressor - i'll be happy to install a whole new unit if that is what you want, but you can just replace this compressor for a fifth of the cost and be fine"...

The 'new' compressor would only have a 1 year warranty on parts and labor.. Several times I kept questioning on if replacing the compressor would be the way to go - and each time he pointed out that the rest of the unit was in fine shape... (even saying he'd be happy to do the job so that he could take the old unit and put it in his home.. lol)

A key factor here is that we've only been in this house 1 year, and the previous owners had a few service calls on the unit - always for tripping the breaker and for putting new start caps on..

Well - the unit was on a 'dual breaker' that controlled both the compressor AND our dryer! Also it's an old 150 amp panel w/ aluminum wiring (running the heat pump, a pool, a jacuzzi, and the whole house).. Even the home inspector recommended replacing (upgrading) the panel before we moved in... That is being done this Friday...

The electrician and the second guy both felt strongly that the way they had this wired could be the main culprit behind the electrical problems this unit has had - and that upgrading the panel could certainly go a long way in alleviating that.

Given that - any second opinions out there?? I'm about sold on just replacing the compressor - granted i know nothing about heat pumps and hvac, but when they took the unit apart, it was verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry clean - i was shocked and how good everything looked! Makes it tough to just say 'haul it away' and drop $5k on a new unit - but - am i just asking for trouble by not replacing the whole thing??

I still have 3 other companies coming to give me estimates on a full replacement - just so i'll have some figures (including the original company 4 days from now - ??!!?.)

sorry so long - thanks for any feedback!

If the air handler and the condenser each look like they are in good shape, I would suggest replacing just the compressor. You'll save quite a bit of $ and at least you'll have a year warranty. As long as it wasn't a burn-out and just a short that killed the compressor, you should be ok. Be sure the tech properly vacuums down the system for at least half an hour before he charges the system.

As for the wiring, obviously needs upgrading. At the least, I would not use the dryer and the air conditioner at the same time. Also, check and make sure the breaker is rated to handle the condensing unit. Are there any available slots on your panel?

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Gee isn't that funny. Trane is top of the line yet if it were a Goodman 13 seer (or better) unit the compressor would have a lifetime warranty and you would just be paying about 4-500$$ for labor

"Kathy" wrote

Not if he wasn't the original owner. I don't care WHAT you say Kathy. If he isn't the original owner, Goodman will NOT replace the compressor for free.

I know! I just ran into that last week.

So you can just stick your piece of sh*t Goodman up your purty little ass....

for

compressor for free.

little

Not for nothing Red but,

I recently spoke to Jenny at ext.334 at Goodman in TX about what was required for a warranty to be transferred. Maybe you could call her if you have an issue with a Goodman Warranty. She has been very helpful whenever I have questions. Unless, of course you are just one of those guys that talks sh*t and likes to trash Goodman. Then a phone call won't help.

have a nice day

Hi Folks,

Thanks for comments and suggestions...

Just an update - I heard from the guy that was talking about replacing just the compressor - he apologized and said the compressor was a bit more than he expected, so the cost to do that would $1900... That's about $500 - $1000 more than I was anticipating... (He also said he could do an American Standard 14 SEER system for $5350)

Also, I've had a couple companies out already (and a few more on the way) to price out replacing the entire system and I'm looking at a few dollars over $5000 for the Trane 1400XLi system (w/ dual speed air handler).. That approx $5000 is after rebates from Trane and Progress Energy.. ($600 and $150)

So roughly $3000 price difference NOW between replacing just the compressor and replacing the whole system - that's kind of swinging me toward the new system and the longer warranty.. rather than paying $2000 with only a 1 year warranty...

Like I say, more folks on the way w/ quotes - so - hopefully I can beat a few of them down a lil lower than the $5k.

Thanks again for any insight.

It seems that installer is very important. A correct installation might be more important than the heat pump.

One of our heat pumps (a Trane XL1000) leaked freon for 5 summers since we moved in 6 years ago (new construction). We called him back, initially every couple of months for freon recharge. We finally had enough, and demanded him to completely fix the problem, as builder's warranty expires at 5 years. He finally replaced the compressor, which we asked him to do and were refused.

Every time when he came, he gave a different reason for the freon leak, from O-ring, bad connection, even blamed on us that we did not turn on our thermostat low enough in summers when nobody home, and blamed the electric company's power saver device and disabled it. Things get better with each fix. But still leaks and he need to recharge at least once a year. I suspect he fixed away the problem by reinstalling a new compressor last spring, as we did not need a freon recharge. We are keep our fingers crossed that AC will work this summer, as we have to pay by ourselfs for the fix from now on.

You also need to consider the difference in efficiency between your old system and a new one with the price of power going through the roof.

Dick

Just another update... Had a Bryant dealer by - $7,200 for the Bryant Evolution (after rebates) - 10 yr parts and labor... 15 SEER 3 ton unit

Sounded like it had some nice features / extras - but - a bit waaaaaaaaaaaay outside my ballpark at this point..

*just post> Hi Folks,

Ask the guys pricing the Trane and the American standard if that includes a variable speed air handler. That Bryant price seems a little high, but Carrier DID jack up their prices quite a bit with their new line they came out with this year....

Yeah - that did include the variable speed air handler for the Trane and AS..

The only thing I really saw that the Bryant Evolution had over the Trane was the 2 speed (or 2 stage??) compressor..

Look at one of those SEER charts in the literature (that any of them gave you) and look at the difference in savings. I'd probably go with the 14 SEER.

One more thing: American Standard and Trane come off the same assembly line. When it get s to the end, Trane puts a fancier cabinet on it. Both have the same warranty. You decide.....

I had a frigidair dishwasher, one step down from top of the line. We paid at the store, including delivery & setup. When they brought it out and installed it, they gave her a bill! She showed them the paid receipt, they left without any more money. Then their office sent another bill. I had bought a 3 year extended warranty from the dealer too.

6 weeks after I got it, the timer stopped advancing. I called the dealer, he sent his BEST technician, he looked in the manual that came with it on the troubleshooting chart, then replaced 2 parts to fix it. The next day it did the same thing again. They made 3 trips and couldn't fix it. The guy never got a meter out, just replaced parts.

I complained to Frigidaire and they sent the dealer a new dishwasher. They replaced it and gave me another bill!

After 2 more years it started leaking all over the floor. I was told $250 to fix it. (Should have been under extended warranty). Tired of fighting with it, I went to sears and bought a high end Kenmore. If I have troubles with it (2 years old now) I will start buying cheap dishwashers, since buying high priced ones is a waste of money. I had trouble with a Frigidaire refrigerator also.

I will NEVER buy a Frigidaire ANYTHING ever again! And I will never buy from their dealer again either!

End of rant (I feel Better)

Stretch

OOPS! I posted my rant to the wrong thread. Please ignore it. But note that most companies just want to sell a new box, very few know how to fix anything any more.

Stretch

What model dishwasher did you wind up with? It will be an xxx.xxxxxx number on the label.

even so, not a bad rant....

;-]

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xxx.xxxxxx number

I've had a Kenmore 665.16761690 for a good 12 years now and it's been great. I only know the number because I just replaced the door seal for the first time. It's run at least 5 out of 7 days.

That one is made by Whirlpool.