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Yea, that makes a little more sense... (given I'm not there, and I'm not a hvac guy)... if you combine the two reports I'd come to the conclusion #1 is failing from my list. It's very possible the megohmmeter readings are indicating that. They're measuring different things, but your fan over amping is quite possibly related. Whatever you do, don't go with the first company you hired for anything else. If they diagnosed a bad fan and suggested oil for $290 they are 100% scamming you. For $290 I'd expect they'd be *replacing* the fan. ($290 is a little low for this, but it's really high for "I squirted some oil at the motor)
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Apr 13, 2023 01:28
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Thanks a ton for the help. We only used the first guys because that's who the POs used for years and years, they seemed super thorough and the giant list of readings they gave me is a helpful reference, but yeah their prices seem insane and their diagnostic skills lacking. Second guys gave us a much better vibe so I'll probably reach out to them and see what they can do. Thanks again!
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Apr 13, 2023 01:32
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Are the numbers backwards, because I'm reading this as the fan is drawing well under its max rated load:Dr. Eldarion posted:I'm looking back at the checklist the original guys gave me, and this seems relevant: "Inspect condenser motor/fan: amperage rated 2.8, actual 1.4". The purpose of a megaohmmeter is to try and find short circuits in motor windings that may not be easily detectable by traditional meters.
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Apr 13, 2023 07:14
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The numbers definitely could be backwards, they were backwards for the capacitor.
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Apr 13, 2023 14:10
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My house was built in the 50s. Doesnt have the greatest layout for air vents, but it works good enough in every room except the bathrooms. The bathrooms do not have any air vents at all. In the winter they're cold, in the summer they hot and humid. The both have windows and exhaust fans. the bathrooms are next to each other, and one is across from the interior AC unit and the three intake vents below the unit. master bath is en suite. Since there is no vents, the bathroom gets no airflow, leading to the issues described. Crappy drawing to illustrate:  We talked to a pro about getting air vents installed in the bathroom, he said he could hook up new vents to the existing vents and get AC/heat in the bathrooms. This would be preferable, but more expensive. What I am wondering is if a vent between the bathrooms would create enough airflow to potentially resolve these issues, by giving the air separate ways to enter and exit as compared to only the bathroom. the bathroom doors are almost always open unless in use. Is this potentially viable, or should we just get full vents?
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Apr 13, 2023 19:18
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There is nothing that single unducted vent/hole in the wall is going to do to force the air to move through the bathrooms in any quantity to make a difference, it would just make it so the person destroying the master bathroom can be heard clearly in the second bathroom. Or vice versa. All the way into the master bedroom in fact. Ductwork or fans are going to be required to get the air to move.
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Apr 13, 2023 19:42
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Well, we'd duct it between the two bathrooms. should have made that more clear. It'd be pretty short duct work, admittedly, but it wouldn't just be holes in the wall. if there wont be enough air pressure to make a difference, that makes sense and is what I was looking to find out. thanks.
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Apr 13, 2023 20:53
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Currently neither bathroom has vents from your central air system? And you're asking about creating venting just between the two bathrooms? Or is there another part? Because in addition to what H110Hawk said about vents not moving any air, it sounds like there still wouldn't be any way for conditioned air to get into either room.
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Apr 13, 2023 21:05
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Yes, neither has vents for the central air. one is fairly close to an intake vent and one isn't. the bathroom doors largely remain opened during the day, as they get pretty bad if they're closed up from no air flow. the bathrooms aren't uncomfortable usually, unless the door has been shut for a while. I don't know if the ac unit sucks in enough air through the intake that it'd create some type of air flow current (or whatever the technical words are) that would make any difference, but it sounds like it likely won't.
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Apr 13, 2023 23:12
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Have you tried leaving the exhaust fans running 24/7? That might be much more cost effective then running additional hvac.
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Apr 14, 2023 01:25
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I mean, you would be running more hvac by nature of pushing conditioned air out of the home.
