[DarlinNikki]

I bought a house and before I could get my stuff moved to it.... someone stole all the copper... including a 3 1/2 ton heatpump (split) on one side of the house and a 4-5ton package unit on the other side (well they just stripped that one... didn't take all of it.
Neither my insurance and the selling company will claim responsibility. So it is left to me to fix. I went thru all my extra money fast. I need heat and air soon. I want to buy used off craigslist (I'm an army widow so no credit of my own) so I can pay cash. Can anyone tell me what to look for to make sure I get a functioning unit? It is so confusing the difference between a heat pump splt and an a/c and furnace split... they look the same. All duct work etc are intact so I just have to replace the units. I also saw a great deal on a new commercial 5 ton... only 13seer... but new.... on craigslist...so I'm wondering... what is the difference in a commercial and residential... will commercial cost me more to operate than a residential package unit... 5ton... 13seer?

Thoughts?

Help... please... I can't go another summer w/o it in this house.

Nikole

 

[roughneck]

Is the commercial unit 3 phase? Does it have bottom and side duct connections? What refrigerant did the old split use? Is the indoor coil compatible with the outdoor unit your looking at? Is the tonnage the same? Correct voltage and phase?
House must be huge, or have no insulation, to need 8 1/2 tons of cooling.

 

[BayouRunner]

Hate to tell you but I don't think you will be able to buy a condenser to fit that heat pump. Someone may tell you it will work but I really doubt it. It has to be sized up with that coil and some of the heat pump charges are critical to the ounce. You may wind up with a unit that will heat and not cool or visa versa. Talk to your contractor before you buy anything. This will save you from being ripped off again. Your insurance should cover that. Or the previous owner depending on date of damage.

 

[supers05]

Which part of the world do you live in? People stealing condenser coils is getting more popular around here. I have a pictures of a dozen random unit's that I've found driving around like that. They seem to stay away from the aluminum Microchannel coils. (less money at the scrap yard)

How old were these units?

The commercial unit is likely 3 phase and/or 480/575V instead of 240 single phase. Converting electricity for this purpose defeats the cost savings of the cheaper unit. (add in excess of $500-1000 to the capital cost. That's before efficiency losses) The only other differences is that sometimes they are more deluxe models, with pressure limits and controls. (they are mostly safety devices that are left out of econo level models to save money)

Cheers!