Free A/C and Heat Q/A Thread

[The Violator]

Wow, not sure what to think about this post. First off, not changing an air filter has absolutely nothing to do with dirtying up a condensor, an evaporator yes but not a condensor. Secondly, i can tell with about 100% certainty you dont do any maintance checks or believe in preventing problems before they lead to bigger problems.

1. Condenser filters are on most of the smaller commercial equipment I service. More of an issue in my world, maybe not in yours.

2. Your dead wrong, but from the other stuff you have posted....I am even going to let that one go.


Your right, I am not in a cock off with you. Just trying to make people think a little before they spend good money on replacing things they do not need to replace.

If someone calls a service tech out to do a pre summer PM on something and I find a noisy motor, burned contactor, etc lets talk about changing parts. But to change something without solid evidence of imminent failure is wrong. Back to the timing belt thing. Should it be changed at the 80k like the manufacturer recommends. Probably. Should I do it at 40k like the unscrupulous shop owner says. No. Should I as the owner educate myself enough to make an informed decision, absolutely.


I stand by my statement about filters. Changing them every month is the best thing you can do to save yourself money in the long run.

 

[sloppy]

Are condenser filters a location thing with you?? dirty area lots of debris?? I service allot of equipment up north and I can tell you I have seen 2 units with filters(they really didnt help either) on them.. I do see them on airdryers in dirty areas.. but condensers for actual comfort or food systems I have seen very very few..

So I guess I am just curios about the application???

 

[Sheepdawg23wm]

Damn ipad, wont let me scroll to the bottom of your quote. Alright, we're getting somewhere. I totally agree with you about helping customers make informed decisions, I know I wouldnt buy something I didnt understand or why I was needing it. Your also right about me not knowing anything about ice machines, not even going to try and act like I do. Never even tried to work on one or low temp equipment. Early in my career all I did work on was industrial and commercial chillers, 20+ ton packs etc... But I didnt like it. I found that personal interactions with homeowners was much more pleasant and satisfying. Also, rest assured I cannot stand a parts changer. They are a disgrace to our profession. I have no problem training a greenhorn thats eager to learn, but hate a guy that acts like hes knowledgable and then you go out in field and realize he doesnt know jackshi*. So it sounds like we actually believe in the same thing, just you do low temp stuff primarily and I do residential hvac. Whattya know, olf fashioned classic discussion between the two, been going on for years.

 

[Sheepdawg23wm]

Are condenser filters a location thing with you?? dirty area lots of debris?? I service allot of equipment up north and I can tell you I have seen 2 units with filters(they really didnt help either) on them.. I do see them on airdryers in dirty areas.. but condensers for actual comfort or food systems I have seen very very few..

So I guess I am just curios about the application???

I have to agree with ya, i have never seen one. But then again I do not work on restaurants. Sounds like it would be a good idea for a Trane/american standard residential condensor. I hate trying to clean out spine fin coils. I'll spend half a tank of acetylene trying to burn them clean.

 

[The Violator]

Are condenser filters a location thing with you?? dirty area lots of debris?? I service allot of equipment up north and I can tell you I have seen 2 units with filters(they really didnt help either) on them.. I do see them on airdryers in dirty areas.. but condensers for actual comfort or food systems I have seen very very few..

So I guess I am just curios about the application???

Most of the indoor condenser stuff has them. The condensers get plugged with lint. I an not sure where it comes from, but most of the filters I clean look like lint filters on a clothes dryer. Outdoor condensers rarely have them, but they usually have fins spaced farther apart and don't catch the smaller stuff. Try cooling 5 or 6 hp system through a condenser that is 12"x18". The fins are tight, and catch everything.

I tend to work in C stores, theaters, Restaurants ( fry grease in a tiny condenser is gross) and tons of projects. I have been working in Starbucks (RO systems), Taco Bell (frozen drinks), and starting next week Subway (fruit smoothy machines).

 

[sloppy]

Kitchen stuff make sense.. Now that I think kitchen(which thankfully I get to avoid) Yes I guess I have seen allot of filters on them just like the little air dryer units.. the areas are filthy "thumbsup""thumbsup" and they do suck to clean

I think mixing the comfort area cooling components with light commercial components was causing the confusion.. "thumbsup"

 

[BigSki]

Thanks for offering your services! "thumbsup" I have one for you- my house is very old, it has a gas fired hot water boiler that circulates the hot water through cast iron radiators, this is the heating system for the hut. My question is, what is the proper procedure for bleeding the system and what pressure should it be operating at?

