Help me understand my system

[halfelite2]

So our 20 year old unit just bit the dust on the hottest week we have had in Southern California. And figuring everything was 20 years old it was best to replace everything.

After talking to all the AC people in the phonebook finally found one that the prices seemed right and their work seemed good. But I have a few questions.

We got the Amana ASX16 outdoor unit with the Amana AMV8 Furnace. Now they told me this is a 2 stage unit. Does that mean that just for heating or also cooling. As I see it now, if we set the tstat at 77f the ac does not kick on until its 79f on the tstat. I would think the lower stage 1 speed is supposed to kick on in that 2 degree difference window. Or I could just be wrong all together.

Also should there be zero cold air blowing around the unit? Seems like there is a lot of air flow coming from around the "air handler" The guy had a hard time sealing the unit to the existing duct work as it was a tight fit in the closet. He worked on it for 2 hours piecing pieces together using the metal tape ,some goo stuff and some type of hard board with insulation on it. I know you cant get a 100% seal But how much is to much?

Decided to ask here first before I call them tomorrow to ask these questions. Multiple answers are better then one.

Thanks
Chris

[Some Dude]

Call them back and insist they fix things properly,have them take that hack tape off and seal it correctly.

[halfelite2]

What is the "right" way. And any answer on the two stage cooling?

here is the install pics.

http://www.halfelite.com/air1.jpg

http://www.halfelite.com/air2.jpg

http://www.halfelite.com/air3.jpg

[beenthere]

The ASX16 is a 2 stage A/C.


Did he reuse your old thermostat, or install a new one?

[halfelite2]

The ASX16 is a 2 stage A/C.


Did he reuse your old thermostat, or install a new one?

Its a new one. The first tstat they brought did not work. So he ran and got a new one its a. Venstar T1800. Which from what I could read in the book. Its two stage tstat.

I will call them tomorrow then to get this sorted out. I can not really blame them for not being able to seal the transition all the way. I have small hands and can barley feel up there. I stuck my wifes small camera and see a hole they missed. So i can point that out to them also. The whole time there were putting it in they were worried if they would have the right clearance to meet code.

[HVACJOEK]

So our 20 year old unit just bit the dust on the hottest week we have had in Southern California. And figuring everything was 20 years old it was best to replace everything.

After talking to all the AC people in the phonebook finally found one that the prices seemed right and their work seemed good. But I have a few questions.

We got the Amana ASX16 outdoor unit with the Amana AMV8 Furnace. Now they told me this is a 2 stage unit. Does that mean that just for heating or also cooling. As I see it now, if we set the tstat at 77f the ac does not kick on until its 79f on the tstat. I would think the lower stage 1 speed is supposed to kick on in that 2 degree difference window. Or I could just be wrong all together.

Also should there be zero cold air blowing around the unit? Seems like there is a lot of air flow coming from around the "air handler" The guy had a hard time sealing the unit to the existing duct work as it was a tight fit in the closet. He worked on it for 2 hours piecing pieces together using the metal tape ,some goo stuff and some type of hard board with insulation on it. I know you cant get a 100% seal But how much is to much?

Decided to ask here first before I call them tomorrow to ask these questions. Multiple answers are better then one.

Thanks
Chris


Chris it looks like you got a great unit from it's warranty claims. Also it is a two stage cooling unit. here is a link to the warranty page, make sure you file the warranty papers with Amana, they came with your unit.

:cool:


http://www.amana-hac.com/Home/Products/AirConditioningSystems/16SEERASX16/tabid/277/Default.aspx


http://www.amana-hac.com/Home/Products/StandardEfficiencyGasFurnaces80AFUE/AMV8ADV880AFUE/tabid/330/Default.aspx

[halfelite2]

Hehe actually we just went with the goodman product. As the amana stuff was like $ more. But the place were ever the AC company got the unit did not have the matching pieces for the goodman line. So we got the Amana stuff for the price of the goodman.

[beenthere]

Half.

Read site rules, NO prices in post.

Already removed it from your post.

[halfelite2]

Half.

Read site rules, NO prices in post.

Already removed it from your post.


Sorry about that.

[HVACJOEK]

It's like they say you get what you pay for, unless you get a real good bargin.


:rules:

[halfelite2]

So is my assumption correct that the a/c should kick on a stage 1 cycle before hitting the stage 2. And stage 2 does not come into play unless the a/c demands are higher then stage 1 can provide? I left a msg for my tech to call me monday so we can meet to go over the system. and hopefully get it working right. Would just like a little clarification as to what the system should do.

I also read that I should get a tstat that can control humidity also to take full advantage of this system that can also control fan speed. Is this needed? Me and my wife dont use any sort of programming. We are a set it at 76-78 and leave it. And that is fine for 70% of the year. Although At night we will open windows if its cool enough.

