Evaporator installed wrong

[boyington214]

My house was built 5 years ago. From the day I moved in the AC never seemed like it cooled our house and our power bills were extremely high. PG&E was couldn't explain why our bill was so high.

In the last four years we have had to replace our blower motor and the run capacitor twice. We also had a problem with the drain pan filling with water. Well this week it was discovered the evaporator was installed backwards. The arrow on the evaporator points towards the furnace, instead of the duct work. I had an HVAC person out who confirmed it was installed backwards by the builders AC sub.

I have many questions that I am hoping some of you can answer. Does this explain why my power bills have been so high? Does it explain why I have had so many problems in such a short period of time with my AC unit? Because the evaporator has been installed backwards for the last 5 years is there any chance there is damage or strain on the rest of my system? Should I have the AC company replace any other parts when they fix the evaporator? Thanks for your time.

[dandyme]

no to all the above

[Irascible]

In terms of heat transfer, I don't see anyway that the coil knows the difference whether the air flows one way or another. There could be subtle differences on certain coils, but nothing major. It's unlikely that any of your concerns will be addressed by flipping the coil around.

You're probably going to spend a decent amount of money correcting the coil. If I were you I wouldn't do it till I had those other issues settled in my mind. You might need to find a contractor who really understands how to evaluate performance. A genuine evaluation of performance can take considerable time as it includes the home as a system. It might take an hour or a few, hence the cost will go well beyond the typical trip fee.

[boyington214]

Thanks for your help

[mark beiser]

Likely the only thing the backwards evap coil may directly contribute to is condensate disposal issues.

[Some Dude]

Most of the ones i install are up-flow or down-flow.

[old_fart]

what type coil and where is that arrow located on the coil? I have installed coil on existing ah and have installed coil to backside of unit because more room for ref lines and closer to condensate drain. I always insure just a slight slant on coil toward condensate drain.

[boyington214]

It is an Apsen A-frame coil. The Arrow is pointing towards the furnace.

[bmathews]

Whenever I have problems with something. The first thing to do before you start changing up a bunch of stuff. Is to read the instructions and install everything the way the manufacturer says too. It very well might matter. We don't ever install Aspen coils. We only install Lennox on a Lennox, Trane on a Trane and Carrier on Carrier.

[the dangling wrangler]

It is an Apsen A-frame coil. The Arrow is pointing towards the furnace.

Turn the sticker around. Problem solved.

[gas_n_go]

My professional disclaimer: I work on large commerical refrigeration systems and do not have alot of experience with residental air handlers


As far as this sticker goes. They dont put that sticker on for no reason. It costs money to put that sticker on it. The reason they put it n there may be for situations that do not apply to the application you have. You should contact the manufactor and ask them why that sticker is there and how it effects the unit. Also question him on which way the sticker should be placed on the unit it is possible that the sticker is meaningless or it was put on backwards at the plant. double check that with the people who know, the engineers.


Your other problem is unlikely related to the coil but I would not rule it out until you have spoken to the manufactor. More then likely you have some other problem that is costing you so much money. Give me more information and I will take a stabe at some things you can look at.

1. what conditions does your system operate in like outside temp and humidity.

2. what region of the country do you live in?

3. how big is your house and how many floors are you conditioning?

4. How big is your unit?

5. Manufactors data from unit, make model serial numbers?

6. What do you keep your stat set at?

7. If you have operating pressures, superheat readings, and subcooling that would be very helpfull

8. Other then your energy bill do you have any other complaints:
a) takes long time to reach temp
b) does not hold temp
c) humid inside home

Anything you can add to help build us a picture of the conditions you are experience are helpfull. No detail is too small. There are lots of reasons your unit may be running ineffeciantly your coil being installed backwards is low on the list.

Have you asked any of these techs to specifcally address your energy problems? Do yourself a favor and call a company and ask for the service manager and really explain to him what your complaint is. If he takes the time to really listen to you and asks you questions he will know who to send to your house. Not all techs are created equally. That is no way a slam on my fellow techs out there. We all have things we shine at and things we strugle with. You need someone who is good at system anaylisys to come out and propperly identify why your system is working so hard.

[catmanacman]

most of the aspen horizontal a coils can be installed either way you just have to add a transition to move the apex of the coil away from the heat excanger

[the dangling wrangler]

It is an Apsen A-frame coil. The Arrow is pointing towards the furnace.

Pictures please.