OT - Any A/C service men here?

[shooter]

I have been having trouble with my a/c for a few months now. My house is less than a year old so it's still under warranty. During the summer the house wouldn't cool lower than 83 degrees some days. I have had a serviceman out 3 times now, but he says he can't find anything wrong, and everything is working like it's supposed to. If it's working, why isn't it cooling? They keep sending the same punk kid out to look at it even though I have specifically requested for them not to send him anymore. I can tell as soon as he walks in that he doesn't want to be here. My friend lives a couple streets over from me. Their house is 400 sq. ft. bigger than mine, they keep their house 5 to 6 degrees cooler than I do, and their bills are consistently $50 to $80 lower than mine a month. I can't figure it out. I know y'all can't diagnose the problem from a computer screen, I'm mainly just venting my frustration.

My dad owned his own a/c company for 20 years before he went into the ministry. He thinks there is a leak in the duct work in the attic, but he isn't here to properly diagnose the problem.

[CEMENTHEAD]

Check your returns to see if they're blocked...(furniture, shelving, toys, clothes, etc..).

Or check to see if you even have returns....

Don't laugh...a good friend's new house had the same cooling problem. Came to find out no return ducting......

Other than that, you might be on to something with the leaking air from the ducting.

That's all I got......Hope it helps, Tom

[madman4570]

Did they do a Load calc ?
If they installed say a 5 ton unit, on a 3 or 4 ton duct system, this would defintely lose its ability to cool properly.
Might be they just need to enlarge the return?

OR?-----------------------------

It was a Friday or a Monday and they forgot to insulate your home?
Just Kidding!
Hey seriously, tell them its under warranty and if its not fixed right the next visit you will get a real professional company out to evaluate the problem.
If the people that built your home still cant fix it/insist they hire a pro outfit to fix it or tell them you will sue their butt.


(keep all your records of their visits/phone calls etc)on this issue cause you might need them at court.

[pwl44m]

A quick peek in the attic will tell U if U have crushed ducts or some disconnected. Has anyone been in the attic stringing phone or cable wires ? They could have crushed a duct or pulled one loose.
On a side note - I have fixed My Grand Daughters car twice over the Phone.

[shooter]

A quick peek in the attic will tell U if U have crushed ducts or some disconnected. Has anyone been in the attic stringing phone or cable wires ? They could have crushed a duct or pulled one loose.
On a side note - I have fixed My Grand Daughters car twice over the Phone.

I have performed every standard check that my dad has instructed over the phone, and everything checks out. He says most likely it's a duct leak, but I can't see anything amiss in the attic. He has also mentioned that maybe all the parts don't match up, like they put a 3 1/2 ton unit with a 3 ton coil. The builder is a really nice guy, and I truly believe he is trying to make this right. The problem is, he has admitted to me that he doesn't know much about a/c, and he is relying on their contracted company to properly diagnose and fix the problem. Obviously they aren't doing their job. Having a heat load analysis and getting a different company out here is next on my list of things to do.

[pwl44m]

Just for a quick check, have U tried the Heating unit- I know it is summer but if it works properly it would indicate the ducks r probably OK.

[Tycer]

I had a similar thing happen and the NEW hvac company I finally hired came out and removed some of the refrigerant. Apparently, too much is worse than too little. They used a set of gauges after checking the ducting and voila. They said it is not an uncommon problem on new installs. The difference between the intake air temp and outflow air temp was their first clue.

[.45]

What are you heating with, electricity or gas. If you have a all electric furnace you could have a heat element "stuck" on. As soon as you cool the air it is then warmed back up. This could explain why your electric bill is so high and you house is not cool. This is a very common problem.

[iceman]

Are your ducts in the attic well insulated? It gets real hot up there. What is the temperature of the air coming out of your registers? Ducts may need balancing too much air going to the cooler areas not enough where needed. Filters Clean? Fan running at proper speed? Lots of variables to check and you need someone there to look at it that knows what to look for. Call the manufacturer of the unit sometimes their service manager will get involved. That is what I used to do for a manufacturer and sometimes the contractors need a little guidance. Diplomatic aren't I? Good luck

[Old Ironsights]

Met a few AU servicemen... and some Guard Guys from AK, AL, & AR... but never anybody from A/C.

Where's that?

[horsesoldier03]

You might want to check and see just how much insulation you have in your attic and talk to the builder about what your R factor is on your walls. I have a neighbor who just replaced his AC system. It turned out the AC really wasnt an issue. His main issue was the fact he had only approx. 2" of insulation in the attic.

I am no AC man but I have been told by a good friend that is the best way to tell is to check your drop rate. Find out what your TEMP is in the house according to the thermostat then take a themomether (the wifes meat temp gage works great) and see what the temp is coming out of the register. I have a new system and it generally has about a 22 to 24 degree drop rate.

[Hagler]

Shooter,

I am not an expert, and I have been out of the A/C game for many years. ...but, I will give you my thoughts, anyway:

You could have DAMPERS in your interior unit, now commonly called an "air handler". If your dampers are closed off, this will seriously curtail your cooling. ... but, you should also notice little, or no airflow at your registers. The number of dampers is usually 1-per-duct, and you have to remove the clamp that holds the insulation around the ductwork, in order to turn the damper handle at the plenum discharge point.

If you have a HEAT PUMP, then, maybe, your unit is heating, when it should be cooling. You may not realize this, because the outdoor condenser unit runs in either heat, or cooling mode. A stuck reversing valve, or a faulty defrost/ control board, or a faulty interior thermostat can make your A/C heat, instead of cool. Also, during heating, and in defrost mode, the A/C kicks in, but the outdoor condensor fan stops running. Your punk kid "technician" may be like too many of today's "technicians": absolutely clueless about heat pumps, and nothing but parts changers.

...and, yes, as Tycer said, too much refrigerant will prevent cooling. If your system uses one of the newer, blended refrigerants, the proper way to charge the system is supposed be a total evacuation of the refrigerant, and a recharge from a vaccuumed condition. This is due, so I am told, to the different properties of the refrigerants in the blend causing them to seperate & leave the A/C system at different rates, if your technician removes just a little of an overcharge.

I hope that you find the solution, soon.

Shawn

[AJMD429]

(keep all your records of their visits/phone calls etc)on this issue cause you might need them at court.

I'm always too shy to ask for names when I call, but that IS an effective tactic. My wife will even make sure they realize she's writing it all down, asking them "...and how do you spell your name...?" Really funny when it's 'Sally Smith' or something.

Call the manufacturer of the unit sometimes their service manager will get involved.

Yep. They don't want their product to get a bad reputation due to bad installers or bad service.

On a side note - I have fixed My Grand Daughters car twice over the Phone.

Maybe that's what I need to do instead of trying to fix my car at home; go to work and just call home to work on it over the phone - I'd break fewer of the things I try to fix...

Met a few AU servicemen... and some Guard Guys from AK, AL, & AR... but never anybody from A/C. Where's that?