McQuay is a product name the comes up in DIY context with some frequency yet rarely anywhere else. Does anyone have any experience with McQuay geo heat pumps they can share?

McQuay been around for a long time with good quality. Owned by Daikin Industries for a few years now.

It is 99% commercial stuff.

The McQuay line is sold off the Internet at Ingrams Water and Air Equipment. They offer the McQuays with "Install Packages", and they have the resources for DIY.

I have a project underway where I'm putting in a temperature and power measurement system (using the WEL) on two 60 ton heat pump (chilled water) units.  Both units are McQuay.

Best regards,

Bill

Just put in and commissioned 120 mcquay units in an office building, they were water source boiler/tower application.

We have done many commissioning and energy retro-commissioning on mcquay units and seem to be straight forward and no major issues.  Never used them residentially though.

I guess I did a poor job of specifying- residential mcquay geos. anyone in the biz is familiar with their commercial/inductrial equipment.
so who has knowledge of a resi geo mcquay?
a similar effort was made by mammoth to jump in the resi market awhile ago, the result was limited features and clunky then- discontinued.
i ask after a lengthy disscussion with a diyer who noted how inexpensive they were....compared to turn-key. i found their on line kits to be more "incomplete" than inexpensive. with the heat pump itself lacking in local support.
j

the heat pump itself lacking in local support.

How much local support do you need and what are your expectations? That 50% of the population be able to put in their own Geo system? 25%? 10%? 1%?

At the broader (lower) levels you might need very product-specific support. At the upper levels many local HVAC outfits could provide needed support.

I don't understand your point ICF. We know you are not a contractor and have limited consumer and researcher product knowledge and while reluctant to spend the time I'll tell you just one instance local supplier support matters:

If your ECM blower motor quits, it may be 100's or $1,000+ dollars. It is OEM. The supply house you did not by it from, may order one for you for a fee, charge you a marked up price for it, probably shipping and if you do they paperwork right you might get all or part of your money back in 90 days or so on warranty parts or if it is out of warranty you will pay a healthy mark-up for getting something out of their supply chain.
vs locally supported:
the motor fails, they stock it you take the old one in and they give you a new one. If it's not under warranty, you get the best possible price as they are a stocking dealer.

Support from local HVAC out fits? So I do this to feed my family, you purchase the equipment from an out of state carpet bagger to cut me out of the supply chain (cut out the margin I would normally collect to fund future support) and then ask me to "support you" on equipment I have no supply chain for. Full labor rates and part mark-ups follow. You are left to try to recover money from your distributor or manufacturer if you are under warranty or you pay 100% rate ( where loyal customers are always given a break) if you are not under warranty.........assuming I'm not too busy as my customers would come first.

Local support matters on many levels so does product line stability. Say Daiken who is trying to show their air-source systems can go toe to toe with watersource decides the resi geo department of their acquisition (mcQuay) is no longer necessary.........

I was hoping someone had first hand knowledge of these products. Interesting that in all the forums I have inquired I find no one. The client I mentioned asked if the Bosch or Climatemaster were comparable to the McQuay I responded "that is like asking if the Chevy is comparable to a Fiat". I think the illustration is fair and telling.

So I do this to feed my family, you purchase the equipment from an out of state carpet bagger to cut me out of the supply chain (cut out the margin I would normally collect to fund future support)

I can't imagine why you think you have any right or entitlement to any of my business. If I buy a McQuay online that is up to me. If I come to your shack for advice or brazing or charging or whatever, you have a right to charge me your fee or decline the business because you make too much or enjoy putting your favorite systems in more. What's the big deal and what is with all the angst? Carpetbagger? If someone sets up an Internet storefront to sell to people whose needs aren't being met locally, we used to call that entrepreneurialism.

The supply house you did not by it from, may order one for you for a fee, charge you a marked up price for it, probably shipping

Isn't that as expected? At least I know what the price and terms are and have a choice before pushing the button. The highest markups I ever pay are from locals. It's exactly that sort of entitled mentality that sends folks to the Internet in the first place.

I don't understand your point ICF.

My point was simply a question about how much local support you think is needed on any given item. I found more than enough local support to install a McQuay bought out of area.

One note not mentioned in this disgustion is the fact that any equipment that contains refrigerants must be installed by a certified technician. If this installation is in the USA then one must follow all EPA guidelines or risk the fines and penalties associated with the regulations.

or risk the fines and penalties associated with the regulations.

Well, that is concerning, not to mention the possible damage to the environment for flub-ups.

An HVAC system is just that...a system. While parts of it are commodity products available online, its overall functionality is as a system. Ordering just the product portions online and then expecting the result to perform as a system is quite a stretch.

