AMERICAN STANDARD AIR CONDITIONER REVIEW IMAGE SOURCE: AMERICAN STANDARD

One of the most reputable brands on the global central air conditioner market, American Standard, has maintained a reputation for manufacturing high-quality appliances, easily rivaling most, if not all products currently available for purchase. In this review, we will be taking a brief look back at American Standard’s “Scratch & Dent” series of central air conditioning systems. Welcome to our American Standard Review.

American Standard Air Conditioner Review

In our American Standard Air Conditioner Review, our team of experienced air conditioner analysts will be assessing three heavy-duty home air conditioning units. However, before we get into our review, a few things must be cleared up. Firstly, while the cooling capacities of these units is measured by tonnage, this does not refer to the actual weight of the unit. Rather, this refers back to the old ice measurements used to convey cooling capacities. Another obstacle that must be overcome with such units, is that while the tonnage cooling capacity may be translated into a nominal BTU cooling capacity, the actual cooling capacity rarely matches this figure.

Additionally, the predicted cooling capacities of such units rely upon set conditions, for example, if the air is cooler than the air in the controlled environment in which the device was tested, results may be harder to come by. This is because, contrary to popular belief, it is actually more difficult for a unit to introduce more cooled air, into an already cool environment.

American Standard 3 Ton Air Conditioner

The American Standard 3 ton air conditioner is capable of providing a nominal cooling capacity of 36,000 BTUs. Additionally, with a SEER rating of 15, the American Standard 3 ton air conditioning unit is an excellent choice for an efficient air conditioner. Suitable for commercial installation, as are the other entries in this list, these American Standard air conditioners are considerably versatile, ideal for a vast multitude of consumer needs. However, as is the case with units of this calibre, we insist that you consult a contractor when engaging in installation or transport of this unit, as it weighs an unmanageable 350lbs.

American Standard 4 Ton Air Conditioner

With the added cooling capacity of an additional ton, the American Standard 4 ton air conditioner is capable of providing an impressive 48,000 BTUs of cooling power. A reminder, that the tonnage of a unit’s cooling capacity has no bearing on its weight whatsoever. While this unit is by no means light, weighing a jaw-dropping 400lbs, it certainly weighs nothing close to the 8,000lbs that most people understand the “4 ton” label to imply. Additionally, with a SEER rating of 13, this unit is unfortunately less efficient than its predecessor on this list, however this is a trend that we have commonly observed when reviewing air conditioning units. More often than not, as the cooling output of a unit is increased, the efficiency ratings tend to drop slightly. Once again, we implore readers to seek professional consultation, and experienced contractors when installing a unit of this size.

American Standard 6 Ton Air Conditioner

Finally, the largest and most powerful addition to our list, the American Standard 6 ton air conditioner provides the user with a massive 75,000 BTUs of cooling power. Those of us acquainted with air conditioning units can testify that the American Standard 6 ton unit puts out a formidable performance, making this unit ideal for installation in commercial settings, due to its high capacity. With a SEER rating of 12.5, this unit is performs to a pleasantly surprising level of efficiency. Weighing approximately 350lbs, unfortunately we must insist once again that an experienced contractor be consulted regarding installation or transport of this unit.

Help & Support

Experienced American Standard customer support representatives are contactable via email, and telephone. In addition to this, numerous helpful resources are made available to the buyer on the company’s official website, such as an extensive library of information-packed webpages, which allow the user to inform themselves about their product.

For warranty information regarding each of these units we recommend contacting American Standard directly via one of the channels referred to above. Alternatively, head over to one of our individual reviews that we’ve conducted on each product, where we will display any warranty related information that we were able to uncover.

The Verdict

The American Standard series of “Scratch & Dent” central air conditioners are ideal for use in any commercial setting. However, that being said, if your intended area of installation is not large enough to warrant such heavy-duty units, we strongly advise considering an alternative type of air conditioner, such as a ductless mini split or even a powerful portable air conditioner.

Advantages of investing in a central system as opposed to a portable unit include a much lower decibel rating, as most sound is emitted from the outdoor component of the system. However, in the case of the “Scratch & Dent” range, unfortunately there is a distinct lack of convenient features, which, depending on the nature of your commercial space, can be a nuisance. However, this sacrifice comes as part of a trade-off, as the user may benefit from a much higher BTU output with a central system than they would from other forms of air conditioning.

In the interest of fairness, the disadvantages of this system must also be listed, although they are quite apparent to those even unacquainted with the air conditioning market. The most significant disadvantage of this type of AC system is installation. With other systems such as portable units, or window mounts, the user can install their air conditioner without aid from a specialist, however this is not possible with a system as large as a this. Additionally, central air conditioning systems are much more expensive than smaller units. Therefore, it bears repeating; if your space is not large enough to warrant installation of a central air conditioning system, we advise you consider other forms of cooling appliances.