Those Rheem rectangles are the last men standing around my area. Every now and then I’ll come up on an old Trane but hands down the Rheem square boy is the most common unit from the 80s-90s I encounter still.
Great topic Zack. I smiled when you discussed York. I still have my 1985 York 3 ton “tabletop” unit I purchased when my house was built. Still have the Heil 80% furnace I selected as well. The only repair I’ve made to the York was a new contractor proactively about 8 years ago. I managed to find a NOS American made replacement. The Copeland compressor still sounds good to this day. The Smith fan motor has oil tubes, but I have to take it out to actually get oil into them successfully. Both oil filled (?) capacitors are original. The housing is galvanized so still solid. I will not change the unit out until the compressor fails, or rusts though unfortunately. See you at the next livestream.
@@Honestandtruth007 the high efficiency was the time delay relay included to keep the furnace blower running a few minutes after the condenser shut off. 😂 Far as I’m concerned, that York has paid for itself about 38 times by now. Just put the system on cooling again this morning.
Have only R22 Ruud unit still ticking after 31 years From install date. Only issues were shrader Valves leaks. And she still rockin every summer in Texas Heat
I have the Janitrol (or Goodman) unit in the picture and is still running fine. Delta T of about 16 in a poorly insulated home in the Chicago area.(1955 build) Have never replaced condenser fan. Did replace the general purpose contactor and the cap (twice). Have also replace spade connectors which were showing corrosion. (one blew the wire off of the connector preventing the compressor from starting. The sun bleached away the label years ago so I can't see the make, model, serial numbers and other specs that may have been on it.
Anyone remember the really old Carrier R12 or R22 outdoor units with 06D compressors in them? Rusted out before they’d fail. Heavy bastards too. Ok I’m super old too.
Oldest unit I ever worked on was a residential hvac Ammonia unit with a gas burner in the condenser to heat the ammonia. Scary equipment. Must have been 60 years old. The lady in the house was close to 90 years old and the equipment was original equipment to the house. This lady bought the house in her 30's. Unit still cooled. Not great, but still ran.
We had one like this. Ran for a long time, no maintenance till finally one day early summer it spewed ammonia all over the grass and the grass died but came back the next year with a vengence.
78 Carrier 3 Ton 10 SEER Heat Pump.....3 fan motors only in 28 years in a Town where it is 120+ in Summer and lasts 4 months a year. Condenser on the roof in full Sun so it was so HOT you couldn't touch it but it stayed clean!
I have a newer Goodman (I don't know the model number) from 2011, and it still works good. It replaced a 1992 Tempstar 5000 (that previous unit was nothing but trouble), but I've had good luck with my current unit. Nevertheless, I love watching your videos and hearing your words, I've learned a lot from your knowledge of HVAC.
I replaced an old GE unit, 1977 vintage, at the beginning of 2022. This unit ran in full sun on top of a flat roof in west central Florida near the Gulf. I took care of that building since '92 and never touched that unit. I mean nothing, no parts no cleaning. Ok, filter replacement on a regular basis. That's it.
My old middle school was full of GE heat pump mini splits from 1982 and they never quit on us, and the oldest example of the large gray trane unit was an old XE 800 unit from 1986. Pretty much all the ones i worked on had all original parts and only needed a schrader valve and some R22
In regards to the trane.. the predecessor would have been the “GE executive” and then into the xl1200 probably.. the York ‘tombstone’ units and ‘tabletop’ units were a beast. I saw an operable tombstone unit last week. Probably 40yrs old and humming along. Customer asked about maintenance and I told them don’t touch the friggin thing,, whisper sweet nothings to it occasionally and don’t make eye contact with it
I had one that was approximately 10-15 years old when I moved in my home. I’ve lived here 10 years and finally had to replace it due to a leak. It used to-R-22 so it was getting expensive to refill on a yearly basis. I never saw any marking on it, it was. 3-1/2 ton unit about 3-4 feet tall, nothing but fins wrapped with a few bars around it. Rusted to hell but still going. Just had a Brand new Bryant unit put in (did not use Bryant to install!)
