HVAC woes

[Joey777]

Last Friday the motor on our air handler quit working. The system is a 4 year old Rheem (20 Seer) 3 ton electric heat pump/air handler. Called the guy and he thought the motor control unit was bad. He swapped it out but no luck. Then he sees some code flashing on a circuit board that tells him a card on the board is bad. He says there are none to be found so the factory has to pull one from the line, “flash” the card, then send it out. Could be a week before he gets it. Seems like piss poor product support to me. Thankfully temps have cooled off here for the next week.

[Big bob]

You are finding out how they got their name. And they will not sell even the simplest part to the public and don't tell you this till you get there. Had to sit in the parking lot to get someone to buy for me.:sadangel:

[Joey777]

I do feel like I’m getting Rheemed!

[Bill]

My a/c's are both 27 years old, they don't have all that fancy electronic shit. One's never been worked on, the other has had a few things replaced over the years, like the condenser fan, dryer, capacitor, and the a-coil. All that is just general off the shelf parts, nothing brand specific. Thermostats are original, too. And I still see a few original units like mine when I walk through the neighborhood, because one of the builders used Armstrong.

Stories like the OP's are why I really don't want new systems, even though mine were 12 seer, probably not close to that now due to age. Having said that, when I had the hot water heater replaced, they installed a Rheem....no problems yet, I'm thinking it's about 14 years old.

[Don Rickles]

anjdog is full of hot air!:yesnod:

[09CTSV]

Had a check up on our unit and found it to be a little low on Freon. For 1 LB of R-22 it was going to be $255. I passed and got a quote for a new unit. Ours is going on 23 years old and a 10 SEER unit. Our new one will be a 16 SEER unit made by Carrier and matched to our furnace. The furnace is only 4 years old, no idea why the didn't do both together. Maybe because the replaced the furnace in November and decided to ride out the AC.
Oh well, one more thing we will not have to replace again. Glad the bonus was good this year.

[Bill]

Had a check up on our unit and found it to be a little low on Freon. For 1 LB of R-22 it was going to be $255. I passed and got a quote for a new unit. Ours is going on 23 years old and a 10 SEER unit. Our new one will be a 16 SEER unit made by Carrier and matched to our furnace. The furnace is only 4 years old, no idea why the didn't do both together. Maybe because the replaced the furnace in November and decided to ride out the AC.
Oh well, one more thing we will not have to replace again. Glad the bonus was good this year.

There's a drop in replacement for r-22, made by Arkema. You're supposed to evacuate the r-22 first, but my back up a/c guy is an apartment maintenance guy. He says he just adds the new coolant directly in with the r-22, has been doing it for years, and no issues.

I had that done a few months ago when I noticed the unit that's been worked on before wasn't cooling well. He just topped the system off with the new replacement freon and voila, cold air.

Says what we're all thinking....they just change a molecule or two in the formula and voila, it's a new product. I wish I'd thought to have him put in some stop leak while he was here. Guessing its another little hole in the a-coil.

[Joey777]

Our last unit, forget which brand, died one month after the 10 year warranty expired and 2 weeks after it was serviced.

[Cool 50th AE]

New HVAC stuff is shit designed for planned obsolescence.

My parents moved into their house in 1962 and the heater lasted 50 years before needing replacement.

[jw38]

My a/c's are both 27 years old, they don't have all that fancy electronic shit. One's never been worked on, the other has had a few things replaced over the years, like the condenser fan, dryer, capacitor, and the a-coil. All that is just general off the shelf parts, nothing brand specific. Thermostats are original, too. And I still see a few original units like mine when I walk through the neighborhood, because one of the builders used Armstrong.

Stories like the OP's are why I really don't want new systems, even though mine were 12 seer, probably not close to that now due to age. Having said that, when I had the hot water heater replaced, they installed a Rheem....no problems yet, I'm thinking it's about 14 years old.

Why are you heating hot water?

[Frankie the Fink]

The A/C unit I replaced for $4,200 in 2016 would cost me $7,300 today...
A neighbor with the same unit just went through this. Most of that increase is in the last 3 years.

[Joey777]

The A/C unit I replaced for $4,200 in 2016 would cost me $7,300 today...
A neighbor with the same unit just went through this. Most of that increase is in the last 3 years.

Our illustrious government keeps changing the refrigerant. I think my 2018 vintage unit uses R450. In 2024 it changes again! Window A/C units for summer and a coal furnace for winter are starting to sound pretty good.

