New unit sucks the power

[aw]

Previous unit was 3 Ton ~10 years old.

Has new 12 seer Ruud 4 ton unit installed. Received electric bill the other day and it was well over $350.

Installers came back out and checked everything over and said it was kosher.

They took a reading between the meter and breaker panel and said it was pulling ~240 amps...should be lower..need to call an electrican.

Kilowatts have increased from 1600 to 2400 in one month. Granted the days have been hotter, but that is a huge jump with new equipment.

Anyone ever heard of this?

[docholiday]

240 amps... I dont think so... But odds are they miswired your heat pump and have a bank of strip heat running.

[maxster]

your service is probably 208V from the town right with a 200amp service panel,something is wrong there.that might of been 24.0 amps he read ....your wire size to the panel would never handle 240A.a residential condenser is 208V/240V with tops 15-20 amps drawn on a hot day(cond.fan and compressor totals)info on the tag of the condenser would help...amps for comp,volts rating!

[billva]

larger compressor, 3 ton to 4 ton will use more amps, as will the cond. fan motor and the blower motor as well.

why did you go from 3-4 ton?

had you upgraded seer and kept the same capacity, you would have probably seen a slight decrease in operational costs.

and depending on where you live, i could mean SLIGHT.

[dnt]

Totally Unacceptable even with a larger compressor etc.the space being cooled and btu usage did not increase did it? I would call these guys back and have them do a recheck, something sounds haywire, unless of course you have turned your crib into a beer cooler or something?

[Hroper]

Looks like you had a Carrier indoor unit , should have been around a three ton, you got a ruud of the internet, hire some one to hook it up, changed the duct to flex and now your wondering why the power bill went up. I based that on your other post. 250 amps thats twice the locked rotor : maybe 250 volts : marrying a ruud to a carrier , B and O and the Strip heat is probly running with the A/C . Use that money you saved to pay the power bill. Long term : don't worry about it : it probly won't run that long anyway.

[ct2]

could you imagine the size of something drawing 240 amps

I connected a spot welder single phased to a 3 phase line that drew 125 amps and I thought that was a bunch

[aw]

Originally posted by Hroper
Looks like you had a Carrier indoor unit , should have been around a three ton, you got a ruud of the internet, hire some one to hook it up, changed the duct to flex and now your wondering why the power bill went up. I based that on your other post. 250 amps thats twice the locked rotor : maybe 250 volts : marrying a ruud to a carrier , B and O and the Strip heat is probly running with the A/C . Use that money you saved to pay the power bill. Long term : don't worry about it : it probly won't run that long anyway.

Thanks for trying to read between the lines and back track on my posts, but you have failed.

I have not ordered equip off the net etc. etc. It is a matched unit and has been installed by a local outfit. Don't understand why you speak in a negative manner. But thanks for playing anyway.

There are no heat stips, it's a gas heater.

House has been bumped up in sq ft. to ~1800. 3 ton unit would not longer cut it.

[mattm]

Originally posted by ct2
could you imagine the size of something drawing 240 amps.

It would be about a 300 ton chiller.

[docholiday]

The problem is your information is ambiguous and inaccurate. 240 Amps is simply not possible with that unit, no way, no how. 240 Amps would more than double your electric bill. 240 Amps would most likley melt down your electrical wiring and box and bring the house with it.

Between the meter and electrical panel have nothing to do with the unit. You would need to read the current to the unit itself. An electrician can test each circuit in the braker panel and tell you where the additional current is being used.

So maybe its 24 amps and you find it being pulled by the unit. Now we have a problem. I would call back the original installer's service manager and explain your dilema. If they continue to express this is normal, then contact the distributor and ask for some guidence. The Distributor will have a tech guy on staff who can meet your contractor and find the problem.

[beenthere]

Originally posted by mattm

Originally posted by ct2
could you imagine the size of something drawing 240 amps.

It would be about a 300 ton chiller.

A 40 ton 208volt 3 phase draws about 174 amp.
So 240 amp would be about 60 tons at 208 volt phase.

[beenthere]

Originally posted by aw

Originally posted by Hroper

House has been bumped up in sq ft. to ~1800. 3 ton unit would not longer cut it.

Sounds like it was sized by rule of thumb.

Does it short cycle.

240 amps on a resi meter? Then you'd have alot of heat showing up some where, besides the wires burning up.

Did you put a hot tub or some thing simular in the addition.

[Hroper]

Your paying 14.853333333 per kw, not knowing where your at 2400 kw may not that much out of line. Hotter more kw useage in normal. but a 4 ton ruud pulls 19.2 amps and the locked rotor is 137 amps. Your post start off with condensor fan pitch , running two drain lines together, hot liquid line,hard or flex,installation question,suggestions for better cooling. you have fished the whole pond, why not post the pictures of the installation or give the equipment numbers, one mans matched system is anothers hack job. Before you can find out what the problem is with a system, you need to find out what it's doing and what has been done to it. Didn't mean to P. O. you.