|
iForge posted:with similar energy savings through variable speed components. Just getting into the current generation of technology is going to have a noticeable difference in your electric bill. From there it's splitting hairs. All of these things are orders of magnitude and checking the variable speed box is what gets you the difference. One service call will eat all energy savings for the first 5 years between the 16 and 18 SEER units. Replacing these modern variable speed units with stuff in the 20 seer range is going to be so disappointing to people remembering going from their 1980's ->2000->201x model year units barring some massive breakthrough. Most of your gains from there need to be coupled with building envelope improvements.
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2019 17:22
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 15:37 |
|
|
iForge posted:Let me preface this by saying that while I do have some knowledge here, I am not a residential tech. I do commercial/industrial service work. Bear in mind, the more expensive your install, the longer it takes to break even on energy savings. The more complicated the equipment, the more parts there are to fail at some point, and the higher the cost of those replacement parts and the labor time to troubleshoot/install goes up as well. I tend to lean more towards simplicity rather than energy savings for the long haul. H110Hawk posted:Just getting into the current generation of technology is going to have a noticeable difference in your electric bill. From there it's splitting hairs. All of these things are orders of magnitude and checking the variable speed box is what gets you the difference. One service call will eat all energy savings for the first 5 years between the 16 and 18 SEER units. Thank you both! Yeah, Company 3's salesman/"comfort specialist" had said that two-stage at this point is very reliable, whereas while variable speed is more reliable than it used to be, he wouldn't consider quite as reliable yet as two-stage. It's not a huge jump from two-stage to the XV18 for most of the quotes though, which is part of why I've been favoring going with variable speed. Company 2 also provided a quote for the XV20i, but that was $3k more than going with the XV18, and it seemed like the XV18 was the nice balance between getting variable speed but also getting it affordably. I meant to add originally, the only main things that somewhat made me hesitant with Company 2 was that I'm not sure if he did a Manual J or not. I think they would, but it might not be until I signed the contract. He also had said that he would be comfortable putting me in a 4-ton unit for my house, and would certify it in writing, whereas Companies 1 and 3 both did Manual Js, and interestingly both came in around ~ 4.9 tons needed. They also were the only two who said that my return duct size was undersized; Company 2 mentioned it probably was based on the sizes (20"x30"), but offered to put in a return more to help evacuate the heat from the hot room instead of due to wanting one to help the furnace/blower. I was also surprised that Company 2 was willing to do extra returns for $250 instead of everyone else's quotes being $600-700 or more. He mentioned that they're essentially charging for materials and some labor because they're already on site, in the attic, etc., and so it's not a huge effort to do it and they mostly need to know up front so they incorporate it into the return plenum. But the fact they're charging 1/3rd the cost gave me pause.
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2019 19:59
|
|
|
SourKraut posted:It's not a huge jump from two-stage to the XV18 for most of the quotes though, which is part of why I've been favoring going with variable speed. If you have a good building around it (insulation, double paned windows, generally sealed up / not leaky, lighter colored roof, radiant barrier as a bonus, and heat generation things aren't dumping into the house) then you might see a huge benefit from the variable speed ones. They will run all day long at their lowest speed and use almost no power doing it. You actually have to get over any previous training to adjust your thermostat - if it holds temperature well it can use more power to bring it down at full bore than just sitting there doing its thing all day right at your set point.
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2019 20:12
|
|
|
H110Hawk posted:If you have a good building around it (insulation, double paned windows, generally sealed up / not leaky, lighter colored roof, radiant barrier as a bonus, and heat generation things aren't dumping into the house) then you might see a huge benefit from the variable speed ones. They will run all day long at their lowest speed and use almost no power doing it. You actually have to get over any previous training to adjust your thermostat - if it holds temperature well it can use more power to bring it down at full bore than just sitting there doing its thing all day right at your set point. Our house was a typical early-90s wood frame builder grade, built by Beazer... The last person mentioned that I have R44 insulation level when they were in the attic, but not sure how that factors into the walls and such. Everyone is single pane window unfortunately. Single story house, clay tile roof (tan/light brown colored) with fabric moisture barrier beneath, and items for heat dumping I’m assuming are like our gas WH (garage) and furnace (attic) dump into unconditioned but ventilated spaces.
