RHEEM furnace....WTF???

[Servicetech51]

In the past week I have had same problem twice two different residences same model furnace rheem 2 stage 90% + .. I get igniton no cross over only first two burners ignite... then on refire same thing.... then will ignite properly and work for extended period of time.... may be a few hours or few weeks (have been on one of these calls 3X)..... same thing... when i arrived on the call today was flashing 2 (pressure switch) but then when into ignition process and did the before mentioned failures...... gas pressure 7 in inlet .... low fire 1.25 (adjusted to 1.75)..... high fire 3.0 (adjusted to 3.5) spoke with tech support had me pull burners... oriface and manifold.. no debris no blockages in pressure tubing or vent....... not sure why its coding #2 (only saw this one time) not giving me any good answers everything was working when doing checks..... surely some of you have seen the same things.... open to solutions...... leaning toward new burner assembly both furnaces 4 years old....... One other thing Rheem heat pumps.... overcharged in winter and under charged in summer its like you have to add refrigerant in summer and take out in winter...... any suggestions. my company absorbed a smaller one that all they put in was rheem.... I would not give that crap away

[martyinlincoln]

Cleaning the crossovers and a mild weather kit would be my suggestions,assuming the coil and heat pumps are matched sets.

[Gross]

impingement

[Servicetech51]

Cleaning the crossovers and a mild weather kit would be my suggestions,assuming the coil and heat pumps are matched sets.

crossovers are clean and clear....

[Gross]

lighting from the bottom up?

[bja105]

One other thing Rheem heat pumps.... overcharged in winter and under charged in summer its like you have to add refrigerant in summer and take out in winter...... any suggestions. my company absorbed a smaller one that all they put in was rheem.... I would not give that crap away

Do a search for "Rheem Static Regain." There are specific instructions on ducting the air handlers. If not followed, you'll have poor airflow, giving those symptoms.

[oldblue]

Wait til you see one of the older 80% pilot rheems get a dirty flame spreader not light and just dump gas. Sometimes they light sometimes they don't. Every time I see one of them I take the burners out and rinse them out.

[Metroman]

Apparently Rheem's charging charts for the heat pumps are not correct.
We had a problem recently and was told to charge in heat mode and use the heat mode charging chart on the panel.

We have installed quite a few Rheem two stage 95% furnaces and have not come across the problem you are describing. Besides replacing the burners, I would make sure the venting was installed correctly. Most need 3", and check number of 90's. Check the drain lines in the blower housing area that go to the trap. It's easy to kink those lines, causing water to backup in the secondary. You could check to see how many inches of water column the inducer motor was pulling and see how close that is to the pressure switch.

Since you caught the code on the board for the pressure switch, I would look into other things besides just the burners.

[oldblue]

Apparently Rheem's charging charts for the heat pumps are not correct.
We had a problem recently and was told to charge in heat mode and use the heat mode charging chart on the panel.

We have installed quite a few Rheem two stage 95% furnaces and have not come across the problem you are describing. Besides replacing the burners, I would make sure the venting was installed correctly. Most need 3", and check number of 90's. Check the drain lines in the blower housing area that go to the trap. It's easy to kink those lines, causing water to backup in the secondary. You could check to see how many inches of water column the inducer motor was pulling and see how close that is to the pressure switch.

Since you caught the code on the board for the pressure switch, I would look into other things besides just the burners.

The rubber drain lines on the Sure Comfort 90+s are ridiculous trying to run them to the right. On one of them no matter what way I did it they had a slight kink to them.

[bruced]

If you have to change the charge on a heat pump, any brand, in summer to winter, you have a bigger problem. It is not the equipment, it is you lack of ability to find out why. Also you don't need Rheem's or anyone elses "chart" to determine what a heat pump is doing, just a thermometer and a set of guages. You should be able to determine what the outside coil is doing and what the indoor coils are doing by there Delta T's. Airflow, refrigerant lines, txv should all be checked and determine if they are right. If you cannot solve this one, call a proffesional, and return to school!

[bruced]

If you have to change the charge on a heat pump, any brand, in summer to winter, you have a bigger problem. It is not the equipment, it is you lack of ability to find out why. Also you don't need Rheem's or anyone elses "chart" to determine what a heat pump is doing, just a thermometer and a set of guages. You should be able to determine what the outside coil is doing and what the indoor coils are doing by there Delta T's. Airflow, refrigerant lines, txv should all be checked and determine if they are right. If you cannot solve this one, call a proffesional, and return to school! We have not experienced the problem with the 95 plus and we put in a lot. What did you do to troubleshoot it?

[man from trane]

^ You don't know all the facts and what he may have done to diagnose it, Bruce. Your kind of comment questioning his ability is un-called for. If you can't offer suggestions without being mean, don't post. Since you already know the solution to every possible problem that could occur then you won't need to hang out here anyway.

[DCIHeat&Air]

Servicetech51 - In my experience, just about all 2 stage units should be charge during stage 1 operation (410A correct), you can do this via the wiring or thermostat. Is the furnace multi speed? Sounds like airflow problem.