Recommended Heat/Air service companies in the metro?

[s00nr1]

Anyone have a metro HVAC company they would recommend to do an annual service/checkup on our residential system? I happened to notice our overflow condensation drain had some water draining through and I guess that's a good sign the system needs to be serviced.

[OKCisOK4me]

Mechanical Concepts. They're located one block south of NW 39th St. and one block west of Meridian. Their service has always been top notch.

[kevinpate]

I do not know if takes projects outside Cleveland County, but he's good:

John Kelso
Kelso Heating and Air
329-7755
Kelso Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. / Norman

[WilliamTell]

I have a ruud/rheem and have been treated extremely well by EJ Heating and Air.

https://plus.google.com/113495676876...ut?gl=us&hl=en

They fixed an issues that Air Comfort Solutions and Quality Air had no idea how to fix besides charging me money for stuff i didnt need (in the $400-600 range). Word to the wise, look for someone who specializes with your brand. I wasted hundreds of dollars on service calls on techs who didnt know what they were doing.

[Larry OKC]

Need to know of a place that will come to you to service/clean a window unit. The places I have called say they will clean them but you have to bring the unit to them. Not an option.

[Jon27]

I have a ruud/rheem and have been treated extremely well by EJ Heating and Air.

https://plus.google.com/113495676876...ut?gl=us&hl=en

They fixed an issues that Air Comfort Solutions and Quality Air had no idea how to fix besides charging me money for stuff i didnt need (in the $400-600 range). Word to the wise, look for someone who specializes with your brand. I wasted hundreds of dollars on service calls on techs who didnt know what they were doing.

I second the recommendation on EJ's. Our builder used them to install our heat and air last year. We were having problems with air flow in one of our rooms. They came out quickly after I called them. The guys that came out were extremely friendly and professional. They reminded me of the time left on my warranty, and said to call them anytime if we run into anymore problems. I normally use Draebek and Hill, but I was so impressed that I think I'll be calling them even after the warranty is up.

[PennyQuilts]

Hicks has been good for us.

We are about to replace one of our units. It is near the end of its lifespan and will need to be done before too long. We want to do it on our schedule rather than the hottest day of the year when it decides to die. Any thoughts of a good brand/company? They're actually coming out next week to show us what they install.

[Servicetech571]

Brand doesn't matter nearly as much as the quality of the install. Be sure they check the ductwork also, make sure the air you pay for makes it into the house
Many systems can be downsized if the house/ductwork is tightened up. Furnaces are almost always rediculously oversized resulting in large tempature swings in the winter.
Have yor contractor do an accurate load calculation instead of saying "500sqft per ton" or somethign similiar. 500sqft per ton may be fine for homes built pre 1970, but newer homes don't need as much cooling/heat.

[OKCRT]

Brand doesn't matter nearly as much as the quality of the install. Be sure they check the ductwork also, make sure the air you pay for makes it into the house
Many systems can be downsized if the house/ductwork is tightened up. Furnaces are almost always rediculously oversized resulting in large tempature swings in the winter.
Have yor contractor do an accurate load calculation instead of saying "500sqft per ton" or somethign similiar. 500sqft per ton may be fine for homes built pre 1970, but newer homes don't need as much cooling/heat.

Got a good buy on a new(2012) 96%60k furnace. Do you think that would handle 1450 sqr ft. brick home with double windows and decent insulation? Also thinking about putting a new 3ton cond/acoil in at same time. I know the book says lower on the air but with these 105 degree summers we have been having I figure 3ton wouldn't be much oversized.
Thoughts?

[SoonerQueen]

Tony's Heating & Air Conditioning
9101 Henley Ave
Oklahoma City, OK 73131-4013

Local:
(405) 478-1778
Tony does great work at a fair price. I think you would be most happy with his work. Give him a call.

[Celebrator]

Sooner Queen recommended Tony's to me a few years ago and we've been using him ever since. He does our twice yearly service and he has done an install for us as well. He is great.

