Central Air HELP!

[Stew]

Any HVAC guys in the house that might have a better hypothosis on where the restriction is on this unit? Id love some company.

Capt, keep me updated on what they tech says when he comes out to your place.

[Capt. Kaos]

Stew, thanks for all the help. I'll keep all this in mind when the tech gets out here tomorrow, if nothing else I can atleast sound like I have a clue.

Is there no way to check where the line is leaking?

On the bright side: I called the wife and told her where we were at as far as getting it fixed and we get to eat out tonight

[Capt. Kaos]

Capt, when you cleaned off your indoor coils, did you look underneath the coils at the underside of them to see if they were clogged?

That's where I cleaned (underside) the top looked nearly spotless.

[Stew]

Stew, thanks for all the help. I'll keep all this in mind when the tech gets out here tomorrow, if nothing else I can atleast sound like I have a clue.

Is there no way to check where the line is leaking?

On the bright side: I called the wife and told her where we were at as far as getting it fixed and we get to eat out tonight

If you have a leak, it can be one of three places. In the outside coil, in the inside coil, or in the line sets (if its in the line set, pray to sweet god above its in a part of the line set outside the house. Most times the leak isnt in the lineset, its in a coil. Depending on the brand, I could prolly tell you where on the coil your leak will appear. It cost to have a leak detection test done on the inside and outside units. Should be about 184 for both tests. Before he does that though, you can do a generic test yourself. Get some really soapy water, like from a kids bubble blowing kit, mix it with dish soap and a little laundry detergent. really soapy water. Now go out to your outdoor unit, take the cover off. Liberally apply that soapy water to all both the copper lines, you may have to peel back that black rubbertex insulation. apply with a spray bottle if possible. when it is applied, if there is a leak around there, bubbles will form from the refrig pushing out of the leak and creating bubbles with the soapy water. Look at the bottom of your coil, and up along the side where you will see little curved bended pieces of pipe. Look all over there and apply the soapy water liberally. the bubbles will be really small, like foam, but they will be there. When the tech does your leak detection test, he should be using a small device with a small fan in it. teh device sucks in air and detects levels of refrigerant in the air. It beeps when it detects refrig, and beeps in rapid tempo the closer you get to the leak. make sure they use one of these tools if they are going to make you pay for a leak detection test. Also, dont be afraid to watch the tech work, to ensure he is doing the right things. people in general are lazy, and you are paying for a service, dont let the tech make you feel uncomfortable for watching him perform his duty.

if they try telling you that your compressor is dead, make them amp it in front of you. Seriously, just ask him if he minds amping the compressor in front of you. Look at the number on the multi-meter when he amps it. On the back of the outdoor unit, it will tell you what your compressors max amperage is, like 16.5 or 12.4. if your amp is LRA (locked Rotor Amperage) it will read somewhere in the fifties/sixties or higher. If it reads close to the number on the data plate on the back of the unit, it just means the compressor is getting close to max amperage and that the unit is on its way out, but its not dead yet. The tech may not even bring up your compressor, but a lot do just trying to get a replaced unit instead of having to work on an older unit and do repair work.

[DeanCollins]

Did Capt. confirm whether the compressor in the condensing unit is running? One of my units wouldn't start up because it was pulling too many amps (age can do this to motors). My AC tech put in a booster starter in the wiring to the condensor? Something to increase the amperage. He's Cuban so I lost some of it in the translation

[pjfootballer]

I pulled this trick last summer. I clipped the line coming into the house. Check to see if you used the weed eater and accidentally clipped a line. He repaired my line and tucked them under so I could clip around them. He refilled my freeon and it's been fine since.

[Stew]

Did Capt. confirm whether the compressor in the condensing unit is running? One of my units wouldn't start up because it was pulling too many amps (age can do this to motors). My AC tech put in a booster starter in the wiring to the condensor? Something to increase the amperage. He's Cuban so I lost some of it in the translation

Not sure about the condesor, but when compressors do start to over amp, I recomend a hard start capacitor, that aids in electric motor start up. Its like if you have a button that takes five pounds to push and your electric motor is getting tired from pushing it regularly, the hardstart capacitor is like ten extra pounds pushing that button when your motor starts up.

because he has a heat pump, depending on what mode the unit is running, depends on which coil is the condensing and which one is the evaporating coil.

I know its prolly not the issue, but ask them to amp your heating elements just to make sure thats not the issue. Like I said, because your suction line isnt sweating i dont think it is, but it cant hurt to ask them to check.

I wish you lived closer, Id stop by with some R22 and see if I couldnt get you cool before bed.

[DeanCollins]

yes Stew that's what he installed. It worked immediately and he didn't even charge me.

[Capt. Kaos]

Current Outside temp: 81 (realfeel: 89)

Expected High: 92 (realfeel: 101)

Current Inside Temp: 83 (realfeel: 7th layer of Hell)

Tech will be here in late afternoon until then if you need me I'll be in the pool, leave a message!

[f_trizzy]

On the bright side: I called the wife and told her where we were at as far as getting it fixed and we get to eat out tonight

Taken out of context thread???

[DButz65]

CK, how old is the heat pump?

If older than say, ummmm 8 years..it SHOULD have a reset switch somewhere near where the copper and power line comes in (probably red) hold that sucker down for about 10 seconds. If that doesnt work, low freon, unfortunately. Surprised the outside unit isnt froze up with it running

[Drop]

not sure what this means but: I have 2 copper lines (1 big, 1 small) running into the inside unit. They are usually cold and have from time to time had an ice buildup on them. They are both room temperature.

If you're getting ice on the lines, it could be a few things.

-First off, how old is the outdoor unit? If it's older, you may need to replace it.

