Expensive Week

[Baz]

Originally Posted by brp914

I had similar, huge Trane 16 seer variables installed. Very quiet, but to no avail - both neighbors units sound like lawn mowers.

This new house going up behind me......looks like their condensers will be right behind me - closer than anything else on their property - less than 20' from my LR...

[Baz]

The Goodman I installed in 2014.......note the blue colored filter/dryer - that's what I sprayed with cold galv spray to protect from corrosion. Last thing I need is a leak there and all my refrigerant leaking out!

[bob deluke]

Baz,
Get rid of that crappy insulation on the suction line. Use close cell Armaflex if you can get it. Refrigeration houses sell it. The open cell stuff used to insulate water lines in your house is not recommended for a/c lines. Don ‘t insulate the liquid line or drier. Keep the area around the condenser clean and clear of plants, weeds etc. Good luck!

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by red-beard

VS Pool Pump ~$800/year!!!

Good call. The older single-speed pumps are stupid-expensive to run, especially here in AZ where grid-demand is massive in the summer.
As such, it's actually a law here that any new-builds or replacements have to use multi-speed pumps.

[red-beard]

From Today, the unit in the foreground is the 3 ton new unit and the one in the back is the 4 ton new unit. Huge!!! Easily twice the cooling area. I know part of the reason is the R-22 vs. R-410A

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

Good call. The older single-speed pumps are stupid-expensive to run, especially here in AZ where grid-demand is massive in the summer.
As such, it's actually a law here that any new-builds or replacements have to use multi-speed pumps.

Yep. I was wondering why our summer bills were $400, for a few years.

I need to remove my pressure side pump. There is a guy who diverts water from his VS pump to the pressure side cleaner. He counted the revolutions on the wheels and adjusted his pump speed to get it correct. I believe you also remove the orifice. My other option is to replace with a pool robot cleaner. The electric savings would pay for it in about 10 years...

2 hours of my pool cleaner pump = 24 hours of my VS pump, in energy usage.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by bob deluke

Baz,
Get rid of that crappy insulation on the suction line. Use close cell Armaflex if you can get it. Refrigeration houses sell it. The open cell stuff used to insulate water lines in your house is not recommended for a/c lines. Don ‘t insulate the liquid line or drier. Keep the area around the condenser clean and clear of plants, weeds etc. Good luck!

Hey Bob....

Thanks heaps for the advice!

Good observation about the insulation - way overdue for replacement!

I will add to my punch list for sure.

I do try to keep up with maintenance on the condenser - mostly rinsing off with fresh water every few weeks. This coastal location I'm in can be hard on metal components!

Thanks again - cheers!

=======

James - congrats on your new system and thanks for all the photos and technical info!

I've always felt air conditioning (when working properly) is the eighth wonder of the world!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Baz

I've always felt air conditioning (when working properly) is the eighth wonder of the world!

I'm pretty sure that it's several notches higher than #8!

[aigel]

Another thing people forget about when rushing to move to TX ...

Except for a couple weeks, usually late summer, I could do without A/C here. Similar for heat in winter.

In TX, FL, LA etc. you need a/c just to dehumidify!

G

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by aigel

Another thing people forget about when rushing to move to TX ...

Except for a couple weeks, usually late summer, I could do without A/C here. Similar for heat in winter.

In TX, FL, LA etc. you need a/c just to dehumidify!

G

Yep it is HORRIBLE here. And we have really big bugs too!

[bkreigsr]

That Rheem looks a lot like the Coleman we had installed last week.
Anyone know who makes the Coleman units?

We also specified a semi HEPA once-a-year filter and an ultraviolet light in the duct work. - wasted money or money well spent.?

Thanks
Bill K

[masraum]

Originally Posted by aigel

Another thing people forget about when rushing to move to TX ...

Except for a couple weeks, usually late summer, I could do without A/C here. Similar for heat in winter.

In TX, FL, LA etc. you need a/c just to dehumidify!

G

Yeah, our HVAC would hardly get used if it wasn't for the humidity.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by masraum

I'm pretty sure that it's several notches higher than #8!

Agree but didn't want to upset the current rankings!

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by bkreigsr

That Rheem looks a lot like the Coleman we had installed last week.
Anyone know who makes the Coleman units?

We also specified a semi HEPA once-a-year filter and an ultraviolet light in the duct work. - wasted money or money well spent.?

Thanks
Bill K

Good money spent.

The UV light inhibits growth on the evaporator coils.

And I prefer the big 4" thick whole house HEPA filters (MERV 12), over the little 1" ones on the returns.

Good choices

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Single Stage is on/off, standard system.

Two Stage, it starts up at about 65% and then switches to Full if the temp is more than two degrees off. More advanced system can also dehumidify by running low speed for a long time.

Variable Speed is like Two stage, except 40% to 110% capacity and very small increments. Even better humidity control.

Two stage also has two compressors. Efficiency in mind of course.

[Bob Kontak]

Around 1999 had all but heat replaced in my Victorian crib in Cypress, TX. 14 seer. Three ton up, five ton down. Trane. Surely single stage at $7,500.

Contractor said draw the temp down through the night to dry the house out given the newer units cool so fast.

[red-beard]

Bob, that sounds about right. 20 years ago, 2-stage would have been very expensive.

Honestly, the 16 SEER option was just under $10K. But for $2K more, 2 stage seemed like a good investment.

Working fine. These are WiFi, so you program the schedule on your phone. 7 days with 4 schedules per day.

[mattdavis11]

I'm not following the language, so please help me out. When you say 2 stage, do you mean that it has 2 compressors? Or the evaporator fan is 2 speed?

My parents had a Trane XL19I (19 SEER) installed about 12 years ago, I was living there finishing my degree at the time. Dual compressor, very quiet. They had a concern about the noise, well, because the old one was noisy. So, my brother moved the whip to where they wanted it, pad laid down, then the a/c guys ran new lines, installed the condenser, dampers, two thermostats, maybe the handler too. $10K. Two story house, 2600sqft, Dallas.

They went solar later, because that's what my brother told them to do. He set them up with the best system out there then, because he could. My brother then worked for a company that is now Tesla, was Solar City. I don't know the particulars, but it has all paid off, and they have little to no electricity bill. From what dad has told me, he basically pays for the electricity consumed at night.

Last spring I installed a 14 seer 2.5ton Rheem. The house never had central air, 1200sqft. $5K. I haven't gotten around to insulating the house, and it doesn't have any, anywhere. It can't keep up. These past few days (105f) you have to turn the place into a meat locker at night and hope that it maintains throughout the day.

Wife just walked in the door, and it's too cold, maybe 74f is better for her. Not for me.

[edgemar]

AC may need work, but how's the back-up power there?

[Jim Bremner]

I just had a poor boy Goodman installed in my 2200 sq ft house in California. 4tonsnand all new duct work + asbestos removal. $9,000

Added a 6,000 cfm whole house fan from Quiet Cool. I highly recommend it.

Took the blower assembly from the old HVAC system, all 60#s of it. Added a gable vent in the garage for the HVAC fan. It was fun getting it up there. There's a few spots in the gable that the big fan is blowing back into the garage and not out so I will be blocking that off soon. I set it up to plug into a wall outlet when needed. When I get my cnc set p in the garage I will have an electrician bring in 220 and also a wall switch for the fan

We went solar 18 months ago. I have 36 more payments of $320 our Electric bill is $6 or less a month. ROI is around 7 years and the true cost is about $70 a month that we averaged for the year extra over not having solar.