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2019 20:46
|
|
|
I live in an apartment building with a gas furnace that creates hot water for domestic use and heating. There is a metal radiator in each room, full of hot water. Only, sometimes it's not as hot as I would expect and the experts seem to speak a different language from a far more specialized world whenever I talk to them. Thus, I take this as an opportunity and incentive to learn more. I want to understand what the experts who do the furnace setup are talking about. Are there some resources online that can help me understand the theory behind the setup of heating control systems? E.g. how are temperature curves designed? I see in the control system various settings obviously designed to define some sort of temperature curve (Of what? Circuit inflow control based on return temp?) but what I lack is the theory to understand what the impact of any of these parameters is on the whole system operation. The heating is a two-pipe system with thermostatic valves on each radiator. Fairly standard stuff, at least in these parts of Europe. I see from the design drawings that the system is configured as: Q=130 kW, t1/t2 70C/50C, q=1.5 l/s, P=20kPa The local experts tell me the system is supposed to keep 70C water in the circuit, with the return being 50C, so the 20C of difference is distributed as heat. Makes sense. Matches the numbers on the drawing. But how am I supposed to reconcile this with the boiler room's outflow pipe temperature gauge showing me 35C during daytime hours when the controller is supposedly in its normal operating mode (and should be delivering 70C)? Surely there must be more to the logic than just delivering a flat 70C. I want to understand the operating principles of such systems - where do I find online materials for this?
|
|
#
?
Oct 21, 2019 16:31
|
|
|
Honestly, one of the best places to start is going to the the O&M manual for your boiler. From what you are describing, you have a fairly new condensing boiler. I doubt you have any additional controls beyond what can be programmed in the boiler itself. Some have reset schedules that will adjust the discharge temp of the water based on outside air temp. This is probably why you are seeing the discharge temp varying from what the system is designed for. The manual for the boiler will probably have all this info, although you would have to know exactly how the boiler is programmed to know for sure. Like this manual for an Aerco boiler. http://aerco.com/sites/default/files/document/document/OMM-0081_0G_GF-131_ACS_AERCO-Control-System_11-22-17.pdf Starting on page 105 will show you all the various temperatures the boiler could be running at based on outside air temp, and however the boiler is set up.
|
|
#
?
Oct 21, 2019 19:07
|
|
|
That's a good idea. I found a manual that seems to be more or less for the control device we have, purely based on visual match (though I can probably ask the furnace guys what the exact model is - there are no labels anywhere visible on the control device). The manual is for "Modulex E8", the control panel of which looks like this: I will do a thorough comparison of what the manual says and what the device is configured to do and come back with some specific questions. Meanwhile, there seems to be some terminology here that maybe you can clear up for me. When the manual talks of "configuring the reset mode", what does the word "reset" refer to? Does "header temperature" mean the temperature of water going out from the boiler room?
|
|
#
?