I am a totally in the dark about this AC stuff. So I either have to believe every word the tech says or try to dig up information on the web.

[beenthere]

Generally. Seond stage shouldn't be coming on. Except on hotter days.

A thermostat with a dehumidify feature. Would help a lot. To keep your humidity lower.
Its not needed unless your having trouble. But, its a nice comfort feature. And gets you the most out of your VS system.

[Willserve]

I didn't think Calif had much humidity. When I lived in San Diego I didn't have central air just heat. I stuck a swamp cooler in the window and ran a fan for hot days. Yes your system should be kicking on in 1st stage. Does that t-stat have lights that indicate when it's in first or second stage?

[Airmechanical]

if the system does not come on until 2 degrees hotter than setpoint

well then it sounds like it's not wired properly



.

[halfelite2]

I didn't think Calif had much humidity. When I lived in San Diego I didn't have central air just heat. I stuck a swamp cooler in the window and ran a fan for hot days. Yes your system should be kicking on in 1st stage. Does that t-stat have lights that indicate when it's in first or second stage?

No there is no status lights on the tstat that would be nice though. We usually have below 50% humidity except at night.

[rubberduck]

The transistion on that looks poor. Even if the clearance is small there are ways to seal that up pretty tight.

[halfelite2]

Ok the guy came out today. and did some more work on the transition. Now there is barley any airflow in the closet. So that is better. But he still keeps telling me that its the tstat thats not letting the stage 1 kick on. Well after he left I pulled it all apart and got the manuals out.

Now there is only 6 wires coming for the tstat which I think is going to be a problem but not a big one as I can make a new wire run easy. looking at the tstat they have w1 and w2 wired up for two stage heating like it should. But y2 is not wired up aka the tstat calls it MISC1 with a jumper to set what it does. Which I think is the for the two stage cooling. Only y1 is hooked up.

The on the unit itself. For the condensing unit wire. They have red going to red. Then one going to common and one going to Y1. I would think I could drop the red going to red and run y1, y2, and common? Am i correct? If i still need the red wire. Which im assuming is 24v. Then im screwed lol. As its only a 3 wires going to outside. And that wire run will not be easy.

The guy tried to set what he called the differential today on tstat. Are they doing this since im a wire short? As I herd the unit can work with a stage 1 tstat and uses some type of timer

[beenthere]

They don't seem to know what they are doing.

Call the company, and ask to speak to the owner or manager. Politely tell them you want them to wire up the unit properly, like it should have been when they installed it.

[halfelite2]

They don't seem to know what they are doing.

Call the company, and ask to speak to the owner or manager. Politely tell them you want them to wire up the unit properly, like it should have been when they installed it.

Ok so how I think it should be wired is the right way? They are coming back out friday So I can go over it then. But if I need new wire run I would like the forget about anyone else doing the wire runs and doing it myself. I feel more comfortable doing the wire runs myself As I can do it without putting a bunch of holes every were.

[beenthere]

You need other wires ran.

Perhaps you can help your contractor. :D

[halfelite2]

Thanks for the help. Im totally clueless about AC units. I just keep reading the manuals and online lol. Hoping to find the answer. The guy that came out today was not the installer he was the owner. So maybe he thought the installers hooked it up right the first time and just the tstat needed set.

Just normal tstat wiring from lowes will do right? I figure I cant get buy with running cat5 as the 24volt is a little to much for such small wires.

[beenthere]

I'm not allowed to give conformations to DIY questions. :D

[halfelite2]

Ok I will just play it safe and go with 18gauge wire. 18-10 or something.

[halfelite2]

And I would not call it a DIY question. Lol i just want to be pre prepared. I dont want them to come out friday. And be like oh well we need x amount of wires and you only have 5. I want to be prepared for anything. I wont be hooking anything up just running the wire runs.

[catmanacman]

if they install a honeywell iaq thermostat it only needs 3 wires , although if they cant get a simple 2 heat 2cool tstat right they would be lost trying to wire up a iaq:callpro:

[beenthere]

if they install a honeywell iaq thermostat it only needs 3 wires , although if they cant get a simple 2 heat 2cool tstat right they would be lost trying to wire up a iaq:callpro:
That doesn't change the number of wires to the outdoor unit.

[halfelite2]

I was not worried about the indoor wire run anyways. Its already done took me about 30 minutes. The tstat sits where there is a a soffit. So just went in the attic dropped it down to the first floor and then ran it over to the unti and dropped it down. And its done. The hard one is the outside one. When I was up there I noticed the strapped the outdoor wire to the refrigerant hoses every so many feet. So I dont think I can get by with a cut and pull on that one. And since its a vaulted ceilings over were the drop is. There is not much room to work with.