Vinch
join:2007-10-24
Pointe-Claire, QC
| reply to TooHotToday
Re: 3 year old house will not stay cool
That's definitely a 3-ton unit.
Detailed product data can be found over here...
»www.docs.hvacpartners.com/idc/gr···-2pd.pdf |
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linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium
join:2002-12-03
United State
 ·CenturyLink
| reply to TooHotToday
r401A puron is a Carrier trademarked brand coolant. IF you have a unit that has a high energy rating it takes longer to cool or heat.
At the risk of sticking my neck out, it sounds like you have heat pump unit. It does not cool well above 80+ nor heat well below 20+. These units were developed for use in the desert southwest. They are supplemented with Air conditioner in the summer and a furnace or fireplace in the winter.
The heat pump adds water to to cool dry air, whereas an air conditioner removes water to cool humid air. .
The other possible cause is the roof is not properly vented. Since I corrected the problem I got rid of the hot spots. The house now cools uniformly. Then I installed a new furnace and air conditioner because I am in a hot humid area and it was 30 years old. My utility bills have decreased more than I expected. .
I love the open floor plan. I've had several houses with those floor plans. They all had the same problem: even heating and cooling.
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IcePirate123
join:2003-01-12
Columbus, OH
| reply to TooHotToday
I stand corrected. The unit is a 3 ton unit which is sized for the square footage of the house. I mistakenly crossed the wrong column earlier when i posted. As to the warranty, when you bought the house and you signed the paperwork didnt they give a warranty on the house? I am not sure what the local laws are in your state regarding new builds so I cant be much help there. Long story short, before you go spending time and money on other ideas, get a certified tech out there to look at the unit. This should not cost you very much, and will tell you what your problem is. If it is just a problem of the unit being low on charge, overcharged, or dirty they will have you working that day. If there is a deeper problem or major code violations they can give you a bid on the repair so you have something to take to the original builder and say fix. If the original installer was not certified for the work and they knew that when they hired him, they are responsible for any problems his work causes. Long story short CALL A LOCAL TECH! |
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cahiatt
Premium
join:2001-03-21
Smyrna, GA
 ·BroadVoice
 ·Charter Pipeline
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1 edit | reply to linicx
said by linicx  :... it sounds like you have heat pump unit. It does not cool well above 80+ nor heat well below 20+. These units were developed for use in the desert southwest. They are supplemented with Air conditioner in the summer ... The heat pump adds water to to cool dry air, whereas an air conditioner removes water to cool humid air. . ????? A heat pump IS an air conditioner. In short, they just use a reversing valve for heating mode. A/C in reverse. In heating mode, indoor coil is now the condensor, outdoor coil turns into evaporator. It probably has electric heat strips to supplement very cold temps or rapid heat requirements. |
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Lurch77
Stop looking at me.
Premium
join:2001-11-22
+44.88-87.89
| reply to linicx
said by linicx :The heat pump adds water to to cool dry air, whereas an air conditioner removes water to cool humid air. . Arer you confusing a heat pump with a swamp cooler?
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scooper
join:2000-07-11
Youngsville, NC
| reply to linicx
I don't know where you get off saying heatpumps don't work well as air conditioners - they most certainly DO ! All that a heatpump does is an air conditioner with a reverse mode for heating. As stated before - they usually have heat strips in the airhandler for auxilary heat, but you can use them with gas furnaces as well (I should know, since that is how MY house HVAC is setup).
If you think Heat pumps don't work as air conditioners - come to North Carolina sometime.... in May-September. |
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Sly
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Johnson City, TN
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2 edits | reply to IcePirate123
said by IcePirate123 : So far you have been told to do everything from spray the exterior coil, told not to as this will harm your coil (how do you think we clean them when we service them)... Please don't take what I said out of context. I never said don't ever spray the coil... I clean mine once a year with water also. However, spraying the condenser continuously is not the same thing as spraying it once every year for 5 minutes with the unit off.
