This Article Is About Oxbox — A New HVAC Brand Endorsed By Trane (introduced in 2019).  Al’s Plumbing, Heating & A/C, in Plano, Texas provides full service plumbing maintenance, repairs and replacements for every plumbing component in your home.  Al’s sells and installs Rheem Professional Series gas & electric water heaters, and tankless water heaters.  Al’s Plumbing, Heating & A/C is near your home in Plano, Allen, and Frisco.  We service all homes in southern Collin and Denton Counties with no additional travel charge.

Shown: Outside Central HVAC Unit 

Image Source: Dreamstime

Oxbox HVAC Brand — Value-Priced HVAC Products Endorsed By Trane

Trane, Oxbox, American Standard & Ameristar are all owned by one company, Ingersoll Rand.  Trane & American Standard HVAC Systems are known for their durability, and are premium priced.

Oxbox HVAC brand was introduced in 2019  for those seeking a more affordable HVAC System.  Oxbox meets Trane’s brand approval for quality & durability.  Oxbox HVAC includes; air conditioners, heat pumps, and furnaces.  The components inside Oxbox HVAC units have been field-tested for over 5 years.

The question comes up: Are Trane & Oxbox the same?  No, Oxbox has a different brand compressor, and likely other components that differ from what Trane and American Standard uses.  This is why they are less expensive.  Later in this article, we provide details about the compressors used by all four brands.

Ameristar brand HVAC is an additional lower priced HVAC Line offered by Ingersoll Rand.  It appears that Oxbox brand & Ameristar brand are likely the same products, only with different brand labels.

Click Here To Visit The Oxbox HVAC Website: Oxbox Cooling & Heating Products

Click Here To Visit The Ameristar HVAC Website:  Ameristar HVAC  

Oxbox and Ameristar HVAC outdoor units look identical, except for the label.   We don’t know if they are identical inside.   Trane & American Standard HVAC have their proprietary ClimaTuff ^® brand compressor.  Only Trane & American Standard HVAC have ClimaTuff^® compressor.

Ameristar uses Copeland^® Brand Compressors.  We could not determine if if Oxbox does too.  Copeland Compressors have been manufactured for over 100 years, and many HVAC brands have Copeland Compressors.

• Ameristar’s M4AC4 is their 14-SEER Central A/C Outside Unit, available in 1-5 ton (12,000–60,000 BTU’s) sizes.

• Oxbox’s J4AC4 is their 14-SEER Central A/C Outside Unit, available in 1-5 ton sizes.

Click Here To See An Oxbox product also showing the Trane name: Oxbox, A Trane Brand HVAC Product

Oxbox Warranty:  Year 1 includes the option to get a complete unit replacement if any main components fail (compressor, coil, or heat exchanger).  Then, the warranty is 5 years for standard parts & 7 years for the compressor (parts only, installation labor not included) .   Plus, the warranty applies to the home, not the homeowner.  The homeowner can date the warranty as the date they bought the home.  This eliminates losing some of the warranty coverage period if the owner bought a house that was vacant for a while prior to purchase.

Ameristar Warranty:  The standard parts warranty is 5 years, OR 10 years if the warranty is registered within 60 day of purchase (parts only, installation labor not included).

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What’s More Important, The HVAC Brand, Or The Quality Of The Installation?

The Quality Of An HVAC System’s Installation Is More Important Than The HVAC Brand.  A premier brand HVAC System can’t perform as designed if it was installed poorly.  A value-priced system, that’s properly installed, will out perform a premier system that’s poorly installed.

With flexible ductwork, the quality of the installation becomes more important yet.   Flexible ductwork has specifications regarding the placement & spacing of ductwork hangers, and many other details.  If flexible ductwork is not installed as specified by its manufacturer, it can; sag, crimp, buckle, or collapse.   All of this leads to; higher cooling & heating costs, compromised comfort due to hot & cold spots, an HVAC System that breaks down more frequently, and does not last as long as it could have.

Here Are Some Examples Of PROPERLY Installed Flexible Ductwork

• Click Here To See Properly Installed Flexible Ductwork Looks Like:  Properly Installed Flexible Ductwork

• Click Here To See Properly Installed Flexible Ductwork: Properly Installed Flexible Ductwork

Here Are Some Examples Of POORLY Installed Flexible Ductwork:

• Click Here To See Sagging Flexible Ductwork

• Click Here To See Coiled Flexible Ductwork

• Click Here To See Crimped Flexible Ductwork

• Click Here To See Compressed Flexible Ductwork

• Click Here To See Flexible Ductwork Coming Loose At A Connection

Compressor Brand For Trane & American Standard

Trane & American Standard Both Use Their Own, Proprietary Brand ClimaTuff ^® Compressors.   DuraTuff compressor have a legacy of being reliable and long lasting.  In a testing lab in Tyler, TX,  a ClimaTuff^® compressor (nicknamed Snowball 1) was put into service in late 1972.   Snowball lasted nearly 28 years under brutal lab conditions.  It ran at an estimated 3,500 rpm for 24 hours a day & 7 days a week.  This equates to an automobile running 60–70 miles per hour, non stop for nearly 28 years, and covering 14.8 million miles.