Great topic! My mother in law had a Bryant self contained unit installed in 92 which was way before I was part of the family and when she sold the house the only thing I did to it was replace the contactor and the installing company replaced the condenser fan motor 2 days after it was installed. That was a tough ole bird. One of those Janitrols you mentioned I installed at my trailer and forgot to install the piston😅 funny thing is it tried to cool before I wised up and remembered what I didn’t do. Happy Independence Day
I’m still using a Janitrol a/c that is almost 40 years old. Bought and installed by an old personal friend, when money was tight. The condensate pan did rust out about 10 years ago, so I rolled the dice and replaced the entire a-coil assembly. About 3 years ago a small gas leak started and the service guy refused to honor the maintenance contract and fix it because he would go to jail if caught. 😮 I did find a way to gas&go for a little while anyhow. 🙂 I am now looking for a new company that lies all the time, and will promise to sell me the cheapest junk equipment at the very highest possible price, with the guarantee that the company owner mandates his techs sell new units to all customers every 5 years. 🤣
old 2.5 ton whirlpool r-22 running Copeland reciprocal compressor with old school 2 blade fan still runs well. bought the house in 1997 and the unit was 20 years old at the time. Still runs great, but not efficient and A- coils freeze up if too much traffic in and out during summer.
My mothers 43 year old split system Fedders unit. Original compressor, fan motor, contactor and run cap. Added refrigerant every other year. About 2 pounds, Heat exchanger finally gave out, so I changed the entire system. .
Those Janitrols were a beast but when they got set 6 inches from the house with the service panel facing the house and you had to replace the contactor or capacitor, it would piss me off.
That is one complex question. Do rules already written stay in place? I would expect so, unless Congress passes new laws to remove them. Then there is the question of international agreements & treaties which the US has entered into. Who knows, but I wouldn't expect to see units using R-22 being made again. Any refrigerant which depletes the ozone layer is probably toast. Global warming potential is another question. And remember that to do anything that might damage the environment you will probably need 60 votes in the US Senate. That is tough to get.
I recently had to replace a 2016 York 15 ton. My only requirement was the new units doesn’t have all the fancy crap and doesn’t ball down when it’s 105 degree heat index out. Features is worthless to me if I’m sweating my balls off.
I literally just replaced a York tombstone last month, I set it in the corner of my shop and haven’t had the desire to put it in the scrap trailer, it really is a cool looking machine, I’m thinking of using it for a display of old and new units. Surprisingly enough the coil looks decent still, maybe I’ll rebuild it and turn it into some sort of Frankenfridge beer cooler… 😂 For those of you who have never seen one of these units before, the coil travels up one side, across the top, and down the other side of the unit, and there are two opposing condenser fans on either side run from a dual shaft motor mounted horizontally above the compressor.
Trane XL 1200 , Some ore still around after 30 years. Also GE Weathertons, 40 years old. I cut my teeth on these. They were old when I worked on them, but I still see some around. Original compressors and contactors. .
@@HVACShopTalk keeprite was a canadian made unit, company operated in brantfort ontario from 1950s to 1994 - green boxes, they were very popular in canada. now it's just icp and has nothing to do with the real original keeprite. keeprite refrigeration still exists as a separate company
@@HVACShopTalk the ge’s were quiet too, had the metal sound box around the compressor all you hear is the cond fan running. GE deserves a lot of credit for what Trane accomplished over the years
the trane on my home is older than I am.. and it hasnt had service in 10 years... its dirty but it still cools to the best of its ability, unfortunately some moron who redid the floors deleted many vents in the living room, so its been put aside for an SOS system and now we have a 15k btu LG in the living room. thing runs r22 and blows ice cold
I think the oldest brand i seen was either a Mint Green "RHEEM" rectangle unit, or a sears brand unit... I think the Sears was 40 or 50yr old.... But i have also seen (2) of those Trane Packaged setups that were 30yr old, the ones with the fan turned upside down, weird deal... To look at them, their designs are beat by todays "DESIGNS" and overall quality, but something was a difference in these units lasting so long, maybe the material of the metals? Used during those decades? But i really think the "RHEEM/RUUD" brand now is going to be the overall longest lasting design of the past 5-10yr stuff, but only time will tell i suppose... The composite bases wont rust, which is a "UPGRADE" and they're built really solid, easy to clean, good space.. Not happy about the 8mm or small tube change now... I think if they would come out with a single component refrigerant with R-22 like pressures and slopes that these units would do well with and last like yesteryear's units.. Anytime you make a smaller tube thinner wall setup with higher pressures, it's a (RECIPE FOR DISASTER) common sense tells you that and heck, looking at the video i made last year or so with changing out 6 or 7 Goodman small tube condensers that was 10yr old range in a matter of a month will tell ya something isn't right there! Hope you guys had a great 4th of July.. Love ya bro's! Adam aka ICONALAGABAGATAGA :)
I would guess that it is the refrigerant the old units used. R-22 works at much lower pressures than the newer refrigerants. Lower pressure means less stress on the compressor moving parts and all the tubing. And the effort to make the unit as efficient as possible makes them more complex with more parts to break. Finally, those old units were made with the best materials available at the time. Today corporations do not care how long their machines last, as long as they make it to the end of the warranty period. Even things like refrigerators, stoves, and washing machines are lucky to make 10 years today.
