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slap me silly posted:I'm just here for the pictures and boy are they awesome. Definitely not someone who works in this, but I've lived in entirely too many apartments. Most apartment sI've lived in with central HVAC - those with individual HVAC units and also those with chillers/boilers - always had an air handler somewhere in the apartment. Generally in the bathroom ceiling, with a return air duct in a hallway or common area. The air handler had heating coils if the system didn't rely on a chiller/boiler, otherwise it was just a fan and a small radiator (but still ducted). I've seen the units placed in hallway ceilings or walls too. There's an access panel to get to them. Most of the places I've lived used a simple outside a/c unit with electric heat inside, aside from a couple of places with a chiller. I've only seen heat pumps in one apartment complex, though the entire property had been gutted and rebuilt (keeping only the exterior walls and rough door/window openings), and the management company wanted to get some kind of LEED rating. That place still had electric heat for days that it was too cold to run the heat pump. One exception was a large 2 story apartment that my dad lived in, it had a traditional gas furnace + air handler combination that you expect in a single family home. But that was an apartment that was bigger than some houses, and also a bit older (1970s).
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Jan 25, 2016 10:03
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Serious question, what's wrong with Goodman? They seem to have a good warranty, and several friends in the HVAC field have told me that they're one of the better budget brands.
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Jan 28, 2016 15:17
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e: nevermind
randomidiot fucked around with this message at 14:16 on Jan 30, 2016 |
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Jan 30, 2016 13:49
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No C wire on my install, and my Nest has yet to ever ask me to charge it. During the late fall and early spring, we'll often go days without running the HVAC.
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Apr 13, 2016 04:21
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We have a 2nd gen Nest, FWIW, given to us by our power company. Just double checked, looks like I registered my account with Nest right at 3 years ago. They hadn't started the free tech call-out yet, I remember the manual saying you would need to pay to have someone come out if that were the case. We actually have 8 conductor cable in the wall, so if I did need to connect a C wire, it wouldn't be a big deal. As to how we wound up with 8 conductor cable... the house was originally setup with a heat pump w/gas furnace backup, but the original owner of the house decided to rip out anything related to a heat pump and make the furnace the primary heat source.  The original ac/heat pump was a massive clusterfuck of hosed wiring and hacks - the only thing they left inside it that was related to heat pump operation was the reversing valve (but cut the wires right at the valve). No idea why they did that, and I'd still like to kick their rear end for it.Armacham posted:I know my Rheem system's manual states that it is not compatible with "power stealing thermostats" and it was installed in 1998. We have a York furnace from 1994 (original to the house), and a mid to late 00s Trane a/c. Manuals are long gone, but it's been working fine with the Nest for 3 years now. There's a little bit of a buzzing from the furnace now, but beyond that it hasn't protested. One of these years I'll probably go ahead and hook up a common wire. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 09:02 on Apr 14, 2016 |
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Apr 14, 2016 09:00
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How long did it run during the day when set at 76? It's possible it just doesn't have enough oomph to bring the place back down to 76 when the sun is out. I know the ac at my parents house is like this - it's fine if you leave it alone, but if you shut it off for awhile, it won't get back down to its set point again until after the sun has gone down. With it running 20 minutes an hour while at 85, I'd guess this is pretty likely; theirs runs nonstop from about noon until 9pm. Make sure you didn't connect Rh or W to Rc or Y; doing that would be calling for both heating and cooling. You may try having it kick on a bit earlier in the day too, to give it a head start.
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Jul 17, 2016 22:44
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So let's talk window shakers for a moment. 750ish square foot apartment with a 2.5 ton ac (top floor in Texas). I like it cool to cold when I sleep. But running the ac for the entire place while I sleep seems... expensive. Plus there's days where it just can't keep up (if it's over 100 outside, it's not going to get below 78 inside.. 110 outside? 85 inside) Bedroom is about 220 sq ft. I know a 5000 BTU unit is good for 150 sq ft. However, that window is never exposed to sunlight (faces north + overhang + trees outside), and the rest of the apartment should stay at or below 80F while it's running. Anytime it's running, the bedroom door would be closed. Am I right in thinking a 5k unit will probably be fine for this application? It'd be a supplemental source of cooling, not a primary, and only used at night. I'm also limited in the whole "has to fit in a standard size window with no permanent modifications" and "has to be able to run off of a 15 amp 120V circuit" bit. The jump in price to 7-8k is a little hard to swallow, same with the power requirements, hence why I'm asking.
