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Bird in a Blender posted:Steam or water? I haven’t seen any issues getting chemicals lately. Water treatment for steam boilers. We're good on alkalinity, oxygen scavenger and line chemicals but phosphate is going to be iffy. I am just wondering if I should be ordering a year ahead (yes it is almost September, we'll prob be running by the end of October and yes I should have absolutely just ordered it when we laid up for the summer). I am trying to figure out if it's logistics issues and I can hand wave concerns away with "loving Brandon, ameyeright?" or if our rep meets his quarterly goal and stops ordering until the next quarter.
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Aug 29, 2022 16:12
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Based on what I'm seeing in computer land I would order a 12 month buffer assuming they don't expire, so your next order would be 18 months of chemicals. One way to find out is to call another supplier and do a stock check. "Not hope to arrive, on order, etc, I mean I'm out in 3 days and need to exchange money for speed in-stock."
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Aug 29, 2022 16:39
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So for 3 weeks now, my apartment has been sitting at a comfortable 75% relative humidity. Landlord is being next to useless. He has a contract with some maintenance company but they just sent out some stupid goons 3 times who did nothing and obviously didn't have any sort of HVAC expertise. He assured me that cleaning the filter would fix the humidity problem. I've been telling them from the beginning that it's either busted evaporator coils or a clog in the condensate line. After the 3 dumb maintenance goons came out and I continued complaining, landlord forked out the big bucks for a "specialist". He came and - granted he lowered the air speed so I'm no longer living in the wake of a jet engine (which is great) - he was able to confirm my lovely $10 hygrometer is accurate and my AC is blasting out 74% humid air despite outside being 34% humid. Other than that, he didn't fix poo poo. I then forked out $65 of my own money to get some HVAC guys out, it was a total scam. They cleaned my outside unit, despite me telling them I really don't think it'll make a difference. They then blasted refrigerant down the condensate drain line and asked me if I could see any water coming out into the outlet, I told them yeah I can see a trickle. They then assured me the job was done and my humidity would lower. Nope. https://streamable.com/jyh63x This is a video of my AC unit and the drip pan. I should have taken a video before I poured a bunch of hot vinegar water in. There was a lot of standing water inside and none of it was going down the drain. Once I added water, it was slowly going down the drain but I feel like there's a whole section of the pan that just isn't shifting water towards the drain. What are my options to remedy this myself? I've got the guys I paid money to coming back tomorrow, so I'm hoping I can direct them and somehow fix this. Backstory is I live in a Middle Eastern country and business reputation / professionalism doesn't exist, companies just hire untrained people and charge $65 for crappy service and pocket the change. Humidity gets down to like 55% if I put the fan on auto. With the fan on constantly, the humidity drops when it's cooling and then rockets up to like 80% once the cooling stops and the fan just blows, which makes sense. However, I can keep the fan on auto, I'll get zero sleep at night because the thing sounds like a mini bomb going off every time it kicks on, and it cycles every 10 minutes. I also had zero issues with this during the peak of summer, I had the fan on constantly and humidity was a perfect 42%, and it wasn't constantly cooling either. Humidity drops if I turn the AC off completely. Qubee fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Aug 29, 2022 |
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Aug 29, 2022 18:20
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NC Wyeth Death Cult posted:Water treatment for steam boilers. We're good on alkalinity, oxygen scavenger and line chemicals but phosphate is going to be iffy. I am just wondering if I should be ordering a year ahead (yes it is almost September, we'll prob be running by the end of October and yes I should have absolutely just ordered it when we laid up for the summer). You handle the treatment yourself and don't have a chemical treatment company do all that for you? I'd say just order at least 6 months ahead just so you don't have issues. As long as you can store a few extra barrels.
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Aug 29, 2022 19:09
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Qubee posted:he was able to confirm my lovely $10 hygrometer is accurate and my AC is blasting out 74% humid air despite outside being 34% humid Thats not now that works though. Its Humidity Relative to the Temperature. The hotter the air, the more water it holds. You can be at 74% at 68f inside and have LESS water in the air than 34% at 95f outside. That said, we aren't really going to be able to help you via forum post. You need a tech who doesn't suck to evaluate your airflow, charge level, and coil condition. The short cycling is also a clue. How long have you been in this place?
