I'm interested in having a dx system installed in my current home. I live in S.W. Michigan about 25 miles southwest of Kalamazoo. Anyway thru this forum I've learned that I probably want to have a DX system and that I can't install it myself, so I'm currently looking for a dealer/installer. What I would like is a list of questions that I should ask a perspective dealer/installer. Here are a couple please add any that I  have left off. Besides the questions I should ask please give me an idea of what an exceptable response should be & their relative importance.

1 what equipment do you recogmend is it ari certified & what is warranty?
2 how long have you been in business
3 how many installs have you done & what is your warranty?
4 do you do loop installs & how many or do you subcontract, and if so how many installs has subcontractor done & whats warrantee?
5 do you have list of referances that i may contact?
 
Thanks for any input, and thanks for sharing all the information posted here, I've learned quite a bit on this forum.

Regards,
Steve

First off, good choice. I would direct you towards Mike Dilling at Heawarsaw.com, Great guy with super knowledge in the field. You could also go to the ECR webpage and look for dealers located in your area. But I would just call him, he will be happy to help.
JackH

JackH is right. Mike will be more than happy to answer your questions.

The questions you posted are great questions to ask any installer.

Hello,

All good questions you have listed there.


I "third" the choice to contact Michael Dilling. I contacted him too almost a year ago when I was thinking of going with ECR DX system. He made an inordinate effort in answering all my questions and realy wanted me to go with the DX system. I went with a conventional system because the R-22 issue that still had not been resolved with ECR pumps and also my concern for the acidic pH of soil on my property.

Good luck and best reagards,

VK

Are you & your subs insured, licensed, accredited; what training have you had?

Steve,

How is the hunt for a geothermal system installer going?  Have you picked anyone yet?

Regards,

As recogmended I contacted Mike Dilling, and he pointed me at this contractor.

Hello,
I've built my home in 2004,an am thinking of putting in geo as I live in Howell, Mi and propane keeps going up are there reputable geo contractors in my area?

If you go to this site  you can get a listing of contractors in your state.  You still need to do due diligence and check references, license and insurance etc....

Good luck and let us know what happens

Jeff,
I would strongly recommend for you also to contact Mike Dilling. He'll know what EarthLinked installer for you to use.

Why DX??? You want 20 plus lbs of refrigerant running through copper lines in your back yard under ground? DX has so far done nothing but scare me. Try reclaiming and evacuating to 400 microns for any service issues thatll run ya lots of $$$$ per hour.Ive installed 3 and Im done with themCompaired to my water loop systems ,water loop is the most natural,stable,reliable,and safest way to go. Take a good look at the companies manfacturing direct exchange equipment.......see a pattern? Now look at water loop manufactures, theyve been around a hell of alot longer.

So DX manufacture's are new, whats you point? CRT monitors/TV's have been around a hell of a lot longer then LCD/Plasma's, are you suggesting we all stick with good old reliable CRT's cause they "been around a hell of a lot longer"?

No but what Im saying is efficiency as far as I am concerned includes reliability. Since its beginning DX has had numerous service issues. High pressure issues,noise issues,and well untill all issues are worked out I would rather invest in a sound,reliable,proven technology. How efficiant is having a system that saves you $30 more a month but costs you numerous headaches and services calls a year? Also whats better for all those "GREEN" people, water and a food based product in your back yard or copper and 20 plus lbs of refrigerant,oil,and a DEC hazzard waiting to happen?

Excellent point. I am suprised the DEP hasn't addressed this issue.

Geotemp Services:

Sorry, but we haven't had that kind of experience with EarthLinked. They've been around a while, and have proven their product. We've installed them in a harsh climate here in Utah since 2001, both a hot and a cold extreme, and have seen them work wonderfully!!!

Also (maybe this is beyond the point), if these new refrigerants are eco friendly, (R410a, R407c, R134a, etc), what is the big deal about them leaking in to the atmosphere? Seriously. And what's wrong with copper in the ground? That's where it comes from. Where else would we get it? Is it somehow an un-natural element? Do we grow it on trees or something? Really, what's your beef about copper in the ground?

And as far as a food based product, most water loop systems get methanol, not glycol. Talk about affecting a ground water system. If refrigerant leaks into the ground, it evaporates. It doesn't mix with water.

Also, EarthLinked, in most cases, is a lower installed price than poly-loop systems. Not that it's always the case, but for closed loops, it's a great fit. Case in point: currently we're drilling in Aspen, CO for a poly system. We have to do 2800 feet of drilling. If this were an EarthLinked DX system, we'd only have to do 1200 feet. That's less than half of the cost of drilling right there. Also, there's barely any room for the poly system to fit on this site. It sucks. If we could be drilling for EarthLinked, we could fit more tonnage (like they wanted, but don't have the space for poly). We'd also be done drilling in about 2.5 weeks, instead of 6 weeks. It's more risky to go deeper, and poly takes a larger hole. We're drilling cobbles, gravel, and granite boulders. We'd have been done weeks ago, but instead, we're stuck drilling deeper for poly loops. There just isn't any sense in the arguments against DX. We haven't seen a leak in the ground, either.

Furthermore, EarthLinked pays us in case some component goes bad. They pay the time to reclaim the refrigerant, replace the part, and put it back together. Did the homeowner have to pay? NO! Who else has that kind of warranty?

Sorry for ranting, but I'm sick of the lies about EarthLinked. True, other DX companies have failed. Some have failed miserably. But that doesn't mean EarthLinked doesn't work. We were stung by a water loop system called GeoFurnace. By your logic, because they constantly failed went bankrupt, and left homeowners hanging, all water loop systems suck.