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Mar 18, 2017 11:12
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Already checked my lease. I haven't asked the leasing office specifically, but they're anal about sticking very close to the lease, even if the (now former) property manager emailed you something else. There's absolutely nothing about window units in the lease, and I've seen a few apartments around the property with them since I moved in last year. My bedroom window happens to look out on my back patio, and I'm on the 3rd floor, so it's not super obvious from the ground anyway - the apartments I've seen with them hanging out obviously from a window had no patio nearby, so mine probably wouldn't get noticed for quite awhile (so long as it was good at slinging water at the coils instead of dripping... I'd have to use a bucket if it did drip, to avoid pissing off my downstairs neighbor). Oddly, they don't mention car repairs on the property either; they just mention they'll tow cars that are obviously inoperable or abandoned. Since I've lived here (almost a year), I've only seen one car get towed, and it was an obviously stolen/stripped car that got dumped. I do my own oil changes, brake jobs, etc in the parking lot, and nobody has ever said anything bad to me - I've had a few neighbors ask if I wanted help. Alereon posted:Thanks to improvements in efficiency you have a LOT more headroom on 120V with Energy Star models. You can get 8,000 BTU models that draw only ~6A, or go even higher while keeping reasonable load. That's very good to know. The wiring here doesn't seem to be the best to begin with - complete with early 80s FPE breakers (mostly.. they dropped in a no-name that's for a different panel for my ac when it kept tripping... 30 amps on 12 gauge in a panel not meant for that breaker?? sure why not). The outlet by the window is on a 15 amp circuit, and that breaker seems to power 3 of 5 outlets in the bedroom, the hall light, bedroom light. hall smoke detector, and one living room outlet. Plus the outlet on my patio. Those lights are all LED, the only thing on the living room outlet is a small fan, and the outside outlet only gets used if I'm chilling on the patio with my laptop. Qwijib0 posted:I had a 5000BTU unit for a ~120sq foot bedroom apartment, with similar shading, also used at night in a place with only a swamp cooler. It was able to drop the room from close to 90 into the 70s over 2 hours then maintain it so I think you'll probably be fine. 7,500BTU units also just run on 115V, and only draw 8-9A so you could upsize a little to add some headroom. I've lived in areas with swamp coolers before. It's too humid here for them to do anything except make you sweat. I was more trying to go cheap, but it sounds like I should probably look into a ~7000 BTU unit; if nothing else, so I can use it as a supplemental unit on the hottest days (~105 - when the apt-wide ac can't get it below 80 inside). randomidiot fucked around with this message at 11:14 on Mar 19, 2017 |
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Mar 19, 2017 11:11
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I should have mentioned, I have a portable one now. It's WAY too loud to sleep with it running (the fan alone is insanely loud, compressor is even worse), and the condensation pump died a long time ago - so I have to empty it anytime it fills up. The design it has is it's supposed to spray the condensation out through the exhaust, but it never has done that properly (the pump would make loud grinding noises once it got some water in it, and while it would run longer without emptying than it does now, it still had to be emptied at least twice a day). To drain it I have to roll it out on the porch, or lift it into the bathtub, and uncork the drain. You also can't change the fan speed without the remote (wut), but even on the lowest it sounds like the condenser fan on my outside unit. It's also a lovely single hose unit, so it blows some of the conditioned air out.... and the fan runs non-stop, even if the compressor isn't running, so anytime it's not actively cooling, it's blowing a bunch of cool air out. Even the loudest 70s window units I've heard have nothing on this thing in terms of noise.
