I just bought a house, it's built in 1990, it's my first home out of college, it's nothing special, 1400 sqft 3bed 2 bath. I got a killer deal on it...

However, when I got the place, the condenser outside was disconnected as it looked like someone tried to steal it for the coils.

I hired a guy off craigslist, which might have been a bad idea; the original unit is 2.5 tons, (30k btu) and he put a 3ton condenser and the copper pipes froze... the unit stopped working after five hours.

Anyway. Later, while asking other ac technicians, I learned that you can't use a bigger condenser, while you can use a 1/2ton smaller condenser from the original, as the coils must match the tonnage on the condenser as well.

I have a guy coming out tomorrow to install a carrier 2.5 ton condenser, and I am a bit leary however, it's getting hot, and I need an ac unit!!

What do you guys think?