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Message
DIY Central A/C Replacement
Posted on 8/25/23 at 2:45 pm
Posted on 8/25/23 at 2:45 pm
I’ve got 2 Trane central split AC units with gas furnaces a 24-year-old 2.5 ton and a 13-year-old 3 ton. In the past 6 months I’ve had to replace (DIY’d both) the condenser fan motor and the furnace blower motor on the older unit. In addition to being super old, it’s also got a slow refrigerant leak.
I started shopping replacements and am seeing quotes of around $10000-$14,000.
I know that’s not uncommon nowadays but I can’t help but think that I could do it for around half if I DIY most of the work.
The plan would be to:
1) get an HVAC professional to come capture the refrigerant from my existing system.
2) I demo everything in the attic/ side of house and remove old equipment
3) I set in place new equipment and terminate electrical, gas, and ductwork. (Existing return and distribution duct work will be re-used)
4) have HVAC professional do braising (if necessary) and final charge
5) profit
I can get a packaged system like THIS for around $4000. The brand is relatively new but their reviews are great and they off a 10 year warranty on all of it.
Has anyone ever done anything like this? Any tips?
Thanks in advance.
ETA:
I was a licensed master plumber and held a state-wide mechanical license as well as a state-wide electrical license before going back to school and becoming an ME.
I never did mechanical or electrical work professionally but they don’t intimidate.
I started shopping replacements and am seeing quotes of around $10000-$14,000.
I know that’s not uncommon nowadays but I can’t help but think that I could do it for around half if I DIY most of the work.
The plan would be to:
1) get an HVAC professional to come capture the refrigerant from my existing system.
2) I demo everything in the attic/ side of house and remove old equipment
3) I set in place new equipment and terminate electrical, gas, and ductwork. (Existing return and distribution duct work will be re-used)
4) have HVAC professional do braising (if necessary) and final charge
5) profit
I can get a packaged system like THIS for around $4000. The brand is relatively new but their reviews are great and they off a 10 year warranty on all of it.
Has anyone ever done anything like this? Any tips?
Thanks in advance.
ETA:
I was a licensed master plumber and held a state-wide mechanical license as well as a state-wide electrical license before going back to school and becoming an ME.
I never did mechanical or electrical work professionally but they don’t intimidate.
This post was edited on 8/25/23 at 3:38 pm
3
Posted on 8/25/23 at 2:54 pm to BillyGibbons
What I’ve learned from this board is.. do what you’re comfortable doing. I know I’m not fricking with anything AC related, way too many components going on, I’d rather pay someone intrust to install the shite right
But if you can do it then more power to you, Cuz the shite ain’t cheap!
But if you can do it then more power to you, Cuz the shite ain’t cheap!
Posted on 8/25/23 at 3:02 pm to PenguinPubes
Another thing Ive learned from this board is that the quality of the install is everything regardless of the brand of the equipment.
So more power to you if willing to accept that risk.
So more power to you if willing to accept that risk.
Posted on 8/25/23 at 3:05 pm to BillyGibbons
I don't know much about A/C equipment and installation, but I can't help but think that you doing most of the work yourself could be a problem if you were to run into some sort of warranty issue down the line.
Posted on 8/25/23 at 3:15 pm to BillyGibbons
If you are truly capable of this and find a willing HVAC company to do the parts you can't I would say go for it.
I'm not sure what kind of manufacturer's warranty you'll get or if a future company would file that warranty claim for you (since they didn't sell it to you).
I assume you are switching refrigerants so properly flushing the old lines or just installing new ones will be an important part of the job.
You'll also likely have to get a sheet metal shop involved and give them good measurements to make new return and supply plenums/transitions to the new system.
I'm not sure what kind of manufacturer's warranty you'll get or if a future company would file that warranty claim for you (since they didn't sell it to you).
I assume you are switching refrigerants so properly flushing the old lines or just installing new ones will be an important part of the job.
You'll also likely have to get a sheet metal shop involved and give them good measurements to make new return and supply plenums/transitions to the new system.
Posted on 8/25/23 at 3:37 pm to AndyCBR
Thank you for the replies. I do think the hard part will be getting someone within the trade to sign off on the installation. I think I’m going to go for it when it cools down a bit.
Posted on 8/25/23 at 4:37 pm to BillyGibbons
quote:
Thank you for the replies. I do think the hard part will be getting someone within the trade to sign off on the installation. I think I’m going to go for it when it cools down a bit.
Sounds good. Fellow ME here also who dabbles in trade work. I was a Carpenter and Superintendent so I'm pretty good with tools also. Held a LA electrical license too.
The biggest challenge in HVAC work is getting all the proper tools. I have about $1k in HVAC tools for installing mini split units and have installed several with success. You do make mistakes along the way but your time is cheap and you can usually mitigate most mistakes upfront with some research.
The biggest change in my attic system when I paid BR A/C to do this 10 years ago was going from the A-coil evaporator to a straight through rectangular one. It required a big trapezoidal transition to go from the square air handler to the now rectangular coil.
Let us know how it goes!
Posted on 8/25/23 at 5:13 pm to BillyGibbons
quote:
Thank you for the replies. I do think the hard part will be getting someone within the trade to sign off on the installation. I think I’m going to go for it when it cools down a bit.
Ive done more than my fair share of renovating a house recently and I dont see anyway I could get them to sign off on something that I did myself like an HVAC job.
I just had an electrician at my house yesterday who is about to fix a generator install that a previous guy screwed up. He told the company in charge the only way he is going to the inspection office and putting his license on the line is redoing the job exactly as he wanted no questions asked.
I had an hvac company mess up last year and flood an attic and damage the room below. When I had the paint company that was working on the house at the time fix the problem, they didnt even want to deal with the hvac company for billing. It was handled between me and both of them separately. Same thing with the electrician and the generator company. Long story short, and I know this isnt the same problem like OP, but these companies dont even want to deal with something like billing let alone someone elses work they dont know and putting their licensing on the line.
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