Those Rheem rectangles are the last men standing around my area. Every now and then I’ll come up on an old Trane but hands down the Rheem square boy is the most common unit from the 80s-90s I encounter still.
Great topic Zack. I smiled when you discussed York. I still have my 1985 York 3 ton “tabletop” unit I purchased when my house was built. Still have the Heil 80% furnace I selected as well. The only repair I’ve made to the York was a new contractor proactively about 8 years ago. I managed to find a NOS American made replacement. The Copeland compressor still sounds good to this day. The Smith fan motor has oil tubes, but I have to take it out to actually get oil into them successfully. Both oil filled (?) capacitors are original. The housing is galvanized so still solid. I will not change the unit out until the compressor fails, or rusts though unfortunately. See you at the next livestream.
Me too ,High efficience York.... from the 80's
@@Honestandtruth007 the high efficiency was the time delay relay included to keep the furnace blower running a few minutes after the condenser shut off. 😂 Far as I’m concerned, that York has paid for itself about 38 times by now. Just put the system on cooling again this morning.
Have only R22 Ruud unit still ticking after 31 years
From install date. Only issues were shrader Valves leaks. And she still rockin every summer in Texas Heat
I have the Janitrol (or Goodman) unit in the picture and is still running fine. Delta T of about 16 in a poorly insulated home in the Chicago area.(1955 build) Have never replaced condenser fan. Did replace the general purpose contactor and the cap (twice). Have also replace spade connectors which were showing corrosion. (one blew the wire off of the connector preventing the compressor from starting. The sun bleached away the label years ago so I can't see the make, model, serial numbers and other specs that may have been on it.
Anyone remember the really old Carrier R12 or R22 outdoor units with 06D compressors in them? Rusted out before they’d fail. Heavy bastards too. Ok I’m super old too.
I agree. Those old Rheem and Trane units are my picks. I ran across an old Armstrong that was still kicking at 30.
My Rheem was installed in 1995 and still going today.....
Oldest unit I ever worked on was a residential hvac Ammonia unit with a gas burner in the condenser to heat the ammonia. Scary equipment. Must have been 60 years old. The lady in the house was close to 90 years old and the equipment was original equipment to the house. This lady bought the house in her 30's. Unit still cooled. Not great, but still ran.
We had one like this. Ran for a long time, no maintenance till finally one day early summer it spewed ammonia all over the grass and the grass died but came back the next year with a vengence.
78 Carrier 3 Ton 10 SEER Heat Pump.....3 fan motors only in 28 years in a Town where it is 120+ in Summer and lasts 4 months a year. Condenser on the roof in full Sun so it was so HOT you couldn't touch it but it stayed clean!
I have a newer Goodman (I don't know the model number) from 2011, and it still works good. It replaced a 1992 Tempstar 5000 (that previous unit was nothing but trouble), but I've had good luck with my current unit. Nevertheless, I love watching your videos and hearing your words, I've learned a lot from your knowledge of HVAC.
Love this type of content. Very original made by the OG of HVAC.
I replaced an old GE unit, 1977 vintage, at the beginning of 2022. This unit ran in full sun on top of a flat roof in west central Florida near the Gulf. I took care of that building since '92 and never touched that unit. I mean nothing, no parts no cleaning. Ok, filter replacement on a regular basis. That's it.
