Advice: Home A/C

[wolverine68]

I'm asking for advice again from my Cyclone family. I need to get a new A/C unit for my house (not an emergency, old one still works) and I was wondering if there were any opinions about either the unit itself or a heating and cooling company that I can trust in the Des Moines area.
I received really good advice when I asked about siding so I'm hoping you all can come through for me again (who the heck needs Angie's List when you have CF?).

 

[cyclone_fan_1000]

I highly recommend 72 Degrees out of Ankeny. We had them replace our AC, and they have been very, very, good about fixing some follow-up issues that resulted because the replacement unit they originally sold us turned out to be bad unit from the manufacturer (not their fault).

 

[Clonefan94]

I am personally a fan of the Carrier brand.

We replaced ours 2 years ago, after 20 years of working without a hitch. It was actually still running, but furnace was having issues that would have been just as much to replace all the old parts. So we went ahead and replaced it all.

Don't know much about other brands other than my parents have a Lennox they aren't crazy about. It needs work every couple of years and is only about 8 years old.

Since I'm in Illinois, sorry, can't recommend an installer.

 

[wartknight]

I would second 72 degrees. They have done great work for me for both my house and rental properties.

 

[mkcrawford]

Thank you wolverine for posting this. I am in the same boat, but in the Ames area. Keep the comments coming :yes:

 

[oldman]

I got a new furnace and air conditioner this past April. I hired Schaal (288-3631) as they were running a special for a free air conditioner with a new furnace. Now I'm sure that I paid for both, but it was under $5000, and we got a $1000 rebate from MidAmerican.

They were very professional, showed up on time, and did what they said they would do. Guess you can't ask for more than that.

 

[CYdTracked]

We use Service Legends. They did maintenance on our previous home and installed a new furnace in our current home, never had issues with them and they do a good job.

One company I do not recommend for anything is Golden Rule. Used them once and NEVER AGAIN will I use them. They try to suck you in with "up front pricing" claiming that is the price for the job no matter what they find once they get started but I think they price it so high so they can cover any losses if they underestimated a job. Haven't met a person yet that used them that says they would use them again either

 

[JP4CY]

I highly recommend 72 Degrees out of Ankeny.

I would second 72 degrees. They have done great work for me for both my house and rental properties.

Thirded

One company I do not recommend for anything is Golden Rule. Used them once and NEVER AGAIN will I use them. They try to suck you in with "up front pricing" claiming that is the price for the job no matter what they find once they get started but I think they price it so high so they can cover any losses if they underestimated a job. Haven't met a person yet that used them that says they would use them again either

Agreed. I contacted them about running a gas line up thru the kitchen floor from my water heater for a new gas stove that I bought. They said no problem and can do it same day. I took off that day, and after he looked things over said it was $500ish. I thought it was really high but I couldn't get another day off work to have it done, so I sucked it up and paid it.

 

[JY07]

One company I do not recommend for anything is Golden Rule. Used them once and NEVER AGAIN will I use them. They try to suck you in with "up front pricing" claiming that is the price for the job no matter what they find once they get started but I think they price it so high so they can cover any losses if they underestimated a job. Haven't met a person yet that used them that says they would use them again either

Agreed. I contacted them about running a gas line up thru the kitchen floor from my water heater for a new gas stove that I bought. They said no problem and can do it same day. I took off that day, and after he looked things over said it was $500ish. I thought it was really high but I couldn't get another day off work to have it done, so I sucked it up and paid it.

I'll 3rd this: the last company you should contact is golden rule. I needed an A/C recharged, they quoted something ridiculous, I said no, and magically they cut the price in half to what it should have cost in the first place

 

[ISC]

I am personally a fan of the Carrier brand.

We replaced ours 2 years ago, after 20 years of working without a hitch. It was actually still running, but furnace was having issues that would have been just as much to replace all the old parts. So we went ahead and replaced it all.

Don't know much about other brands other than my parents have a Lennox they aren't crazy about. It needs work every couple of years and is only about 8 years old.

Since I'm in Illinois, sorry, can't recommend an installer.

I second the carrier brand. We've had ours for over 10 years now and have never had an issue with either the AC or furnace. They run nice and quietly too.

 

[urb1]

We just got a Carrier last spring. Happy so far. Way quieter than the antique we got rid of.

 

[Covenant Clone]

I have no direct experience with 72 degrees but I can tell you as a home builder in the Metro I've been around a lot of HVAC companies in town. In my experience and in my opinion there isn't a better company than Des Moines Comfort. Lee Rose is the owner and they do outstanding work.