Oct 21, 2019 20:30
|
|
|
EssOEss posted:That's a good idea. I found a manual that seems to be more or less for the control device we have, purely based on visual match (though I can probably ask the furnace guys what the exact model is - there are no labels anywhere visible on the control device). The manual is for "Modulex E8", the control panel of which looks like this: Reset is essentially the temperature setting for the boiler. The boiler will operate on a reset schedule that dictates the discharge temp of the boiler based on outside air temp. It’s just a linear relationship with max and min temps. Like this.  Header temp is the discharge temp of the boiler. Header refers to the main pipe that would be connecting multiple boilers in a row. If you had multiple boilers.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2019 01:24
|
|
|
As an update, Company #2 told me that they hadn't planned to include manual dampers at the supply plenum takeoff but can include them, and also that for their returns, they were going to use R6 flex duct, but can use R8 if I want (which is what the other two had said they'd use). Doesn't quite explain why they were 1/3rd the cost of the others, but I'll take it. From reading, since we're not zoning the house but will be on a variable speed system, it seemed like the dampers are a decent way to try to get some ability to adjust/balance to all of the rooms, at least moreso than trying to use the registers.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2019 05:35
|
|
|
If they aren't very carefully sizing the supply ducts to each room to balance the system vs the manual J calcs they did, yes, manual dampers in each supply duct would be how you would do your balancing. Manual dampers in the ducts are really cheap if they're regular round sheetmetal ones, if they're rectangular ducts or flex they're more expensive I believe because they're prefabricated pieces you build into the ductwork instead of just punching two holes in the duct and slipping a damper in. But if it's round duct they can use top takeoffs from the trunk duct that have a damper built in anyways.
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2019 12:11
|
|
|
Reading the operating manual of the furnace control system answered all my questions nicely. Turns out some of the info the furnace guys had told me was flat out wrong, hence my confusion - they said external temperature is not a factor in heating but when I went through the configuration and manual, it's there clear as day. I discovered the heating gradient was set very low, so it would effectively never even reach the values in the original system design plans. Huh, weird but might explain why people complain about the heating! I also looked up the manual for the heating circuit pump and here some questions arise. It is a Grundfos Magna 32-100. Configured to run at max setpoint value, constantly running and at proportional-pressure control. This is what the setup manual says:  First, what is "head loss"? Is that the same as the "dimensioned pump head" the 2nd column mentions? The only pressure related value I see is "P=20kPa" in the design drawings, which Google says corresponds to approximately 2 meters of head - are these three things all the same or are there multiple different concepts being talked about here? Does "head loss" equate to "pressure drop", in the sense of e.g. thermostatic valves opening up with cold temperatures and increasing water demand meaning an increase in head loss? The manual further says under "Setpoint setting" that "A too high setting may result in noise in the system whereas a too low setting may result in insufficient heat in some places of the heating system". Well, the latter is indeed a problem! The apartments further out from the boiler room are getting distinctly less heat (we did a survey and the complaints were quite well correlated with distance from boiler room). Now, the setpoint is at 100%, so I would wager that it being "too low" is not really a factor here. But what I am wondering is whether the pump configuration for proportional pressure might be inappropriate for our use case. After all, if the furnace experts who set it up tell me it is not external temperature driven and I now after poking I find out that it is, my confidence in their configuration drops like a stone! One option on our table is to see if configuring the pump to constant pressure might improve the performance of the system (in delivering heat also to apartments further away from the boiler room). Does this option make sense and if so, what side-effects and related factors should we consider if we decide to perform this experiment? There's also an "auto" mode that the manual recommends be used. EssOEss fucked around with this message at 18:06 on Oct 23, 2019 |
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2019 17:29
|
|
|
I have a 3 year old American Standard heating unit. It was recently not igniting and throwing a code that there was a pressure switch issue. Tech came out (twice) and found on the second trip that there was a clog of weird white gunk inside the molded drainage outlet from the inducer. Cool! My question is what causes that and what can I do to prevent it? Seems like a weird fluke but I’d rather not pay another $300 3 years from now for him to take the thing apart again to clean out a couple of grams worth of gunk from a drain opening.
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2019 20:01
|
|
|
stupid puma posted:
The answer is you take the thing apart every two years to clean the gunk out. "Head loss" is usually a term for the resistance to water flow of a heating system. In electronics it is the equivalent of Z or impedance. In order to answer your pump setting question accurately you need to total up the length, diameter, and number of fittings in your piping system, the height change and type of all the radiators, the model of boilers, expansion tank, air scoop and other accessories, then add a coefficient for flow changes due to age (gunk buildup in the pipes will reduce flow, internal corrosion may increase it) Then plot it against that pump's performance curve and figure out whether you are in the "high head loss" or "low head loss" for that circ pump. Or you can set it to automatic. Your call. Also asking people if their unit heats is the worst way to find out if it heats. Comfort is subjective.
|
|
#
?