What I was saying is not to spray the coil continuously while it is running. If you continuously soak the condenser with water while it's hot, evaporating the water and leaving the minerals behind, then you will get a scale buildup on the coils which will reduce heat transfer and increase head pressure. If someone wants to cool the coil to improve efficiency then they should use a desuperheat unit, not a mister.
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- Plato - |
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Sly
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Johnson City, TN
clubs:
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1 edit | reply to aeblank
said by aeblank :Regardless, can you point me in the direction of a desuperheater for residential-type applications? I'm finding patent claims and industrial-type units. Actually I've been looking for them myself. There aren't many residential manufacturers of them for regular heat pumps. Most desuperheaters are found on geo-thermal heat pumps as an add on option.
Here are two that I found for regular air units... Don't know the prices though as their websites don't give any pricing information:
»www.turbotecproducts.com/EPsolutions.html
»www.trevormartin.com/ecu.asp
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"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
- Plato - |
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public
join:2002-01-19
Santa Clara, CA
·DSL EXTREME
| reply to Sly
said by Sly : If you continuously soak the condenser with water while it's hot, evaporating the water and leaving the minerals behind, then you will get a scale buildup on the coils which will reduce heat transfer and increase head pressure. Do not soak the condenser fins, rather use fine mist to cool the air sucked in from outside. The mist evaporates before it contacts the fins. That way there are no significant deposits on the fins, especially if demineralized water is used. |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
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| reply to Sly
That Turbotec Envior-Pak unit looks like quite the ticket!
Talk about win/win.... saves on air conditioning costs AND hot water expense. Wow... It's only a matter of time before this market takes off.
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"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
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Sly
Premium
join:2004-02-20
Johnson City, TN
clubs:
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2 edits | said by KrK :That Turbotec Envior-Pak unit looks like quite the ticket! Talk about win/win.... saves on air conditioning costs AND hot water expense. Wow... It's only a matter of time before this market takes off. Found another desuperheater...
»www.doucetteindustries.com/produ···_res.htm |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
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join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
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| Why is the first I've heard of these.... These clearly are a great way to make homes more energy efficient---- they hit the two biggest energy expenses in a home--- A/C and Hot water generation (well, not counting winter heating I guess.)
Real boon in the summer.
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"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
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burner50
Pinlifter
Premium,VIP
join:2002-06-05
EN22wm
·Mediacom
·FrontierNet Intern..
| reply to Sly
said by Sly :Please do not do this. Spraying the condenser does work... but as the sprayed on water evaporates, it leaves behind calcium and mineral deposits on the coils. These build up on the condenser and act as an insulator which severely reduces the unit's efficiency. Then as the condenser can't remove enough heat, the head pressure rises in the compressor which makes it run hotter. Then your compressor fails... If you want to cool the condenser, then look for a unit called a desuperheater. This is a heat exchanger which hooks up to the condenser side and circulates cold water through it and then runs it to a water heater tank for pre-heat water. A desuperheater cools down the condenser which makes the heat pump run more efficiently and it uses that heat to heat your home's water... making your water heater more efficient as well. Repeat... do NOT simply spray water onto the condenser. possible to use distilled or rinse with distilled water...
I used to do this in the radiator of a racecar to cool it down faster for work in the pits. Spray whatever water I could find out of a pressurized cylinder, then rinse with distilled in a garden sprayer.
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RR Conductor
RailRoadDude
Premium
join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
·Comcast
2 edits | reply to TooHotToday
I see some advice about dehumidifiers, humidity really isn't a problem in NorCal during the heat of the day. Here where I live in NorCal (inland Mendocino County, Northwestern CA) the humidity gets in the 20-30% range during the day, but goes back up to around 70-80% at night with the cooling, onshore (we're 28 miles from the coast here in Redwood Valley) flow in the evening. So here at least, hot=low humidity, cool=high humidiity.
