Goodman units are sold more on price than reliability usually, though recently Goodman has been reputed to be better. They still have a bad reputation from the past, though. The brands you're looking at should be fine. In reality they are all very similar as far as components and functionality go. If going with Carrier, opt for the tin-plated copper coil with a 10-year warranty as it holds up better to corrosion that has been a problem among multiple manufacturers. Not sure what would make Carrier stand out more given what I said above. He may be going off of Carrier's specifications. What efficiency air conditioner were you looking at getting? 2-stage, high-efficiency units are nice but are not necessary. A good 13/14 SEER outdoor unit with a variable-speed indoor unit should do just fine if properly sized. How did the old 3 ton cool? Did your dealer actually look at the ductwork to determine it could support 3 tons? Just got back from a relative of mine's installation in her fairly new condo, and the installation is very poor. Had to seal numerous air leaks, and the airflow to some rooms is still horrible. What I'm saying is, not all ductwork systems are done right from the get-go, but it is VERY important in having a good system.

If your 4 year-old coil just gave out and you have had the unit serviced 5 times in 2 years, you have some serious installation issues.

"The freon line is rather long and one contractor told me that only Carrier had a unit that would support it..."
- That's funny. Sure, only Carrier will do. No other system will work. Lose this guy.

Get 3 more quotes. Find out why you have so many problems with your current system. You don't want a repeat with the new system, regardless of brand.

Good luck.

To me, the best unit has a scroll compressor, high & low pressure switches and if in a cold climate, demand defrost to eliminate the 100s of unneeded defrosts a time/temp system will have every winter.

Look at ALL of the numbers to compare units. Cooling capacity, SEER, EER, heating capacity, HSPF. One popular brand tends to have fairly low heating performance, something that means higher bills even though you think it is as efficient as other brands.

Heat pumps don't like linesets that are too long. We had a house that the one system tended to chew up units where the other 2, with short lines didn't. Finally ended up moving the heat pump to the other end of the house and solved that issue.

In what part of the country do you live? You live in a multi story condo?

Maybe a heatpump is not the best?

techrec

my personal specs

15 SEER,12+ EER,9 HSPF
matching var speed air handler
full BTUs in rated size both cooling and heating
scroll compressor preferred
electronic demand defrost preferred
R-410a refrigerant
staged backup heat strips
stat that controls blower speed for best dehumidification like the HW VisionPro IAQ

models that I like
Carrier Performance 15 or Trane's XL15i as well as sister company models from Bryant and Am Std
Rheem has some good mdls as well

IMO

"Heat pumps don't like linesets that are too long. We had a house that the one system tended to chew up units where the other 2, with short lines didn't. Finally ended up moving the heat pump to the other end of the house and solved that issue."

- Exactly. A problem installation, not a manufacturing issue. The OP may have the same concerns.

The coil "gave out." Can you describe this in more detail? Did it spring a leak. What were the other repairs? Could very well be installation related as others have said. You'll of course want to have this checked before proceeding with a new system. Good luck.

You may wish to avoid purchasing Trane. We had new Trane unit installed 2 weeks ago. Ran fine for 1-1/2 weeks then stopped cooling. HVAC Contractor visited & indicated expansion valve had failed. Now we wait presumably while Trane & Contractor negotiate whether, since in warranty, valve or entire evaporator must be changed out. What a bad purchase decision I made.

I've heard about TXV issues with a couple of brands, including Trane. It is unfortunately that this happened in your situation, but it's also important to know that any brands can have problems. Trane, like other manufacturers, makes good equipment. It ain't that hard to stop a Trane I guess. And when you do, not that easy to get it back on the tracks! :)

Thanks everyone for the great input...I will definitely have the system looked at and maybe relocate the freon line. It goes up one story and over about 40 feet. To answer your questions The old 3 ton unit did pretty well. It cooks 1 floor of a 3500 square foot home. No one looked at the ductwork but the home is only 4 years old. I assume they are properly sized. I live in Virginia. Temperatures are usually not too cold. Heat strips should suffice I believe. Coils rusted out at edge and the freon leaked out. Other repairs include 2 capacitors blowing out and 2 freon charges and 1 preventive maintenance call to clean the coils and clean drain lines, etc.

I appreciate all of your suggestions and recommendations.

Eric

Replacement warranty on the Goodman evaporator coil is either 5 or 10 years. Labor and freon are not covered.

Thanks. I checked the warranty information and Goodman dodged responsibility by saying it goes by the manufacturing date since I'm the second owner of the home. I even offered to call the power company to get the original date the power was turned on in the house to no avail. Like I said, I will never buy Goodman again and will promote my experience with them to anyone who will listen.

You got exactly what you paid for.

If you wanted a reliable Heat Pump, you should have bought a Daikin from Japan.

I heard they are in the States now.

I have had my Daikin Multi Heat Pump running for over 30 years. I have been prodded into upgrading to a new model but I am going to run this thing until I can't get anything else from it.

I have heard of some people with Daikin's that are still running going on 40 years. Unbelievable!

The Trane pump quoted does not have the On demand frost feaure. Any suggestions for a better Trane heat pump with this feature? I have another contractor coming in on Monday to give me the price quote.

Maestro96,

The features cited in this thread have been overtaken by five years of progress.

You may want to start a new thread with your question....