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Apr 14, 2023 01:49
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H110Hawk posted:I mean, you would be running more hvac by nature of pushing conditioned air out of the home. In a 50's era house? It's not like it's going to be sealed up tight anyway
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Apr 15, 2023 00:13
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devicenull posted:In a 50's era house? It's not like it's going to be sealed up tight anyway No, but you still need to have something to force the draft. Convection isn't doing it now. Putting a return in one bathroom, closing that door, and leaving the far one open would also work with the wall hole vent. Heck, putting a fan in the wall between the two bathrooms would accomplish that, but it would be nice to like have it turn off if the doors shut.
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Apr 15, 2023 00:28
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Remodeling a small powder room, and there's a supply duct that vents out of the toe kick of the vanity. This is 3 x 7 room in the middle of the house that is always incredibly warm in the winter and very cold in the summer when the AC is on. My two questions are: Can i eliminate the supply into this room entirely? If not, what's the best way to extend this ductwork so that it'll be close to flush with the toe kick of the new vanity so it doesn't vent so much underneath the cabinet?  That is a two foot level for scale Thanks! brugroffil fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Apr 20, 2023 |
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Apr 20, 2023 02:05
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sheet metal or fiberboard transition to a toe kick register, only get one with dampers you can adjust to lower airflow as needed.
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Apr 20, 2023 02:22
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Just popping into this thread to say that HVACDirect.com has grotesquely exceeded my expectations in every way. I ended up buying a 42,000 BTU Mitsubishi multi-unit mini-split. They have all the documents on the site for download: install manual, maintenance manual, ENGINEERING MANUAL. I was able to assemble a system that fit my needs perfectly. Due to wonkiness with my bank, the payment wouldn't process. I spent an hour on the phone with their accounts department and my bank trying to get it to work (without having to mail a physical check). Ended up splitting the payment into two orders, one for the base system (condenser and all the heads) and one for all the accessories (branch box, linesets, condensate, etc). The next day, I got an email: "hey, on order #xxx, the system you ordered requires a branch box to work. that was not included in the order. if you missed that, please contact me at xxx and we can figure out which one you need!" I sent back "I made two orders, XXX and YYY; hopefully that covers everything, if not, feel free to reach back out." About four hours later "everything looks good, we're boxing it up now." It's like one of those local companies that does all the good stuff, but just so happens to have a nationwide web presence. Not affiliated with them at all, just wanted to say that everything has been beyond what I've come to expect from a major purchase online. I also looked at MrCoolDIY, but they funnel everything through the Lowes or Home Depot storefronts, so parametric searches are what Lowes or HD provides. I also got quotes from local contractors; one of them specced out the EXACT system I had selected (make, model, everything) and was about 25% over cost for equipment, plus another 75% for labor. Theirs was the lowest bid, too. So I ended up getting my system for less than half of quoted installed price after tax and shipping. I'll probably forget to ever come back here to let y'all know how the install goes.
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Apr 20, 2023 22:33
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:
not to deflate you on this, but all of Mitsu (now mitsu/trane) documentation is a public site. http://mylinkdrive.com/ they have everything going back several generations of units, all extremely well organized.
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Apr 20, 2023 22:52
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MRC48B posted:not to deflate you on this, but all of Mitsu (now mitsu/trane) documentation is a public site. I'm aware; it's just refreshing for an online retailer to link ALL the docs directly from the "add to cart" page instead of having to dig through the support menu or type in a model number or something.
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Apr 23, 2023 21:21
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H110Hawk posted:No, but you still need to have something to force the draft. Convection isn't doing it now. Putting a return in one bathroom, closing that door, and leaving the far one open would also work with the wall hole vent. yea, putting a fan in the duct between them was also proposed to me by someone else. just gonna wait for my wife to force me to do something about it and then pay someone money to solve it. thanks for the help tho
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Apr 28, 2023 16:17
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:I'll probably forget to ever come back here to let y'all know how the install goes. Even though I made two orders, everything showed up on one LTL pallet with all items identified. No damage. So far, I'm doing pretty well with unit mounting and running linesets. Just gotta figure out condensate drains. Either I'm using condensate pumps and doing everything in the attic or figuring out how to find the units in the crawlspace and fishing condensate lines through the walls. Any simple calculation for how much condensate is going to be produced, rule of thumb? Like, "x btu at 85% RH and y degree temp drop = z volume condensate/hr" ? I can do dry air calculations based on mass flow rate and stuff, but I'd like to not have to resort to dimensional analysis hell inside a circle of unit conversions. edit: the engineering manual has "moisture removal pt/hr" as one of its line items. babyeatingpsychopath fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Apr 30, 2023 |
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Apr 30, 2023 16:28
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Anyone know if a low-odor foil tape?
