Switched Trane xl1200 AC for a Payne HP - Humid

[dagrappler]

I had a 14 yr old Trane air conditioner XL1200 Model number TTX030C with a forced air gas heating system (Kelvinator model number G6RA 072C-12A). Contractor came out and diagnosed the Trane beyond repair.

Replaced old Trane with a Payne Split System Heat Pump 13 SEER R-22 PH13NR030-C). No new air handler or a new coil installed. Now, the house feels humid all of the time, especially when it is humid outside. And I don’t know if I should have replaced Air Conditioner for a heat pump? We really liked the old Trane XL1200 because we never had any humidity problems even with fan set to “on”. Is this model still available a new? Or is there a comparable brand that I should consider. Seems like the air is always stale and not enough air blowing even though I keep the fan in “on” position vs “auto”. The payne seems shuts off too much to control the humidity? Please help.

Thanks

[BaldLoonie]

Running the fan all the time reduces humidity control. When the cooling shuts off, that big A coil acts like a humidifier pad and all that water on the coil gets put back into the house. Best is to cycle the fan with the compressor.

Also, mismatching coils is never wise, especially with a heat pump. One of the first things to go is latent capacity. I'd get a coil matched to that Payne unit.

Be sure the blower speed of the furnace is set to around 1000 CFM. Most installers aren't smart enough to do that and leave it on high, which in your case is 1200+.

[OOC]

Dagrappler - Just curious, was this a situation where a home warranty company replaced your Trane system with the Payne system?

[dagrappler]

Yes, the contractor from the homw warranty company told me that my old unit was dead and that it would not be covered under our home warranty. So I purchased the payne unit form him.

[tpa-fl]

The only (major) difference between a heat pump and air conditioner is the reversing valve and a few other parts to enable the refrigerant flow to be reversed. In this case, they're NOT what's causing your problem. Call out the installing contractor again and get them to fix what they started. They really should have changed out the indoor evaporator coil when they changed out the condensing unit. So, you've got two pieces of equipment that were never supposed to work together. Can it be made to work? Probably...but it's going to take some tweaking by the tech to make it work.

oh, BTW, search the forum for "home warranty". There may be a few good ones out there, but the general feeling around this forum is that they don't like paying to have things dome right, which ends up costing the homeowner $$$ in future repair bills and increased energy bills from inefficient systems.

[teddy bear]

Operate the fan in the "auto" mode. Slow fan (air flow) as much as possible without freezing the coil and making ducts sweat. What are the minutes of a/c operation per hour during hottest weather? Ducts leaking, poor evap pan draining, and excess outside infiltration elevate the %RH. During high outdoor temps, a good a/c should be able to maintain <50%RH when setup properly. If the new unit cools the home quicker, less moisture is removed. During the low/no cooling loads, a whole house dehumidifer provides <50%RH, regardless of the cooling load. Dehu TB

[OOC]

I agree with TPA-FL re: home warranty work. I went through the whole experience last month. The home warranty's subcontractor condemned my heat pump because it was 36+ yrs old and leaking freon from a place that was non-repairable. They agreed to send me a check if I hired someone myself to install a different system. I just got the check in the mail today as a matter of fact. :)

[skippedover]

How did you find the contractor you purchased the Payne unit from? The HW company? If so, they're cheapest licensed contractor they could find most likely. That translates into not doing anything really properly. First, first and first ALWAYS should be a load analysis on the home. Taking someone elses word that the whole system is properly sized is the first mistake. The second mistake, as other have mentioned, is not matching the coil to the condenser/outdoor unit. The Trane TTX unit was a 12-SEER unit, good stuff when it went in and the minimum at the time was 10-SEER. Now the minimum is 13-SEER so you're probably okay for the heat pump to work but all the other things mentioned, improper coil match, fan speeds, operating the t-stat blower "on" instead of "auto" are all good suggestions. If I were you, I'd stop cheaping through the HW company and bite the bullet. Hire a good, qualified company to come out and asses the job. If they're good, they'll do it right and your problems will be solved but probably not inexpensively.

[dagrappler]

Thanks for all of your assistance. I can not afford to have the coil replaced. I do run the ac on auto and sometimes I need to run the unit continuously if humidity builds up in our house. But thanks for all of your time and replies to my question. All is well for now!