Ok folks another here's Snert project.

Currently house has no duct work, nothing at all. House was built in 88 stick built , and has electric baseboard heat....

Using 2 Windows unit AC's rated at 10k btu each on a 110/115 circuit.

Thinking of going to a central HVAC system. Looking to do all duct work myself and get things in place.
This will be heat and AC, propane for heat and installed in attic.

Now I have some good friends who can help on the leave it to the pros parts.
Have a friend who is a commercial electrician. And another who is in the refrigeration field, who also has hvac certifications .

Anyway, I can do the labor and leave all final hookups to the pros.
But looking for some I put as to what brands are good and reliable vs junk to avoid.
Intend on going

Now before anyone says, let the pros handle it. I tried, two guys pulled in the drive way got out and just said $12-13k. Never walked in the house, no idea what I wanted nothing.
Others don't even respond or return my calls, so their loss not mine.

Talked to local hvac supply house, they will put together a package for me. But then need the pros to do their part.
I am not afraid to tackle this, and it's in the early stages of thought and planning.

Any who, any input on brands that are to be avoided or seriously considered would be greatly appreciated.

Snert.

so a couple of things to consider.

where are you running the duct work?
you can do inside ducts if you don't mind losing head room, or attic assuming it is a one story.

you could also consider mini splits.
basically no duct work just evaporators and fans in each room.
I am not sure if they make a large one to handle multiple rooms worth of evaporators vs individual condensors/ outside units.

it might be more expenseve depending on how many rooms you want to a/c.

planning on metal duct , attic is L shaped with living room having a cathedral ceiling.. Attic is completely open area so running ducts to each room is 100% unobstructed. Can go though wall from attic to living room.

All duct/vents would be from the attic through each rooms ceiling, locations for returns will be at floor level. Again these will also have easy installs as well with very little work to do a clean installation.

Have a few locations where returns can be run as well. just as easy.

We looked at the idea of the ductless system, but that would be more of a pain  to install .

House is a raised ranch, doing upper level only, lower level is half garage and other is finished but 60% below grade. Finished downstairs is always about 10 deg cooler.

Trane, American standard, Lennox are good brands. What sometimes gets overlooked is, You will need 2 drains. One drain for the evap and one drain for the drip pan under the airhandler. Run them seperate incase the evap clogs and over flows then the drain pan won't drain and now that will overflow and fuck your sheetrock up.

I'd do 2 returns min for upstairs. One in living/kitchen/dining area, and one near the bedrooms. If it's possible try to run a return and supply to the basement living area through a closet.  

I just did a multi split heat pump. One outside unit and 2 indoor units. One 7kbtu in bedroom and 18k in living. 1000sqft ranch in Ct. Heats and cools whole house just fine. Not 100% even temps in each room but it's only a deg or 2 different. Not bad at all.  I did it all, I do commercial refrigeration btw.  
I was going to do central, but my attic is trussed and running the ductwork was going to suck and servicing the air handler would suck as well.  Get the house sized up for the right btu units, don't oversize them. get someone to spec out the duct work and build it and drop it off. Insulate the 4' sections and bring them up and run them. It's not that bad to do.  Run flex from the takeoffs to each room.
Get it with propane or NG depending on what you have available, for heat.  Not sure what you use for hot water but since you'll now have propane, get an on demand tankless hot water heater. They are very efficient and you won't run out of hot water and cheaper and better than electric.

There's no real way for any of us here to know exactly how your duct layout should /should not be designed.  You need to have a contractor perform a Manual D analysis.  I will say that sheet metal ducting is probably the best you can get, but if it's in the attic, it will need to be insulated on the outside.  Running sheet metal duct is a royal pain in the ass, thus contractors charge heavily for it and for good reason.  But if it's done correctly, it'll last longer than you will live there.



With that said, the other reply suggesting mini-splits is a good one.  They have multi-split systems too, up to 4 indoor units can be run back to a single outdoor unit.  

OK so layout is not a issue. large open attic (I am 5'10" and can walk down the length of attic with barely tilting my head) there are NO obstructions. When we bought the house I installed plywood floor, no falling through to rooms below.

****Basically info I am looking for is manufacturers that a recommended for quality and lifespan, and who to stay away from on the units (Condenser, air handler , heater etc.).

not looking for the mini split systems, Going full sheet metal  duct . Will note to make sure for drains and insulation around ducts for seasonal temp changes.

Layout will be designed from a HVAC person. I will do the majority of install as per their layout.

Heat will be propane, no natural gas in my area unfortunately.

Snert.

They all are around the same quality to be honest. They also all have the same warranty pretty much. Stick to name brands, and you'll be happy. What it ultimately comes down to is the quality of the install. That right there determines if it lasts 6 months, or 25years with no service except air filter changing.  If I were to to buy units it would be Lennox or Trane.   Commercially, that's what I work on and they work good and are very dependable.   Now everyone has their own opinion on what's good, and that is mine.

It's good that you know what you want and you also understand that sheet metal can be better than flex duct.  So, call around to contractors and ask if they do that type of work.  Just understand that you'll shell out some $$ to make it happen.  If you do the sheet metal work yourself, that's fine, but I'd really suggest getting the manual D from a reputable contractor first so that you know exactly what to install.





 

Getting the return (think couple feet by couple feet) and the service lines to each room is the heartburn.

I have used 'High Velocity' (also uses higher pressure)  for older houses multiple times.
Routinely used duct board for making main lines (around 8x8 inches to a little larger) and then the smaller flex lines for drops.

One of the 'tricks' to using Unico or the other systems in retrofits is to hang the attic mounted air handler from the rafters.
This greatly reduces the higher speed fan vibration transfer to the interior of the house.

Use some corrugated copper flex line for both suction and liquid and a piece of plastic flex for the condensate drain.
Isolation blocks in the drip pan under the unit.
There are numerous designs for isolating the air lines in and out also.
This is one lace overkill up front pays off very well.
Turning the system on and having vibration noise show at the end requires real expensive fixes.

You often need to double up the couple of rafter for the extra weight.
Years ago Fine Homebuilding had a good introductory article on making metal splice plates on rafters.

An AHJ may want to see an engineering stamp though.

use either superduct or unlined sheet metal and insulate the outside, run flex to the drops, design around .08 static pressure or less. select grills for <20 db NC.

Brands to stay away from goodman, amman, air temp. use rigid copper for your drain lines and insulate it with .75 wall armorflex


do not oversize your system, unless you are using a variable drive compressor

I would take a look at Trane/ American Standard duel fuel setup. It has an inverter driven heat pump and a gas burner also. On the tstat you enter your electric rates and gas rates and it chooses what is the cheapest to heat with

With sheet metal, make sure to use mastic sealant(pookie) at every joint to help prevent leakage. Make sure to use plenty but don't go crazy with it, I'm sure there are plenty of YouTube videos about how to apply it properly.

What does Trane do to the Ameristar brand to make it budget?
Are the coils "leak free", how good is Ameristar quality?
I ask because I'm about to replace a 12yo R22 A/C only unit with new equipment & I want quality without being raped on price.
How are Rheem/Rudd units these days?

 

Check out Mitsubishi ductless central air systems

I have had a Ruud central air unit running for around 16 years with no repairs needed.

Well this project is put on hold until either fall or spring.

Four legged fuzzy kid had some health issues, and a surgery with a good size bill.

I will study more and am thankful for the brand inputs. I intend on doing this once, and correctly. If I will be making the investment, and put my efforts and labor it will be done 100% right.

Feel free to add input for others as well. It makes for a good education for those thinking of going this route as well.

Snert.