Click Here To Read About Trane & American Standard’s ClimaTuff Compressor: Trane / American Standard DuraTuff Compressor

Consumers Reports ranks Trane & American Standard with ClimaTuff Compressors as the most reliable.  Their predicted brand reliability ratings are based upon a statistical model based on problems within the first 5 years of ownership.  Consumer’s Reports ranks Trane, American Standard, and 3 other brands with the highest owner satisfaction.  This is part of the same report (link provided below).   All major brands of HVAC are rated within the report.   Copeland brand is owned by Emerson.

Click Here To See Consumer’s Reports Article (you must be a Consumers Reports paid member to read it):  Consumers Reports A/C Compressor Reliability

Click Here To Read About Copeland Band Compressors: Copeland Brand Compressors

Compressor Brand For Oxbox HVAC & Ameristar HVAC (and most other brands)

Oxbox & Ameristar HVAC use Copeland brand compressors.  This is part of the reason they are less expensive than Trane & American Standard.  Copeland brand compressors have been manufactured for over 100 years.  This brand is in many (if not most) HVAC brands (except Trane & American Standard).   According to Consumers Reports, Trane received a score of 8 (out of 10) for reliability. Several brands that use Copeland compressors were rated 7 out of 10, so Copeland compressors are likely nearly as reliable.

One area where DuraTuff outshines Copeland is noise generated by a Heat Pumps during its defrost cycle.  Because a Heat Pump is an air conditioner running in reverse, the outside unit frosts and is automatically defrosted on a recurring schedule.  DuraTuff compressors are quieter during Heat Pump defrosting.   There is little difference in noise level at other times, and these comments apply only to Heat Pumps.

Click Here To Hear A DuraTuff^® Compressor During Defrost-Cycle:  DuraTuff Compressor During Defrost Cycle

Click Here To Hear A Brand That Uses Copeland^® Compressors During Defrost-Cycle: Copeland Compressor During Defrost Cycle

Click Here To Read About Copeland^® Band Compressors: Copeland Brand Compressors

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SUMMARY: Oxbox HVAC, Ameristar, Trane & American Standard HVAC

• Ingersoll Rand Offers 2 Premium-Price HVAC brands: Trane & American Standard.
• Only these premium brands have the DuraTuff^® brand compressor.  
• Consumers Reports rates Trane A/C reliablility as 9 out of 10 for reliability.
• Consumers Reports rates Trane & American Standard gas furnaces among the more reliable brands.

• Ingersoll Rand Offers 2 Value-Price HVAC Brands: Oxbox & Ameristar.
• There is little (if any) evidence that Oxbox & Ameristar are not identical products.
• These value priced brands have a Copeland^® brand compressor.
• Consumers Reports rates several A/C brands with Copeland compressors as 8 out of 10 for reliability.

• Oxbox A/C Warranty: 5 Years-Basic Parts & 7 Years-Compressor.  No warranty registration is needed or available.
• Ameristar A/C Warranty: 5 Years-Basic Parts & Compressor OR 10 Years basic parts & compressor IF the warranty is registered within 60 days of purchase.
• Trane & American Standard A/C Warranty—Single-Speed Systems: 5 Years for basic parts & compressor
• OR 10 Years for basic parts & compressor IF the Ameristar warranty is registered.
• Trane, American Standard & Ameristar offer the same A/C warranty (on Single-Speed A/C Systems) IF the Ameristar warranty is registered.

• Oxbox FURNACE Warranty: 5 years-Basic Parts & 20 years-Heat Exchanger.
• Ameristar FURNACE Warranty: 5 years-Basic Parts & 10 years-Heat Exchanger OR
• 10 years-Basic Parts & 20 years-Heat Exchanger IF the Ameristar warranty is registered within 60 days.

• American Standard & Trane Furnace Warranty:  5 years-Basic Parts & 20 years-Heat Exchanger OR
• 10 years-Basic Parts & 20 years-Heat Exchanger IF the warranty is registered within 60 days of purchase.
• American Standard, Trane & Ameristar offer the same furnace warranty IF The Ameristar Warranty Is Registered.

NOTE: When you click https://www.americanstandardair.com/content/trane-residential/en/for-owners/warranty-and-registration.html  TRANE’S Furnace Website is displayed.

** Source: https://www.furnacecompare.com/manufacturers/ameristar.html

We Sell & Install Ameristar HVAC Systems.

A SIDE NOTE — If You Currently Own A Noisy Heat Pump or A/C, This Product Can Help Reduce Noise

All Heat Pumps make notable amounts of noise during their defrost cycle.  Some brands will make more noise than others.  If you are bothered by the noise your air conditioner or heat pump makes, QuietFence is designed to dramatically reduce the noise.

Click Here To See A Demonstration Of Quiet Fence’s Noise Reduction: QuietFence Demonstation

Note: We can’t endorse QuietFence only because we don’t have direct knowledge of all noise-reducing products for outside HVAC units.