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Aug 30, 2022 00:04
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I moved in at the end of May, never had an issue until 3 weeks ago. RH used to always sit around 42% which I know for a fact because I wanted to buy a humidifier to make it slightly higher for my birds. The air always smelled fresh. The past 3 weeks it just decided to go mental. I'll come home after work and the whole place smells of mold and damp. I go to bed at night and my bed is just moist and sticky and horrible feeling. There has been insane outside humidity which started around the same time my AC started having difficulties maintaining a comfortable level (3 weeks ago). So my initial guess was the strain of removing all the moisture from the air just caused it to get busted. I told my landlord I'll withhold my rent if this isn't sorted, someone is coming today. They're gonna properly tilt the drip pan so the water isn't just sitting stagnant and will actually flow towards the drain. Qubee fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Aug 30, 2022 |
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Aug 30, 2022 06:03
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So our chemical tech got back to us and said that everything is 100% now so we should be getting what we need next week. Tune in next time for me trying to explain to tenants how radiation heat works, why they shouldn't close all the office doors at night and no, you have to pay for a fan-powered toaster in your ceiling if you want heat in the core of your suite. Bird in a Blender posted:You handle the treatment yourself and don't have a chemical treatment company do all that for you? I'd say just order at least 6 months ahead just so you don't have issues. As long as you can store a few extra barrels. Chemical company comes in once a month to test the boilers and orders what we need for the short term. His solution for every issue is "order more chemicals and shorten the time between blow downs". Right now, we have enough of everything but phosphate to get through the season (October to April) + layup. I am trying to see if anyone else is having issues getting chemicals or if our chemical guy is not being forthright or serving bigger customers before us. He's the guy who told us at the start of logistics issues that his company has been hoarding and they can get anything we need and he waited until we had half-chem tanks left to get it delivered. I can't do anything about this person or his company but I can try to lead him more. NC Wyeth Death Cult fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Aug 30, 2022 |
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Aug 30, 2022 12:19
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I've seen some things about rebates or incentives on heat pumps in the IRA. Anyone know of a good source or into from HVAC installer industry groups with details?
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Sep 4, 2022 20:28
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When using a heat pump for indoor heating in the winter in a cold climate (with plenty of snow), does the outside unit create condensate water that needs to be diverted away before it turns into a mountain of ice? I have one contractor saying heating mode does not create condensate anywhere, another one saying yes this is a problem, so I am a bit confused and would like a goon opinion. The unit in question is Mitsubishi Electric MSZ-LN25
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Sep 6, 2022 10:30
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There will be condensation. When it's cold enough ice will form. How much depends on ambient temperature and humidity. The heat pump will periodically de-ice itself as a part of normal operation when the sensor values indicate this is needed. You don't have to think about it apart from periodically checking that the outside unit's drainage isn't clogged. Depending on the surroundings som heat pumps tend to ingest leaves and such and if so you'll have to unclog more frequently. I give mine an annual inspection so I'll remember but it's too frequent.
Invalido fucked around with this message at 11:25 on Sep 6, 2022 |
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Sep 6, 2022 11:05
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If it’s so cold out that you’re worried about ice, then you won’t have to worry about condensation. The air is so dry you won’t get any, and if you did, you wouldn’t have condensation, you’d have frost, which would be a problem. The bigger thing is to make sure the unit is off the ground to avoid snow buildup.
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Sep 6, 2022 12:21
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Yes, if your outdoor unit is an iceball it means something is broken. Under normal operation they don't ice up much.
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Sep 7, 2022 01:52
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So I have a couple of these indoor Fujitsu units: AGU9RLF And they take these two little filters:  https://www.myfiltercompany.com/products/fujitsu-utr-fc03-2-utr-fc03-3-k9316474017-mini-split-ductless-filter-2-sets What do they do? I had the ductless guy back to do some service, and he was like eh, just through them away they aren't important. I used to have a buddy that worked for a Fujitsu wholesaler and he just gave them to me for cost (like $5) but now that I have to actually buy them, and they'll $100? And only last a couple months?
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Sep 13, 2022 15:28
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Lol oops. Mine don't have those. I just hose off the coarse filter.
