HVAC central air in particular

[washman]

I think we're all pretty much up to snuff on what laundry appliances we all own, but what about HVAC?

For those of you how have central air, what brand?

Are you happy with it?

Repairs?

Does it carry the freight on hot humid days?

Hi Frig!

 

[gusherb]

Two Trane units.

Yes.

None.

They will hold 72 up to about 100 degrees outside, and keep the RH in the 40s even with the outdoor dew point into the 80s.

 

[ilovewindex]

Does a Mini Split Count?

Daikin

2.5 ton, 1 head unit

No repairs

It keeps the open plan part of the house comfie during ac time, and heats the whole house fine.. Need a second head unit to do the upstairs rooms

 

[whirlcool]

American Standard 3 ton single unit. Installed in 2011. It'll freeze you our even on a 100F day. We keep it at 76F, which is cold enough for us.

The biggest advantage to this unit was how it reduced our electric bill. With our older (1994) Trane XL unit we were averaging about $180-$200 per month during the heat of the summer and the Trane was in constant run mode during the heat of the day. Now with the American Standard we never have a mode that's constant run, it cycles off and on during the day and our electric bills are now $85-$115. during the the hottest months of the year. So the unit is actually paying for itself.

No problems with it so far. The company that installed it keeps calling us to come out and perform "maintenance" on the unit. I know how these a/c guys operate. I do my own coil cleaning and filter changing. I don't have a need for useless "upcharges".

 

[askolover]

Goodman built Amana gas package unit installed in 2000...no repairs.  I clean the coils every year.  Does an ok job but I think they should have upsized it a little more for the age of the house, but that will probably correct itself when the new windows and siding are installed next year along with more insulation in the attic.  Mortgage pay-off end of this year YAAAAAY! 

 

[appnut]

Trane XL18 installed last October. 

It's new

Yes, my old one was an XL18 also.  this one has a new T-stat that monitors Rh.  Right now I have it a 40%.  Keeps the house very pleasant. 

 

[polkanut]

1994 Lennox single scroll compressor unit here.  Just perfect for our 1100 sq. ft. home.  It has performed flawlessly for us since 1998 when we purchased our home. 

 

[washman]

cant recall if I added pic and vid

here it is in operation.

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtmZMBIToJA

 

[washer111]

Does Evaporative Count?

Being in Perth, its much less "nuclear" in Summer than up north. Up there, summer days north of 104ºF (thats 40ºC) were commonplace.
The central air, dating to 1984 and rated to about 5 tons, carried the freight ALL DAY, even cycling. Although you'd expect that with a setpoint of about 80ºF (27ºC).

That system had a couple of minor repairs. Before we moved in, TX valve was shot on one side of the heat pump.
Then 1 of the original GE fan motors (Trane unit) packed up, then its companion. Had a small gas leak on the charging value, undoubtedly from the techs servicing the TX valve prior.

In humid weather, it also carried the freight. Despite the shortish cycling (fixed with 3M Filtrete filters... LOL), my indoor thermometer reported a humidity of about 35-40% when outdoors it was 60-85% with temperatures in the mid-80s.

Now, onto here in Perth:
Early 1980's "Bonaire" evaporative cooler system. Works pretty well. Needed a new water pump at the end of summer, as the old one (probably not original, by the looks) packed in. Surprisingly, it seems as though the water pump also controls the mains water inlet, in addition to pumping water onto the filter pads - so no water at all reached the unit when the pump died.

Does it Carry the Freight on "Hot, Humid Days?"
Well, think about it. Evaporative cooling + humidity = BLUEGH. Usually it'll get about 1-2ºC cooler than ambient, and about 20% more humidity, based on my indoor thermometer.
But on a hot, dry day, it works great. I understand many units are very conservative with water, some people have added additional pumps to wet the filter pads even better, and noted the units perform exceptionally well. Even in less than ideal conditions.

 

[sambootoo]

Mine is a 1977 Sears unit made by Heil. Amazingly old but still cranking out the cold. It's a bit undersized for the house and struggles on the hottest days but still going faithfully. Compressor went out in 1986, found a guy that was retiring and had left over parts, replaced that for $300.00. Have replaced the condenser fan motor twice, several capacitors over the last few years and replaced the contactor about 10 years ago (was told that fire ants caused that to fail?.) I know a newer unit would cost less to run but it's hard for me to justify replacing something that's working. I know it's running on borrowed time anyway.

 

[Marky_Mark]

I have Daikin central A/C in my apartment.  It also heats (in reverse/heat pump).  It works really well for both cooling and heating, but the guest bedroom doesn't receive as much airflow as everywhere else and I'm not sure what can be done about that.

