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air conditioners
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2020-06-11 at 1:23 PM UTCMy current one is almost a decade old but works just fine, there was a discount sale so i considered getting a new one. Has there been any improvements in the technology the past 10 years? to me they still look the same and use the same Puron coolant as this one so can i really justify spending half a grand if my old one isnt dead yet?
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2020-06-11 at 1:31 PM UTCIf it aint broke dont fix it. Could be throwing away another 10yrs of a good AC.
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2020-06-11 at 1:42 PM UTCThe mexican is right on this occasion. The AC units at my work are 30yrs old and still running fine.
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2020-06-11 at 2:12 PM UTC
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2020-06-11 at 3:13 PM UTCFirst off, where are you going to find an A/C for $500? I assume you're talking about a split system and not a window unit. Do you plan on installing it yourself? If so, you will need an oxy-acetylene torch set with (preferably) 15% silver solder and the ability to use them. You will also need a vacuum pump of at least 3 cfm. You can reuse your copper line set as the freon is the same. You would be a fool to only replace the outside condensing unit without replacing your evaporator coil on top of the furnace insofar as it is usually the thing that develops a leak as well as having years and years worth of dust imbedded in the fins from dust that got past your air f-i-l-t-e-r that you didn't change often enough.
The thing to check is the SEER rating (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio). Basically, if the old A/C is a 10 SEER and the new one is a 13 SEER, the new one will be 30% more efficient.
The average life expectancy of an A/C system is considered to be 12 to 15 years. I would not bother replacing an existing system unless it has a history of leaking freon or needs an expensive repair. I would replace a contactor or capacitor. I might think before replacing a condensor fan motor.
Pay no attention to the Jiggaboo behind the curtain! Commercial equipment is different. It has all factory solder joints and tested in its final configuration rather than having to depend on some guy in the field patching things together. Further, many commercial leases require the tenant to make repairs which means you end up with patches upon patches. The owner won't replace the equipment to cut his electric bills in half because he isn't paying the bills. The end result is old patched up pieces of inefficient equipment on commercial roofs. It often takes a bad heat exchanger (on gas systems) before the cost gets too prohibitive to continue patching.The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-06-11 at 3:22 PM UTCMine is 30 years old and works great.The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2020-06-11 at 3:25 PM UTC
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2020-06-11 at 3:37 PM UTCThe current minimum is 13 SEER although you can get equipment in the 25+ SEER range. A 25 to 30 year old unit may only be a 6.5 Seer which will cost you twice as much to run as a minimum 13 Seer unit does.
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2020-06-11 at 3:49 PM UTC
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2020-06-11 at 3:51 PM UTC
Originally posted by stl1 The current minimum is 13 SEER although you can get equipment in the 25+ SEER range. A 25 to 30 year old unit may only be a 6.5 Seer which will cost you twice as much to run as a minimum 13 Seer unit does.
My electric bill in that old house was about $150 a month on average...so $1800 a year. Obviously that wasn't just the a/c unit...lets say the a/c unit was half that...$900 a year or $75 a month.
I'm ok paying $900 a year for a working a/c unit instead of paying a $10,000+ outlay for a new a/c unit (that might need replacing in 5yrs based on the shitty build quality of stuff these days).
Fucking lol...economics 101. -
2020-06-11 at 4:30 PM UTC
Originally posted by Jiggaboo_Johnson My electric bill in that old house was about $150 a month on average…so $1800 a year. Obviously that wasn't just the a/c unit…lets say the a/c unit was half that…$900 a year or $75 a month.
I'm ok paying $900 a year for a working a/c unit instead of paying a $10,000+ outlay for a new a/c unit (that might need replacing in 5yrs based on the shitty build quality of stuff these days).
Fucking lol…economics 101.
Sounds like you got it all figured out budThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2020-06-11 at 4:33 PM UTC
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2020-06-11 at 4:41 PM UTCWhy the fuck do you need an air conditioner if you don't live in a tropical country you pussies
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2020-06-11 at 4:43 PM UTC
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2020-06-11 at 4:44 PM UTCFUCK HOUSTON
AND FUCK YOU -
2020-06-11 at 4:46 PM UTCoh daddy.
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2020-06-11 at 5:10 PM UTC
Originally posted by stl1 First off, where are you going to find an A/C for $500? I assume you're talking about a split system and not a window unit. Do you plan on installing it yourself? If so, you will need an oxy-acetylene torch set with (preferably) 15% silver solder and the ability to use them. You will also need a vacuum pump of at least 3 cfm. You can reuse your copper line set as the freon is the same. You would be a fool to only replace the outside condensing unit without replacing your evaporator coil on top of the furnace insofar as it is usually the thing that develops a leak as well as having years and years worth of dust imbedded in the fins from dust that got past your air f-i-l-t-e-r that you didn't change often enough.
The thing to check is the SEER rating (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio). Basically, if the old A/C is a 10 SEER and the new one is a 13 SEER, the new one will be 30% more efficient.
The average life expectancy of an A/C system is considered to be 12 to 15 years. I would not bother replacing an existing system unless it has a history of leaking freon or needs an expensive repair. I would replace a contactor or capacitor. I might think before replacing a condensor fan motor.
Pay no attention to the Jiggaboo behind the curtain! Commercial equipment is different. It has all factory solder joints and tested in its final configuration rather than having to depend on some guy in the field patching things together. Further, many commercial leases require the tenant to make repairs which means you end up with patches upon patches. The owner won't replace the equipment to cut his electric bills in half because he isn't paying the bills. The end result is old patched up pieces of inefficient equipment on commercial roofs. It often takes a bad heat exchanger (on gas systems) before the cost gets too prohibitive to continue patching.
i've never see people install air conds with blow torches.
only flaring and nuts. -
2020-06-11 at 6:23 PM UTC
Originally posted by Jiggaboo_Johnson My electric bill in that old house was about $150 a month on average…so $1800 a year. Obviously that wasn't just the a/c unit…lets say the a/c unit was half that…$900 a year or $75 a month.
I'm ok paying $900 a year for a working a/c unit instead of paying a $10,000+ outlay for a new a/c unit (that might need replacing in 5yrs based on the shitty build quality of stuff these days).
Fucking lol…economics 101.
You're not figuring in the depletion in resale value if/when selling property. The buyer will either deduct the value of new equipment from the bid or will insist on new be installed. Why not enjoy the benefits in reliability and efficiency for a while yourself beforehand?
Economics 102 -
2020-06-11 at 6:38 PM UTC
Originally posted by stl1 You're not figuring in the depletion in resale value if/when selling property. The buyer will either deduct the value of new equipment from the bid or will insist on new be installed. Why not enjoy the benefits in reliability and efficiency for a while yourself beforehand?
Economics 102
Except that's not what happened when the house was sold.
Reality 103.
..and again keep my $10k, versus paying $75 a month. I'll keep my 10k and turn that into more $$ -
2020-06-11 at 6:44 PM UTCLooks like STL is one of those "Cowboy" A/C guys..."Yeah missus, the Freon is low, you're going to need a new unit..10k please".
SMH as the fiscally responsible donttellem would say.