TRANE Home central air install

[Dougnrenee]

Brand new unit has failed county permit inspection due to excessive air leaking from the blower/coil unit in the garage. Trane installer/factory insists it's normal and acting as designed..using 'positive pressure'.

I call it cooling my garage unnecessarily with the amount of air escaping thru the panels and the punch out for the low voltage wiring.

I've spent $ for this unit, and trane thinks i should be satisfied with duct tape sealing the leaks until it passes inspection, then remove the tape allowing the unit to function with positive pressure.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Trane two-stage 15 seer. Installed april 2011.

[Joe Harper]

Your supply air plenum is leaking, and justly failed inspection. Positive air flow systems are for commercial buildings and incorporate dampers other devices to regulate air flow. The ony place air should be coming out of the supply ducting is the vent. You need to call the owner of the company and demand to have this repaired properly.

[dandyme]

Brand new unit has failed county permit inspection due to excessive air leaking from the blower/coil unit in the garage. Trane installer/factorywhich one or is it both? insists it's normal and acting as designed..using 'positive pressure'.


I've spent X need to re-read the rules, the part about prices grand for this unit, and trane thinks i should be satisfied with duct tape sealing the leak.

comfort specialist????


now be a good sport and lose the$



we don't have the vaguest clue where you are, but at least you do have LAHJ

as long as inspection dept. is turning it down, keep making them come out to fix it

[beenthere]

Trane installer? Probably just a Trane dealer, and not a Trane company installer.

Sounds like your installer may be blowing a little smoke at you.


Ps: I removed the price from your post, no prices allowed.

[energy star]

Can you post a pic?

[Dougnrenee]

All - sorry for the price reference oversight.

Here are a few photos:

This is the existing low voltage wire installation thru the chasis (on the outlet side of the unit):



Here is the original entry point for the wiring. This is an approx. 3 inch slot between the front panel an chasis. When the wiring entered here, air escaped very freely. The contractor applied a filler to seal the opening after moving the wiring to the punchout in the first picture:



Here is the duct tape job that is helping to reduce air leakage thru a very poorly sealed front panel (the loose black tape is in place to cover the contractor name):



Here is the unit mode number: TAM7AOC36H31SAA

Above was asked whether it was the contractor or Trane that is implying that the positive pressure is normal... it is both.

The last tech that came out said his company is no longer installing this model because of the hassle from the code enforcers. My concern is that I get an inspector that will accept this patchwork and I'm stuck.

[energy star]

Such a shame. Well the good news, it's a nice Air Handler. The whole premise of this design is efficiency and no air leaks. It is unfortunate that installing contractor didn't read the manual (or retain what he read)

I would remove all tape and duct seal. You want to make this thing look as professional as you can. Go to Lowe's and get some thumb gum and seal the hole around the low voltage entrance. Or have the installing contractor install a connector. Do not have any tape over any panels, they are designed to come on and off. You don't want to re tape the door on every time. I would then hang the air handlers brochure on the unit (showing the inspector) so the inspector can see it is the latest greatest from Trane. He may not know and just think its a cheap plastic piece of equipment.

[Dougnrenee]

I broke out the Installer's Guide and sure enough the low voltage wiring is supposed to enter thru the front panel door that is now filled with the black sealant.

One other thing I didn't mention is that the low voltage wiring is run thru a punchout that does not lead to a direct path to the termination point (circuit card). The wiring had to be run thru the coils to provide a path. Ridiculous.

I have the contractor installation manager coming on site Friday to look at my "concerns" prior to re-inspect. I plan to have all tape removed when he gets here. I'll also follow your advice and have them re-wire per the Guide.

I don't see a solution to the poor seals on the plastic panels.

[energy star]

Yes, the seals maybe compromised, but I'm just not understanding that the premise of this new design was efficiency and yet the seals leak? Something just doesn't seem right.

[beenthere]

I still learn towards installer errors creating your problems. Doesn't look like the front panel is on right either.


Trane has not been there to look at it, have they

[Danimal535]

I still learn towards installer errors creating your problems. Doesn't look like the front panel is on right either.


Trane has not been there to look at it, have they

[LibertyTree]

If you take the doors off, re-seat them properly, use an approved connector for the low voltage wiring and thumb gum the holes that the refrigerant lines go through you will be just fine. A real tech would have it fixed in 10 minutes.

[pauls heating &]

whenever i see a new install w tape all over...it screams hack job...
i take the lil extra time to seal airleaks nicely...w a lil rtv...

NOT STRIPS OF TIN TAPE

[forcryinoutloud]

The low voltage wiring needs to be ran properly for starters. Trane has sent out bulletins stating inadequate gaskets on some units and has spelled out exactly how to remedy the situation in the same literature.

Your contractor can contact their Trane rep and they will be able to steer them in the proper direction.

The fix is quite simple and fairly quick.

[TXSpeed6]

A little bit of air is to be expected as it is a positive pressure A/H. Factory claims less than 2% leakage. The 2% Air leakage is measured with both supply and return sealed and cabinet pressured to 1". However, it appears the installer went about it the wrong way to "fix it". Also, the air that would be coming out of that particular hole would simply be return air as it has not passed through the coil yet, but there shouldn't be any as it is sealed off from the air. May need to check that the gaskets aren't messed up in there.

[TheChillerMan]

I wonder if this AHU was bent or twisted causing misalignment of the panels? I've seen it happen before but usually with the metal AHU's not plastic. Either way it should be a 10 minute fix.