My old middle school was full of GE heat pump mini splits from 1982 and they never quit on us, and the oldest example of the large gray trane unit was an old XE 800 unit from 1986. Pretty much all the ones i worked on had all original parts and only needed a schrader valve and some R22
In regards to the trane.. the predecessor would have been the “GE executive” and then into the xl1200 probably..
the York ‘tombstone’ units and ‘tabletop’ units were a beast. I saw an operable tombstone unit last week. Probably 40yrs old and humming along. Customer asked about maintenance and I told them don’t touch the friggin thing,, whisper sweet nothings to it occasionally and don’t make eye contact with it
I had one that was approximately 10-15 years old when I moved in my home. I’ve lived here 10 years and finally had to replace it due to a leak. It used to-R-22 so it was getting expensive to refill on a yearly basis. I never saw any marking on it, it was. 3-1/2 ton unit about 3-4 feet tall, nothing but fins wrapped with a few bars around it. Rusted to hell but still going. Just had a Brand new Bryant unit put in (did not use Bryant to install!)
Yep, the old rheem and York units from 30ish years ago were absolute monsters
Great topic! My mother in law had a Bryant self contained unit installed in 92 which was way before I was part of the family and when she sold the house the only thing I did to it was replace the contactor and the installing company replaced the condenser fan motor 2 days after it was installed. That was a tough ole bird. One of those Janitrols you mentioned I installed at my trailer and forgot to install the piston😅 funny thing is it tried to cool before I wised up and remembered what I didn’t do. Happy Independence Day
Thank you for all the informative videos..
I’m still using a Janitrol a/c that is almost 40 years old. Bought and installed by an old personal friend, when money was tight. The condensate pan did rust out about 10 years ago, so I rolled the dice and replaced the entire a-coil assembly. About 3 years ago a small gas leak started and the service guy refused to honor the maintenance contract and fix it because he would go to jail if caught. 😮 I did find a way to gas&go for a little while anyhow. 🙂
I am now looking for a new company that lies all the time, and will promise to sell me the cheapest junk equipment at the very highest possible price, with the guarantee that the company owner mandates his techs sell new units to all customers every 5 years. 🤣
I love seeing the condensers just bolted to a bracket on the wall, no mulch, no lawn mowers whacking them. The drain holes aren't clogged.
GE weather tron was the forerunner of trane. I had several customers still running them in the late 90s.
Our TRANE is from 1994. Turned 30 in April. Looking for an uncased coil just in case to see how long we can keep it going.
My rheem..installed 1983/84. Still running great..
old 2.5 ton whirlpool r-22 running Copeland reciprocal compressor with old school 2 blade fan still runs well. bought the house in 1997 and the unit was 20 years old at the time. Still runs great, but not efficient and A- coils freeze up if too much traffic in and out during summer.
My mothers 43 year old split system Fedders unit. Original compressor, fan motor, contactor and run cap. Added refrigerant every other year. About 2 pounds, Heat exchanger finally gave out, so I changed the entire system. .
Those Janitrols were a beast but when they got set 6 inches from the house with the service panel facing the house and you had to replace the contactor or capacitor, it would piss me off.
I’ve been wondering, will the Supreme Court decision on Chevron affect the EPA mandate on refrigerants?
That is one complex question. Do rules already written stay in place? I would expect so, unless Congress passes new laws to remove them. Then there is the question of international agreements & treaties which the US has entered into. Who knows, but I wouldn't expect to see units using R-22 being made again. Any refrigerant which depletes the ozone layer is probably toast. Global warming potential is another question. And remember that to do anything that might damage the environment you will probably need 60 votes in the US Senate. That is tough to get.
The companies that make money on the bew refrigerants have lobbyists, you got nothing.😅
Those old school Round One Carriers, they lasted forever.
I recently had to replace a 2016 York 15 ton. My only requirement was the new units doesn’t have all the fancy crap and doesn’t ball down when it’s 105 degree heat index out. Features is worthless to me if I’m sweating my balls off.
I literally just replaced a York tombstone last month, I set it in the corner of my shop and haven’t had the desire to put it in the scrap trailer, it really is a cool looking machine, I’m thinking of using it for a display of old and new units. Surprisingly enough the coil looks decent still, maybe I’ll rebuild it and turn it into some sort of Frankenfridge beer cooler… 😂
For those of you who have never seen one of these units before, the coil travels up one side, across the top, and down the other side of the unit, and there are two opposing condenser fans on either side run from a dual shaft motor mounted horizontally above the compressor.