Oct 23, 2019 23:38
|
|
|
MRC48B posted:In order to answer your pump setting question accurately you need to total up the length, diameter, and number of fittings in your piping system, the height change and type of all the radiators, the model of boilers, expansion tank, air scoop and other accessories, then add a coefficient for flow changes due to age (gunk buildup in the pipes will reduce flow, internal corrosion may increase it) There's a "P=20 kPa" on the design drawings. This seems to be the only pressure listed for the heating circuit (there's another, higher, value for the domestic hot water circuit). Would it be sensible to assume the system designer already did this figuring out and this is the number listed? Or is some other pressure more prominent and more likely what this value refers to?
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2019 10:42
|
|
|
EssOEss posted:There's a "P=20 kPa" on the design drawings. This seems to be the only pressure listed for the heating circuit (there's another, higher, value for the domestic hot water circuit). Your questions are mostly answered by, "it's complicated". The engineer is going to estimate what he thinks pressure loss in the system will be based on design, hopefully they get close to reality. Do you have pressure gauges on the entering and leaving side of the pump? That will be an easy way to tell how much pressure loss you have in the system, although the best way to judge this is to make sure the pump is running at 100%, and all heating elements are open. This way you have the pump running at max, while also in your worst case scenario for heat. How big is your building? How many units? How old is your building, or at least how long ago was everything piped? That will matter how you decide to do proportional control or constant pressure. Was your water system balanced? Is it piped direct return or reverse return? Not getting enough heat at the end of the run could be the result of an undersized pump, or it could be that your system isn't balanced properly. What you need to do is google basic hydronic system design and read through that. This will give you a start. http://lowara.com/2017/05/12/choose-correct-speed-control-heating-systems/ Are you the building engineer or something? Why are you the one troubleshooting all this?
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2019 17:08
|
|
|
Bird in a Blender posted:Your questions are mostly answered by, "it's complicated". The engineer is going to estimate what he thinks pressure loss in the system will be based on design, hopefully they get close to reality. Do you have pressure gauges on the entering and leaving side of the pump? I have a pressure gauge on the entering and leaving side of the heating water circuit (entering and leaving the boiler room). Is that good enough? I will take a look at the readings tomorrow. Bird in a Blender posted:How big is your building? How many units? How old is your building, or at least how long ago was everything piped? That will matter how you decide to do proportional control or constant pressure. Built 2007, 43 apartments on 4 floors. Bird in a Blender posted:Was your water system balanced? Is it piped direct return or reverse return? Not getting enough heat at the end of the run could be the result of an undersized pump, or it could be that your system isn't balanced properly. I assume it should have been balanced when it was built in 2007. Of course that was the era of builders faking things, so we have found plenty of mismatches between theory and reality in other parts of the building; I would not be surprised if there was some funny business somewhere. It is direct return. Bird in a Blender posted:What you need to do is google basic hydronic system design and read through that. This will give you a start. http://lowara.com/2017/05/12/choose-correct-speed-control-heating-systems/ Great! Will do! Bird in a Blender posted:Are you the building engineer or something? Why are you the one troubleshooting all this? I am not sure what the term is in the rest of the world but I am the apartment owner's representative, so to speak. Ideally, I would want to be the guy telling the furnace experts what we want and just signing the invoices. However, as it took 5 conversations with the furnace guys to even get them to say "No the system has no relation to outside air temperature" and even this proved to be false, I think it prudent to become more self-sufficient and get to know the system.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2019 20:25
|
|
|
EssOEss posted:I have a pressure gauge on the entering and leaving side of the heating water circuit (entering and leaving the boiler room). Is that good enough? I will take a look at the readings tomorrow. quote:Built 2007, 43 apartments on 4 floors. Yes, direct return can be a real problem if not balanced properly. All the closest units will take up the water flow, starving the units at the far end of the main. It's a longshot, but if you have access to the record documents when the building was built, you may be able to see if you can find a balance report. You could also hire a test & balance contractor to rebalance the system for you. At least in the US, a lot of regular mechanical/HVAC contractors are not equipped to do balancing. What you describe to me is a balancing issue, not a boiler issue. Possibly a pump issue if it is undersized, but the balancer can help figure that out.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2019 21:01