 

I have discovered that it seems to consume around 50 W of electricity on standby.  I measured it by looking at the electricity meter with all other circuit breakers off.  Having looked online, this could be due to a crankcase heater to stop oil migration in the compressor.  Has anyone heard of this?  Does your system consume a lot of power on standby?  During the months when no heating/cooling is needed, I'll start turning off the breaker.  But it should apparently be turned back on several hours before use to avoid damage.

[this post was last edited: 6/1/2016-10:51]

 

[vacerator]

1990's Bryant

2.5 or 3 ton R22 charged variable speed fan. Either Copeland or York high efficiency for then, axial piston compressor.
Still runs quiet. Cycles on/off about every seven minutes at 85 degrees f. with my thermostat set on 76 f. When it's above 85 outside, I bump it up to 77. Keeps 1500 sq. ft. comfortable. I have no door to my basement. Cold air drops, so I can't complain at all.
When it's very hot or humid, the variable speed furnace blower fan runs at a moderate speed when extended cooling times are needed. When house temp reaches thermostat setting, the blower ramps up on high just before the outside unit turns off.
I've thought about getting a "nest" thermostat, but my son in law told me if we don't change the temp often, it's probably not worth the $250 investment.
We don't spend that much for cooling in almost two seasons, and my highest winter heating gas bill last year was about $140. So the electronic Honeywell t-stat remains. I don't program it, I always set in on hold temp. Work from home.

 

[cfz2882]

crankcase heater

My Mitsubishi "MrSlim" 12,000 BTU minisplit pulls ~135w standby in cold weather because of the crankcase heater-not sure how cold temps have to be for the heater to come on,but when I am not using the system in winter I turn the breaker off.BTW unit is quite effective for heating in heat pump mode-defrosts of the outdoor unit are kinda fun to watch:when defrost completed,puffs a big cloud of steam when fan restarts

 

[washer111]

@marky_mark

The unit on our old house from 1984 had one of them, given that it is a heat pump, although you'd be mad to use the heat in that part of Australia!

When the unit was serviced, it showed signs of having gone "pop" at some point, and was disconnected. With summer temperatures the way there were, I doubt it was necessary. A crankcase heater is only necessary in sub-10ºC (50ºF) temperatures, and I think it stops refrigerant condensing where it shouldn't be, if my HVAC knowledge serves me correct...

So yes, probably necessary if you need to use the heat, but otherwise, leave the system switched off if you find it using too much power. Its ridiculous to think modern systems aren't using compressor blankets or other means of "pre-heating," rather than leaving electric elements running 24/7 in the current "energy crisis."

 

[DADoES]

 
12 years old, 5 ton, single speed, 12 SEER Carrier heat pump.

Carries the load very well for both cooling and heating.

Repairs:
blower circuit board
capacitor for condensor fan and/or compressor (outrageous $300)
blower motor (outrageous $600)

The compressor is noisy as hell, been so for years.  I think a support spring broke inside the can.

 

[Marky_Mark]

@washer111

 

Thank you for that.  I have edited my post to say that it uses about 50 W in standby rather than 200 W.  I was incorrect.  My meter gives 4000 flashes per kWh.  So you can see the mistake.  I've just played about with the meter's other info that it can display.  But still, yes, it's using something when on standby.  Interestingly, all the other info I've found online relating to this seem to come from Australia.  And it's interesting that you as an Australian have responded to my post.

 

Also, when you say "given that it is a heat pump" do you mean that a system that can only cool wouldn't do this?  But systems that can function both ways (or only heat) do have this heater?

 

[washabear]

I had a 10 SEER Ruud unit, which was in the house when I bought it (now 16 years old). It was OK but had some leaking issues over the past few years. I just replaced it with a 14 SEER Rheem unit. Too early to tell how it will hold up or whether I will even be in this house to find out. Triple-digit days predicted for this summer, so we will see how it performs.

 

[washer111]

@marky_mark

Its rather amusing all the information you've found thus far is from Australian sources. I'd have thought it would be focused on the USA where heat pumps are probably more common.

As simple "straight-cool" air-conditioners are not expected to be used at temperatures 10ºC or cooler, they should not have the heater. Maybe a compressor blanket, but certainly not a heater as-standard.
For special applications, like shops where A/C is required, crank-case heaters are an "optional-extra," or, it was for the dinosaur that cooled our house.

So to directly answer your question: No, I would not expect a cooling-only system to use a heater. The operating environment would not be conducive to the kind of issues it's usually installed to prevent.

 

[intuitive]

Heat pump.. Panasonis splits

We are sitting here with 2x Panasonic inverter split systems running on heat at 21c our place is warm ... not stuffy ... its about 11c outside
1hp in bedroom and 2.5hp in living room. We use a lot and dont notice much change in power bill. We sit at $350/ 3 months power. Gas hot water and cooktop, electric oven.

http://https//youtu.be/A5A1XLgeTSA