oh ya...this is 13 - 14.5 seer AC, but question is also good for furnaces, as that time fast approaches in Canada

 

Makes you wonder why they're so cheap doesn't it. The only experience I have with Concord is replacing a couple evap coils.

 

I believe luxaire is york's cheap brand....
We don't get Concorde out in Calgary.
Goodman's new furnaces aren't bad.
If you want cheaper and can get it in Owen sound, look at Armstrong.

 

Luxaire, York and Coleman are all exactly the same. There is no 'cheap' brand. The 'cheap' tier or builders grade units are tag in the bag meaning that you buy it and stick either a york, luxaire or coleman sticker on it. That applies to both 13 and 14.5 JCI units the only difference between a york, coleman and luxaire in the premium tier is that the york has a stamped corner post. otherwise they are all the exact same unit.

Goodman should be the cheaper than luxaire. If they aren't then that dealer is ripping you off. Goodman's main selling point is price. If you can get the LUxaire equipment cheaper then I would say go with that. JMO...

 

All I install is Goodman, you cant do wrong by your customers by giving them a rock solid warranty. Plus they have Tubular heat exchangers, I see 300-400 cracked stamped exchangers for every one cracked tubular I see. IMO spend the extra $300 and do right by your customers. :.02:

 

Concord A/Cs are essentially a Lennox Merit. Both built in the Mexico plant. Compressor, coil, fan motor. Concord can be had with or without a cabinet. With a cabinet, louvers go a different way than Lennox. Concord furnaces are just a Lennox furnace with a different board & ignitor. Both made in Marshalltown. We usually slap the Air Ease name on a Concord being an Air Ease dealer. Personally I like the 4SCU instead of the 4AC for not much more money.

 

So is Concorde the same as aire-flo then? That's what Lennox sells as their discount brand up here

 

Hard to keep track. What is there, like 3 manufacturers that slap 10 different labels on each? Sheesh, where is my play book?
Anyway, bought the Concorde this time, waiting to hear about the Goodman warranty. thanks for the reviews, I'll look into the difference in heat exchangers for the furnaces. if your heat rise is good, and combustion air source, shouldn't have to worry much about heat exchanger. BUT, value added and tells a good story.

 

Yes, Concord & Aire flo are the same.

 

Yesterday's job

 

Concord, Ducane, ArmstrongAir, and AirEase are all part of AlliedAir... which is owned by Lennox. They also make MagicPac, however that is a different product entirely.

As BL said, the furnace is from the Lennox plant. The coils come from ADP in Miss, they have microban technology in the pan. The Armstrong and AirEase AC and HP units come from a plant in SC, the Concrod and Ducane AC and HP come from Mexico. I have toured the plant in SC, nice clean and efficient place with a strong dedication to quality; I was impressed (I have been through 4 different plants, this is by FAR the most conscious of QC). You can learn about them here: www.alliedair.com

I left Ruud and went to AlliedAir (in my area it is Ducane and AirEase). I looked at Goodman/Amana pretty hard, however made my decision based on the supply house... better customer service and generally for me the place which handles AlliedAir seemed the better place for me to trade.

The ONLY issues I have had with these units have been TXV... The coils all use external TXV's, and I have had 2 bad ones this year. They are not hard to change, they are bolt on. Just takes some time to pump down and replace. An elbow section of CO tube with the fitting for the equalizer line from the TXV is included with the TXV kit, so installation of the TXV is not much work. Beyond bad TXV's (I am not aware of any co which has not had TXV issues), I think AlliedAir products are every bit as good as any other co. They have 16 and 18 SEER 2 stage (not dual compressor), they have VS drive furnaces and AH's, they have 90+ furnaces, and they have a 96% MOD furnace (uses standard T-stat).

One thing I like is: When they have their annual Spring product update meeting for the Dealers (us contractors), they ASK us how we want the equipment made... and some of our suggestions are actually incorporated into the products.

They ARE clamshell HXE's... however the HXE's are only 12,500 BTU's each (more per furnace), so they do not run as hot. IMO this could contribute to less HXE failures.

Warranty service has been good, and the product is easy to install.

Given the poor rep Goodman/Amana has in my area... I think I made a good choice.

 

JCI uses all tubular heat exchangers

 

All my company installs is Goodman/Amana furnaces and our Service Recall rate is 3%