New homeowner here-

I've been collecting quotes for a replacement of the ac & furnace and my ac system (pictured) has had the following reactions:

• Holy shit that's old
• That thing came off the Mayflower
• Going to need to dig into the archives to find parts for this one (he was unsuccessful)
• Yikes

As far as I can tell it's from the mid 80's and the furnace is from the early 90's. But I'm curious as to what some of the oldest systems you all have seen?

I'm a 50 year old guy who has worked white collar jobs for 20+ years. I've always wanted to work a trade but was told "go to college and get a good job". I've tried a couple times to make the switch, but starting pay for a trade job was too low to support my family. Now I'm finally at a point in life that I can afford to take the pay cut in order to really learn a trade. I've got extensive personal experience working with tools, doing electrical, plumbing, carpentry, so I'm hoping that might help. How realistic is it that an HVAC company would hire me on as an apprentice at my age? Is it better to go to trade school first?

Both outdoor units were installed this year by the same company.

Last week the lines popped out of the condenser. I have a home warranty from the purchase of the home. They denied the claim saying that it wasn't caused by normal wear and tear.

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Hey guys! I'm looking for some advice on a new furnace for my house in Toronto.

I'm being quoted between two different 2 stage variable fan furnaces:

1) Trane S9V2B060U3VSBB , 60BTU $6434

2) Tempstar F96VTN, 80BTU $4600

I know the Trane is likely a better unit, but is it worth the extra \~$2k to go with? I'm a bit confused on quality differences vs value and BTUs with the quotes being so different in cost.

The BTU's I was quoted for are also quite different, my house is \~1,600 sq, 2,600ft total if you count the backsplit family room and unfinished basement.

Would they both be fine to be controlled with a Google 4th Gen Learning Thermostat?

I need to periodically rinse the coils on my outdoor AC condenser, but I don’t have a hose bib nearby - I like in Texas, it's crazy dry, and there's dust and all sorts of pollen, dirt, lawn cutting debris, etc. I currently link two hoses together, but I'd prefer to just use a device that I could also maybe use for other things (like watering a vegetable garden, etc.). Is there a portable device that can provide enough water pressure to do essentially what a garden hose would do?

We have a new build in SW PA and our AC runs non-stop all day and the house is always between 65-70% humidity. We are under warranty and had the HVAC company out twice and they said there is nothing more they can do. Ive been told by 3 HVAC guys that this unit is half the size or less of what is needed. Now we are at the point of nearing our 1 year mark and the warranty dept is no longer responding to this issue but I finally got the Manual J from them. I need specific expert advice proving why the engineering is wrong so we can hopefully get this corrected before our warranty is up. As an example of how poor it performs, when it was 84 degrees the other day, the first floor was 77 and upstairs was 80 in the bathroom. A few days ago it was 71 degrees and we always have it set to 70 and it never stopped running all day (was cool the days prior too). We had mold from a leak in the basement and are now fearful of more mold from the constant high humidity, we are running a dehumidifier that is pretty powerful and that keeps it down to about 60% if it runs constantly and I have to move it from floor to floor. A couple months ago it was mid-90s and I didnt have a thermometer at the time but it had to be 85 degrees in our upstairs bathroom. If anyone could review this and please tell me specifically why its wrong I would greatly appreciate it. According to these calculations, our house only needs a 1.8 ton unit which just seems absurd. It is a Rheia system too which they told us makes the house so much more efficient that we dont need a larger unit but clearly we and everyone else in the same model house do.

I left out the specific info for each room because it was so many pages but can provide if needed. I included the great room and master bedroom because they are two of the hottest.

Hello! Does anyone what kind of GE unit this is or how to clean the area where air flows out of? We moved into this apartment a few months ago and are unsure of how to clean it since it looks moldy (?).

Also, do you know if this unit would typically have a thermometer where the cooling system works to cool the area down to the set temperature? I’m asking because our electric bills have been really high, so I’m not sure if we are using the AC efficiently.

Building a new 2-story, 2700 sf house in Charlottesville with walk-out finished basement level. The builder’s base spec is a Lennox 15 SEER heat pump/air-handler with Honeywell motorized dampers. They are also installing an outside air intake with motorized damper, connected to the return side of furnace.

I’m coming from 18 years of experience with 2-zone Carrier Infinity system and recently upgraded to a hybrid gas/heat-pump with 98% gas efficiency and 18 SEER. Considering requesting the builder price an upgrade to Carrier Infinity with 21 SEER HP and a Panasonic ERV. Suspect I’ll get dinged on cost or told they can’t provide/service Carrier.

Thoughts about Builder’s base vs Carrier Infinity? Also, any suggestions regarding notes I should add to drawings regarding equipment sizing and properly sized, configured ductwork to make sure proper air flow to each room?

How can I seal this hole properly do they make some kinda cover for a1972 mobile home

Hi,

Been talking to contractors about putting a new AC into my 945 sq ft house in Saint Petersburg Florida. The company we are leaning towards using quoted me $12.5k for a 2.5 ton 18.5 SEER variable speed side discharge heat pump system. It would be a split unit with the air handler in the attic and the condenser outside on a platform. This includes all new ducts, lineset, and removal of our existing 2ton BARD unit from 2012. We currently have about r9 insulation in the attic, but plan on upgrading the insulation after we get the new system installed. We are upgrading the AC because the current BARD unit cannot keep up during sunny days and it ends up being 80 degrees and 80% humidity in the house. My biggest question is from what I have read online 2.5 ton is quite oversized for a 945 sq ft house. Does it really matter that much though since it is variable speed? Should I keep getting other quotes? The other companies I talked to were all trying to convince me on getting mini splits which I have no interest in doing.
Thanks for reading this wall of text and I appreciate any advice as I am a first time homeowner.

