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| On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 14:00:07 GMT, Derek Mark Edding
<dreq@earthlink.net> wrote:
>Hi Folks,
>
>It looks like our 3 yo 12 seer Goodman combined AC/heat outdoor unit has
>an installation problem. The compressor works great, but the variable
>speed blower barely spins. When set to heat it blows just fine - very
>powerfully. But set on AC, it feels like someone's waving a newspaper.
Well, lets just examine things here.
>
>According to the HVAC Tech who visited this week, the refrigerant is
>fully charged and the temperature measures 55 degrees F at the output
>vents, 82-83 at the two intake vents.
Hmmm, that a 27 to 30 degree drop across the system from where you are
measuring so you most likely have over a 30 degree drop across the
coil. Geee, I dont see anything wrong there. Id try for a 40 degree
drop. That should really cool things a lot better
>
>Our digital thermostat shows that the compressor is running between 12
>and 14 hours a day. We've had temperatures in the nineties for the last
>three weeks, and this system is running hard enough to power a
>whole-house refrigerator. We keep the thermostat at 78-79, but the best
>it can do is four degrees above that.
Only 12 to 14 hrs? Thats not bad. With your setup Im suprised it shuts
off at all.
>
>The 12 seer unit is a replacement the original Goodman Comfortmaker
>gaspack. When our installer removed the old one, he remarked that the
>intake and output hoses were too small, and had been reduced in size to
>12 inches which did not meet building code.
12 inches. Thats nice. Do you realize that is big enough to handle
just a wee bit over a 1.5 ton unit at a 1.0 static. (No, I dont design
residential at a 1.0)
>
>To the best of my knowledge, all of the homes in our neighborhood were
>equipped this way. The original builder installed systems were
>inefficient but functioned adequately. The replacement unit is
>physically much larger, but at 3.5 tons is probably the same capacity
>(we have no records for the original unit).
Wrong. If those units in your neighborhood were designed like yours
then they were NOT functioning adequately.
>
>He removed the original "main trunk" of the ducting under the house -
>plenum? Manifold? And replaced it with a much larger one that had 18"
>pipes running to the outdoor gaspack. There was no change other than that.
And now, at 18" you have just designed your home for a 5 ton unit at a
1.0 static. Great Job!
>
>After installing and powering on the new system in August three years
>ago, we had the same problem we have now. The variable speed fan barely
>ran when set to AC, but ran powerfully when set to heat. Our installer
>had not installed this model before and had to consult with Goodman
>repeatedly to fix the problem. He replaced the variable speed blower
>unit, but this did not fix it.
Hmmm, Installed hasnt installed one of those units, Its a Goodman and
you've had problems for 3 years now. Im beginning to see a
pattern..............are you?
>
>What eventually did make a difference was this: he said that there was
>an Air Mass Detector built into the variable speed blower, which is like
>a humidity detector. He said that the air flow returning to the unit
>was not sufficient, and this detector was keeping the fan from ramping
>up to its full speed. He pointed to the intake duct inside the unit and
>said that there was (and here my memory is sketchy) something like an
>air flow restrictor, that he had needed to adjust to increase the
>velocity of the air returning to the unit.
Air mass deflector? Is that like a thermal velocity discombobulator
solenoid?
Humidity deflector? Im not even going to try with that one. Air flow
not sufficient with an 18" pipe on a 3.5 ton unit? What? Are all the
registers shut?
I think what he was pointing to is just how gullable and stupid you
are. 3 yrs of not being able to fix it and you still have him? WTF
man, is he charging you $4.00 hr so you figure you just cant go wrong
with his cheap service?
>
>After he made this change, the blower began functioning normally and we
>had decent cooling. However, this was towards the end of the Summer.
>We had to call him back again last Summer for a similar problem, which
>he said was "just needed a few pounds of refrigerant".
>
A 3yr old unit that now needs a few pounds of refrigerant? Oh, I see.
You really are stupid.
>That brings us to this year, where we have unusually high heat and
>humidity and again, the blower is back to barely running. The HVAC tech
>who visited this week said that the unit appeared to be fully
>operational and was not reporting any failure codes. He said he would
>need to send an expert to examine our installation and determine if it
>needs to be redone.
Expert? Is that the "Wallet ligntner" repair man?
Hell, I think you need a new unit. I can be over in 2 days with a new
unit. Have $10,000 ready for me in cash and I'll find another hack for
you to put it in. Please have a case of beer ready for the fellow. He
gets mighty thirsty during an install.
>
>If anyone has any clues that might help us get this unit to run properly
>I'd be very grateful. The fellow who did our installation did an
>excellent job of taking care of our old system for ten years, but he
>seems out of his depth with its replacement.
>
>Thanks,
>
> -dreq
Here is a clue.
Just Paypal me the $10 K in advance. I really dont think I'll need to
show up on this one. I'll just phone it all in.
Bubba
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