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Mar 19, 2017 20:40
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angryrobots posted:The ones that are basically an electric heat pump, but instead of heat strips they have gas for backup heat/2nd stage. I dunno how new these are, but I've been out of the loop or uninformed about them until recently. FWIW, my parents house (built in 1994) originally had this exact setup. Heat pump with a gas furnace for backup. It's nothing new, and much of their neighborhood was built like this. They're even making water heaters that use a heat pump now.
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Apr 9, 2017 08:34
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Asking more so I can figure out how hosed a friend is... she's in a rental, but she's responsible for all maintenance and repairs (hosed up situation on that, she's moving as soon as she can). She fired up her AC today, and... it wasn't cooling. Plenty of airflow from the vents. I swung by; I can hear the compressor start up, condenser fan is running as well, and there's plenty of airflow from the vents inside. The suction line is coolish, and the high pressure line is warm... that's backwards, right? Any idea what could be going on? It's very much a hack install, but it's a newer R-410a Goodman GSX13 single stage (if I read the sticker right, it's a 3 ton). Coils are labeled as R-410a, but no branding on them. Outside unit needs cleaning pretty bad, but it seems like the refrigerant is just going right through the coils without doing anything (I can feel/hear it moving through the lines, anyway). It normally keeps her house pretty cool, but after not using it for a few days, it's just burning power without cooling the house. My hack, barely knows enough to be dangerous, guess is whatever expansion valve it uses may have crapped out. Am I on the right track? It's definitely getting left to the pros, I'm just wondering what's wrong with it. Also.. 60 amp breaker on a 3 ton condenser. 
randomidiot fucked around with this message at 09:12 on Nov 3, 2017 |
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Nov 3, 2017 09:09
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When I swung by to pick her up, she mentioned it not working. Looking through the hole where the lines went in to the evap coils, they (coils) definitely had some ice on them, but air was moving through the vents. One of her kids had cranked it down to 50 overnight, and it had a pretty clogged filter (also, soaking wet filter... bottom intake furnace with the coils on top). Changed the filter and had her run the fan overnight (she said the filter was only a week old too ). I'd say the condenser coils are about 1/4 blocked - most of one side is pretty bad (the side facing the house), the rest looked pretty much new. I thought it would have a low pressure cutout that would keep it from running when it was that low, but I guess maybe it's more of a no pressure cutout? I can definitely hear refrigerant moving through the lines when it's running and shortly after it shuts off, but that's not saying much. Hopefully for her sake it's just low, but she hasn't had the money to call someone out to look at it yet. Big line (suction I guess?) was a little above ambient, small one was a little below ambient. At both ends.  Anyway, it'll be mystery solved once she has the cash to call someone out (probably Friday).
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Nov 6, 2017 09:11
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So I have a 3rd gen Nest that's been acting... odd... with a/c. For background: 4 wire setup, but everything except the wires and ducts has been replaced, behavior has continued. I took the Nest out for awhile and used a new Honeywell digital (the very basic version), and I'm back to using that again. Occasionally, while the ac is running, I'll hear it (very quickly) cycle off and on several times in 1-2 seconds. I can hear the relay chattering in the air handler when this happens, along with the fan in the air handler turning off/on. This also causes the outside unit to shut down (condenser fan keeps running, compressor says "NOPE"), until I turn off the thermostat for at least 5 minutes (cycling it off and on at the thermostat doesn't work; that puts in a 3 minute delay, which apparently isn't enough for the compressor to cycle back on). Any ideas beyond a defective thermostat? This doesn't happen with the basic digital Honeywell thermostat that it replaced. It also seems to be a bit off in its temp readings compared to the Honeywell - both via display (Honeywell with batteries installed sitting next to it, but not hooked up) and how the room feels. My HVAC runs often enough that it shouldn't be needing to cycle any relays to charge up (and I thought Nest tended to go for the heater relays while the system wasn't running, correct?). It's annoying waking up to an 80 degree apartment when I keep the thermostat set at 70, and I doubt it's doing the compressor any favors. Doesn't happen on heat, but since I'm in a top floor apartment, and I'm in TX, I'm still having to run the ac during the day.