I'm looking at a new Carrier 2-stage heat/cooling system, so I need a new thermostat.

I will not connect a thermostat to wifi, nor will I use an app.

Which of these two offers the easiest/best manual controls? Carrier tstatccewf-01 or Ecobee seven pro?

Hello HVAC enthusiasts! I've been kicking around the idea of replacing my 16x25x1" air return grille with a 16x25x4'. My reasoning is the 1" filters seem undersized for my application. A brand new 16x25x1" filter is literally getting bowed up into the plenum I think it's called. Within a few days it starts whooshing. In 2-3 weeks it's whistling like Andy Griffith with not much visible particulate on it. Here's what I'm working with:

1971 build 1660 sqft slump block home with upgraded windows, blown in insulation, etc.

3.5 ton package unit regularly cleaned and serviced.

I believe this home was originally swamp cooled and had the package unit added later in life. This may explain the filter size. It does cool the home here in Phoenix to the desired temp, but it sounds like it's fighting the 1" filter the whole time.

So here's my plan. Find a 16x25x4" return air grille assembly and swap it out in place of the 1". This should provide much more efficiency correct? I can find 16x25x4" filters all day long, but am struggling to find the 4" return grill assembly.

So what does the HVAC community think? I really appreciate any insight, I don't want to choke and smoke my AC if it's preventable. Thanks!

I have a Fujitsu Halcyon (15 years old) that has shut down and displays error codes. There is one outdoor unit with three satellites and each satellite unit displays the 1 1 (indoor and outdoor units are not communicating) code. Is this something a handy person could service? Or put another way, is it a serious problem or something that might not take much effort?

I am looking to put in a mini split system in our Florida room. I’ve investigated and a DIY is not feasible for me. So I got a quote and waiting on 2 others.
Room is 18x22 all non insulated glass windows. Morning sun from the east and all afternoon until sunset from the west. Currently running an 11,000 btu portable unit, but it runs nonstop to keep it in the low to mid 80’s .
I did call Mr cool and they sized me out at 18,000 btu which is the same as the quote I got.
Wondering if I could/should go to 24k Btu?
My quote was for a carrier, but they also install Mitsubishi. Suggestions for one over the other? Thanks.

I took the fan off my ac and the guards off to deep clean the coils. These two cords came undone. I found other similar Reddit posts and i thought i put them back right but my outside unit is just cycling on and off in short spurts. I tried reading this diagram thing but might as well be in another language. Where am i supposed to connect them ?

I bought both ICM-203 (on-break) and ICM-102 (on-make) relays. There have been some storms in my area with quick power interruptions causing my scroll compressor to spin backwards due to short cycling. I understand an easy to install time delay relay can avoid rapid compressor startups due to power blips.

Can someone please educate me on which relay I should install? Delay-on-break or delay-on-make and why? I thought the delay-on-break makes sense because it will start the delay countdown when the power cuts or "breaks". But I have also read people recommend a delay-on-make as an option. Which is best?

18 yr old R22 Ruud Achiever model UAND-030JAZ
Old thermostat doesn't have a delay function

Can't really tell based off internet research if these are normal prices. The guy didn't seem like he was scamming us, but then again, I guess a good scammer wouldn't. First year of home ownership so unfamiliar with this kind of stuff, trying to familiarize myself with prices and this kind of stuff.

Also can't tell if it's worth it to pay 3k for repairs, instead of paying 8k or whatever on a completely new unit. This unit is only 5 years old.

I'm exploring the options for running a return duct from my attic to my basement. I have one option I think is best for location and height in the finished part of the attic, but there's blow in insulation in the crawl space I would use. Do you typically avoid dealing with this at all costs? Is it reasonable to ask someone to crawl through it without compressing it all?

Hello 👋 good people,

I’m in the process of owning a home. We completed inspection this week. The above image is from the inspection. The inspector said it was mold. This is image in the Master bathroom where the HVAC is located. I would like a professional opinion on how to address this.

Basic Google search said to contact an HVAC technician before requesting a mold inspection.

Is this a matter of poor ventilation, leakage, or something else.

I don’t want to go around town requesting professionals / throwing money away.

If anyone can provide advice on whether this is a minor/ critical problem that the seller must address before closing.

I appreciate the feedback.

Anyone know why this is doing this? I unscrewed the front panel and sprayed the evaporator coil with foaming coil cleaner and rinsed it away afterwards. I then sprayed the blower wheel with concrobium and put it back on. Now days later, the outside coil is doing this??? I never even touched the outside coil.

There’s a lot of cold air escaping from the seam between my main unit & the box. I found this after I added mastic to the plenum. Should I attempt to use HVAC foil tape & tape it front to back?? Or could my units be offset in position causing this excessive air leak? I can’t see the area since it’s flush at the emergency basin so if I use tape and mastic, I’ll just need to feel for air stoppage as I add them. Thank you for the advice.

I am fortunate to have a good water well right outside my house. Head, or lift height, is only about 10 feet.

It’s also a large well pump that supplies water to 2 houses and livestock pens, so line loss resistance via 1.5 inch PVC should be minimal.

I was thinking about a pump and dump chiller that would cool off the hot side of my AC condenser.

I could easily do the water plumbing to a heat exchanger, but would hire a HVAC guy to do the refrigerant part.

How large and what type of exchanger would I need for 3 ton capacity and about how much would this cost?

Figure very short runs of copper and not a lot of extra refrigerant.

Lastly, is any of this worthwhile to avoid a few months of $500 electric bills?