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We moved into a ~2100 sq ft townhome in Houston almost 5 years ago. The place was new construction two story building. Insulation, windows...etc are good.

However, I believe the contractor cut corners on the AC condenser unit.  It is a Ruud 3 ton.  
(1) It is loud as all hell.  It will wake the dead when it starts up and you struggle holding a conversation in my small back yard when it is running.
(2) It runs all the time and does a very poor job in general of cooling our place. Electric bills in summer are sky high even though we are conservative with the thermostat.
(3)The fan only has two blades.  I have never seen one that did not have four.  Just another indicator in my book it is a cheap POS.

I want  to replace the condenser only with a higher end and possibly larger 4 ton unit.  (Trane preferred)  Since the rest of the system in less than 5 years old, I thought it was GTG.  Figured I would spend around $3-4K.

Two contractors have told me this is a bad idea. They want to replace the whole nine yards...heat exchanger ...etc...at a cost around $12K. One reason they cite is that the R22 refigerant is being phased out.  If I replace my condenser with another R22 unit I will pay through the nose for replacement R22 if it is ever needed.

Advise requested.  Are these contractors correct or just doing a sales job on me?

YOu need to know what size coil you have. HX will not change, just coil & condenser. get rid of R22 if at all possible while servicing the unit.

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I'm the HVAC consulting business, so let me lay out a couple of things.

1. I have a 2200 SF house with a 3-ton. It does the job overall, but there are some minor duct problems that led to a couple of warm pots. Not a big enough deal to get my big ass in the attic to correct it.  Based on your footage, a three or a three-and-a-half would work. I wouldn't recommend going to 4 tons because an oversized unit will not cycle long enough get the humidity out, leading to mold and mildew at some point in the future.
2. The fallacy of the statement above re: mold is that a smaller unit will do a great job of handling humidity but the unit runs longer and people bitch about the power bill. Guess what, every degree on your AC is worth about 1%, so having your unit run 14 hours a day instead of 15 won't save you much at all.
3. I've never personally seen a condensing unit designed with 2 blades. Does there appear to be a fan bracket on the motor shaft where a third blade was once in place?
4. Unfortunately, the R22 thing is true.  Contractors aren't wanting to install the R22 units thet have left because of the aggravation of warranty down the road, and most of the time the existing indoor unit won't handle the higher pressures of R410. We haven't spec'd an R22 unit in almost 2 years now.  As for the price you were quoted, lots of factors - length and path of refrigerant lines, the fact that you want Trane equipment, location/ease of getting equipment in and out of their locations, etc.
5. Ruud is a POS in my opinion, but I work more in the commercial realm. When I was installing, Ruud was the basic/budget line we sold, and we sold a lot of the bastards.

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Um, tons of condensers have 2 blades. Including American Standard units. It is not uncommon at all.

If it is such a big deal, you can go to any local tin knocker supplier and buy a three blade motor.

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(1) It is loud as all hell.  It will wake the dead when it starts up and you struggle holding a conversation in my small back yard when it is running.
(2) It runs all the time and does a very poor job in general of cooling our place. Electric bills in summer are sky high even though we are conservative with the thermostat.

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1.  Loud is a relative term.  There's nothing anyone here can do to give you tips to quiet it down; either it was built that way or there's a defect, who knows.  Most likely though if you want something quieter you'll have to get a new condenser.

2.  meh...again, this is not descriptive enough of a problem.

3.  Does not matter.


You indicate you want to slap a 4 ton unit in thinking that will help keep the place cooler.  You're thinking here is all wrong.  Bigger does not equal better or more cooling.  You need a heat load calculation performed on your home first before anything else is done.  Once you have the results see how they compare to what you have installed.  You also realize if you do actually need a 4 ton unit you need a new evaporator coil.  Some air handlers/furnaces may also need to be replaced because the fan motor in the unit cannot blow enough air over an upsized coil install.  

Bottom line is you need to find a contractor you can trust and will listen to your concerns.  These guys quoting $12k though are just trying to gouge you.  Keep looking.

Quoted:
We moved into a ~2100 sq ft townhome in Houston almost 5 years ago. The place was new construction two story building. Insulation, windows...etc are good.

However, I believe the contractor cut corners on the AC condenser unit.  It is a Ruud 3 ton.  
(1) It is loud as all hell.  It will wake the dead when it starts up and you struggle holding a conversation in my small back yard when it is running.

Are you sure its a R22 system ? The early 410A systems are loud because of the use of reciprocating compressors instead of the scroll compressors used in the better units . Loud could be over charged & the compressor is laboring. another thing is if its got air in the system (noncondenseables )any system will make noise . .

(2) It runs all the time and does a very poor job in general of cooling our place. Electric bills in summer are sky high even though we are conservative with the thermostat.
Depends on a lot of factors ,house insulation , bad or defective duct work, system over or under charged & the list could go on.

(3)The fan only has two blades.  I have never seen one that did not have four.  Just another indicator in my book it is a cheap POS.
As long as the fan move air across the coil at the proper temp. difference ,it doesn't matter how many blades it has .

I want  to replace the condenser only with a higher end and possibly larger 4 ton unit.  (Trane preferred)  Since the rest of the system in less than 5 years old, I thought it was GTG.  Figured I would spend around $3-4K.
Condenser & evaporator coils are sized together , 3 ton condenser/3 ton evaporator coil and so on.We used to go a half ton higher on evap coils for dehumidifacation, but with the newer high efficiant systems ,its not needed.

Two contractors have told me this is a bad idea. They want to replace the whole nine yards...heat exchanger ...etc...at a cost around $12K. One reason they cite is that the R22 refrigerant is being phased out.  If I replace my condenser with another R22 unit I will pay through the nose for replacement R22 if it is ever needed.
If the system is a newer model , the evap coil may be rated for both R22 & 410A pressures . It will be tagged as such on the evaporator coil . Going from an R 22 system to an 410A system ,any thing that was in contact with the older R22 refrigerant oil will have to be flushed with a flushing kit ,because the synthetic oil in the 410A system is not compatible.
12K is kinda high just for a change out with out duct work.



Advice requested. Are these contractors correct or just doing a sales job on me.