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Nov 29, 2017 12:13
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Qwijib0 posted:If the basic honeywell is working fine, then the nest is broken (or won't work with your system). Nests are actually pretty awful at the actual business of turning on and off equipment properly, so it's not unbelievable that it might not be fully compatible with your furnace board. Ecobee at least gets that part right. Seeing as it's persisted across two different systems (complete changeout - furnace, condenser, etc; wiring and ductwork are the only things that remained the same), and only happens on the AC side, I'm very heavily leaning toward the Nest being the issue. I was basically just looking for confirmation that the Nest was hosed. Current system is just as basic as the original early 80s system - single stage electric heat, single stage 2.5 ton refrigerated ac, plus fan control. drat thing was hilariously inaccurate anyway. The basic Honeywell keeps the place a lot more consistent, and thus, more comfortable. wolrah posted:If by four-wire you mean RGWY then that fits pretty well with the HVAC system not being friendly to Nest's power trickery and adding a C wire if possible should solve the problem, otherwise you'll need something not Nest. Yup, it's RGWY. Adding a C isn't much of an option; the existing wire is stapled to studs. I could MAYBE fish new wire into the wall (I can get a little into that space via the return air duct), but it's more trouble than it's worth, to be honest. Plus, I rent, and as it is, the landlord tried to blame the old system dying on the Nest. It probably hastened its demise with the relay chattering, but the existing unit kept popping the breaker from the day I moved in until it went out, and went through 5 start caps in less than a year (it kept popping the breaker after "maintenance" kept throwing in larger and larger breakers on the same 12 gauge wire... they got up to a 50 amp breaker at one point, dataplate on the old system said max 20 amp breaker). I only had the Nest connected for about 6 months of that. The issue has persisted across 2 systems now (entire HVAC was changed out this spring), and only happens when the AC is on. So I'm just gonna go with hosed Nest. I'm on a weird rear end power plan where if I use more power (well, between 1000-1500 kwh, which is a LOT for a 1 bedroom apartment), I get a huge discount on my electric bill, so in my case, the Nest was more just so I could control it without getting my fatass out of bed, off the couch, etc - not for saving energy.
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Dec 3, 2017 09:01
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You should NEVER be able to smell gas, unless you have a really old stove or oven with a standing pilot and you've just turned the gas back on (and have yet to light the pilots). The first few times the heat runs for the season, you'll smell dust burning, but shouldn't smell anything else. If you smell natural gas inside (technically you're smelling Tetrahydrothiophene, the odorant added to natural gas and propane), something is very broken, and needs attention immediately. The CO detectors are a great idea, but they won't pick up a gas leak. I'd be a lot more concerned about a cracked heat exchanger vs a leaking gas fitting, to be honest. The heat exchanger would be circulating carbon monoxide, with no smell. A leaking gas fitting will be smelly and get noticed, but it usually takes a large leak for them to do anything beyond make the area smell funky (USUALLY.. if you're used to the smell, the house might be full of it). If there's any question at all about a gas leak, contact your local gas company and mention you smell gas inside. If you're on propane (or your gas company doesn't care), contact your fire department. Most FDs carry equipment that will pick up on gas/propane leaks. They may seem annoyed, but they'd much rather deal with finding a gas leak vs dragging your dead body out after a house fire. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 13:31 on Dec 13, 2017 |
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Dec 13, 2017 13:23
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Harik posted:I'm 99% sure it's not external heat, since it's worst after sunset when the rest of the house is cool enough the AC barely runs. I think it's as simple as "Two computers and monitors in a small, well insulated room and the AC is on a completely different cycle". I know this is an older post, but you can set the Nest to run the fan for <x> minutes per hour (I think it's 15, 30, and 45, but my Nest crapped out awhile back) during certain hours. Setting it to do this from, say, 7pm until you typically go to bed, will probably help the heat in that room considerably, without hitting the electric bill quite as hard as just keeping the fan on 24/7. You can do this from either the Nest itself or from the app.