It would be like ordering all the constituent parts for an F150 pickup from a Ford online parts distributor, attempting to assemble them all by yourself, and then demanding warranty coverage from Ford when something goes awry. Obviously that's a non-starter, which is why manufacturers of complex systems have a distribution network comprised of experts.

No law prevents you from ordering and assembling a complete F150 part by part, but no law mandates support of the result by Ford or its dealers.

When I buy "constituent parts", even online, I am accustomed to receiving some kind of warranty coverage or return policy on them. Not sure why you are yakking about "laws". I do business with people who want to do a good job regardless of the "law".

I'm sure there are all kinds of reasons and rationale behind DIYers, but my reason is that I get a better overall product when I do it myself.

Warranty on most electrical repair parts is pretty much non-existent, since it is too easy for the ill-informed to release the factory installed smoke from them.

Some clients are best-suited to my competitors, and the trick is identifying them as early as possible and heading them off. Let others die taking the hill.

You get the result you deserve.

I have parts-only DIY clients. They save by my not having to roll a tech to their home, but they acknowledge the value of and pay for the procurement of the part and telephone support concerning the problem. They understand the necessity of keeping the factory smoke within the part and other attendant risks.

I agree sometimes its just best to send that type of customer to someone else and let them worry about it.

Warranty on most electrical repair parts is pretty much non-existent, since it is too easy for the ill-informed to release the factory installed smoke from them.

I'm sorry, but that just isn't true. Out and out false.

I can't recall ever purchasing an electrical part that wasn't warrantied. They had the manufacturer's warranty, and in some cases additional coverage from the seller.

I've recently replaced both a blower motor (13 months) and a limit switch (bad out of the box, but took 45 days to figure it out) with no problem whatsoever.

Once again ICF, fine job of hijacking a thread to grind that axe......

"I can't imagine why you think you have any right or entitlement to any of my business. If I buy a McQuay online that is up to me. If I come to your shack for advice or brazing or charging or whatever, you have a right to charge me your fee or decline the business because you make too much or enjoy putting your favorite systems in more. What's the big deal and what is with all the angst? Carpetbagger? If someone sets up an Internet storefront to sell to people whose needs aren't being met locally, we used to call that entrepreneurialism."

and again perverting a comment to suit your beef- I never said I deserve to work. I do expect to profit when I work and am free not to take some jobs. In the next few lines your pettiness shines with the thinly veiled insults and assumptions about my ethics.

I chose the term carpetbagger in this context to illustrate the point that most of the sellers are interested exclusively in their sales and not your success. For my DIY customers their success is important to me as I only sell locally and have a reputation that leads to additional sales.
Further carpetbagger suggests a less than honest or ethical business approach. I was told by a McQuay rep that McQuay (at least at one point) had a no internet sales policy. One of these sellers brags in a consumer blog site that his outfit honors warranties on hvac equipment from a manufacturer that specifically states they are void in the instance of internet sales. Some folks don't wish to dabble in warranty fraud.
McQuay asks for a sign-off from a licensed HVAC professional. That means that they want someone in the biz involved in the installation (not really a do it yourself friendly posistion). I don't choose to help a carpet bagger profit from my license, experience or geographic location.

"Isn't that as expected? At least I know what the price and terms are and have a choice before pushing the button. The highest markups I ever pay are from locals. It's exactly that sort of entitled mentality that sends folks to the Internet in the first place. "

The greatest amount of support one is likely to get is from "locals". The mentality that suggests more effort and support from the guy down the street is not worth more (than some one who drops it in the mail and suggests you hire the guy down the street to put it in or "certify it for your warranty") is shared by many of the people that call us crying when the crap they bought brakes down.

"My point was simply a question about how much local support you think is needed on any given item. I found more than enough local support to install a McQuay bought out of area."

I don't recall you mentioning you had a McQuay; that would actually be pertinent to the thread. So how many geo systems has your local guy installed? His input might actually be interesting to me.

and again perverting a comment to suit your beef- I never said I deserve to work.

Really? Then why did you say "to cut me out of the supply chain (cut out the margin I would normally collect to fund future support) "?
And it was your choice to start calling folks "carpetbaggers". Companies have a right to sell on the internet. That is a different business model than yours, but to cast aspersions on them because they might have different responsibilities is just foolish. By the way, I have no axe to grind, and you've been told this a number of times before, but you still want to persist in making this a personal "beef". Just address things directly, instead of always trying to make it personal.

I have no idea what the point of your McQuay story is supposed to be. Don't you think McQuay knows how many units their internet reps sell over the counter?

So how many geo systems has your local guy installed?

Don't know, don't care. Like I already told you, it's not rocket science.