My hydroheat Megatek 3.5 ton closed loop stopped working last Saturday.  Had a nitrogen test yesterday, couldnt hear any leaks, so they filled the system with 4lbs of r22.  Worked great for about 3 hours, then we noticed the system was running for an extended period of time and was no longer producing cold air.  I should mention they did a Dye test after the nitrogen didnt produce.  The dye test showed no leaks on any of the normal components, and basically left us with the unit under the desuperheater as potentially crumbling and being the cause. 

I completely understand what hydrotek stands for at this point.  the system is 10 years old, and even if we replace the part, its gonna be one thing after another imo. 

So that leads me to the next step.  Had a guy come by tonight, great guy, quote was higher than expected for an existing system.  Already have everything setup with the ducts done, existing loop field, we just need the unit replaced, and pumps since its not a ton of money from what i understand.  So were looking at a CM Tranquility 27 3.5 ton unit to swap out.  What kind of price should i be looking at, because my starting price for the swap was roughly 20k, not including the 7k tax credit we'd see next year. 

What i need to know is, i trust this guy, knows his stuff, but i just dont think the start price was correct, when everything else i've seen should be 10k max start price.  Def need help if anyone can give me some direction before we melt 

I would not recommend simply swapping ton for ton. You should have a detailed heat gain/loss done for your home. 1/2 ton equipment is single stage and may not be as efficient as two stage equipment.

Bergy

Thanks Bergy, old system is a two stage megatek. The Tranquility 27 would be two stage, house was built to spec for the Hydro Mega. We would not need the desuper option as we went with a GE Geo HWH.

There is not a tranquility 2 stage 3.5 ton

If you want to keep the guy honest, get some more bids

A very gross rule of thumb is that the equipment is around 2,000.00 per ton geographic location dependant. The labor to install and type and size of circ pumps is a huge variable.
Get some more quotes
Eric

Price also jumps quite a bit north of the border.

Thanks guys. I have 3 more company's coming out this week, guess we'll just sweat it out in the mean time. We're in Maryland, so nothing to worry aboot there.

JT.....that price of 20 grand just to replace the unit seems outragouse to me from what I've learned on here over the years. I know I've read several threads where the person went on line and purchased their geo unit. Then had a HVAC company hook it up.
Did a quick search and saw this one. It might give you an idea of what just the units run in price.


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rob, your link is for Water Source Heat Pumps, not Ground Source Heat Pumps. There is a big difference. While 20 grand might be high, $2999 for a 4 ton heat pump is not even in the ball park of what a geo unit costs.

You're right.....I was in a hurry when I posted that.....But I know several posts in the past did purchase geo on line at very reasonable prices.

Actually.....what is the difference? Geo pipes can be either under ground or in water?? Here's another web site.


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If one wants to do geo themselves they can save money (as with anything).

If folks shop instead of accepting first bid, they often save money.

I'm more and more reluctant to comment on pricing due to geographical market forces and (not directed at OP) peoples inadvertant or selective ommission of details i.e. (again not suggesting this is true of OP) replacement of open loop unit with closed loop system (including loop field).

I priced a job recently that will be more expensive than a standard change out because the heat exchanger breeched and put 7ish lbs of R-22 into the closed loop field.
A normal change out does not require a flush and new antifreeze, therefore this price tag (6 ton btw) will not only appear high to some, but will appear higher than some of my competition who will leave the R-22 in the loopfield.
All told easily a 5 figure replacement.
j

Water Source Heat Pumps work in conjunction with a boiler / chiller system. The heat pump is given water already heated or cooled by the boiler / chiller.

Thanks geodean!

Here is an example use of the terms:

McQuay offers a complete line of water source heat pump systems for boiler/tower (water loop) and geothermal (ground loop or ground source) applications.

So here's where i'm at. I have eliminated the first guy who came out since he didnt take measurements, and basically just looked at the unit, said we'll swap it out with a 3.5ton Climatemaster, and he told me the thing had 2 stages. Plus his opening price was 24k including new pumps.

Second company, well known within the DE/PA/NJ/MD area. They offer Bosch FHP's, would go with a 4ton system, found out info about our loop system, its a slinky loop system that is rated high enough to handle a 4ton system. 12 year labor and parts on the system(big dealbreaker for us). Starting price on the swapout basically 16k. So after state and federal were down to 9300, just have to deal with the upfront bite.

Third company came in right at the same price as the second guys, only difference is they offered WaterFurnace as their product. 10 year warranty on parts and labor.

Fourth company was the original installer. His price was the cheapest of all the guys, he just does Geo systems and solar solutions. Guy is down to earth, threw out a great starting price, 3k cheaper than the 2nd and 3rd contractor. He immediately said the issue was the water that was in the system. Probably should have replaced the pumps, and flushed it out at some point, but the second home owner wasnt interested in doing that.

So we're down to two company's. One a big name company which offers Bosch, end game its 2k more after everything. And the other guy, orig installer, great guy, Water Furnace system, 2 years less on the warranty. ITs tough because personally i always want to support the small guys who play the game the right way.

Who has loaded out the house and determined a 4 is more appropriate than a 3?
Closed loop systems are generally not installed in fractional tons so someone with 3.5 ton would have 4 ton loopfield.
j

3  of the 4 companies out did readings, and got the original dimensions of the loop fields.  I say this because 2 of those 3 were very critical about our loop field and really pushing towards having a new field put in.  Then both of them called back to say after finding the original plans thru the drilling company and the hydroheat dealer, from 10 years ago that the loop field was more than sufficient to handle the load.

Also the Original installer did state that the field was fine, and that the original owner of the house didnt skimp on costs. Good for us. The main issue that has come back to us is the quality of our water when the system was put in. We live in an area with ridiculously high turpidity, a ph that borders right on the line, and some minerals. I'll be interested to see what comes out of the loop field when the flush happens.