Well, the original downstairs Trane 5 ton unit that was put in when the house was built in 1997 finally bit the dust. She had a good 27 year run, but I guess it was time. It was maintaining an OK temp on Friday but not what we have it set at normally, so I had a local AC guy come out that I've used before and was pretty honest and trustworthy. He looked things over and found a small leak that he repaired and then told me that I maybe had a year left on it and that he could add freon (R22) or quote me a new one. Stupidly, I went with the refill hoping I could kick the can down the road a year or two. But came home yesterday to a 77* downstairs, so I got the gun out and it was blowing 75* out of the vents. Tried turning it off and back on, but only the fan was kicking on. It's time.

I had him come back out and quote me a new unit and I could tell he was pissed at himself for it failing so quickly. We had a good chat about different brands and he came back with a quote to replace everything (gas furnace, too).

His quote was $13k all-in with 3 year warranty for parts/labor by him and the 10 year manufacture warranty. He was quoting a 5 ton American Standard unit. He lives in my neighborhood and pass by his house daily.

Had another guy come out and quote me and he quoted $13,800 all in for a Ruud unit. Dude just didn't give me good vibes.

My brother is an electrician and his former neighbor in his fancy gated community (why I went to college I still don't know) owns an HVAC company, and my brother asked if I wanted him to come out and quote me. He put 3 units into my brother's new house (again, why did I go to college?) and did the AC work on my aunt and uncle's new build as well, and he came out and gave me the following:

Replace all with Ruud 5 ton for $10k, or just the outside condenser unit and necessary stuff in the attic for $8100. He said I don't need to replace the furnace, but since it's original, it may be best as it's cheaper to do it all together vs separately. 1 year warranty from him on parts & labor (been doing AC work wince 2001 and bought the company he trained under in 2005) and the 10 year manufacturer warranty. He's even going to throw on a soft start for me for my whole home as a favor to my brother because my brother did the electrical for his whole home for a case of beer...and a pretty big discount on his HVAC work. Barter system is great, isn't it?

So, I guess my biggest question is is AS and an additional 2 year warranty for labor worth $3k? Our upstairs unit was replaced a couple years before we bought the house and is a Ruud and we've had no issues with it (knocks on wood).

I'd use who you trust the most. Could your long time guy do a Rudd for $10k?

The chances of using the extra 2 yrs of warranty are, imo, slim but it's a plus.

The other question I'd ask myself is the American Standard worth the extra 3k?

I have an AC guy I use and he is not the cheapest around but he does great work and fixes it right the first time.
He also remembers me and works me in his schedule when I have an issue and has even talked me through stuff over the phone, saving me a service call.

So, if you like the guy in your neighborhood and you think that American Standard is a better system then the 3k may be worth it. The first search I looked at had AS ranked higher than Ruud.

Keep in mind you asked for opinions and mine is worth less than what you paid for it.

The questions I'd ask your normal AC guy is

• do you have the main parts for the AS on your truck? (my system requires a more expensive fan motor and he had to go buy it from the parts store)
• Which would you suggest - American Standard or Ruud?
• For the 13k could you throw 2 checkups a year while under your warranty?

Good luck

Need the details to even start to make a recommendation. What are the recommended replacements specifications? Single, multi, variable speed? SEER of the units? Replace line set or flush and recycle. There easily could be more than 3K worth of difference. I usually consider trane/AM std a tier above Rudd, but last 25yr of trane heat pumps has dampened my enthusiasm. You need to make sure what you are comparing.

Warranties cover the parts, which aren't all that expensive, but you still have to pay for the labor to install the replacements. That's where they get you.

I've heard before that American Standard comes off the same line as Trane. Anyone know if this is true?

If you want the very best AC guy in Texas call Caleb who owns Tru Service AC in Bryan. He is the best an also a fellow aggie. He is a Ruud dealer but can get other brands. It is mainly about the person installing the unit rather than the brand, all of the major brands are about the same. Here is a link to his site, he will be happy to talk with you about the units.

https://www.truserviceac.com/

Tough decision.

Who is going to take the best care of you 4, 5 or 6 years from now? I personally don't care for American Standard/Trane products since Ingersoll Rand ruined their quality but if the better service provider was installing it I'd accept it. The installer means more than the brand. As far as your quotes go that is a tough one. Every company has different overhead, profit goals and such. I use price to shop for factory made items such as tools and supplies, not products that require a large degree of skill and onsite assembly in order to work properly. I personally like Ruud equipment and it's what I sell but it too has failures and quirks, just not as many as Am. Std.
Good luck with your decision.

Shoot me an email, bgc.tinsley @ gmail Would love to chat with you about some options.

I tend to use the servicer I like for the major work as well.

88Warrior said:

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I've heard before that American Standard comes off the same line as Trane. Anyone know if this is true?

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It's been a while since I was in the HVAC game. Back then, they were identical right down to the model number. The only difference was the badge on the unit.

It's different with Carrier and their many different brands, but many of the systems are made in the same factories.

Lennox and Armstrong were completely separate.

Just know now that you're going to have to call that guy for any future service.

The local guy you've been using is probably not going to be so friendly in the future.

You are welcome to borrow my new window until you get this stuff straightened out. Nothing special, just the $200 one from HD.

aTm2004 said:

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That goes both ways. If you hired me to fix something and paid me a lot of money to fix it, and it fails in ~48 hours, how eager would you be to use me again, especially when I won't come off my margins because I know I have you by the short hairs? Yeah, I did take a gamble and lost, but I would have felt a lot different if it was May 2025 and not 2 days.

I try my best to use local people when I can, but at some point, the cost outweighs the benefit.

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Who are we talking about here?

I've had very good service from Kingwood Air Solutions for many years..

I'll just say the AC replacement I got from MADD Air is shot piece of *****