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Jun 18, 2018 08:21
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The start capacitor probably took a poo poo.
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Jul 7, 2018 11:10
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I'm no expert, and I know this is just a temporary install (... on ~35-40 year old apartment building), but goddamn, it ain't pretty. It looks downright Payneful.
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Jul 9, 2018 07:39
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angryrobots posted:I'd say that's a neat solution to Carrier them over until the new concrete pad cures. Whoever came up with that is a Goodman. I mean, they certainly did make it a bit more Comfortmaker. It's been hot as Heil here lately, hopefully they didn't get Rheemed too bad on that work.
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Jul 17, 2018 04:05
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Potato Salad posted:Bet you a nickel there's inappropriate jumpers in that loving electrical hookup I'd take you up on that, but the maintenance guy borrowed all of them (and all of my pennies) to use as fuses when he saw me staring slack-jawed at his Payne job.
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Jul 17, 2018 05:00
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At least they're not doing this kind of work with the heating, but it doesn't exactly get to Sub-Zero around here. Hopefully Bryant will Owens up to the work if something goes horribly wrong, but I've heard he can be pretty Ruud.
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Jul 17, 2018 05:04
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It's okay, I think the rest of the thread can Copeland without any more bad puns. e: vvvv you win this round randomidiot fucked around with this message at 06:26 on Jul 17, 2018 |
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Jul 17, 2018 05:20
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So how much napalm would you bring if you got called out to work on this mess? Particular the middle back? Spotted at a crappy apartment complex. I'm used to seeing mismatched units at apartments, but uh... one wasn't even on the pad, it was on a couple of bricks. I'm guessing they poured a pad that was barely big enough for the ~early 1980s units that were originally there? <insert Saul Goodman joke here.. maybe even 4 of them> randomidiot fucked around with this message at 09:39 on Nov 5, 2018 |
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Nov 5, 2018 09:15
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This was at an apartment, not a condo, so it's the property manglement that approved that mess. Definitely a lack of foresight even when it was built though - the pad was obviously barely adequate for the units that were originally there (that back left probably has a similar footprint). The apartments I'm in originally had similarly sized units (a large chunk of the property still has the original units, but from 2004), but put them on loving giant pads (they're clustered as well, like most apt buildings). As they've died off and been replaced, the newer units get bigger and bigger - but there's still plenty of room around them to work on them... because the developers poured large pads for them. That had to be fairly terrible to work on even with the original units.
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Nov 7, 2018 08:31
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wolrah posted:Also if we were to do that, would ethernet cable be acceptable or would we be better off getting something thicker? Obviously the colors wouldn't match but I have a sheet of those flag stickers that come with a Nest. If you do decide to run new cable, no, ethernet cable really won't work (for long anyway). There's going to be a small amount of current over the cable (for relays/contactors), which CAT5 isn't really thick enough to handle. It may work for a bit until the cable finally melts, or, more likely, it may not be able to pass enough current for the contactors to pull in. Ethernet cable is typically 22-24 gauge. Thermostat cable is typically 18 gauge. Just go to a big box home improvement store and buy the right thermostat cable from the bulk wire section. They'll cut it to length. Overestimate generously (by several feet, minimum). If you can't find thermostat cable with enough conductors, sprinkler/irrigation wire cable comes with up to 10 conductors (or as little as 5), and should be the same gauge as thermostat cable. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 08:12 on Jan 2, 2019 |
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Jan 2, 2019 08:07
