Ugly Betty

I got a clean bill of health on "Ugly Betty's" performance- my Goodman 3 ton. Blows 17F way up inside the vents.

The compressor was replaced last year. Pressure is still good. After the HVAC guy left I took a good look at the intake-space. Nasty.

Many many years of dust, hair and crap built up plus several dried up overflows from the drain. Falling apart insulation caked with dirt.

Out came the vacuum. Several hours later it was sparkling clean and then I used foam to seal the cracks, seams and voids that I could get to. I could already tell the difference in air quality and the way it sounded.

This morning I looked at the 12"x24" filter. Since it doesn't have anything to hold it in place over the irregular opening and it tends to suck up against the blower I have layed two 24" sections of 1.5"x1.5" along the edges to try and weigh it down. It still lifts up some at the back. I countered this by cutting two 10.5" sections to wedge crosswise between the long-lengths at each end. This pretty much holds it in place when the blower runs. Then I carefully vacuumed out what dust I could reach.

The system sounded a great deal more quiet at this point.

I then took a good look at the Panel Access seams. I could hear air being sucked in. This means I'm sucking dirty air out of the attic and bypassing the filter too. I solved this by sealing it with flexible duct-tape. That tape sucked up against those seams instantly! LOL

Now it runs a great deal more quietly with out air whistling and rushing through all those openings. My sinuses cleared up too...

Big problem with Ugly Betty. I would have to dis-assemble the unit to get to the cold-coils. Major Surgery. I'm sure they are filthy. Any good way to clean the coils DIY style without a major hassle? The Tape that seals the coils in has 96's printed on it... I'm wondering if this was the last time the coils saw the light of day?

My HVAC colleague is going to bring me some sort of special spray tomorrow...?