Out Goodman heat pump (R22) just gave up after 12 years it's pulling plenty of amps and not tripping the breaker but the compressor is failing to start up, had a friend who's a HVAC engineer look at it and he said its shot.
We live in Northern VA and have a single zone 3.5 ton split system, our friend said he may be able to get a replacement evap coil unit and just change that out and swap out the heat pump and then we'll be on 410 and should be good to go.
Alternatively its a new air handler and heat pump. if we go this route im just wondering what make to go with and whether to step up to a 4 ton System. We have a 2300sqft split level home built in 2007. Obviously the basement part of the house stays a lot cooler, however the upstairs never seems to get as cool as we want or as warm as we want during the summer. Upstairs is a open plan living, kitchen and dining with a large vaulted ceiling.
Equipment sizing isn’t done via square footage. Oversizing equipment is not a good idea and can lead to poor performance and reliability.
You may have a preexisting condition leading to your current poor performance.
Under no circumstances should a larger unit be considered an upgrade. Bigger isn’t better.
Your current unit almost falls under an old rule of thumb that would almost certainly oversize the equipment.
Thanks for the reply, so youre saying the current 3.5 ton system is oversized already ?
I was aware of over sizing and am also aware that split level home do not make it easy and its well known the upstairs and downstairs are hard to get the same.
If someone could point me to somewhere where i could research the correct size units for my property, area and situation that would be real helpful, thanks
There is no correct size unit for a certain size house in a certain area.
Equipment is sized via-
Manual J for heat loss and gain
Manual S for equipment selection
Manual D for duct design
There is no correct size unit for a certain size house in a certain area.
Equipment is sized via-
Manual J for heat loss and gain
Manual S for equipment selection
Manual D for duct design
Out Goodman heat pump (R22) just gave up after 12 years it's pulling plenty of amps and not tripping the breaker but the compressor is failing to start up, had a friend who's a HVAC engineer look at it and he said its shot.
It wont start up! when power goes to it there's a buzzing, my HVAC friend (whom i trust) says its pulling plenty of amps, nothings blown, swapped the capacitor, its not tripping the breaker.
My HVAC guy just called, he spoke to Goodman this morning and said the evap coil does NOT need to be changed, there's some type of "piston" in the system that can be changed, the coil can then be flushed out and we can run 410 in it, so bottom line its gonna cost me $1400 for a new Goodman 3.5 ton heat pump, $15 for the "piston" $100 for the flusher and $300 for him to do the job! Does this sound right ?
Oh and yes he did try a hard start, sorry forgot to answer that.
Honestly, if you change the outdoor unit, might as well change the coil and have a trouble free system with a full warranty. The coil can spring a leak a few years later.
Most of the cost is labour, say the coil fails in 3 to 5 years, that could be like $1000+ down the drain to save $500 or less now.
Most coils from that era were made with thin copper pipes and aluminium fins and the reaction between the metals and VOCs absorbed in the condensate causes corrosion and pre-mature failure.
I think the problem started when the gov't mandated 13 seer and the manufacturers started using thin pipes to meet the standard but keep prices down.
Now they're 100% aluminum and shouldn't leak.
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