Very cool, I would be tempted to repurpose it too.
Trane XL 1200 , Some ore still around after 30 years. Also GE Weathertons, 40 years old. I cut my teeth on these. They were old when I worked on them, but I still see some around. Original compressors and contactors. .
Did you have any experience with the old keeprite systems, or spine fin GEs pre-trane buyout? Still run into those running perfectly to this day
Def saw the GE ones and I agree. Did not see any vintage Keep rite.
@@HVACShopTalk keeprite was a canadian made unit, company operated in brantfort ontario from 1950s to 1994 - green boxes, they were very popular in canada. now it's just icp and has nothing to do with the real original keeprite.
keeprite refrigeration still exists as a separate company
@@HVACShopTalk the ge’s were quiet too, had the metal sound box around the compressor all you hear is the cond fan running. GE deserves a lot of credit for what Trane accomplished over the years
Agreed. Old Keeprites are commonly found in winnipeg to this day. Amazingly durable
What units being produced today are good??
For got the name, but we called them GE coffin boxes. 3 feet wide, 6 foot long. super heavy. Some were 40 years old.
Those are the 3 I always see too. Lennox, Carrier and Goodman can be good. But it’s rare to see them go past 15-20 years
the trane on my home is older than I am.. and it hasnt had service in 10 years... its dirty but it still cools to the best of its ability, unfortunately some moron who redid the floors deleted many vents in the living room, so its been put aside for an SOS system and now we have a 15k btu LG in the living room. thing runs r22 and blows ice cold
I just replaced an old york 10 seer from 1995 in my parent's house last week, compressor finally died.
That thing is older than i am.
i have 1999 lennox unit still working perfectly 14 seer simple unit no variable speeds and nonsense
York diamond series lowkey some beast
York was the first units I installed. They were decent compared to janitrol or first company
I think the oldest brand i seen was either a Mint Green "RHEEM" rectangle unit, or a sears brand unit... I think the Sears was 40 or 50yr old....
But i have also seen (2) of those Trane Packaged setups that were 30yr old, the ones with the fan turned upside down, weird deal...
To look at them, their designs are beat by todays "DESIGNS" and overall quality, but something was a difference in these units lasting so long, maybe the material of the metals? Used during those decades?
But i really think the "RHEEM/RUUD" brand now is going to be the overall longest lasting design of the past 5-10yr stuff, but only time will tell i suppose...
The composite bases wont rust, which is a "UPGRADE" and they're built really solid, easy to clean, good space.. Not happy about the 8mm or small tube change now...
I think if they would come out with a single component refrigerant with R-22 like pressures and slopes that these units would do well with and last like yesteryear's units..
Anytime you make a smaller tube thinner wall setup with higher pressures, it's a (RECIPE FOR DISASTER) common sense tells you that and heck, looking at the video i made last year or so with changing out 6 or 7 Goodman small tube condensers that was 10yr old range in a matter of a month will tell ya something isn't right there!
Hope you guys had a great 4th of July.. Love ya bro's!
Adam aka ICONALAGABAGATAGA :)
I would guess that it is the refrigerant the old units used. R-22 works at much lower pressures than the newer refrigerants. Lower pressure means less stress on the compressor moving parts and all the tubing. And the effort to make the unit as efficient as possible makes them more complex with more parts to break. Finally, those old units were made with the best materials available at the time. Today corporations do not care how long their machines last, as long as they make it to the end of the warranty period.
Even things like refrigerators, stoves, and washing machines are lucky to make 10 years today.
Just replaced q0 year old loud obnoxious single stage york, just recharged it it every other year.
They must have installed a Craftsman air compressor in that thing 😅
What brand is reliable nowadays?
I remember when York and Lennox and carrier wasn’t completely disposable
old Rheem and Trane units were best ones IMHO.
Rheem/Ruud is the brand I count on for reliability.
I thought Janitrol was Johnson Controls, not Goodman?
Almost missed this one
Anything made by GE 40 years ago. Units are still running out there. Original compressor in some.
I'm still using a York AC unit
Good stories about days of old! Lol 👍
The green rheems
👍
Nice 👍🏼 😅😊
JCI ruined York
I don’t care about the tools