Homeowner in need of technical advice

[CoquiLostInNY]

So here's the latest story. The HVAC tech called me and told me that he added freon to my upstairs unit and that all is fine now. As for my basement unit, he believes that something is clogging the expansion joint in the coil so he ordered a replacement unit for $70. He also mentioned that I should get some better temps but that he wasn't happy with the pressure readings so he'll have to come back out and replace the part mentioned above.

Now here's what I experienced when I got home. My upstairs unit had a 9 degree difference from my hallway (where the t-stat is located) to my master bedroom (same problem I was having in the winter except now its with the AC). My first floor barely felt any better!

If anyone could recommend a good HVAC guy in my area please let me know because as Jay 41 said, I just need to be comfortable in my own home.

By the way, I want to thank each and every one of you for all the great advice and feedback. Its clear from this forum that there are some true pro's out there and I just had the poor luck of getting either the dummest or laziest HVAC guy in the planet!

[I_bend_metal]

Unfortunately the bad far outweighs the good. You need to keep trying until you find someone you like and trust...then hang on to them!


I saw a sign on a lawn mower trailor today....there were two mowers and 2 weedeaters:

Diversified Services
Mowing and Trimming
Hauling and Mulch
Heating and Cooling


I was like....WTF?? I couldn't get my van slowed down fast enough to snap a picture
If I see them again I will get pictures....but just goes to show you what it out there

[Jay 41]

I'm sure there are alot of good people on here that are in your area, I'm sure someone will step up. I think I'm probabaly to far away from you for a service call. Let us know how it turns out.

[CoquiLostInNY]

Sorry for the delay in posting the model number of my units... I haven't been home much considering my AC is not working and its been warm these past couple of days. The model number for my outdoor AC unit is Weather King 13AJA24A01 (both units are the same). I wasn't able to get the model of my indoor furnace because the labels were ripped off but I did see something that reads "RCBA-3765GG....". I'"ve uploaded some photos of my current setup. I found it interesting that there were nails sticking out from the roof above so I'm wondering if this is what's causing poor air to go to my daughter's room. I would like to note that I raise the copper and insulated tubing that was crushing the flex pipe as well as tried to straighten out the sharp bends and make them move free-flowing. Hopefully that can help a bit (hey, I'm starting to like this stuff)

By the way, the builder told me that my system which consist of 2 outdoor AC's (the 2 ton unit I provide the model number to above) plus the 2 gas furnances (one 75K BTU and the other 45K BTU) cost about $x. Is this true?

Also, I got in touch with another HVAC pro and he's recommending that I redo the entire duct work in my attic to resolve my temperature shift problem. I'm thinking this is going to be costly and maybe overkill but I would love to hear what you guys have to say.

[beenthere]

No pricing questions allowed, or answered. Its in the rules.
Return flex doesn't ook like its pulled as tight as it should be.
The crushed supplies will need fixed or replaced.
Your ducts could be undersized, but shouldn't need all of it replaced.
A helper duct may be needed for the supply.

[Shophound]

T
Regarding registers, my bedroom has 5 registers (1 near the floor and 4 in or near the ceiling). My daughter's room has 4 (2 near the floor and 2 near the ceiling). My office or third bedroom also has 4 registers and is the same config as my daughters room. My kitchen has 2 registers, both near the floor. My living / dining room has about 5 registers, all near the floor. Last but not least is my basement and that has about 3 registers (one in the ceiling and two near the floor).

Realizing my handicap without a picture...but does anyone beside me find the arrangement of registers described in the above paragraph a bit odd? Unless the two low registers are returns and the two high ones are supplies, or vice versa.

CoquiLostInNY, are all of the described registers above pushing air into the rooms, or at least one or two of them also removing air from the room? If all of them are pushing air into the room, I find that arrangement odd. Reason I ask is that you earlier mentioned a common return in the hallway near the thermostat, and the pictures of the attic ductwork would lead me to think I'm looking at crushed supply ducts vs. crushed returns and supplies together.

Also, is your house a townhouse? You describe two units yet I see four outdoor units in your pictures.

[tinknocker service tech]

i am thinking registers arent the only problem here
1500 sqft and 4 tons of cooling and you cant cool your house here in jersey when the heat hasnt realy hit yet

there are some realy serious issues here and you realy need a real pro to look over you intire house and yes it is going to cost some one JMHO

[CoquiLostInNY]

Shophound, all the registers in the various rooms are supply registers. I was told that in the summer I'm suppose to open the top registers and close the bottom. In the winters its visa versa. As for the four units outside, my units are the two on the left because that's my side of the townhouse. In addition each set of registers (top and bottom) are connected to the same supply pipe.

Beenthere, is the return flex the pipe coming out of the right side of the unit? Also, sorry about the pricing question. Didn't mean to break the rules.

[mayguy]

4 tons of A/C in a 1,500 sq ft home is a lot! (I don't know your summer, I am sure same as MN) as same for 120,000 BTU of heating..

I think over sizing is an issue, and that's why you are getting hot/cold spots.

And as for taking a long time to cool... Wonder if the coils are frezing up?

[beenthere]

Yea, the flex on the right side.

Could you take and post some pics of the registers. Something sounds screwy.
If you got 2 units, why would they tie all the supplies together. Doesn't make sense.
How many returns do you have.

[jrbenny]

Coqui.

Is that the little tree frog in the PR tropical forest?

[redwing]

yes it seem that you mite have heat loss/ or gain in few the rooms like my freinds said. Have some one come and balance it out.

[CoquiLostInNY]

beenthere, I have one return for the attic unit which is located in my second floor hallway. I have two returns for my basement unit. One of the returns is located on my main floor near the staircast to the basement and the other return (its really small) is located in the ceiling in the basement. I'll take those pics and upload them shortly.

jrbenny, you hit in right on the button!!!

redwing, I can't have my units balanced because the installer/designer didn't install dampers in my unit.