Coleman Air Conditioner Price Guide

Coleman is a brand that is known for outdoor products, but over their history, spanning over 100 years, they’ve expanded into other areas. Nowadays, their offerings in the world of air conditioners are known as being a good value, mid-range set of AC units. The range has quite a few different products with a wide variety of SEER ratings and features. In this guide, we’re looking into these features, the economy and the price of Coleman air conditioners.

Coleman History

When you see a Coleman air conditioner for the first time, you may recognize the logo from elsewhere. In 1900, they started manufacturing lanterns, and over time introduced products including portable camp stoves which were useful during wartimes. The brand grew and in the 1950s they started offering products in the air heating and cooling market. They actually started by producing products for recreational vehicles, but now they have a whole range for use within homes, as well as still offering products for RVs.

Coleman is now owned by Unitary Products Group which is a division of York, a Johnson Controls Company.

Sister Brands

The sister brand to Coleman which is also owned by Unitary Products is York, who offer a similarly priced range of air conditioners, but the products aren’t exactly the same as Coleman. Some companies which own two different brands of air conditioner simply sell the same products with different branding.

While York and Coleman operate differently and offer different products, they both have a reputation for great value for money. Neither are on the expensive end of the market.

Coleman Air Conditioner Technologies

Each air conditioner brand tends to incorporate its own unique technologies and approach to cooling. Which technologies make the Coleman brand unique?

Whisper Drive is the trademarked technology incorporated within Coleman air conditioners designed to keep the noise they generate to a minimum. The system has a swept-wing fan, quieter ECM motor and also a sound enclosure to keep the noise from reverberating too much. It is only on offer in the Echelon range of Coleman AC units.

Another technology specific to the Echelon range is Climate Connect. This tech gives three different options when the unit is installed within a home. The settings are dry, humid and normal. The settings are chosen considering the outdoor space the unit is installed in and helps to optimize performance.

Coleman Pros and Cons

Pros

The Coleman range of air conditioners is known for its good value-for-money. They offer some good HVAC products at a reasonable price, making them popular for homeowners who aren’t looking to spend too much, but still want a reliable product.
The range comes with a lot of guarantees from the manufacturer. They offer a 90-day installation warranty, meaning if anything goes wrong in this time period you can get it repaired. The warranty on all of their models in terms of parts extends to 10 years.
The elite products in the Echelon range by Coleman offer a lifetime warranty on the compressor. This is in conjunction with the standard 10-year warranty on other parts.
Coleman ensures that all of their registered dealers are trained to ensure that there is very little chance of anything going wrong during installation, this is not something that every brand can offer.

Cons

Though the dealers are all trained specifically by Coleman, there are unauthorized stores and handymen who will install the products, the quality will not be moderated here.
The top Coleman products in terms of efficiency only go up to 20 SEER. This isn’t comparable to some of the ultra-high efficient products on the market such as the Lennox XC-25 which can boast an incredible rating of 25 SEER.
Some of the older models which have not yet been discontinued offer quite a low SEER and do not come with Energy Star rating, which means they aren’t very economical and aren’t good options if you regularly use your AC unit.
In some of the units, particularly outside of the Echelon range, the evaporator coil can be unreliable. As well as being prone to breaking, it can be costly to repair, both in terms of the part and the labor. This can be an issue if you are no longer covered by warranty.

Coleman Air Conditioner Price List

Model	Unit Price	Fully Installed Price	Running Cost (based on 2.5 ton)
Coleman Echelon AC21	$2,985	$4,200	$380
Coleman Echelon AC8B	$1,665	$2,965	$431
Coleman Echelon AC6B	$1,615	$2,810	$450
Coleman LX CC7	$1,500	$2,743	$467
Coleman LX TW4	$1,255	$2,470	$498
Coleman LX TC4	$1,200	$2,405	$532
Coleman LX TF4	$1,110	$2,400	$548
Coleman LX TC3	$1,265	$2,430	$609
Coleman LX TF3	$1,265	$2,320	$620
Coleman TCJF	$1,935	$2,465	$650
Coleman TCHD	$1,000	$2,339	$697

Here you can see the whole of the current range of Coleman air conditioners with costs both for the unit only and including installation. Naturally, this includes some estimated figures. To create a fair estimate and comparison between each other units we’ve used 2.5-ton units. Tonnage does not mean the weight. Actually, it is referring to the amount of BTUs moved by the air conditioner, measured on an hourly basis.

