Original message
| Fred97
 |  "12 year old TRANE A/C ..REPAIR/REPLACE?"
, posted Wed 16 Jul 10:00  
My 12 year old home Trane A/C froze up...it did the same last year....they added coolant then...and again this spring on a seasonal checkup( 3#'s) siteing a leak they could not find....now , 1 month later it froze for the 2nd time.....they checked it out thouroghly ..added 3# coolant and said there is a significant leak in the coil...they said considering the age of the unit i should replace not repair it....saying that they could open it up and find a crack in the exchanger or some other costly unknown. They also said a replacement coil may not match the efficiency of the unit( im not sure what that means). They also sited some corroding 1/2" tubing on the outside unit they said that may develop leaks soon ( cant they just replace a metal tube?) Are they just trying to get me to purchase a new unit or is this reasonable?...They said the life of the unit is typically 12 to 15 years anyways. Im not sure what to do.....they highly recommend AMERICAN STANDARD with a SEER16 as a replacement. Any help would be appreciated ...thankyou....
F
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Replies:
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| TIMDECKER
| "Re(1):12 year old TRANE A/C ..REPAIR/REPLACE?" , posted Wed 13 Aug 20:55
When you attempt to replace an old evaporator coil the newer unit will probably be a higher efficiency rating like 13 seer or higher which really doesn't match your older 10 or 12 seer system. You should save 30 to 40 percent easily on your electricity bill (for cooling costs) and you won't have a technician at your house handing you another repair bill if you can get a 5 year warranty. Yes it's time to upgrade and improve the value and energy efficiency of your home.
Greetings from Houston TX the AC capitol of the world!
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| Duffau
| "Re(1):12 year old TRANE A/C ..REPAIR/REPLACE?" , posted Sun 20 Jul 18:06
Unfortunately, you could spend over a grand finding the leak and repairing it (assuming it is in the evaporator coil which will need to be replaced.)
I'd shop around for a new system this fall when the shops have more time to install the new MORE efficient system.
Or you could have them find the leak this fall and repair it and probably get a few more years out of your system.
Daffy Duff
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| tinmantu
| "Re(1):12 year old TRANE A/C ..REPAIR/REPLACE?" , posted Wed 16 Jul 13:37
We've replaced 3 trane coils so far this summer of similar age. Replacements are all aluminum so they were obviously aware of the problem. As far as what they are seeing outdoors, I don't know what to tell you. Get another evaluation from another contractor and see what they say, before investing thousands. JMHO
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