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May 2, 2023 04:45
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Got all the units installed, and refrigerant and power wiring connected. It took me four days to vacuum down the system. Vacuum pump failed the first day, manifold blew an o-ring the second day. Third day was finding the one leak, and the fourth day was successful vacuum. Vacuumed down to 500micron, purged with dry nitrogen and pressurized (in steps) to 700psi. Did a final leak check. Vac to 500, break vac with nitrogen, vac to 300, nitrogen, vac to 200 and let sit overnight. I left it at 194 and came back to 198, so no vacuum leaks! Called my HVAC buddy to give his blessing and charge the system per EPA rules. He looked over everything and said "looks good, man. if anyone asks, i'll say i did the refrigerant piping. this electrical... that is DEFINITELY your fault" Started doing test runs and discovered that my helper had labelled one of the linesets wrong so the wiring was wrong (since I matched the wiring to the lineset label). That repaired, the system seems to test fine except it's acting like there's not enough refrigerant. Attached photo is from the install manual. I have SM42, and four indoor units: 18, 12, 6, 6. The main unit connects to a branch box and has a liquid line 9.52mm diameter (3/8"). All other units have liquid line 6.35mm diameter (1/4"). Main lineset is 10.6m (35'), all other linesets are 9.1m (30'). My math looks like this: A=10.6 a+b+c+d=9.1 * 4 = 36.4 Total capacity= 18 + 12 + 6 + 6 = 42. 10.6m * 50g/m + 36.4m * 19g/m + 2500g = 530 + 691 + 2500 = 3721g, round to 3.8kg (8.377 lb; 8lb 6oz). My buddy came over with a full 10lb bottle of R-410a and put in 8 lb 6oz. The suction-side pressure was down to 20psi and the discharge pressure didn't get much above 200psi, so he put in the other couple of pounds. Suction side is still in the 50s and discharge is about 210 or so; he said he'll be back with more refrigerant "later."
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May 23, 2023 14:12
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It turns out the branch box cover is labelled "ABCDE" for the pipe connections, but the pipes themselves are labelled "EDCBA"  So the outdoor unit was trying to pump refrigerant into a closed cap or into a coil that had no fan running. It's why the system test ran fine; system test opens all valves and turns on all fans. Now that all the control cables are actually running to the valves they are piped to, the system works GREAT. It's eerily quiet.
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May 24, 2023 12:29
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:It turns out the branch box cover is labelled "ABCDE" for the pipe connections, but the pipes themselves are labelled "EDCBA"  Congratulations.
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May 24, 2023 14:19
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:so he put in the other couple of pounds. Suction side is still in the 50s and discharge is about 210 or so; he said he'll be back with more refrigerant "later." Yeah you can't do this with VRF systems. or even with variable speed mini splits. If you know you calculated the charge correctly, and you weighed in the correct amount, It's not a charge problem. your pressures and temps can vary wildly depending on system state and load. And even if it is a low charge the answer is "weigh it out and back in again".
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May 24, 2023 23:11
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I'm looking to get our crawl space encapsulated some time soon. Part of that will be a bigass dehumidifier. Is there a recommended brand for that sort of thing? Someone way back in a conversation said to use only a specific brand, but I'll be damned if I can remember what that was. Also would this be something I'd ultimately have our HVAC company service? My understanding is that they operate very similar to how an air conditioner works, so I would assume so.