|
|
|
EssOEss posted:There's a "P=20 kPa" on the design drawings. This seems to be the only pressure listed for the heating circuit (there's another, higher, value for the domestic hot water circuit). 20 kPa is possibly the design differential pressure the pumps are supposed to put across the system. EssOEss posted:I am not sure what the term is in the rest of the world but I am the apartment owner's representative, so to speak. Ideally, I would want to be the guy telling the furnace experts what we want and just signing the invoices. However, as it took 5 conversations with the furnace guys to even get them to say "No the system has no relation to outside air temperature" and even this proved to be false, I think it prudent to become more self-sufficient and get to know the system. You should stop asking random goons on the internet, who can't actually see and walk around your building, and find yourself a mechanical engineering contractor you trust. The key word is Engineering. Not "bunch of people who fix furnaces". You need someone who can actually deal with a multi-story hydronic system that may have been poorly designed and implemented, or may just need a repair somewhere. All we can do here is blindly answer your questions, without knowing the context you are asking them in, or if you are even asking the right ones for your problem.
|
|
#
?
Oct 24, 2019 23:59
|
|
|
The blind answers are already very helpful! I checked the pressure gauges and going out from boiler room shows 3.6 bar and coming back in 3.2 bar. So that converts to 4 meters of head, approximately. I assume the numbers will change as the thermostatic valves open and close? It can be a real challenge to find qualified people in this part of the woods. I was recently talking to some engineers about balancing the system but their feedback was along the lines of "Well we could but it's a lot of bother and we're busy so how about you just talk to people and convince them they're not cold instead".
|
|
#
?
Oct 25, 2019 07:57
|
|
|
EssOEss posted:The blind answers are already very helpful! I think the term that aligns with you are doing over here is the Building Superintendent.
|
|
#
?
Oct 25, 2019 15:47
|
|
|
EssOEss posted:The blind answers are already very helpful! Well another question for you is, do you actually have balance valves installed? I don't do much with thermostatic radiator valves, but I don't think they have adjustments for balancing. You may just have regular shutoff ball valves, in which case, balancing the system will be extremely difficult to impossible.
|
|
#
?
Oct 25, 2019 18:53
|
|
|
There are these things in strategic locations, which seem to resemble balancing valves according to my minimal Google-derived knowledge. Confirm/deny?
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2019 18:13
|
|
|
So since it's getting colder I'm now doing battle again with Bertha (my steam boiler). For now she's been pretty good, but one issue started that I can't figure out. One of the radiators make a really loud whistling and rushing noise when the boiler turns off and it cools off. It's pretty normal when it is burning and heating up, but after it the heat turns off and the system cools off it makes this wicked noise when I suppose it's pulling cold air in as the steam/water is vacating and making a vacuum. I replaced the valve with a Vari-valve (one of these guys:  ) this year since it used to have a super old nasty valve that was covered in years of rust and paint. Maybe i need to open or close it more? I also need to go around and adjust the level on all the radiators, but I'd like to get to the bottom of the rushing sound too.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2019 14:09
|
|
|
EssOEss posted:There are these things in strategic locations, which seem to resemble balancing valves according to my minimal Google-derived knowledge. Confirm/deny? Yes, the valve on the right is a balancing valve.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2019 14:17
|
|
|
We got a brand new Trane system installed a month ago. Just tried to kick the heater on for the first time (AC has worked fine) and it doesn't work. Nest acts like it's on, but there's nothing blowing. Any quick tips before I call the HVAC company? edit: I reset it but that didn't work. Maybe I should do a full factory reset. BonoMan fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Oct 27, 2019 |
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2019 16:10
|
|
|
check to make sure they didn't leave the gas off.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2019 16:18
|
|
|
MRC48B posted:check to make sure they didn't leave the gas off. At the unit in the attic? Sorry I'm clearly very novice here! edit: Ok here's the gas valve coming into the unit. I'm guessing it's on. 
