Should another return be helpful for basement system?

[teddy bear]

We had our basement system inspected and tuned-up last Tuesday. The system is a 2003 Trane XR11 1.5 ton heat pump that heats and cool

My question is, is he right that a return will not be needed? Are the current 2 returns enough for the system?
Thanks in advanced.

This is a well developed basement, do you have a dehumidifier in the space? What is the real temp/%RH during different times of the year? Does cool damp have any thing to with this problem?
Regard TB

[tedkidd]

The first floor basically has no load. You have a HVAC system on every floor. You could almost leave the 1st floor system off and be comfortable from the systems above and below.

I said the workmanship was terrible, I would need to go back and read about the supplies and returns on that system.

It is true and very frustrating that equipment is so forgiving because the people that do that kind of work get away with murder.

Nicely written.

[George2]

Nicely written.

Thank you, I appreciate............I get lucky every now and then.

[545GAlady]

The first floor basically has no load. You have a HVAC system on every floor. You could almost leave the 1st floor system off and be comfortable from the systems above and below.

I said the workmanship was terrible, I would need to go back and read about the supplies and returns on that system.

It is true and very frustrationing that equipment is so forgiving because the people that do that kind of work get away with murder.

The basement system does not effect the first floor a whole lot since there's a door that leads to the basement from the first floor and it is usually closed. The doors to the bedrooms upstairs are always closed and it always feels comfortable up there. During our heating tune-up back in early October the tech checked the airflow on the air vents on our first floor and upstairs system. He said the airflow is proper for both systems. This tech is a very good one who works in one of the highest rated companies in my area.

[545GAlady]

This is a well developed basement, do you have a dehumidifier in the space? What is the real temp/%RH during different times of the year? Does cool damp have any thing to with this problem?
Regard TB

Our basement is pretty dry (humidity is usually around 40 - 45% down there) and no we do not have a dehumidifier in the space. The system does a great job on dehumidification.

[545GAlady]

Update... The new 12 inch return was installed (It replaced the 6 inch in the man cave of course) and the airflow in the basement has improved! The ductwork was also sealed up. Air leaks existed before. *Note* One of those 4 inch ducts on the right side of the plenum of the first floor system is for one of the bathrooms (this certain one is a half bathroom) and the other 4 inch is for the large kitchen pantry.

[George2]

Update... The new 12 inch return was installed (It replaced the 6 inch in the man cave of course) and the airflow in the basement has improved! The ductwork was also sealed up. Air leaks existed before. *Note* One of those 4 inch ducts on the right side of the plenum of the first floor system is for one of the bathrooms (this certain one is a half bathroom) and the other 4 inch is for the large kitchen pantry.

Imagine that!

[545GAlady]

Imagine that!

It's sad how the system has never been sealed up before. Before it was sealed, you can see how crappy the tape work was. There were not too many leaks though. Only a very few small ones. By the way we have a 14" x14" air filter in both returns now. Because of this, we no longer have a 14" x20" filter in the air handler.

[George2]

It's sad how the system has never been sealed up before. Before it was sealed, you can see how crappy the tape work was. There were not too many leaks though. Only a very few small ones. By the way we have a 14" x14" air filter in both returns now. Because of this, we no longer have a 14" x20" filter in the air handler.

Lordy, I swear you are going to give me grey hair when this is said and done. I thought that you had larger grilles! A 12" flex (depending on the lenght is equal to 500+ cfm. Those tiny 14"x14" filter grilles equal 392 cfm when the filters are new.

My preference is to always oversize filter grilles. Why? Because air filters get dirty! I.E., dirt = resistence to airflow!

[545GAlady]

Lordy, I swear you are going to give me grey hair when this is said and done. I thought that you had larger grilles! A 12" flex (depending on the lenght is equal to 500+ cfm. Those tiny 14"x14" filter grilles equal 392 cfm when the filters are new.