Edit-Here, the inside of the house can get very dry, humdifiers are a good thing to have to help put more moisture in the house. I've been in the south and east, you guys can have that sauna stuff, no offense  
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TooHotToday
@sbcglobal.net
| reply to TooHotToday
Hi...OP here again!
Sorry I am not much of a help because I am very new to this whole thing and do not know much of the technicalities.
1st- the house is a one story with high ceilings, no skylights and all windows are covered with wooden blinds. I don't think there are any venttilation systems in the attic.
2nd- Unit has not been working properly until now, Didnt work the first summer we lived here and this summer we had a tech out and he told us that the unit in the attic was mismatched to the unit outside. This is when we contacted the builder and then the installer and they installed a new unit in the attic to match the one outside. Works ok when it isnt very hot, but when temps get to 100+ it really struggles.
3rd- I set the AC to 75 today and it held that temp until about 3pm, then it slowly got up to 82 degrees.
4th- Original installer is coming out again this week to take a look, but he says that a 20 degree difference is acceptable...I know some other people on here also said that, but, that makes no sense to me. That is telling me the best you can expect in 100 degree weather is 80??? I know a lot of people keep between 72-75 around here.
If more info is needed, let me know and I will repost.
Thanks again for everyones help! It is much appreciated! |
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IcePirate123
join:2003-01-12
Columbus, OH
| reply to TooHotToday
Quite simply, when the original installer comes out, kick it up a notch. Tell him that you believe there is a problem with your air conditioner and it has been there since day one. Tell him that if the air conditioner will not maintain the house at 70 degrees regardless of outside temperature you are going to call a seperate air conditioning company for an inspection of the unit and bid to properly repair. You will then submit this bid to the original builder of the house and if they do not wish to pay it your lawyer. If you have to actually get a bid and send to the original builder and they decide to try to fight you, tell them you are going to call the local permit department and have your house inspected. If as I suspect this house was built on the minimum amount of permits and lowest bidders, it will be much cheaper for them to repair or even replace your whole air conditioning system than have any other projects STOPPED by the permit dept for a inspection compaint. |
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rob_in_chatt
Premium
join:2004-09-17
Chattanooga, TN | reply to TooHotToday
according to google, this is a 3 ton AC unit with a 70000 btu heat pump. |
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Jetflier
@teksavvy.com
| reply to TooHotToday
Hi,
Sorry to hear about your problem.
There are two things that you need to check. First, what is the temperature coming out of the air vents or diffusers? If the outside temperature is 100 F, then the air coming out of the vents should still be at least 65-70 F. My a/c, at 90 F outside temperature, blows about 55 F air from the air vents.
Second thing you need to check is that the blower motor is operating at high speed. How much air is coming out of the air vents? The motor wiring could be set wrong and you do not get enough cold air to various rooms in the house. Also, the motor bearings could be bad causing the motor speed to drop. The cooling coil could be blocked by dust or maybe it is icing up preventing proper air circulation. So, those two main things you need to investigate: is the air out of the vents cold enough and are there enough air flow out of the vents.
Once you get your a/c fixed, I highly recommend that you purchase an anemometer that measures air speed, air flow, temperature, etc. You use this device to take measurements at air vents throughout the house as reference values. Then if you ever have any further problems with your a/c, you can eliminate many possibilities before calling a technician. These units can be purchased cheaply from ebay starting at $25 and up. This is much cheaper than having a service person to come in and notice something simple as dirty filters and charging you $100 for a visit. Good luck. |
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linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium
join:2002-12-03
United State | reply to scooper
Might be hunky dory in NC, but a heat pump is not worth much when it is 40 below in Chicago.
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scooper
join:2000-07-11
Youngsville, NC
| said by linicx :Might be hunky dory in NC, but a heat pump is not worth much when it is 40 below in Chicago. Works fine as an Air Conditioner, not so well as HEAT SOURCE below about 20F. That's why they have the auxilary heat strips or you put in a furnace. But your whole initial comment was that they don't work as air conditioners - which I am roundly refuting. |
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