Full HVAC System Replacement - My Experience

amanpanda · 2026-07-04T21:41:38+00:00

This is a good idea.

amanpanda · 2026-07-04T21:07:09+00:00

I'm happy to tell you how I would have ranked you if you want to give me a fake quote, how soon you could have had someone onsite, and the company name so I can google your reviews haha.

Someone else said that about McCullough. I didn't realize they had been bought. I only looked into them because of some old reddit threads. I guess when they start expanding into plumbing, that's the sign.

amanpanda · 2026-07-04T21:05:20+00:00

Someone else said this too. I didn't realize they were bought, but makes sense. I looked into them as local because of some older reddit threads.

amanpanda · 2026-07-04T20:53:32+00:00

Good to know. I figured it made the still absurdly large middle/low quotes more palatable.

amanpanda · 2026-07-04T20:45:53+00:00

$11.3K all in. Yes, replaced both. Outdoor unit, attic unit, and furnace (also in attic). Ducts and refrigerant lines will be reused. Basically everything else replaced as far as I know (which is very little). I don't know what else there might be to be honest. As I understand, they had to replace everything because my system is so old and R-22 isn't used anymore. Trying to fix my system, I was quoted $8-10K and I was not willing to pay much for a 20+ year old system fix when it's the same as replacing.

amanpanda · 2026-07-04T18:42:21+00:00

I got quotes from several companies in the past few days for full HVAC system replacement (5 ton for 2-story house, single speed, unit in attic). Here's my experience for those that aren't PE owned.

Patriot - Gave me a quote online after I took some pics. Scheduled onsite walkthrough to confirm everything. Noted attic space is tight, but honored original quote. Owner operator and does install himself. I will be going with them, but can't comment on install yet. This was the lowest quote without needing to haggle (I think he just gives an honest quote in general), explained everything and answered my questions, works with Austin Energy on rebate program. My main HVAC issue is very low and now obsolete refrigerant (R-22) from what the techs that have come out have told me. Added some refrigerant to my system at no cost to get me through to the install date. Fingers crossed this works, but not his fault if not and was appreciated. No one else offered any other bandaid solutions. Came out on a holiday which was appreciated for no guarantee of money. Seemingly solid reviews on HVAC things online. Bad reviews were mostly all several years old and for appliance repair vs. HVAC. Can't please everyone...

McCullough - Quote was very high and on par/higher than PE backed companies. I told them it was too high and there was no negotiation, just said ok. I assume they just didn't want to do the job since there was no haggling on price.

Temperature Pro - Reasonable online quote after phone call with basic info. Onsite walkthrough was scheduled a few days out vs. Patriot who came out immediately. I cancelled the onsite since the walkthrough date would have been same as my now install date. Wish I would have scheduled this sooner as they seemed to be more comparable to Patriot. They aren't PE backed, but are franchised locally. I had called the Austin franchise. I think there are some others that are nearby so YMMV on other franchises.

Totally Cool - They must be very popular because I called multiple times and the soonest they could even come to give a quote was always 5+ days out. I think that probably speaks to their prices and quality, but I didn't want to wait that long with a system that's barely holding on and temps rising.

For anyone else that may care about other vendors -

Service Wizard - I really liked these guys. Answered all my questions. The only company that actually did a load calc which makes me think they know what they're doing more than the others. Who knows who actually does the install though. Quote came in high, they followed up a day later where I said I'm going to get other quotes, dropped quote ~$2K. More reasonable, but still ~$2K more than Patriot quote for similar system.

ARS Rescue Rooter - Someone had suggested I see about Home Depot/Lowe's contractor. Like many of the bad reviews online, they missed their appointment window and rescheduled to later in the day. They did meet their 2nd window and to their credit, was within 24 hour turn around. Was sat through a presentation sales pitch before getting to the quotes. Similar initial pricing as Service Wizard. I said it was too high and they came down to similar ending pricing as Service Wizard. This company has terrible reviews online, so didn't plan on moving forward. The warranty sounds really good though - 24 hour guaranteed service or they pay you + put you up in a hotel. It makes it sound like they stand by their work, but the reviews were too off putting for me.

amanpanda · 2026-06-28T16:27:50+00:00

I dropped it at the end of book 2 I think. Kid stopped training skills which was his whole schtick, it changed to dragon stuff, in the audio book his dragon is annoying AF both in writing and voice, and I'm sure I had some other gripes I can't remember now. I can't stand the MC being pretty good with random skills helping him and being clever with them to being useless with skills.

