Old HP system failed: new refrigerant choice? new equipment reliability?

R-290 is strictly refrigeration not comfort cooling.

This is the wrong time to buy. It seems reliability and the new equipment and new refrigerants are not very compatible right now. If I was going to make a choice I might buy Goodman. Last I knew they were R-32 and do not use the ill fated microchannel coils. In the past they (Goodman) had a reputation of being cheap crap. Now everything is expensive crap

Only Issue I am having with the new refrigerant is sourcing 20lb cylinders of R-454b. We have been selling both R-454b and R-32 equipment without issue, we also still have a very large stock of 410a equipment though, which has seriously helped us with the A2l tank shortage. Between the 2 new refrigerants there won't be any noticeable differences to the end user, assuming you are comparing like for like equipment, and the differences to the installer are pretty much non-existent beyond the shortage of 20lb tanks of R454b. I recently installed some 410a equipment for myself but really I only went that route because it helps move some of that stock off our shelves before the end of the year when we aren't allowed to install it anymore.

I doubt it, at least the decent price part. Think about what happened to the price of 22, and that transition was much less …rushed… than the transition away from 410

could always buy it now and hang on to it. not sure what is going to happen that requires refrigerant though other than a leak.

1) just take a shot in the dark and accept the best-value proposition I can get from a local contractor?

You are purchasing a service not a product, you should hire the best contractor.

2) Stay away from some brands?

Honestly no…. hire the best contractor for the job, all major brands are going to be somewhat similar in the unitary HVAC world. Techs have preferences for service etc, but if you are hiring a company to service that part has little impact on you as a homeowner. For brands the primary factor you should be concerned with is warranty, everything else is install

3) It is widely reported that manufacturers are raising cooling coil temperatures to boost efficiency numbers and thus sacrificing dehumidification performance; are there any companies not doing that?

Not that I've heard… maybe in testing but not in the field? Bottom line if customers are uncomfortable the manufacturer is almost always the target, if the units don't dehumidify then they don't do their job. Proper design of the system is key to control humidity the equipment only does so much of that task.

If you just want a brand endorsement then buy my brand. lol. But seriously in my area my brand is great because I have local parts and support, in your area local parts and support might be offered better by a different brand. Remember, you are buying a service (the contractor), not an appliance! All the main brands are good. Carrier, Daikin, Trane, Lennox and all their sub brands are great products, quite a few other brands as well but you can find one of those, or their many many sub brands in any market. And to reiterate my earlier comment, the type of refrigerant really has no impact to you, the end user, with the exception of the current availability issue of 20lb A2L cylinders which led to a short term shortage of R-454b.

I keep trying to convince my boss that we should decline to service any Mr Cool or DIY mini split systems. I've never seen one installed in a decent manner. We lose money on the diagnostic fee because it takes forever sometimes to figure out the problem, tech support is non-existent. And the customer can usually buy a new unit for what we have to charge to replace the boards in the unit. I don't know why we bother with them. If someone wants to install that junk themselves don't call me to repair it please.

So correct my understanding here. You know that you don't service Mr. Cool, but you drive out there to look at it then bill for the service call? Is it that you didn't know it was Mr. Cool before you rolled out?

And if the customer does pay for being told "we don't service those", then they get to stay on the customer list…of a company that won't provide them any service…?

no

We’re not given make or model just my A/c doesn’t work.
just like we bought an ice machine from Amazon it doesn’t work. I tell call Amazon and hang up.

OK interesting. It seems like a good question to ask but what do I know!

I am at an age where the cost of labor and material seems way out of wack.

But, I also ran my own business for 8 years back in the 80s-90s. Things add up real fast.

I just went through this myself. I needed a new storm door which an Anderson is about $400. Got a quote from a contractor who wanted $1100. I thought it was really high so I did it myself.

1. Go to lumberyard and order door & wait 10 days for it to show up.
2. Remove tools & stuff from truck to make room for door. (truck has a truck cap) and lug tools to basement.
3. Pick up door at lumberyard
4. Remove old door
5. Install new door
6. Cut up old door and take to metal scrap yard. $15.50
7. Put tools back in truck, lug them up from basement.

Yeah maybe a contractor would not have to go through all those steps.

But he has a truck, tools, liability insurance, workers comp, overhead , profit and truck insurance.

Somebody has to pay for that stuff.

$1100. was probably not an unreasonable price

No one should bash a contractors price without analyzing it.

Try it yourself.

I started being a Nortek/Nordyene dealer about 30 years ago. I seemed to be a fair product back then, but then got into the race to the bottom and was looking to be the winner.

A condensing furnace that kept locking out on pressure switch. After a lot of dancing it was obvious that the inducer fan was too weak. Motor too small. Replacement with more power was available, but factory would not admit they cut too many corners with cheaper motor. They wanted the entire furnace returned. New furnace installed, had motor with more amp draw and power. Otherwise furnace was identical. No labor allowed.

TXV plugged on HP coil, replacement TXV would require changing/brazing all distributor tubing. Wholesale house sent complete coil with new TXV, no charge. The factory was not aware of this. Wholesale house was phasing out that brand because of lack of Nortek service to them.

New higher end condensing furnace had a severe dent/gash in top of heat exchanger. Packaging was pristine/virgin, not a mark on the cardboard. Obvious it was done at the factory and easy to spot. Quality control certainly missed it. Had to return for new.

Just more and more items like this showed up in the last 10 years I used their product.