-It could be dirty coils, but if you've cleaned them and still have no cold air, that's not the problem.

-It could be that the compressor isn't working. This would take an HVAC tech to come out, diagnose, and let you know if it is fixable.

-It could be that you're low on refrigerant. Again, you'll need a tech to let you know this for sure. And if the unit is older, it will take a different type of refrigerant than a new unit, so make sure the tech is using the right thing before he goes throwing what's called a "mixture" into your unit and REALLY screwing up your system. Older systems used R22 refrigerant. Newer systems have moved towards the environmentally friendly stuff, which is R410A. I think they're completely phasing out R22 at this point.

-If you're low on refrigerant, odds are it's not just as simple as charging it up, especially if it's an older unit. It MAY be that simple, but it may also mean you have a leak somewhere in the line that will need to be fixed. This will also require an HVAC technician's diagnosis.

The thing about HVAC techs is, they're not all created equal. Some are very good, and some are very, very bad. Some will do what the job takes, and give you the straight in narrow. Some are lazy and will do the bare minimum to try and correct your problem. Some will just straight up screw your **** up because they're clueless.

Worst case scenario, you need to replace the entire unit. Best case scenario, it's as simple as a freon recharge. However, it's more likely something in between like a bad compressor, or a leak in the line. They have ways of testing the line and whatnot to locate leaks.

Call an HVAC tech, and have them take a look at it. If you don't like what they say, if they don't seem knowledgable, if it's taking them forever and they can't give you anything conclusive, if they say there are leaks but they can't find them....call someone else and get a 2nd opinion.

I just replaced my outdoor unit and my indoor heat pump about a year and a half ago. My unit was ancient....probably 15 years old. If you get 10 years of solid use out of an outdoor unit these days, you're lucky.

[Capt. Kaos]

House is about 12 years old so I would guess that the both units (not sure if it really matters but they are both Trane) are that old. There was no mention of them being replaced when we bought the house 6 years ago.

I have a tech (a friend put me in touch with him) coming out this afternoon. I'm hoping that it's not it's not horrible news. We replaced the entire unit in our last house and it wasnt cheap. We'll know more in a few hours.

** I cant find anything that remotely looks like a reset switch **

** Thanks for all the different scenarios. Having a little knowledge usually keeps the techs in check a little bit. **

[Ned Flanders]

We had ours die in the spring time, and had the same symptoms you described. Wound up being the Capacitor for the compressor -it was barely swollen. Tech put a new one in, and ICE cold once again......

[DButz65]

Odd i just replaced my old trane about 2 yeas ago now, it had a reset switch *shrug* anyway hope its nothing more than refrigerant for your sake CK!

[Stew]

House is about 12 years old so I would guess that the both units (not sure if it really matters but they are both Trane) are that old. There was no mention of them being replaced when we bought the house 6 years ago.

I have a tech (a friend put me in touch with him) coming out this afternoon. I'm hoping that it's not it's not horrible news. We replaced the entire unit in our last house and it wasnt cheap. We'll know more in a few hours.

** I cant find anything that remotely looks like a reset switch **

** Thanks for all the different scenarios. Having a little knowledge usually keeps the techs in check a little bit. **

CK,

If you are going to replace yoru unit, (either or) this is the year to do it with the energy efficiency tax credit on home appliances.

Dont worry about the reset switch.

[Capt. Kaos]

Current Temp: 90 (realfeel:97)

Inside House: 88 (realfeel: molten core of the earth)

On a side note: Already put in calls to pet friendly hotels, I am not gonna try to sleep in this house again tonight if the AC doesnt get fixed!

[HOF44]

On a side note: Already put in calls to pet friendly hotels, I am not gonna try to sleep in this house again tonight if the AC doesnt get fixed!

No basement?? Ours was low on freon once and had to spend the night downstairs in the basement, always cool down there.

[Capt. Kaos]

No basement?? Ours was low on freon once and had to spend the night downstairs in the basement, always cool down there.

Split level, I'm on the lowest level now. It is the coolest of the 3 but not by much.

If my cables were long enough I'd set up in the crawl space

[HOF44]

Split level, I'm on the lowest level now. It is the coolest of the 3 but not by much.

If my cables were long enough I'd set up in the crawl space

Bummer, hotel here you come. My basement is finished and all underground, great for when the ac goes out.

[Stew]

Split level, I'm on the lowest level now. It is the coolest of the 3 but not by much.

If my cables were long enough I'd set up in the crawl space

I feel for you bro. You gotta move down to Redskins Country. I would have had you cool last night after I got off work for free. Its one thing to be without heat. Blankets and layers do wonderful things as well as fireplaces. being without AC is a fate worse then death. Hot, Stale air that isn't moving and circulationg is the worst to try to sleep in. Do yo uhave window fans you can blow the hot air in your house out through the windows?

[Boss_Hogg]

regardless of the issue, it's nothing you or any of us can fix. You need to call the cooling and heating folks.

My A/C started doing the same thing last month, I had to buy a new system; $3,700.

[Stew]

regardless of the issue, it's nothing you or any of us can fix. You need to call the cooling and heating folks.

My A/C started doing the same thing last month, I had to buy a new system; $3,700.

3700 for both the inside and outside units? Installed? Yo ugot a steal bro. I take it you got a heat pump. Also, if he had a Multi meter, I could probably guide him through diagnosing the problem and walk him through fixing it.

[Bostic Hog]

Any HVAC guys in the house that might have a better hypothosis on where the restriction is on this unit? Id love some company.

Capt, keep me updated on what they tech says when he comes out to your place.

Big Sexy is an HVAC guy.

[DButz65]

CK, what happened with this?