How Far Away?

[Anthony NY]

How far away can the outdoor A/C condenser be from the indoor gas furnace / A/C coil in the attic?

[hvac-learning]

The Book will give that to you long line application guide.

[smoss]

I live in a 4 story condo building. Each apartment has a condenser on the roof. So people on the 1st floor have a line that runs up 4 floors to the roof !!! I thought this was very odd when I saw the building plans, but I am no expert. Everything seems to work fine for the 2 years we have been in the building.

I do often wonder what happens if there is a leak somewhere in the line. I guess it's the same as an house if you get a leak somwhere in the wall.

[james80031]

The longer the line set, the higher your electric bill.

[motoguy128]

The longer the line set, the higher your electric bill.

More copper too. Copper isn't cheap... and labor to install and charge the longer lineset isn't cheap either.

[james80031]

More copper too. Copper isn't cheap... and labor to install and charge the longer lineset isn't cheap either.

That expandable gas that goes in the copper costs money too. What's that stuff called? R- something

[hvac-learning]

wondering if condenser on roof has a couple of loops init so oil in the compresser does not flood evap. 120* roof temp rises and compresser temps will rise pushing oil every now and then once it goes down 4 stories may never return to the compresser. we service alot of roof condenser and they were failing do to low oil in compresser and flooded evap. most install manuals show where to put traps and how far away they can be installed.

[james80031]

wondering if condenser on roof has a couple of loops init so oil in the compresser does not flood evap. 120* roof temp rises and compresser temps will rise pushing oil every now and then once it goes down 4 stories may never return to the compresser. we service alot of roof condenser and they were failing do to low oil in compresser and flooded evap. most install manuals show where to put traps and how far away they can be installed.

We had one last year. A low budget DIY job. He actually had traps about every 10' of rise- except at evap outlet. Luckily the system hadn't been run yet, because he needed more freon.

[smoss]

wondering if condenser on roof has a couple of loops init so oil in the compresser does not flood evap. 120* roof temp rises and compresser temps will rise pushing oil every now and then once it goes down 4 stories may never return to the compresser. we service alot of roof condenser and they were failing do to low oil in compresser and flooded evap. most install manuals show where to put traps and how far away they can be installed.

No idea if it has traps. No expert here. I just know there are 24 condensors on the roof and a fan coil in each apartment. I know they all seem to work well. My electric bill is actually much cheaper than my last condo that had a heat pump and cooling tower. Probably because I ran cooling more. That building was brick and had poor ventilation.

I should mention I am on the 3rd floor so not as far to go for me. My system is actually oversized and doesn't run more than 15 minutes even when it is 85-90 outside. I should mention I am in Vermont so not much heat to deal with.

Funny story: When the buidling was complete, they accidentally crossed thermostat wires for two apartments. The unit on the 3rd floor had no AC, but his thermostat was actually controlling the 2nd floor apartment. Homeowner wasn't home. It was ice cold in his apartment once they found the problem... 3 days later