AC Help

My house's air conditioner has been giving me fits every since I purchased the house in 09. The compressor is made by Magic Chef, and every technician that looks at it says it should be in the hall of fame for lasting as long as it has (too old to read serial numbers but the general consensus is 1970's or early 80s). My electric bill was $300 in the peak months of summer last year, and the May11 bill has reached 165 during a relatively cooler summer month. I have put waaay to much R-22 in the unit this year alone, and it will probably leak to a low point by the end of summer. (That gets expensive in itself).

    My initial plan was to run it till it dies, but these high electric bills and freon cost are costing me money that I could be saving. I got quoted for a 3.5 ton 14 SEER unit and a 4 ton dual stage 16 SEER unit. There is a 2k price difference between the 2. I know the 16 SEER unit will have lower running cost than the 14, but is the savings and comfort worth the 2k? I live in Texas so a high quality Ac is a must. Anyways I was wondering if anyone out there has been through a similar predicament or has knowledge in the HVAC field to give some advice.

Go with the 16, the savings will be pretty noticeable in the long run, and if you're the type that turns your AC up during the day, and down when you get home, it'll cool the house down quite a bit faster. I'm not too familiar with brands, but my dad runs an AC business in FL, and he uses Trane mostly, not the cheapest out there but probably the best for the price range.

Tranes were awesome until about 5 years ago when they went "cheap" with their materials/motors...

deadeye007 wrote: I have put waaay to much R-22 in the unit this year alone, and it will probably leak to a low point by the end of summer. (That gets expensive in itself).

agentwhale007 wrote: deadeye007 wrote: I have put waaay to much R-22 in the unit this year alone, and it will probably leak to a low point by the end of summer. (That gets expensive in itself). In my brain I think of scientists examining atmospheric maps and wondering why there is a small circle of missing ozone above deadeye's house.  And when I think of this, I laugh a little bit.

Yes Whale, I've burned more Ozone than Hummer

My landlord bought our AC, that dude is awesome.

Gotta look at your sharks while you're hot tubbin' bro. Ladies love sharks.

choopie911 wrote: Gotta look at your sharks while you're hot tubbin' bro. Ladies love sharks.

Anything with a pump that runs ads to your electric bill. Aquariums (especially reef) have high power draw lighitng, as well as the pump that runs 24/7.

I thought it was fairly obvious.

KBK