BonoMan fucked around with this message at 17:05 on Oct 27, 2019 |
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2019 16:40
|
|
|
BonoMan posted:We got a brand new Trane system installed a month ago. Just tried to kick the heater on for the first time (AC has worked fine) and it doesn't work. Nest acts like it's on, but there's nothing blowing. Any quick tips before I call the HVAC company? A month ago? Just call them to come fix it. The more you gently caress with it the more likely it is they will say you broke it. If they try to charge you just thank them for their service and how grateful you are for the good will service. If they insist you will know that they should never be called again and need a 1 star yelp review.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2019 17:44
|
|
|
H110Hawk posted:A month ago? Just call them to come fix it. The more you gently caress with it the more likely it is they will say you broke it. If they try to charge you just thank them for their service and how grateful you are for the good will service. No they'll come fix it for free. Just while I wait, since it's a Sunday, I was hoping there was a simple "oh for the Nest you just need to reset ..." fix real quick.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2019 17:58
|
|
|
BonoMan posted:No they'll come fix it for free. Just while I wait, since it's a Sunday, I was hoping there was a simple "oh for the Nest you just need to reset ..." fix real quick. My suggestion is to throw the nest in the trash where it belongs but that has nothing to do with your heating problem. I just really dislike iot garbage, especially the stuff peddled by Google and Amazon.  (But yeah, I would wait impatiently. It sucks as a problem solver but it's sometimes the best strategy.)
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2019 18:38
|
|
|
I honestly don't know if this is a thing still but make sure the thermostat is set to heat mode not ac mode.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2019 02:08
|
|
|
Nest thermostats have heat, cool, heat AND cool (like it sounds, you set upper and lower temps and it switches between the heater and AC on its own), and off modes. So yeah, very much a thing. OP, is your thermostat showing the temp in orange or blue? If it's blue, it's still in cool mode. BonoMan posted:edit: Ok here's the gas valve coming into the unit. I'm guessing it's on. It's on. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 08:02 on Oct 30, 2019 |
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2019 07:59
|
|
|
STR posted:Nest thermostats have heat, cool, heat AND cool (like it sounds, you set upper and lower temps and it switches between the heater and AC on its own), and off modes. So yeah, very much a thing. No it was definitely set to heat. I've had it for about 4 years now so very familiar with the heating and cooling modes (I know y'all are just covering your bases though). Turns out that they just "left a wire unplugged" during the install of the Trane. All good now!
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2019 12:53
|
|
|
Having our system replaced today. Ended up going with Contractor #2; we’re doing the Trans XV18 variable speed condenser with variable speed blower and two stage heating. I’m really excited. They are going to install manual dampers in the supplies at the plenum connections too.
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2019 18:34
|
|
|
They shouldn't have to install them, you can buy takeoffs with the damper already in them. The ones I used are rectangular to 8in round and right angle, they're available in a vast assortment of configurations.