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Sep 13, 2022 16:26
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H110Hawk posted:Lol oops. Mine don't have those. I just hose off the coarse filter. Me too, but those filters can't really protect from particles, since they don't cover the enter opening?
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Sep 13, 2022 16:32
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I'd probably just buy a lifetime supply here and call it a day... https://www.nordicpure.com/product/window-air-conditioner-filter-24-x-96-cut-to-fit-roll-1-pack/
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Sep 14, 2022 02:06
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Super-NintendoUser posted:What do they do? I had the ductless guy back to do some service, and he was like eh, just through them away they aren't important. I have a Mitsubishi with those and also wonder wtf they do. Edit: searched around and just got awful content farms but I think they're called "green tea filters" and help deodorize the room by filtering a small portion of the air moving though the ac. Pekinduck fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Sep 16, 2022 |
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Sep 16, 2022 17:53
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We're looking into putting an actual vented hood in our house. Because it's an old house, the only place to route the venting is into the crawlspace. As far as safety is concerned, is it a fire hazard to route a kitchen vent into a crawlspace that has the usual mesh openings, or should the vent be continued to the nearest wall under the house? (What's up to local code is a separate matter that I'll have to check locally.) Apart from that, anybody got favorite kitchen hood brands? We need a 36" hood for an electric stove; the issue is removing vaporized hot peppers and setting off the smoke alarm when heating cast-iron pans.
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Sep 16, 2022 20:32
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Arsenic Lupin posted:We're looking into putting an actual vented hood in our house. Because it's an old house, the only place to route the venting is into the crawlspace. As far as safety is concerned, is it a fire hazard to route a kitchen vent into a crawlspace that has the usual mesh openings, or should the vent be continued to the nearest wall under the house? (What's up to local code is a separate matter that I'll have to check locally.) It has to be vented outside of the house not only for fire safety purposes but also because the smoke is just going to seep up into your house anyway if it's hanging out in a crawlspace. I've got a Zephyr hood and like it. It think they are/used to be a bit more price competitive in their class than the rest of the usual suspects.
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Sep 16, 2022 20:39
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Motronic posted:It has to be vented outside of the house not only for fire safety purposes but also because the smoke is just going to seep up into your house anyway if it's hanging out in a crawlspace. 
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Sep 16, 2022 20:50
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You can run down and then across the crawlspace to vent out a wall though. Make sure when choosing where you want it to exhaust that it's also not under a window or near an air intake or near your AC. You don't want smokey and oily air getting into any HVAC equipment or anything. Code will have the necessary distances for those items too.
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Sep 17, 2022 14:43
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SpartanIvy posted:You can run down and then across the crawlspace to vent out a wall though. Also need to be sloped to the outside the whole way to deal with the inevitable condensation.
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Sep 17, 2022 15:18
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Recently had a new split system installed, and the air handler has a provision for a filter. Nothing is installed however (there’s filters on the two air returns though). The installation instructions briefly mention the filter with this note: quote:This product filter is only used for energy effciency sampling test, the user needs to use a filter that meets the requirements of UL900. I’m not sure if there was a filter installed and the contractor removed it or what. Is there something suspicious going on? Should I install a filter in the air handler?
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Sep 20, 2022 17:08
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the poi posted:Recently had a new split system installed, and the air handler has a provision for a filter. Nothing is installed however (there’s filters on the two air returns though). The installation instructions briefly mention the filter with this note: There was another filter in there (that is not for use as a filter for a home). You already have two filters, so you do not need to put one in this location. In fact, it was presumably air balanced without a filter there so you would be changing that balance by installing one. This is not a good thing.
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Sep 20, 2022 17:31
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Motronic posted:There was another filter in there (that is not for use as a filter for a home). You already have two filters, so you do not need to put one in this location. In fact, it was presumably air balanced without a filter there so you would be changing that balance by installing one. This is not a good thing. Excellent, thanks! Now if only they had properly sealed the air return duct so it wasn't drawing a bit of my attic air into the handler, that'd be great 
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Sep 23, 2022 20:54
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the poi posted:Excellent, thanks! Now if only they had properly sealed the air return duct so it wasn't drawing a bit of my attic air into the handler, that'd be great Ugh. That's a job for aluminum tape. If it's easier/faster for you you should feel safe in grabbing a roll and just taping that closed.