 

[Sheepdawg23wm]

Thanks for offering your services! "thumbsup" I have one for you- my house is very old, it has a gas fired hot water boiler that circulates the hot water through cast iron radiators, this is the heating system for the hut. My question is, what is the proper procedure for bleeding the system and what pressure should it be operating at?

Sorry it took me awhile to respond, but today has been hectic to say the least. The bleeding procedure will depend on a few things. Is the your home 1 story or 2? With the circulator pump running, find the highest point in the system and check to see if there are air bleeders installed. There are many types of air bleeders. Some have a cap and a shrader core in them similar to a bicycle tire, some are automatic bleeders and some have a small screw you have to loosen with a screwdriver and bleed into a cup. once you find the bleeders, start with the one closest to the boiler, or should I say the first one in series of the loop. Bleed until only water comes out, keep bleeding if you have bubbles or milky white water. once pure water is coming out, move on to next bleeder and keep this up until all radiators are heating uniformly. Now if you still cannot get a particular radiator to heat after this, you might have a saggy pipe somewhere in the loop causing an air trap. Probably a good time to call a tech out at that point. As far water pressure is concerned, psi will change alot between a cold boiler and a hot boiler. Cold boiler typically sits around 12 psi and a boiler up to operating temp will set around 30 psi. Hope this helps, feel free to ask anything else if you need to.

 

[ax10]

We have 12000 btu window unit. When it gets up into the high 90s, the compresser shuts down after a couple of hours of use. Will then take around 45 mins. to kick back on. The temporary solution was to keep a sprinkler on and let it spray the fins on the back of unit. Any suggestions on why it overheats? We have an 5000 btu in bedroom that never has any issues no matter how hot it gets

 

[Sheepdawg23wm]

We have 12000 btu window unit. When it gets up into the high 90s, the compresser shuts down after a couple of hours of use. Will then take around 45 mins. to kick back on. The temporary solution was to keep a sprinkler on and let it spray the fins on the back of unit. Any suggestions on why it overheats? We have an 5000 btu in bedroom that never has any issues no matter how hot it gets

Has it ever been repaired? If so, could have to much freon in it. If it hasnt, there are few things that could be going on and I will list from greatest possibilty to lowest. First, is there anything behind the unit outside the house, such as wall, overhang or anything that could be potentially blocking or recirculating the hot air coming out? If so, move the unit or remove obstacle. Second, have you thoughly hosed out the outdoor coil, not just sprinkling water on it? Third but not least, what is the size of the space you're trying to cool? This unit may be to small for the cooling demand and run so long the compressor overheats. 12000 btu is only one ton of cooling capacity but then again, I dont know where you live, but here in AZ that wouldnt cool but about 400 sq ft or 20x20 room. How long have you had this unit? Has it ever cooled before with no problems?

 

[The Violator]

We have 12000 btu window unit. When it gets up into the high 90s, the compresser shuts down after a couple of hours of use. Will then take around 45 mins. to kick back on. The temporary solution was to keep a sprinkler on and let it spray the fins on the back of unit. Any suggestions on why it overheats? We have an 5000 btu in bedroom that never has any issues no matter how hot it gets

Has it ever been repaired? If so, could have to much freon in it. If it hasnt, there are few things that could be going on and I will list from greatest possibilty to lowest. First, is there anything behind the unit outside the house, such as wall, overhang or anything that could be potentially blocking or recirculating the hot air coming out? If so, move the unit or remove obstacle. Second, have you thoughly hosed out the outdoor coil, not just sprinkling water on it? Third but not least, what is the size of the space you're trying to cool? This unit may be to small for the cooling demand and run so long the compressor overheats. 12000 btu is only one ton of cooling capacity but then again, I dont know where you live, but here in AZ that wouldnt cool but about 400 sq ft or 20x20 room. How long have you had this unit? Has it ever cooled before with no problems?

Maybe a bad run cap?

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

Maybe a bad run cap?

Maybe it just can't handle the heat?

In the rv world, if you have poor cooling in ambient temps above 95* there isn't anything you can do about it. The mfg's will tell you straight out that they weren't designed to work efficiently in those conditions.