Installation prices can vary depending on the installer, where you are and sometimes even what time of year it is.

To estimate the cost of running, we’ve based it on 3000 hours of running time per year, which is enough for warm conditions. We’ve also estimated the electricity cost at a current average of 14¢ per KW.

Exploring the Coleman Range - Model Comparison

Below we’ve offered a full comparison of the models in the Coleman range. This features the type of compressor, noise generated and, vitally, the SEER rating.

Model	Tonnage	SEER Rating	Noise	Compressor
Coleman Echelon AC21	2-5	20	55 dB	Variable Speed
Coleman Echelon AC8B	2-5	18	59 dB	Two Stage
Coleman Echelon AC6B	1.5-5	16	59 dB	Single Stage
Coleman LX CC7	2-5	17	52 dB	Single Stage
Coleman LX TW4	1.5-5	14	60 dB	Single Stage
Coleman LX TC4	1.5-5	14	62 dB	Single Stage
Coleman LX TF4	1.5-5	14	60 dB	Single Stage
Coleman LX TC3	1.5-5	13	65 dB	Single Stage
Coleman LX TF3	2-5	13	68 dB	Single Stage
Coleman TCJF	1.5-5	16.5	66 dB	Single Stage
Coleman TCHD	1.5-5	13	68 dB	Single Stage
Coleman TCHE	1.5-5	13	70 dB	Single Stage

As you can see from the table, the Coleman AC units are relatively quiet, however most are single-stage and therefore not as efficient as they could be.

The easiest way to understand the Coleman Air Conditioners is to break it down into the different ranges of product within the Coleman brand.

TC Series

The TC series of products could be considered the ‘basic’ level of Coleman AC unit. They’re not terrible units and they are pretty well built, but to be brutally honest, the SEER rating and efficiency that they offer is not suitable for homes where the air conditioning is regularly turned on. TC units don’t have many modern features, aren’t Energy Star rated and don’t qualify for many of the tax rebates some people apply for when buying their air conditioner.

LX Series

LX is basically the ‘mid-range’ of the Coleman products. They’re robust, and have a higher SEER, with some of the range also offering Enegy Star rating. The quiet technology within the Coleman air conditioner units is effective in the LX range and these are some of the quietest units available on a budget. The SEER is decent in the LX range, especially the 17 and 18 SEER units. However, they are still single-stage units which means that they are not as efficient as two-stage or variable units. For this, you need the Echelon series.

Echelon Series - The Best Coleman Air Conditioners

For the best of the Coleman HVAC products you need the Echelon series. Specifically, the Coleman Echelon AC21 is the highest rated AC unit in their range. It is the only option to have a variable compressor, which makes it the most economical within the Coleman range. The SEER rating of up to 20 is the highest they offer.

This also offers the newer technologies within the Coleman brand such as WhisperDrive and Climate Connect. It can be used alongside a thermostat and is WiFi compatible for linking to applications. The Echelon range is naturally more expensive than the other products they sell, due to the extra features. Echelon air conditioners are very robust and well made, and the AC21 even has an impressive lifetime warranty on the compressor, to go with the 10-year warranty offered on the parts.

Finding a Trusted Coleman Installer and Getting the Best Price

To find an installation company, and get the best price:

Use our free estimate tool in order to see an estimation of what the installation process should cost in your area. Free estimates help to give a frame of reference when negotiating or discussing with installers.
Always get multiple quotes from multiple companies. This way, you can choose the best price, safe with the protection that Trane only deal with well-qualified installers.
Stay on top of local rebate schemes. Some Coleman models will qualify for some sort of rebate from an energy company or local scheme. Rebates are offered based on SEER rating and efficiency.