condenser fan blade pitch

[old yeller]

Originally posted by aw
The unit is "cooling" so to speak..I think I have other issues such as heat gain/air loss in the house. Thermostat will not stay below 77 in the afternoon. Split between supply and return in 14-15 at the furthest supply duct. I have metal ductwork in the attic so taking a reading near the coil is difficult.

The unit will run for 11 out of 24 hours. This is an older house built int 1973...with little attic insulation.

There is no shroud so to speak and no indication there ever was one.


Thanks for the help everyone

Sounds like a decent temp drop. Call your local power company and ask if they have a program where you can get reimbursed for adding insulation to your home. I was quoted about 1k for added various amounts of blown-in in various places, and the rebate calculation paid for about 75% of it. Worth every cent if it's done right.

Sounds like you are new to this house. Have you given the unit a good look-see to find supply AND return holes? Either one can cause lots more problems than just wasted air in the attic.

Can you just take a picture of the unit so we can take that issue off the table?

[aw]

Here are some pics of my steaming pile...er uh condensing unit. No air is blowing out of the inside of the red circle. It blows out where the blue arrows are...towards the side at the top.





[Edited by aw on 06-21-2005 at 11:56 PM]

[ruud-man]

AW,

The photos are great. There is a shroud. It is the ring in which the blade rotates. The curved lip controls the air leaving the blade.

We still haven't estabished if you have a problem with condenser air flow, so this is an FYI.

[mark beiser]

I would bet real $ that your condensor coil is very dirty.
It looks clean on the outside, but the fins change directions a couple of times. Dirt builds up where the fins change directions, and will eventually block the airflow through the coil.
When the condensor coil gets dirty enough, the fan will start pulling air down through the center of the top. When it starts doing that, it will throw air off the ends of the fan blade.
You can check it out by laying a piece of paper down near the middle of the top grill, you will find that it will actually get sucked down against the grill.

The condensor coil needs to be thoroughly cleaned and the refrigerant charge checked.

Originally posted by mrbillpro
matter fact just Friday on a call saw this on a old Trane XL900, there will be screw holes in the top usually were the shroud was mounted in.

That may have never had a fan shroud. Trane used the same pressing for the tops of multiple units, but just put little plastic plugs in the holes if it was for a unit that didn't use a shroud. The plastic plugs generally desentigrate after a few years in the sun.

[old yeller]

My old ducane does the same thing and it is clean as a whistle with mch more coil surface area (it's a big sqare shape= larger coil surface). It does the same thing by throwing air to the sides instead of up.

Is the air that you feel coming out warm?

I still don't think you have a problem here, but getting your system looked at by a pro in a new house is ALWAYS a good idea.