[MikeB]

New HVAC stuff is shit designed for planned obsolescence.

My parents moved into their house in 1962 and the heater lasted 50 years before needing replacement.

Getting my 1983 built furnace replaced this coming Tuesday. Still works well,
the age of it does bother me.
Going with the same manufacturer (Lennox), but don't care if it lasts another
40 years. (I won't be here to enjoy it). A/C unit being replaced too, it's a 1995
Carrier, also replaced with new Lennox unit.
both have 10 year parts/2 year labor. Good enough for me.

[OnPoint]

Replaced our 3 AC units and 3 furnaces in our home last summer. Hopefully won't need to do that again for a while.

One of our rental properties could use the units there replaced/upgraded. But they're running well enough for now, given how these things have jumped in price in the last few years.

[Unsuspicious]

I was thoroughly documenting my new home's breaker box and circuits, and there was an unlabeled 30A that took me awhile to figure out was for the outdoor AC compressor/condenser/whatever you call it because the furnace circuit had the fans still blowing when that 30A was flipped off.
Is that normal? Furnace breaker controls heating but also the blower that the AC also uses? Meaning I shouldn't shut the furnace breaker off in summer, but should I shut off the AC breaker in winter?

[Big bob]

If you want to.:seasix:

[09CTSV]

There's a drop in replacement for r-22, made by Arkema. You're supposed to evacuate the r-22 first, but my back up a/c guy is an apartment maintenance guy. He says he just adds the new coolant directly in with the r-22, has been doing it for years, and no issues.

I had that done a few months ago when I noticed the unit that's been worked on before wasn't cooling well. He just topped the system off with the new replacement freon and voila, cold air.

Says what we're all thinking....they just change a molecule or two in the formula and voila, it's a new product. I wish I'd thought to have him put in some stop leak while he was here. Guessing its another little hole in the a-coil.
I've mixed the refrigerants before and didn't have any adverse affects. The unit outside is showing it's age so I'd feel better replacing it. Who knows, by the time Shit For Brains is done, we all might be living in a log cabin with no power or indoor plumbing.

[Yadkin]

No AC woes here. I almost turned the heat on this morning.

[Big bob]

No AC woes here. I almost turned the heat on this morning.


Yes you have posted it good job.:seasix:

87964



As always safety first always best to distance the tank away from the heater.:seasix:

[Bill]

I was thoroughly documenting my new home's breaker box and circuits, and there was an unlabeled 30A that took me awhile to figure out was for the outdoor AC compressor/condenser/whatever you call it because the furnace circuit had the fans still blowing when that 30A was flipped off.
Is that normal? Furnace breaker controls heating but also the blower that the AC also uses? Meaning I shouldn't shut the furnace breaker off in summer, but should I shut off the AC breaker in winter?

Is your furnace natural gas fired, or electric? If it's gas fired, it draws little electricity, basically just the fan motor, so it's not unreasonable it's not on the same circuit as the a/c, which is probably the biggest amperage draw in your home.

Seems like if you have a short or an overload, you want the breaker to pop right away, so the breaker should be sized for what it's protecting.

Full disclosure: I am not an electrician. Maybe PM aerovette and see if you can get his expertise? He needs to come back anyway, since the barn was successfully treated for the troll problem.

[Rodnok1]

I was thoroughly documenting my new home's breaker box and circuits, and there was an unlabeled 30A that took me awhile to figure out was for the outdoor AC compressor/condenser/whatever you call it because the furnace circuit had the fans still blowing when that 30A was flipped off.
Is that normal? Furnace breaker controls heating but also the blower that the AC also uses? Meaning I shouldn't shut the furnace breaker off in summer, but should I shut off the AC breaker in winter?

No need to turn anything off, none or extremely little power draw if not being used.
The outside 220 unit is always powered separately from inside unit.

[04 commemorative]

Goodman.....easy to get parts and very reliable units

[Unsuspicious]

Is your furnace natural gas fired, or electric? If it's gas fired, it draws little electricity, basically just the fan motor, so it's not unreasonable it's not on the same circuit as the a/c, which is probably the biggest amperage draw in your home.

Seems like if you have a short or an overload, you want the breaker to pop right away, so the breaker should be sized for what it's protecting.

Full disclosure: I am not an electrician. Maybe PM aerovette and see if you can get his expertise? He needs to come back anyway, since the barn was successfully treated for the troll problem.

Gas heater, so makes sense it can handle blowers as well.