FenglerF1
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Minot Afb, ND
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1 edit | reply to TooHotToday
Re: 3 year old house will not stay cool
Not a long term fix by any means but spraying down the radiator with a garden hose provided some temporary relief during Florida summers.
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Sly
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Johnson City, TN
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| 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.
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avd706
insert annoying animated gif here
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join:2003-02-06
Union, NJ
| 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. ... Repeat... do NOT simply spray water onto the condenser. And don't let rain get on it either!!!!
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rcabor
join:2007-04-17
Grand Prairie, TX | actually due to the nature of evaporation, rainwater is relativly soft compared to tap or well water. |
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Sly
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Johnson City, TN
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| reply to avd706
said by avd706 :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. ... Repeat... do NOT simply spray water onto the condenser. And don't let rain get on it either!!!! As was already said, rainwater is much softer than most tap water. Also, with the cover on, most of the rain water does not get to the condenser anyway. But directly spraying it with a water hose can and will damage it. Misting is not a long term solution to increasing efficiency. It would be better to install a thermal barrier, install properly sized gable vents and a ridge vent to carry the heat out the top of the attic. Insulate the house well, especially the attic and keep curtains closed on sun facing windows.
If you want to mist your condenser... then go ahead. There have been many snake-oil ideas like this come along in the years and they all have one thing in common... People not wanting to take the time to do something right but instead wanting to take the short cut. 
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aeblank
join:2004-09-07
Cadillac, MI
| reply to Sly
said by Sly :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. I run a boiler with a heat storage tank (insulated 1600 gallon tank) for my heating and domestic water. 1600 gallons is quite a few BTUs, and my goal, someday, would be to put in central air and instead of dumping the heat to the air, have it dump into my tank. It might well generate enough energy to satisfy my hot water needs. I could see having a loop that goes through my tank, then through the ground, then to the condenser. I get heat, the condenser sees 50 degree ground temperature.
Regardless, can you point me in the direction of a desuperheater for residential-type applications? I'm finding patent claims and industrial-type units. |
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avd706
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Union, NJ
2 edits | reply to rcabor
said by rcabor :actually due to the nature of evaporation, rainwater is relativly soft compared to tap or well water. what does evaporation have to do with the mineral content of the water?
not all tap water is well water.
You should see the crap that is left on my car after a rain.
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SteveCon
IBEW 2222 Boston, MA
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Burlington, MA
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1 edit | said by avd706 :said by rcabor :actually due to the nature of evaporation, rainwater is relativly soft compared to tap or well water. what does evaporation have to do with the mineral content of the water? Minerals are left on surfaces when water is evaporated - hence the term "mineral deposits". Minerals can not evaporate
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avd706
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Union, NJ
1 edit | said by SteveCon :said by avd706 :said by rcabor :actually due to the nature of evaporation, rainwater is relativly soft compared to tap or well water. what does evaporation have to do with the mineral content of the water? Minerals are left on surfaces when water is evaporated - hence the term "mineral deposits". Minerals can not evaporate Exactly, so it is due to the nature of the mineral content of the waters source, nothing to do with the "nature of evaporation".
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Tyreman
join:2002-10-08
3 edits | reply to Sly
Whats the layout of the house back split, open concept 2 story etc?
high ceilings?
High heat gain area windows southern exposure no drapes, more sun on etc?
ductwork is good?
If its a 2 ton and it looks like the sticker nomenclature indicates that...sized okay?
also install a thermometer in the supply air duct above the coil and in the return if the temperature is between 15-20 degrees difference then thats not bad.
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Lurch77
Stop looking at me.
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| reply to avd706
said by avd706 :Exactly, so it is due to the nature of the mineral content of the waters source, nothing to do with the "nature of evaporation". You seem to know it pretty well. Tell you what, go run a sprinkler on your condensing unit for the rest of the summer, and maybe next summer too, and tell us how it works out. Unless you have soft water, set some money aside for a new condenser. Natural rain and domestic water are two different animals. And rain does not continuously coat the coil either.
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Sly
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Johnson City, TN
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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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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
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Tulsa, OK
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| 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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Sly
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Johnson City, TN
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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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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
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| 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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aeblank
join:2004-09-07
Cadillac, MI
| reply to Sly
From what I can see, it's really just a heat exchanger, a circulator, and some controls. The controls maintain a hot water temp in the useful range (120+) by varying the flow through the exchanger.
A perfect system would be a heat pump (that dumps its heat into the ground--therefore very efficent) but with a desuperheater inline before the ground loop to create some hot water for free (less purchase price and electricity).
I've never understood dumping the heat into the air. The air is 100 and the ground is 50. Not to mention fan noise. |
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Sly
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Johnson City, TN
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| Yea, me neither. What you described is a ground source heat pump with a desuperheater option. They do exist but are very expensive to install...
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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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aeblank
join:2004-09-07
Cadillac, MI
| said by Sly :Yea, me neither. What you described is a ground source heat pump with a desuperheater option. They do exist but are very expensive to install... I have access to a back hoe, I can run the ground loops. I plumbed my entire furnace setup, so I can tie in the desuperheater. I just need to find a kickass hvac guy to work with me on this. That's all. =) |
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