Blow toward fence or house in tight location

ric in alberta

To start with I just want to thank you the professionals on being so kind as to help out those of us that are trying to get it done right !!!


Blow toward fence or to house ? Carrier 38HDR030 condensing unit -----

This unit is usually used on apartment balconies or in limited space locations as it is a tall and wide but only 17in. front to back.The air movement can blow either toward or away from house but accessibility for cleaning is a concern for me
as well as the efficiency of the unit.


OPTION 1 ----
With coil facing wall (air is drawn in from the front side past the fan then blows through the coils then hits the house 9in. away (6in. is spec. min clearance).
This allows ONLY 18in. between front of Unit and fence to squeeze into for maintenance for cleaning the fan side of the coils (I would have to take off the front cover and reach past the fan blades to access the dirty side of the coils which is fairly easy to do)
I think this is doable (but tight because there is only 18in. to squeeze into between the front of unit and fence) But this has the hot air blowing against the house!! I am allowing 9in. clearance (6in. is minimum between house and coils )


OPTION 2----
Rotate unit 180 degrees so the fan blows air away from the house.

Increase the space between house and unit to maybe?? 11in.(as spec. min. in this direction is 8in. when drawing air in from the house side)
This would take the air from the house side then past the fan then through the coil toward the fence 16in. away.
BUT NOW when I want to clean the dirty side of the coil I will have to take the top of the unit off to access it (I am thinking this is an option ???? am I wrong ???)
Then with the top off reach down from the top (37in.high) to clean--- this may be hard to do,---I don't know???.

AND what about working on the fan that is now on the house side of the unit only 11in. away from the house????

ANY of your thoughts and opinions on spacing and direction is most welcome!!!!

By the way the unit is 37in. high--- 44in. wide ---17in. front to back
---and I have 44in. total between the house and the fence.

This is the only location that I have .But I have not yet purchased the unit but every thing else is installed (all carrier Infinity)
Any help From PRO'S in the know would greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance---Ric (from Edmonton Alberta Canada)

beenthere

Need Pic of fence to determine which way is better.

ric in alberta

I dont know if I will be able to send a picture but the fence is wood 1x6 vertical boards aprox 5ft 6in high with 1/4 gaps between boards and 2in clearance off of the ground.
And any thought about the maintenance problem?
Thanks Ric

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beenthere

Not nearly enough free area between boards. I will tend to recirc its own air.

I would have the discharge toward the fence.

ric in alberta

Thanks for the input.
It is also possible to put in the carrier 2ANB630 it measures 31x31x33 tall
and blows upward I think but I dont know about clearances with that unit.
What do you think ?
Thanks Ric

beenthere

Won't have enough clearance between fence and wall for air flow.

ric in alberta

1---If I install the 38HDR030 and move the fence boards how much gap between the boards would I require?
2---Would this gap be required just in front of the unit or (how far) past each end of the unit?
3---And would this then allow me to have the unit blow toward the house?
4---Is the maintenance/ Repair more difficult if I have the air blowing toward the fence? (I forgot to mention that fence is on the North side of the house)

Thanks again for all your help it is very much appreciated.
Ric

scottmcd9999

Personally I think you'd be much better off with the vertical discharge unit. You'll have constant issues with a horizontal discharge unit, given the space you have.

beenthere

Changing to a 1X3 board would help. that would allow more openings, and the combined total open space would be doubled.

Then Scott's idea on the vertical discharge condenser would work pretty good.

COLDIRON

If this equipment is new, inside the box should be two manuals or a two part manual.

One will have the installation instructions and show the unit with the minimum dimensions around it and above it for maintenance.

The other manual should be the maintenance manual.

Count the fence as a wall because hardly any air will go through it.

If you don't have the manuals you might be able to find them on line.

Follow the dimensions or you will have problems later with maintenance issues.

JJboy

Apart from the problem of air flow, thing about you having to fix the condenser, the technicians will charge much more for it.

__________________

**Always kill the power ** Hot air rises, but heat will always move from higher to lower temperatures. ** Real man shoot in manual. ** If it ain't grounded, it ain't dead.

ric in alberta

The vertical discharge unit is 31x31in. and requires 6in. on one side and 12in. on the other 3 sides
So---6+31+12=49 and I have a total of 44in.(5in.short)--So???
1---which unit would be better
2---what spacing (measurements) on the house side and the fence side would you go with.
3---I have neighbors, lets say, that required me to build my fence like that but I did use all screws and brackets that would allow me to remove the fence out of the way (with some difficulty) if repairs required it.I can increase the gap on the boards (if in the end I need to) but I would hate to go so big on the gaps as this is right next to the neighbors sidewalk and is going to look bad with even a 3/4in gap. What do you recommend ?

Thanks again. It feels like we are getting close to a solution.
Ric.

ric in alberta

Thanks for your input I left more info on the thread.
Ric

ric in alberta

Thanks Coldiron ,the unit is not yet purchased and I have been finding some clearances on the net but I am still trying to find what unit will work best. Any ideas? There is more info now on the thread.
Ric

COLDIRON

That's pretty much it for now the other guys covered it the only thing I can think of now is possible relocating the unit to another location while keeping in mind the maximum length of the line set.