 

[CREEPERBOB]

Agree with Duuuuuude, you can usually only expect a 20* differential from outside to inside ambient temp.
If it's 110* outside your AC will run nonstop and get not much cooler than 90*, of course not considering sq. ft. and r factor of insulation.

 

[Ernie W]

I've got a question for you, I think I know the answer for it but just want to ask someone who knows.

My house has an electric furnace. Last week I replaced the blower motor and capacitor. From what I can tell sometimes it seems as if the heating elements are on but the motor doesn't come on. The reason I think this is because you can feel alot of heat coming from the louvered cover above the filter. What would cause this? I think the wall thermostat is bad but I don't really know much about it.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[ax10]

it's cooling a kitchen and living room. It doesn't have anything behind it. But it does get full until the sun goes down. I did clean the outside coil when i put it in the window. Bought from a guy who used it for 4 months before he had central air installed. We live in Nebraska. Humidity is horrible sometimes. I might be asking too much from it. When it's 95 outside, i still want it 75 inside. Thank you to all who responded. I'm going to take it in for a tune-up. And probably buy a second unit.

 

[Sheepdawg23wm]

I've got a question for you, I think I know the answer for it but just want to ask someone who knows.

My house has an electric furnace. Last week I replaced the blower motor and capacitor. From what I can tell sometimes it seems as if the heating elements are on but the motor doesn't come on. The reason I think this is because you can feel alot of heat coming from the louvered cover above the filter. What would cause this? I think the wall thermostat is bad but I don't really know much about it.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Eric

possible 2 things could be causing this. First, your blower sequencer could be bad and is never making contact internally allowing the blower to start. I'm unsure of what brand ur unit is or what type of relay is starting the blower but could very likely be that starting relay. Other thing it could be, is make sure your t-stat is set for electric furnace and not gas or oil. Gas and oil furnaces do not use the t-stat to start the blower but an electric furnace does require the t-stat to send a "g" signal just like in cooling.

 

[Sheepdawg23wm]

it's cooling a kitchen and living room. It doesn't have anything behind it. But it does get full until the sun goes down. I did clean the outside coil when i put it in the window. Bought from a guy who used it for 4 months before he had central air installed. We live in Nebraska. Humidity is horrible sometimes. I might be asking too much from it. When it's 95 outside, i still want it 75 inside. Thank you to all who responded. I'm going to take it in for a tune-up. And probably buy a second unit.

I'd imagine your kitchen and living room are bigger than what that one unit can handle and you need a bigger unit or add another. Ever thought about just getting a manual J heat load done and just getting central air put in? Been awhile since I worked on a window unit but I just remembered inside the case of the unit, there is whats called a slinger ring thats supposed to pick up condensate water and splash it onto the condensor coil and the compressor. I wander if this ring isnt broken, or water channel to the ring may be blocked not allowing water to get to it? might want to slide the internals out of the case and check it out.

 

[Sheepdawg23wm]

Agree with Duuuuuude, you can usually only expect a 20* differential from outside to inside ambient temp.
If it's 110* outside your AC will run nonstop and get not much cooler than 90*, of course not considering sq. ft. and r factor of insulation.

That 20* differential your talking about is the differance between the supply and the return air temp. Your statement would only be true if you were pulling your retun air from outside where its 110*. If it were 78* inside and your pulling 78* return air, then ideally you should be somewhere around 58* supply give or take 3-4 degrees for sensible and latent heat load."thumbsup"

 

[ax10]

first thing i did was drill a hole in the case to help it drain. I had no idea that it used condensation as a "coolant" I will seal up the hole after the tune-up. Live and learn

 

[Ernie W]

possible 2 things could be causing this. First, your blower sequencer could be bad and is never making contact internally allowing the blower to start. I'm unsure of what brand ur unit is or what type of relay is starting the blower but could very likely be that starting relay. Other thing it could be, is make sure your t-stat is set for electric furnace and not gas or oil. Gas and oil furnaces do not use the t-stat to start the blower but an electric furnace does require the t-stat to send a "g" signal just like in cooling.

Thanks for the help.

Its an older unit, Intertherm FEH-012HA. As of last night now the elements aren't heating up...lol. Just my luck. I'm gonna try to find a sequencer and replace it to see if it works.