[Servicetech571]

Got a good buy on a new(2012) 96%60k furnace. Do you think that would handle 1450 sqr ft. brick home with double windows and decent insulation? Also thinking about putting a new 3ton cond/acoil in at same time. I know the book says lower on the air but with these 105 degree summers we have been having I figure 3ton wouldn't be much oversized.
Thoughts?

My house is 1600sqft and I have a 2 ton AC, it will keep 75 inside on a 100 degree day. I'll live with 78-80f inside on the rare/record 110f days in order to be more comfortable the other 95% of the time. Walking into a 80 degree house on a 110f day feels pretty good Smaller units have longer cycles resulting in more even tempatures. Oversizing results in constantly fiddling with the thermostat because it's either running and too cold, or off and too hot. http://acrightsize.com/files/elephant_in_the_room.pdf

Furnaces are frequently oversized, normally 2-3 times the size needed. A 60k furnace is good for about 3000sqft in Oklahoma provided it has decent insulation and air sealing. Larger furnaces don't cost much more so it's cheap insurance for the contractor to protect against not enough heat complaints. They aren't paying the utility bills after all. The 96% you bought may be a 2 stage, I doubt the 2nd stage will ever operate in your 1450sqft house.

In order to actually GET the rated AFUE and SEER numbers the unit must be sized correctly. If it's oversized it won't run long enough on each cycle to get it's rated efficiency. Most units take 5-10 minutes before they reach thier maximum efficiency, ever notice that it takes a few minutes after the unit kicks on for the air to get good and warm/cold? The ductwork in most homes is either leaky and/or undersized. Going to a smaller unit will be a closer match to the existing ductwork, although any leaks will still need to be addressed.

BTW my electric bill was $68 last month, smaller units really do save money...

[OKCRT]

My house is 1600sqft and I have a 2 ton AC, it will keep 75 inside on a 100 degree day. I'll live with 78-80f inside on the rare/record 110f days in order to be more comfortable the other 95% of the time. Walking into a 80 degree house on a 110f day feels pretty good Smaller units have longer cycles resulting in more even tempatures. Oversizing results in constantly fiddling with the thermostat because it's either running and too cold, or off and too hot. http://acrightsize.com/files/elephant_in_the_room.pdf

Furnaces are frequently oversized, normally 2-3 times the size needed. A 60k furnace is good for about 3000sqft in Oklahoma provided it has decent insulation and air sealing. Larger furnaces don't cost much more so it's cheap insurance for the contractor to protect against not enough heat complaints. They aren't paying the utility bills after all. The 96% you bought may be a 2 stage, I doubt the 2nd stage will ever operate in your 1450sqft house.

In order to actually GET the rated AFUE and SEER numbers the unit must be sized correctly. If it's oversized it won't run long enough on each cycle to get it's rated efficiency. Most units take 5-10 minutes before they reach thier maximum efficiency, ever notice that it takes a few minutes after the unit kicks on for the air to get good and warm/cold? The ductwork in most homes is either leaky and/or undersized. Going to a smaller unit will be a closer match to the existing ductwork, although any leaks will still need to be addressed.

BTW my electric bill was $68 last month, smaller units really do save money...

Thanks,I may drop down to a 2 or 2 1/2 ton unit when I do the install. The furnace is a 2 stage BTW.

[Servicetech571]

Thanks,I may drop down to a 2 or 2 1/2 ton unit when I do the install. The furnace is a 2 stage BTW.

If a 2 ton will do 1600sqft, it should do 1450sqft. My house is average insulation for 1999, ductwork is tight though.
I did the 2 ton thinking if it wasn't enough then the house needed to be insulated and/or tightened up some more. I'm not installing a larger unit to cover up leakage in the house.
Does it buck the norm of 500sqft per ton that has been used since the 60's? yup. Does it save big on power bills? You betcha.

[bhawes]

I have 2350 sf house that I had build in 2001 and last year I changed out a 4 ton heat pump and 80% furnace with a two stage 4 ton ac and a two speed 95% furnace. I will leave my temp at 77 or 78. But my wife likes to keep temperature between 72-75.