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First off, yes, I'm kicking this over to property maintenance, as I rent. Just wondering what could be causing this. I'm in an apartment with a typical (for this region) ceiling-mounted electric furnace + air handler combo unit, with a typical 2 or 2.5 ton outside unit. Typical all electric split system. The air handler inside has always had a 15 second delay - going on or off. It's always been this way, regardless of if the thermostat is calling for heat, cool, or just moving the fan switch from auto to on. Typical basic as gently caress mechanical thermostat, 4 wire. The inside unit is mounted in the bathroom above the shower, which is very typical in Texas (with the return air duct in the hallway). A couple of times in the past 2 weeks, I woke up sweating. Walked out of the bedroom, thermostat showed 80+ inside, set at 76 (sidenote, the indicated set point is just for funsies - it's generally 3-4 degrees cooler, indicated both on the inside temp part of the thermostat and an indoor thermometer). Walked into the bathroom, and could hear the hiss of refrigerant moving through the coils. The first time, I flipped the fan switch on the thermostat from auto to on, and 15 seconds later, the fan kicked on as usual. No airflow for a few minutes, eventually followed by water dripping, then pouring, out of the overflow for the coils (the overflow is a pipe sticking out of the ceiling above the bathtub - the air handler is also above the tub). The second time, the fan never came on (waited a few minutes). I cycled the breaker for the heater/air handler, and about 15 seconds after turning it on, the fan kicked on, and I got plenty of ice cold air for a bit (this also killed the outside unit for a few, since the transformer is on that breaker... it restarted on its own after awhile, as you'd expect). There's been plenty of times since then when I've thought it felt kinda warm inside, saw the thermostat was indicating 75+, and I could hear the hissing of refrigerant moving through the inside coil. Usually moving the fan switch on the thermostat to "on" will kick on the fan, but I've had to cycle the breaker for the inside unit a few times to get it to come on.  I know this is SUPER helpful, but it's a generic as gently caress in-ceiling unit when you open that panel, with a 2 pole 50 amp breaker poking through the sheet metal box. Just trying to give an idea of what we typically have in this area.  (you may notice it's showing the inside temp right at the set point... it just pulled its "I don't feel like moving air" trick again a few minutes ago, and yes, we like it cold as poo poo at night). So.. blower capacitor, or control circuitry? I'm kinda leaning toward control. But it's one of those super compact units that's made to fit in a ceiling; it has a breaker on it (I assume to work as a "within sight" disconnect), plus the typical control and 240V power wires, but everything else is sealed up inside a sheet metal box that doesn't appear to open easily. If it was something serviceable, I'd be up there with a multimeter trying to figure out what was going on. Outside unit is your typical cheap Goodman unit. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 08:04 on Mar 29, 2019 |
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Mar 29, 2019 07:50
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Except the lack of airflow is caused by the fan not running, not ice. It only iced up once, I assume because it'd been running for several hours before I woke up.
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Mar 29, 2019 09:24
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Looks like you were right - maintenance replaced the cap today, along with the relay for the fan (guessing they just shotgunned both). Cleaned the coils and topped off the refrigerant while they were at it.
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Mar 29, 2019 21:16
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MRC48B posted:Fan relays are cheap, callbacks are not. My apartment complex has on-site maintenance, so it's just the hourly labor for a callback. But maintenance does get scored on callbacks (also surveys from residents). They dropped the old relay on their way out though. Looked it up, turns out it's a Goodman time-delay relay. I always thought this thing had some kind of fancy control circuitry to handle the delay, but no, it's basically a sealed/beefier version of a 70s garage door opener thermal relay (the kind they used for the light). I got bored and took it apart; the bimetallic part is fine, but I can't get it to close unless I really hulk on the pin that the bimetallic disc was pressing on (pushing the pin further than where it seems like it should have gone is the only way to get it to close). It also has that lovely burnt electrical smell, so it probably hasn't been making good contact for awhile. We had a Nest hooked up briefly, and we were having issues with the fan coming on with the AC (or even when we just turned on the fan by itself). Guessing the Nest was passing a little less current and not letting the disc heat up as much. Might try hooking it back up; I'd prefer an Ecobee, but there's only 4 wires running from the air handler to the thermostat.  randomidiot fucked around with this message at 07:54 on Apr 1, 2019 |
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Apr 1, 2019 07:50
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devicenull posted:Ecobee3 comes with this: https://support.ecobee.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009155051-Installing-your-ecobee-thermostat-with-the-Power-Extender-Kit-no-C-wire- I have no access to the control board itself (getting to it would require some hefty disassembly), but there's 5 wires hanging out of the side of the air handler. 4 are wire nutted to the wires going to the thermostat, the last one (I assume it's C, but it's brown, not black) is just chilling, bare ended (stripped, even), in the ceiling space. I thought the PEK required its own power supply? Did that change, or am I thinking of something else? There's a regular socket pretty close to the thermostat - it seems like an option would be to wire a 24VAC wall wart to the Rh and C terminals on an Ecobee or Honeywell? The Nest we have is the E version, so it only has a single R terminal.