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2019 12:06
|
|
|
When you buy the ultra high-efficiency (anything more than a 2 stage compressor) residential split-systems you have decided the following: 1) I am willing to pay 20% more than the equipment is worth because of reported energy-savings realized in a laboratory setting. 2) I understand that literally no one is going to locally stock or carry the parts required to fix this machine back to 100% (meaning when it goes down at the height of the summer or the dead of winter and you NEED it, it's going to get rigged. Bye Bye variable speed!). I am A-OK with downtimes in excess of a week up to a month while the repairman waits on parts. 3) I am fine with having an approximately 5% chance that the person servicing this machine is the guy who went to the class on how to fix the machine and not just the closest tech to me when the service call is placed. It's totally cool that he jumps out my ambient sensor with a piece of 16 wire and my outdoor unit thinks it's -20 degrees at all times loving up all its calculations and making the unit run worse than a basic on-off system. 4) I am fine with the fact that for every dollar I've saved in electricity over the course of however many years between service calls, I've paid back $1.25 to the serviceman for parts and repairs. Residential split-system equipment is just not there yet. I've got one of these whiz-bang fuckers in my house. It makes sense and works great for me, but only because I can repair it when it goes down and know how to maintain it. Unless you are OK with the above, just get a 14 SEER banger and run it until it drops. You're playing with your rear end putting a more efficient HVAC system in the same drafty house anyhow. Now, variable refrigerant flow like is common to most mini-splits (ductless) and Mitsubishi City-Multi units is the future. Variable expansion devices with variable compressors and variable speed outdoor motors. You service it with a laptop. Leave the gauges in the truck. That's how it's done properly. But bring your checkbook.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2019 19:44
|
|
to give you this shitty icon and give Lowtax his cyborg spine parts
|
Smackdillion posted:3) I am fine with having an approximately 5% chance that the person servicing this machine is the guy who went to the class on how to fix the machine and not just the closest tech to me when the service call is placed. It's totally cool that he jumps out my ambient sensor with a piece of 16 wire and my outdoor unit thinks it's -20 degrees at all times loving up all its calculations and making the unit run worse than a basic on-off system. Even something as simple as a two-stage compressor. I inherited a 5 year old 2-stage HP when I moved into my house. Only because I'm such a data nerd did I realize that the Ecobee was not configured to ever kick on the second stage. I had to confirm that the installers did actually wire up the second stage to the correct relay on the Ecobee board, which they did, but the settings on the Ecobee weren't turned on. That probably cost me serious $$ the first Winter I lived here with the HP cutting over to backup heat well before it needed to. Finding a tech that isn't a complete hack is almost impossible. If the thing blows warm/cold, the tech is headed to lunch; he's not sticking around to make sure it's running at top efficiency. You can bet, however, that the '$400' capacitor is going to be perfectly in-spec.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2019 21:07
|
|
|
It is there but just in the bay area  .The fact that these systems are used pretty much everywhere outside of the US speaks to their effectiveness. It's just that adoption takes time, so only major cities will have all of the people servicing + easy available parts. For heavens sake, the mini splits + coolant + replacement parts are at our local HVAC supply stores here, but for 'purposes of protecting the industry', they are unwilling to give anything out to anybody but a HVAC contractor.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2019 23:38
|
|
|
B-Nasty posted:Finding a tech that isn't a complete hack is almost impossible. If the thing blows warm/cold, the tech is headed to lunch; he's not sticking around to make sure it's running at top efficiency. You can bet, however, that the '$400' capacitor is going to be perfectly in-spec. Confirming that we suck, but wait till you meet the rest of the industry.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2019 00:09
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 15:37 |
|
|
B-Nasty posted:Finding a tech that isn't a complete hack is almost impossible. If the thing blows warm/cold, the tech is headed to lunch; he's not sticking around to make sure it's running at top efficiency. You can bet, however, that the '$400' capacitor is going to be perfectly in-spec. 99% of people are not willing to pay for the amount of time it takes to dial a system in on a service call. So much of doing hvac properly is "hurry up and wait". People don't generally like to pay anyone they don't view as having worked furiously for the entirety of the service call.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2019 13:02
|
|