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Sep 23, 2022 21:46
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So a few months ago while I was out of town I was informed that the air conditioner in my house wasn't working. And that re-setting the breaker would cause it to trip hard. I then had the AC techs come out and per their report ."Tested Compressor Windings and discovered windings to be case grounded. Used megohmeter to confirm the winding insulation in damaged." So I'm thinking this will need a new compressor at a minimum. Preferrably a new capacitor too, and maybe even replacing the schrader valves. The quote I received is around $3700 + $299 per lb of refrigerant (R22). However, after looking around online... Wage Rate+Benefit Rate in my local area is around $75 an hour...lets assume an 10 hour day of labor is $750. That particular model of compressor can be had for about $1000 R22 refrigerant can be had for about $300 for 5 lbs. Capacitor and valve... not sure of the price but I'm guessing its below $100. So am I wrong in thinking this should cost between $2000-$2500 maximum, plus taxes?
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Sep 24, 2022 04:08
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Plus O&P. Plus they get to charge what they want, and you can choose to pay it. You can get 3 bids. If you have a r22 system that's dying you should really be replacing it as you're just sort of kicking the can a few yards down the road before the next part dies.
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Sep 24, 2022 06:06
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Senor P. posted:
Yeah. You’re wrong. That’s not the way businesses work. There’s a ton of overhead running a business most people don’t think about, plus profit. I also agree with H110, I wouldn’t pay 4500 bucks to repair an R22 system, when a change out in my area runs about 6000 for a basic single stage system. On a side note some of the richest people I knew growing up owned hvac or plumbing companies.
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Sep 24, 2022 07:30
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skipdogg posted:Yeah. You’re wrong. That’s not the way businesses work. There’s a ton of overhead running a business most people don’t think about, plus profit. This. Also they should be recovering and using the same refrigerant that came out of your system. Or I mean, they WILL be doing that and will only need to top up a few ounces at the end with new stuff. But they're gonna charge you for your own refrigerant. They pretty much all will. Don't fix resi R22 systems.
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Sep 24, 2022 15:01
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Basically you're like halfway to a business model for internal costs. Labor almost always being the top dollar item. The "O" in O&P is overhead (& profit.) The person picking up the phone and scheduling. Insurance. Them maintaining a business even when no one is on the schedule for half the day because it's neither hot nor cold out. That big truck/van they pulled up in costs $1000/month easy to keep on the road. Plus the tools inside. The list goes on. Plus residential r22 systems are all so so so old.
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Sep 24, 2022 15:29
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Motronic posted:This. Also they should be recovering and using the same refrigerant that came out of your system. Or I mean, they WILL be doing that and will only need to top up a few ounces at the end with new stuff. But they're gonna charge you for your own refrigerant. They pretty much all will. They shouldn't be reusing the same refrigerant on a compressor burnout - that refrigerant is very likely contaminated. I agree on not fixing R22 systems though - at best, patch it together long enough to limp it along until it can be replaced. But a residential swap out should be fairly easy to get, though it may not be your preferred brand right now.
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Sep 25, 2022 23:39
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Short to ground isn't necessarily a burnout, or even bad enough that filtration on recovery won't work. 3rd replace it though, you've got all winter.
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Sep 25, 2022 23:43
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I thought they generally sucked it all into a "dirty" can and brought it back to be cleaned, then filled from a clean cylinder? Or is that only when contamination is suspected?
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Sep 26, 2022 00:39
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H110Hawk posted:I thought they generally sucked it all into a "dirty" can and brought it back to be cleaned, then filled from a clean cylinder? Or is that only when contamination is suspected? It can be filtered during recovery. On a compressor swap you literally have the old compressor out so you can dump the oil and see what it looks and smells like. As already stated, a short to ground doesn't mean it's burnt. You can also smell the refrigerant while you're purging your lines. If you do enough of this work you will know if it smells off. If all looks good put in an oversized dryer and send it.