My preference is to always oversize filter grilles. Why? Because air filters get dirty! I.E., dirt = resistence to airflow!

A larger grille couldn't fit between the studs. The length between the studs are 14 inch. Our old filter took about a year to get A LITTLE BIT dirty. We always change the filters in our other systems once a month. We will now change the filters in our basement system once a month now.

[George2]

A larger grille couldn't fit between the studs. The length between the studs are 14 inch. Our old filter took about a year to get A LITTLE BIT dirty. We always change the filters in our other systems once a month. We will now change the filters in our basement system once a month now.

They make 14x20 or 14x25. The reason the old fitler didn't get dirty, is because no air (dirt) went thru it. Using cheap fiberglass filters will help with the small filter area.

[545GAlady]

They make 14x20 or 14x25. The reason the old fitler didn't get dirty, is because no air (dirt) went thru it. Using cheap fiberglass filters will help with the small filter area.

The reason why we don't use fiberglass is because we did one time and the amount of dust in the house grew. We now use lower quality pleaded.

[tedkidd]

A larger grille couldn't fit between the studs. The length between the studs are 14 inch. Our old filter took about a year to get A LITTLE BIT dirty. We always change the filters in our other systems once a month. We will now change the filters in our basement system once a month now.

The reason why we don't use fiberglass is because we did one time and the amount of dust in the house grew. We now use lower quality pleaded.

There is inherent contradiction in those two statements. The filters are either trapping a lot of dust or they aren't. Once a month should be fine.

Dust isn't always black, or even dark. I no longer assume I can tell a filter is dirty by looking at it. I learned that knocking over a perfectly white media filter after the Infinity said it needed changing. (I have been too stupid to listen and have had to learn the hard way, ashamedly, too often. It's better to learn from the mistakes of others than repeat and pay for them yourself. This is for benefit of other non-pro's following this as GAlady seems up to speed on a lot of this already.)

I think the best way to truly know a filter needs to be replaced ESP. One of the nice things about good communicating furnaces, they know when flow is getting restricted and tell you.

[545GAlady]

Last week we also did call several good top rated companies in my area to look at the ductwork. They evaluated everything and said the ductwork for the first floor system was the right size and was in fine shape and the only thing that was needed was duct sealing. Obviously flex duct is everywhere down here and in most homes around here metal duct is not allowed. I guess it's just the south where work may not be the best.

[545GAlady]

Well even after the new 12 inch return was installed the game room still feels cooler with the heat on. The walls in our basement are very well insulated. I did a test the other day by taking the cover of the register off and with it off the temperature in the room warmed up. With it on not a whole lot of airflow. Now I'm starting to think that the register we are using in that room is not a good one and is restricted some of the flow. What do you think? I posted a picture of the register in one of my early posts on this thread.

[RyanHughes]

Perforated diffusers like the one in your game room tend to have a horizontal throw, so most of the warm air will hug the ceiling. A louvered or step-down diffuser like you have in the theater room may work better for you. Or you might try removing the 4 pattern deflectors (more vertical throw) and seeing if that helps first.

[545GAlady]

Perforated diffusers like the one in your game room tend to have a horizontal throw, so most of the warm air will hug the ceiling. A louvered or step-down diffuser like you have in the theater room may work better for you. Or you might try removing the 4 pattern deflectors (more vertical throw) and seeing if that helps first.

Thanks very much. We used to have one of those perforated diffusers in the theater room and it kinda did a good job but not so much. When we upgraded to the louvered diffuser for that room, it helped A LOT on temperature and it makes the air a bit quieter as well!

[545GAlady]

I'm having a contractor come out on Wednesday to inspect the WHOLE system, and also to perform an energy audit on the house. I have always wondered this, but never mentioned anything about this in the past on this thread, but specifically what part of the duct work looks terrible?

PS. when I first started this thread I meant for the title to say "Will another return be helpful for basement system" not "Should a return".