[Servicetech571]

I have 2350 sf house that I had build in 2001 and last year I changed out a 4 ton heat pump and 80% furnace with a two stage 4 ton ac and a two speed 95% furnace. I will leave my temp at 77 or 78. But my wife likes to keep temperature between 72-75.

Does the 2nd stage ever kick on unless you turn the thermostat up/down?

[Rover]

Staging is usually a matter of an algorithm which uses the set point and the degrees away from set point the environment is. However, to keep changing the thermostat up and down to fool the thermostat defeats the real purpose and efficiency of the unit. Staging is really for adjusting for load extremes and not for changing preferences.

[bhawes]

Does the 2nd stage ever kick on unless you turn the thermostat up/down?

I was told that the ac operates in low speed and will kick on high speed when temp is close to or over a 100.

[Rover]

It isn't the temperature difference outside but the temperature inside. However, the two generally coincide as the outdoor temp and heat infiltration dictate the load.

[Servicetech571]

I was told that the ac operates in low speed and will kick on high speed when temp is close to or over a 100.

Looks like they did the typical size the unit based on stage 1 and use stage 2 as reserve. It runs at about 2.5 tons up until 100, then goes into 4 ton high stage (most systems run @ 2/3 capacity on low).
A 2.5 ton single stage 15/16 SEER would have resulted in lower power bills than you have now. You basically paid double the price for your system just so your AC won't loose ground on those 100F+ days (which we haven't had yet this year).

On the heat side does stage 2 every kick in?

[Servicetech571]

Staging is usually a matter of an algorithm which uses the set point and the degrees away from set point the environment is. However, to keep changing the thermostat up and down to fool the thermostat defeats the real purpose and efficiency of the unit. Staging is really for adjusting for load extremes and not for changing preferences.

That was my point. If the thermostat ISN'T messed with, will stage 2 ever actually run? On the heat side I've never seen it happen since 1st stage is always more than enough to handle the load.

[bhawes]

Looks like they did the typical size the unit based on stage 1 and use stage 2 as reserve. It runs at about 2.5 tons up until 100, then goes into 4 ton high stage (most systems run @ 2/3 capacity on low).
A 2.5 ton single stage 15/16 SEER would have resulted in lower power bills than you have now. You basically paid double the price for your system just so your AC won't loose ground on those 100F+ days (which we haven't had yet this year).

On the heat side does stage 2 every kick in?

I have a 18 seer unit.

[bhawes]

Looks like they did the typical size the unit based on stage 1 and use stage 2 as reserve. It runs at about 2.5 tons up until 100, then goes into 4 ton high stage (most systems run @ 2/3 capacity on low).
A 2.5 ton single stage 15/16 SEER would have resulted in lower power bills than you have now. You basically paid double the price for your system just so your AC won't loose ground on those 100F+ days (which we haven't had yet this year).

On the heat side does stage 2 every kick in?

No I got a good deal All the companies I called want to charge at least 11800.00 and higher. I had a guy name Keith that used to work for a major compainy in OKC area he has his own business and he only charge me 7700.00 and all the equipment cost about 6500.00.

[Servicetech571]

I have a 18 seer unit.

Keep in mind SEER rating assumes "wide open" operation during design conditions, and loosing ground above design conditions.
High SEER ratings are obtained by reduced cycling losses which you don't get if your unit is oversized.
How much did your power bill go down when you got your new AC installed? How big was your old AC?

[Servicetech571]

No I got a good deal All the companies I called want to charge at least 11800.00 and higher. I had a guy name Keith that used to work for a major compainy in OKC area he has his own business and he only charge me 7700.00 and all the equipment cost about 6500.00.

$12k for an HVAC system is just nuts, it will never pay for itself in energy savings. A 14-16SEER single stage normally runs about $6k installed.
Having a guy do the work for less is great as long as it's done right.