Luxaire Furnace, want to add AC to unit.

I have a Luxaire Natural Gas furnace
Model - pcmu ld12n057b
Serial ebbm032924

I want to add an AC unit but do not know if the above is compatible. I am trying to save some $$$. I can purchase a central air unit much cheaper myself than going through my HVAC Company. My plan is to do the physical install myself and leave on the final hook up and safety check for My HVAC Company.

I hate to go through all that trouble of buying, placing the unit, running electric, etc if someone is going to walk in here and tell me it can’t be done.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? What do i need to see on my existing unit to know I it is "AC Ready"?

Once I discovered what a Manual J was I realized that it is no different than the process I used to use when sizing up heat for residential and commercial property. I also compared my calculations to my neighbor (who had a manualj) with a similar home and they are a close match. Since there is nothing between 1.5 and 2 ton I am going with a 2 ton 12 seer system from YORK, since there international HQ is in my home town and I can get it directly from a distributor I used to deal with.

I also contacted the manufacturer and my warranty will be good as long as a licensed/insured HVAC contractor inspects and signs off on my install.

So far I have located two Licensed HVAC contractors that are willing to inspect my install. The only thing they ask is that they apply the vacuum and fire up the unit for the first time themselves. One will charge me around $75 the other said between $100 and $200.

The funny thing is that when I turn the thermostat I will have cold air even though I did 95% of the install myself…weird huh?

Even though there are bitter old timers out there that think no one can do this work unless you have 20 years of mistakes under your belt, and a license from the EPA. There are many people that are willing to help.

Thanks to those that are willing to share your experience and knowledge with me, it has saved me some dough.

Hi SantaHoyt, I just bought a lake house (mobile home) with an old furnace that is working fine. I have window AC and wanted to replaced them by adding the AC to the existing furnace.

The lake house is too far from the nearest town which will cost me even more money to just get an HVAC pro to assess the environment.

I'm wondering if you could share your experience with me in the hope that I could save myself some money $$$.

All opinions are welcomed. Thank you in advance.

Greetings fellas (all of you) and welcome to the Forum.

SantaHoyt,
As far as I know, any of the mechanical hookup can be done by the homeowner.
True, when it comes to the Closed System (Freon) you need to let a Licensed Tech do that.

As far as a recommendation about "ease", we need to know a little more about what exactly you're working with, is it...
That you're going to separate the Blower from the Furnace, and drop an Evaporator in-line, is that it?
If that's the case, having them approximately the same size square, would really help !

Have a good Day !
S.W.