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May 26, 2023 12:22
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MRC48B posted:Yeah you can't do this with VRF systems. or even with variable speed mini splits. If you know you calculated the charge correctly, and you weighed in the correct amount, It's not a charge problem. Good point. We did have the system in test mode so it was running flat-out with all units so that we could check the stuff out of the book. I do feel silly for having the piping be EDCB but the wiring landed on the control terminals as ABCD. Every now and again, two units would ask for the same thing and the system would run perfectly... then another unit would call for cool and the compressor would try to dump BTUs into a nonmoving fan and everything would freeze. Since everything was very well wrapped and insulated, it was very hard to diagnose until I decided to get froggy and climb in the attic and just check what all the linesets felt like (and shoot temperatures). Pulling the insulation blanket off, I saw the piping labels and  .
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May 26, 2023 13:53
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I'm glad you found the problem, and I'm not trying to criticize you or your friend specifically. Its 70 years of field tech inertia of "Charge to target superheat/subcool by adding/subtracting gas" This technique works great for almost every other type of direct expansion cooling, but does not apply to variable speed or VRF units. there are too many electronically controlled valves, liquid subcoolers, suction accumulators and other weird refrigeration tricks used to squeeze as much performance as they can, for superheat/subcool balancing to work anymore. I was once sent to troubleshoot a unit that was just installed. "runs great for 3 minutes then stops cooling" I recovered 12 pounds of reefer out of that unit, it needed 4 and change by the line length calc. and the unit would still alarm out on low suction. the actual answer on that one was the suction line was undersized and the maximum length allowed, so the installers (who had brought it up to the pm, but were told it was fine) got to redo the piping. AC Techs are allergic to weigh out/ weigh in for some reason. Bro, go get the recovery cylinder, you get paid by the hour.
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May 26, 2023 22:55
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DaveSauce posted:I'm looking to get our crawl space encapsulated some time soon. Part of that will be a bigass dehumidifier. I have something from santa fe piped into my regular HVAC system, and it seems fine. I went with it because I could pipe it in and never have to think about it past filter changes. We've had a few lovely experiences with the $100 lowesdepot specials in the past.
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May 27, 2023 00:46
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devicenull posted:I have something from santa fe piped into my regular HVAC system, and it seems fine. That sounds like a dehumidifier and those absolutely have filters and aren't attached to your hvac typically. What device do you have from them? A quick look on the site hasn't turned up anything that seems like that but it's an intriguing idea. Maybe you're talking about a whole house filter (which also has filters?)? But that has nothing to do with a crawlspace unless you duct it, which I'm not sure why you'd want to blast crawlspace air through your house even if it's been encapsulated when you could just treat it as a separate zone and throw a dehumidifier down there with a condensate pump and forget about it. E: and just taking the piss here, a brand called "Santa Fe" does not inspire me with confidence in their expertise in controlling humidity.
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May 27, 2023 01:26
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MRC48B posted:I recovered 12 pounds of reefer out of that unit
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May 27, 2023 02:28
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lovely window unit, condenser runs with no unusual noises and expansion line is cold/damp to the touch but evap coil assembly (including the loops at either end to get to the next row) is room temp as is output. Anything I should try, or just scrap and replace?
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May 28, 2023 02:37
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Motronic posted:That sounds like a dehumidifier and those absolutely have filters and aren't attached to your hvac typically. https://www.santa-fe-products.com/product/santa-fe-ultra70-dehumidifier/ I have it setup with a fresh air intake as well. It works pretty well, it helps to make the house not gross in the spring/fall when it's not hot enough to be running the air conditioner. They make a bunch of dedicated crawlspace dehumidifers: https://www.santa-fe-products.com/crawlspace-solutions/
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May 28, 2023 15:34
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devicenull posted:https://www.santa-fe-products.com/product/santa-fe-ultra70-dehumidifier/ Yeah, I was looking at the crawlspace ones and they all seem to have filter (for good reason). I didn't think you were talking about a whole home dehumidifier. So besides the dehumidifier you had your crawlspace added to your HVAC system. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with that. But if it's working for you great.