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Apr 4, 2019 07:03
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Wowporn posted:Cool, I’m looking at ac units for the living room of my ~525 sqft apartment and wondering if there’s a huge downside to getting one of those “portable” units that looks more like a small dehumidifier with a hose that vents out a window. Massive downsides. They're a shitload louder, even the best ones still wind up releasing plenty of heat back into the room from the exhaust hoses (they're always single-wall hoses, not insulated at all), the hoses pop off easily, they sometimes leak condensation, the condensation pumps that are supposed to splash the condensation onto the coils burn out eventually (so you have to drag the whole thing over to the bathtub to drain it), they're much less efficient (even if you get a 2 hose model).. I know a window unit is a PITA, but you only have to deal with moving it twice a year. They're a lot quieter, since the compressor is physically outside, and even if they happen to have the same EER, they're (much) more efficient in that they're exhausting 100% of the hot air outside, instead of through a glorified dryer hose that's going to heat the room back up even if it doesn't leak. The window units are also much, much cheaper for the same cooling capacity. Assuming 10k BTU (which would handle your square footage okay-ish, so long as it's a pretty open floorplan), you're going to pay $400+ for a lovely no-name portable with a questionable warranty, and you'll have trouble finding them locally. You can get a name brand windowshaker at Wal-Mart or your favorite big box home improvement store for quite a bit less if you go for the basic model, and still be under $400 if you get one with electronic controls and a remote.
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Jun 10, 2019 08:49
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You'd need to setup a decent fan or two between the bedroom and living room. Box fans move a lot of air for their size, but they're loud.
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Jun 15, 2019 19:37
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Compressor. Is it a new sound, or has it always done this? If it's a new sound, it may be the compressor dying, or it may just be the rubber isolators the compressor mounts to rotting out. If it's always been noisy since day 1, you might check the way it's mounted to make sure it's well supported (hint: they need more than just the window frame).
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Jun 24, 2019 15:01
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Not a metal box, but some kind of support on the outside part (where all the weight is). If you google "Window ac mount" you'll see what I'm talking about. A lot of people run them without any mount/bracing, but it leaves the heaviest part just dangling in the air, and can damage your window frame after awhile. But if jiggling it helps, that really sounds like the rubber bushings for the compressor rotted out. Not much you can do except run it till it dies. Propping the outside part up somehow (either with a mount or even just wood) may help.
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Jun 25, 2019 14:24
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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 |
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Oct 30, 2019 07:59
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Have you guys not heard of dummy thermostats? There's plenty of purpose-built dummy thermostats (including for pneumatically controlled units), or you can just get a battery powered one and not actually wire it to anything (or wire it to a section of 4 wire cable that just disappears into the wall, ending somewhere in there, in case someone pulls the cover off to see if it's actually hooked up). Set it up to always show the set point instead of actual temp. Though the admin side of the grocery store I work in is always warm... they put halogen desk lamps aimed at the temp sensors (temp is controlled by corporate, but the offices wind up being 80+ in the summer because the RTU that wing is on also handles the pharmacy and drug/GM side of the store) in a few different offices to get them cooled off. Gets it down to a balmy ~65 in that wing since every office is doing it (there's no return air ducting in the office wing, and the door to that wing is always closed...  ). Pharmacy doesn't really notice since their RTU is shared with a part of the store with a 3 story high ceiling, most of their airflow just escapes to the sales floor. There's also a dead RTU for the next section of store (the fan works, that's it.. no heating or cooling), so the air movement is probably mixing the air a bit with the warmer air from the rest of the store.
