Repair or replace HVAC system

[Benjamin Richards]

This is a followup to my post a couple weeks ago about my tenant wanting the A/C set to 65. I had a technician come and look at the system, and he said there is a severe kink in the line that could have been caused by ice falling off of the roof. Since we never set the A/C lower than 74 or 75 when we lived there, we probably never noticed, but it is restricting the flow and causing pressure well outside of the specified range on both the high and the low pressure side of the system. To repair it, he will have to replace that section of the copper line, possibly put in new refrigerant of the old, expensive type, etc., and the estimate is about $1300. The condo is 15 years old, he said the unit is 17 years old.

So, I'm pretty sure I should go ahead and replace the A/C unit because there's no telling how long it will last and $1300 is a lot to spend considering the age. Plus, I don't want my tenant without A/C for a month and a half if I can fix it now, while it's still (mostly) working.

My main question is, should I replace the furnace at the same time? My mentor who has owned and managed a ton of properties in his career always replaces the A/C and the furnace together because they're typically the same age and he doesn't like to have them mismatched. But would you others leave the furnace while it's still working or go ahead and replace them together?  I can afford to pay cash to replace the whole system, but obviously don't want to throw away money if there's no need.

[Brett Pack]

Hi 

I am an HVAC technician, for the last 19 yrs.

This is the way that I look at it.

You mentioned that it was about 17 yrs old.

That's kinda like a car w/190,000 miles on it.

What kind of reliability are you going to get out of it.

The efficiency's have gone pretty high too.

Not to mention, alot of new systems come w/a 10 yr parts and labor warranty.

And you can have peace of mind.

I hope that helps.

Good luck my friend

[Brett Pack]

Hi 

I am an HVAC technician, for the last 19 yrs.

This is the way that I look at it.

You mentioned that it was about 17 yrs old.

That's kinda like a car w/190,000 miles on it.

What kind of reliability are you going to get out of it.

The efficiency's have gone pretty high too.

Not to mention, alot of new systems come w/a 10 yr parts and labor warranty.

And you can have peace of mind.

I hope that helps.

Good luck my friend

[Benjamin Richards]

Hi Brett,
Thanks for your response. What furnaces and AC units do you prefer for long term reliability? This will be about a 14-16 seer system.
Thanks,
Ben

[Brett Pack]

Hi Ben

I can't really say a certain manufacturer.

I can tell you this, the ones I've seen that last along time,have been (sized correctly, installed properly and maintenanced yearly.) And that's accross the board.

Make sure that you go w/a good company.

And I cannot over emphasize this, change your filters regularly 

Sorry didn't mean to go on a rant.haha

Good luck

[Caleb Heimsoth]

Is the furnace not working ? Don’t replace it until it’s not. How much is a new ac ?

[Dick Rosen]

At that price point I would get 1 or 2 more quotes before making a decision. If they all come up with the same expensive solution I would suggest replacement. A system that old is not worthy of a $1300 repair but another tech may come in and say he can fix it for $500... I may consider that.

[Nicole A.]

If your furnace is about the same age, you may want to get quotes on replacing both units and of just replacing the AC. That way you can see how much more you'd pay to replace both now rather than separately. 

We just replaced both our gas furnace and AC for our personal home (single family home roughly 2,700sq ft) and paid just over $7,200. Both items were working, but they were both very old, and the AC especially was having a hard time keeping up last summer and we don't even run it very hard.