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Sep 26, 2022 14:17
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H110Hawk posted:Basically you're like halfway to a business model for internal costs. Labor almost always being the top dollar item. The "O" in O&P is overhead (& profit.) The person picking up the phone and scheduling. Insurance. Them maintaining a business even when no one is on the schedule for half the day because it's neither hot nor cold out. That big truck/van they pulled up in costs $1000/month easy to keep on the road. Plus the tools inside. The list goes on. Getting quoted $300 per gallon of refrigerant when 5 gallons is going for the same price, seems like a pretty clear example of getting ripped off. So a few more questions for the HVAC techs... -What is the current go to refrigerant of choice for US residential units? I just talked to my insurance de-ductible and it sounds like they'll go up to $500 -Is it worth trying to future proof? I've heard CO2 can be used as a refrigerant but I thought it was only for things like the mini splits. And is not common in the U.S. -As far as contaminants getting into the system goes... If that is the concern why not just remove all the refrigerant, sweep it good with Nitrogen, then reload clean refrigerant? We do that in petrochemicals for our big compressors. H110Hawk posted:I thought they generally sucked it all into a "dirty" can and brought it back to be cleaned, then filled from a clean cylinder? Or is that only when contamination is suspected?
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Sep 26, 2022 22:05
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Senor P. posted:While I agree with you there is overhead for vehicles, insurance, consumables, and tools. get another quote then. nobody posting here sets the prices for Reefer, and I think I can speak for all of us when we're tired of the complaints. Free market. dont like the price, go elsewhere. we're eating poo poo from price hikes at our suppliers too. quote:
The US lags behind the rest of the world on new referigerant adoption. 410a is the current standard for residential comfort cooling, but is beginning a phase out in favor of ???? (industry hasn't entirely decided yet) assuming we don't all get nuked next week whatever gets installed will likely be available or replaceable for the next 20 years. quote:-As far as contaminants getting into the system goes... because certain customers complain about 300$/lb for new refrigerant, vs 20 bucks for a recovery drier and 40 for a liquid line drier. quote:My understanding is there is a market for "used" refrigerant in the sense it can be unloaded from a system, sold to a buyer for processing and filtration. They can then process it, re-package it and re-sell it. Similar to how used motor oil is similarly refined and reused. They are not legally allowed to make "new" R-22, or R-12 refrigerant. But it is allowed to take existing supplies, clean them up, and sell them. this is correct. but the "reproccessed" refrigerant is exactly the same as "new", so it costs the same. and its not like we're going to reprocess and return YOUR specific R22. it goes in the tank with everyone elses from that week, then gets reprocessed when we get to the parts house to return it.
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Sep 26, 2022 22:28
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When an HVAC company brings refrigerant to be recycled, do they get money for it? I'll be honest, I was a little surprised when they drained my system and replaced it with new refrigerant when replacing the pressure switch. 2 year old system, no leaks, so I was sort of left wondering "why not just capture and reuse it? Or if my refrigerant is gonna go be reused elsewhere, why am I not getting like, a little cash back like a core return on a car battery? I assumed the answer was "a lot of stuff you don't understand, let it go", so I did.
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Sep 27, 2022 01:08
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Slugworth posted:When an HVAC company brings refrigerant to be recycled, do they get money for it? I'll be honest, I was a little surprised when they drained my system and replaced it with new refrigerant when replacing the pressure switch. 2 year old system, no leaks, so I was sort of left wondering "why not just capture and reuse it? Or if my refrigerant is gonna go be reused elsewhere, why am I not getting like, a little cash back like a core return on a car battery? I assumed the answer was "a lot of stuff you don't understand, let it go", so I did. I'm assuming they do get money for it, but I don't know. The only time I see people actually reuse refrigerant and not charge is in commercial. Homeowners get hosed on this. On the regular. On average the home system techs around here are also super inexperienced and just.....not good. Anybody who is good ends up doing commercial/refrigeration and hangs out on roofs minding package units and poo poo.
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Sep 27, 2022 14:15
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Motronic posted:I'm assuming they do get money for it, but I don't know. The only time I see people actually reuse refrigerant and not charge is in commercial. Homeowners get hosed on this. On the regular. I think it depends on how the business is set up and their local supply house. If they're sending it to their supply house, they might be getting charged if what I read on Reddit is accurate. However...outfits like this will buy older refrigerant (R22) including if it is contaminated. https://refrigerantsupply.com/r22-refrigerant/ Now that may not apply to all refrigerants. The current 410A might be a different story.
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Sep 29, 2022 22:42
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