American Standard central air conditioner product review

American Standard Gold XI

The American Standard central air conditioner is my go-to equipment for homeowners with reliability and efficiency in mind.

Pros:
Homeowners would be hard pressed to find a more reliable piece of equipment.  I come from a service background and occasionally will come across an air conditioner from the 70's that is still running today.  Whenever I see an old air conditioner from the 70's that's still cooling, it's likely a General Electric.  In 1982 General Electric's air conditioning division was bought by Trane.  2 years later Trane was bought by American Standard.  Just a few years ago, American Standard and Trane were bough by Ingersoll Rand.  Today, American Standard and Trane are manufactured in the same factory (and usually the equipment is identical) in Tyler, TX.  How is this related to reliability?  The same all aluminum spine fin coil design that was developed in the 1970's by GE, which made their equipment extremely leak proof, is used today in American Standard equipment.

Spine fin coil 

The spine fin coil is a continuous tube for the refrigerant to flow through.  You don't have the numerous brazed bends at every corner like the other brands.  Also, each tube is rifled and has small aluminum fins that greatly increase surface area, allowing for heat transfer to occur more efficiently.  We have never had a leak in an American Standard outdoor coil.

At the heart of the refrigerant system is the Duration Compressor.  While it's difficult to get too detailed about what happens inside an orange sealed 50 lb. canister, what I can say is that it is extremely reliable.  The engineers at American Standard put this compressor through the worst possible weather conditions in a unique to the industry indoor weather lab at the factory in Tyler, TX.  I have been to this lab and have seen compressors running completely covered in frost, which is amazing because it is not recommended to run a compressor below 55 degrees without a crankcase heater keeping it warm.  It's comforting to know that the equipment we install can take some abuse.

Another highlight of this equipment is it's solid construction.  The hail guard is constructed of heavy duty steel, which is painted AFTER the louvers are stamped.  When the paint is applied after the metal is formed, sharp edges are softened.  A curious child is less likely to get a cut finger while examining this unit.  I notice less vibration from the hail guard as well compared to other brands.

Cons
While the spine fin coil does allow for more heat transfer by having greater leading edge surface area, it is a bit more difficult to clean.  In general, cleaning air conditioner coils with a garden hose is quite easy.  It takes maybe 5-10 minutes or so.  Cleaning American Standard coils in my experience takes about 10-15 minutes with a garden hose.  That being said, the spine fin coil can handle operation under dirty conditions much better than other brands.  Because of the leading edge, it takes a lot more debris to slow the heat transfer.

Another downside is the size.  American Standard equipment generally run a bit larger and heavier than other brands.  Homeowners don't generally mind, though.  My back does suffer sometimes more at the end of the day with American Standard equipment.  But the peace of mind knowing my customers have reliable equipment is well worth the extra weight!



Josh Mahoney
White Bear Township, MN
651-775-1312
josh@summitheating.com