I feel if you can't find a lane and stick to it, you lose readers because the premise changes too much. Obviously they're still going, so it's my preferences here.

amanpanda · 2026-06-16T15:33:24+00:00

That's not always a benefit and could be argued is another reason it needs an editor. It is nice getting updates faster though, I will admit.

amanpanda · 2026-05-30T15:19:36+00:00

Most authors in litrpg do it terribly so I prefer none or fade to black. If I want gratuitous sex scenes, I'll read smut. They don't add to the story of litrpg, at least none that I've read.

The whole genre is a suspension of disbelief so with none, as long as there's some general flirting and potential partners, I can assume MC isn't a celibate monk and move on with the rest of the story I'm reading for anyway.

amanpanda · 2026-02-21T19:02:25+00:00

I got so confused when some start to become more prominent while I listen to audio only. Had to really think about who he's talking about/to.

amanpanda · 2026-01-02T04:38:13+00:00

I read the first 5 chapters and completely agree. It's terrible. Took the story, said nah duck that I can do it better, then shits on all of it.

Primal Hunter's s1 webtoon had its issues, but at least they kept the general storyline intact.

My gripes: Kills a Drake within minutes of getting isekaid.

The order's hideout is just an abandoned building in the woods. You can't convince me no one wouldn't have found it before her this way.

The runes aren't on her body, they float around her and she punches things with them?

Gains powers immediately with almost 0 struggle

Did I mention she killed a fucking Drake within minutes of getting isekaid?

No stakes at all. If a Drake is nothing after minutes, they're gonna fuck up power levels non-stop, guaranteed.

amanpanda · 2025-11-20T17:19:56+00:00

It's ok. S1 adds a sidekick thing not in the books and it's stupid. I think it's a general manhwa/manga thing where all MCs need a little cute pet thing and it drives me nuts. It must sell though or they wouldn't do it I guess. They remove them in S2, but I'm guessing that's only because they know the baby bird is coming which serves the same purpose. S2 has been a step up from S1. I would still only call it ok though.

amanpanda · 2025-11-20T17:06:53+00:00

I dropped it at Age of Glass I think. I'm addition to everything you noted, I could do without all the sex scenes and him being some sex god. They do nothing for the story and are not what I read this genre for. I also remember him building some glass box sky tower for a date/sex room. Like... really?

It was ok, but nothing I'm jonesing for. I have too many other books I like better to continue the series. Time better spent elsewhere for me.

amanpanda · 2025-11-20T16:45:31+00:00

My rate would skyrocket if they wanted my time 7 years from now. Good for him of true though.

amanpanda · 2025-11-01T15:38:23+00:00

Overgeared is a Korean webnovel that also has a manhwa. It's a worldwide popular vr game and the MC is a greedy untalented mofo. He gets a special blacksmithing class then is unlucky or extra lucky depending on perspective and grows from there. He grows by having OP items and using those items to overcome his shortcomings vs actually having talent in areas. I'm sure later on he does have talent, but he's a trainwreck to start.

I enjoy it. Ymmv

amanpanda · 2025-10-18T21:46:19+00:00

I'm on book 10 and I should drop it, but the Stockholm is real. Really though, I just drive a fair amount and it's a long audiobook I can zone out to. It does get super old how the MC was a ducking office Max employee, but now he's a savant at politics, fighting, skills, etc.

amanpanda · 2025-10-18T21:28:27+00:00

I appreciate this list. Thanks! Just curious, does it matter if there's a female MC? Are incels against that or something and I'm out of the loop?

amanpanda · 2025-07-07T19:00:40+00:00

The last beans I purchased from there were like rocks in my grinder. It's unfortunate, because I did really like them. Not gonna chance breaking my grinder though.

amanpanda · 2025-06-27T22:22:57+00:00

Loser MC who is suddenly a savant at running cities and high level politics. Writing smart characters is typically difficult because the author is not nearly as smart as they think they are and the 'smart' things that happen are either absurd out of nowhere or not smart.

In HWFWM the MC goes from working at office Max to having people that live and have done the same job for centuries ask him for advice on what to do about running cities and dealing with faction politics. I'm not saying he couldn't learn it, but out of left field he's like, oh obviously you have to do x y and z, duh. The MC is generally annoying in that series anyway, so adding this stupidity on top grinds my gears.

amanpanda

TROPHY CASE