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May 28, 2023 16:30
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Motronic posted:Yeah, I was looking at the crawlspace ones and they all seem to have filter (for good reason). I didn't think you were talking about a whole home dehumidifier. Nah I don't have a crawlspace, it's slab on grade here. I was just suggesting the brand because it's been working fine for me.
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May 28, 2023 17:12
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I recently inherited my childhood home, so I've become a first-time homeowner very quickly, and without doing any of the research or preparation that most people usually go through. I know nothing about HVAC, but improving the air conditioning is a top priority. Here is the current HVAC setup as I understand it: - 2300 sq ft house, built in the '60s - House is in Texas with mild winters, very hot summers and low humidity. - Ancient GE gas furnace in the utility closet - Ankle-high heating vents along most walls - Circular ceiling (diffuser?) vents in each room - Small window AC units in the bedrooms - 25000 BTU window AC in the ~1500 sq ft kitchen/dining/living room area What options do I have for modernizing this setup and getting rid of the window units? What are the ceiling vents for? If I were to get central air, would it run through those vents, or would I have to have a brand new duct system installed? A ductless mini split system looks really attractive, but with installation costs probably way out of my budget. Is there anything I'm leaving out? Anything to point me in the right direction is appreciated.
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Jun 18, 2023 00:04
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You have to start with figuring out if those are vents or returns in the ceiling and, with this little information, calling local HVAC places to get opinions and quotes.
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Jun 18, 2023 00:09
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Lester Shy posted:I recently inherited my childhood home, so I've become a first-time homeowner very quickly, and without doing any of the research or preparation that most people usually go through. I am absolutely not anywhere near an expert, but "60s house in Texas" makes me think that looking into your insulation situation should be high on the list. You can have an absolutely great AC system but if all that coldness escapes quickly it's not going to help you much.
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Jun 18, 2023 14:24
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If you’re planning on living there a while a general home inspection would probably be worth the money. The amount of tribal knowledge those guys have about homes and builders is invaluable. Personally I think they also generally have pretty good recommendations on contractors or atleast a list of who to stay away from.
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Jun 18, 2023 16:42
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High heat/low humidity and Texas has me thinking far west Texas - most of Texas is pretty drat humid. And vents of any kind at ankle height suggests a crawlspace. This is good in some ways - it'll make running new stuff a lot easier. I would bet those lower wall vents are from an old system though - did the house ever have a boiler? Is there a basement? OTOH did the house ever have a swamp cooler? That could be what the ceiling vents are for. If you want central air, it can utilize your existing ductwork for the furnace, but be ready for the HVAC company to suggest a full gut/redo, including the ductwork (and that furnace will be going too - I'd be loving shocked if the heat exchanger isn't cracked). Like Eldarion said, you need to look at your insulation situation first. OTOH it'll be easier for the HVAC guys to redo everything before insulation - unless you're blessed with insulation containing asbestos. You're looking at a large chunk of change, and we're going into the most expensive part of the year for HVAC work. If you can through the summer with those existing window shakers, fall is a good time to get an AC installed. You're more likely to be able to haggle a bit on the price since they won't be as busy, and the weather will be mild enough that you can get by on just window shakers during the day, maybe blankets at night. Before you even THINK of touching that furnace, get at least one CO detector, and replace all of the smoke alarms (they're likely all over 10 years old at this point; ideally you'll have one in the hallway plus one in each bedroom, but in reality you probably only have one in the hallway right now). You should have CO detectors anyway if you have any gas appliances (betting your stove and water heater are also gas), and the HVAC company will likely be replacing your furnace with another gas furnace. With it being a 60s house, you'll also want to check for aluminum wiring, and you'll want to make sure you're not blessed with a Zinsco or Federal Pacific Stab-Lok breaker panel. That big living room window unit is almost certainly 240V, so when you do get central AC, they can probably repurpose the breaker spot for it for the outside unit. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 15:18 on Jun 19, 2023 |
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Jun 19, 2023 15:06
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