randomidiot fucked around with this message at 19:03 on Nov 24, 2019 |
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Nov 24, 2019 18:21
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Gin_Rummy posted:Hey HVAC experts, can any of you help guide me through the process of fixing my A/C woes? Former North Texan here. Option 2 sounds like the most honest company, and I can speak from personal experience that adding a bunch of insulation helps a ton. Doing so got the AC (a 5 ton unit) to actually maintain temp all day, though it still ran most of the day. Before that, the house would get up to 80+ during the day. It can maintain 70 all day now (parents still live there), and it actually cycles occasionally. It's a lost cause if you turn it up at all during the day when you're gone, unless you come back after the sun has gone down, but it'll maintain as long as you give it a head start before the sun comes up. Electric bill went down a bit, gas bill in the winter went way down. Adding some attic ventilation helps a lot too, if that's an option.
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Jan 26, 2020 19:50
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IndianaZoidberg posted:Edit: I turned off the AC (not the furnace, I want the condensate pump to keep running when its needed) at the breaker panel and the noise I heard that I think was the gas expanding or a pump or a stuck valve or something, stopped. Sounds like maybe the outside unit is running non-stop, instead of shutting off with the thermostat?
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Apr 25, 2020 11:13
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New apartment. Air handler won't come on without flicking the fan switch off and on rapidly several times. Otherwise it just hums while the outside unit runs, and eventually freezes up. I've taken to just leaving the fan switch in "on" instead of auto, but the fan motor still sounds unhappy (loud humming while running with the occasional "something electrical is way too hot" smell). It's your typical apartment in-ceiling unit. Capacitor? I've put in 2 work orders so far, they both got closed without anyone showing up.  Somehow the original 1.5T Carrier is still chugging along. It's an adorable tiny little thing that I could carry under my arm, thankfully on its own pad. Some other apartments have 6 clustered together, and the pads were very obviously poured for the original Carriers with no thought given to "oh poo poo, AC units might get an inch larger!" - the replacements are more than twice the size and crammed together like sardines.gently caress Greystar, BTW... fridge hasn't worked right since moving in either.. it gets down to about 50 and runs 24/7, though the freezer gets plenty cold... original fridge from the mid 1990s.. using my ~12 year old dorm fridge for anything refrigerated for now randomidiot fucked around with this message at 10:33 on Jun 21, 2020 |
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Jun 21, 2020 10:24
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So more of a "did they get ripped off" than anything, since it's too late to do anything about it. Parents called me saying their thermostat wasn't working. Asked them what it was showing (it's an early Nest). Showed it was on "cool", but it was over 80 inside, and they could hear a loud buzzing from the air return with no air coming out. Outside unit running fine. Had stepdad go up in the attic, confirmed the air handler was buzzing loudly intermittently. I'm not local, so had them shop a few HVAC companies to get quotes for either a capacitor or fan motor replacement. Stepdad went with the lowest bidder for labor of course (but highest on parts - $150 for the cap, $50 service call). They wound up spending $500 to get the fan motor replaced; invoice doesn't say if they replaced the cap while in there (I would hope they did). Upside is they didn't get pushy about replacing anything, just said "fan motor ded". A fan motor on a 26 year old furnace isn't unheard of, but it was working fine, then not working (loud buzzing until the thermal kicked in, it'd cool off, then buzz some more). I'm surprised the original cap held out this long. How bad did they get fleeced? It's your basic mid 90s York gas furnace, with newer (but still R-22) coils on it. They could have replaced the whole unit, but they don't run the furnace often enough to see much of a ROI, and the CO detector stays pegged at 0 with the furnace running when they actually use it (1-2 months out of the year). $500 sounds kinda high for a basic fan motor replacement to me, but I've always been a DIY guy.
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Jul 10, 2020 15:14
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