HVAC advice needed

[Mojoe]

For communicating variable speed AC 19 is about the lowest for 2 stage communicating I think we have a 14 SEER

Thanks for the reply. 

[grapesmuggler27]

Thanks for the reply.

No problem. Now for the higher seer you must have a variable speed blower

[Mojoe]

No problem. Now for the higher seer you must have a variable speed blower

Absolutely.  I didn't intend to take this off topic. I was trying to be a little informative, prior to knowing the OP only plans to be in the home 5 years. Chances are, you would not have a unit like this installed without intending to stay in the house for quite a while. They are quite pricey. 

[smashweights]

Yeah, right now we're really looking at minimal stuff (as you can probably tell by the brands quoted), I dont need a ton of features.  We can't up the furnace beyond 80% since the utilities room doesn't have a floor drain apparently.  At least, so I've been told.

Edited May 29, 2014 by smashweights

[smashweights]

A good home inspector will carry insurance just in case he blows a call. You hired him to perform a service. Read your contract with him. You may have grounds for reimbursement..

 

Yes, problem is he is insisting that it seemed to be working when he tested it, but he's got no documentation of temps coming out the vents and just babbles on about how the thermostat was hard to work.  It's a Honeywell programmable that my parents had in their house when i was like 13, it's not that hard to work.

[grapesmuggler27]

Yeah, right now we're really looking at minimal stuff (as you can probably tell by the brands quoted), I dont need a ton of features. We can't up the furnace beyond 80% since the utilities room doesn't have a floor drain apparently. At least, so I've been told.

Theres a drain somewhere or your AC wouldnt be able to drain. If no floor drain you could always use a condensate pump. Can do a 92% AFUE furnace and a 13 seer ac for a really reasonable price. And it would be carrier equipment. Even if you just wanted a AC I can do that as well. Let me give you a price on a good brand equipment before you make a final descision

[smashweights]

Theres a drain somewhere or your AC wouldnt be able to drain. If no floor drain you could always use a condensate pump. Can do a 92% AFUE furnace and a 13 seer ac for a really reasonable price. And it would be carrier equipment. Even if you just wanted a AC I can do that as well. Let me give you a price on a good brand equipment before you make a final descision

 

There's a small gauge PVC pipe going into the ground and runs out the side of the house into the garden.  Probably about 1" in diameter.

[madcat6183]

Grape will take care of you, after he services the AC unit he'll service the misses, then you.  In the end it's a win, win, and everyone is happy.  If you have pets, especially goats or sheep, they won't be happy though, he doesn't play so nice with them.

 

But for real, good dude and knows his stuff, plus usually cheaper and you know it's done right. 

[smashweights]

Well new update: we had another HVAC contractor come through to get a second opinion on whether the system needed replaced, family friend this time.  He actually checked the freon level, which our first contractor DID NOT and the system was bone dry, not a single PSI of pressure in the freon line.  Vacuum checked it and there was a leak somewhere.  Put a small freon charge in and heard it whizzing out two gaskets where the house lines join the outside unit.  Tightened them down, refilled the system, and the house is cooling.  Compressor is working fine (contrary to what the first contractor told me) and 56 degree air coming out the registers.

 

Fuck that first company for doing a half-assed job.  Do I have any recourse to recoup the service call and labor fees they charged me?  BBB complaint or something similar? 

 

Also, we were told with the size of the leak on the vacuum test that there was no way this system was working when the inspector tested it and we've got a potentially system ruining code violation with the way the water softener is hooked into the AC drain line:

 

This drains to the surface outside the house, which means in the winter the water from the softener could freeze in the PVC and back up into the coils in the AC unit.  Our inspector DID NOT note this problem.  Big SNAFU on the inspectors part?  Any recourse I should be pursuing with him?

Edited May 29, 2014 by smashweights

[grapesmuggler27]

For what it's worth most home inspectors dont know shit about hvac, for anyone who buys a house do not buy unless the unit has been inspected by a licensed hvac company. I've never known a inspector to put a set of gauges on a unit

[smashweights]

For what it's worth most home inspectors dont know shit about hvac, for anyone who buys a house do not buy unless the unit has been inspected by a licensed hvac company. I've never known a inspector to put a set of gauges on a unit

 

I've learned they're pretty worthless

[grapesmuggler27]

I've learned they're pretty worthless

So are HVAC companies lol seriously I would call the company that fed you the line of bullshit and tell them what has happened and ask for a refund.

[dustinsn3485]

Home inspectors are technically only suppose to visually check items. I asked that same question with the HVAC that I bought. The house had been vacant and utilities were all off. He said I can light the pilot on the hvac, but he legally within his license isn't allowed to. There were other items of similar nature.

Basically they check for obvious damage that an uninformed home buyer could see being useful; holes in pipes, bad roof, electric sockets that don't function, obvious foundation issues, etc.

Sent while riding

[smashweights]

Home inspectors are technically only suppose to visually check items. I asked that same question with the HVAC that I bought. The house had been vacant and utilities were all off. He said I can light the pilot on the hvac, but he legally within his license isn't allowed to. There were other items of similar nature.

Basically they check for obvious damage that an uninformed home buyer could see being useful; holes in pipes, bad roof, electric sockets that don't function, obvious foundation issues, etc.

Sent while riding

 

I guess what I'm curious of is should he have noted the pipe with the softener drain?

[swingset]

Glad to hear you got it resolved, there are some just plain bad service guys in our industry...not always criminal, just fucking half-assed parts swappers who don't know what they're doing.

 

FWIW, if you ever do get a new system (or for anyone else) whoever puts it in should do a proper Manual-J (measurement of your house, efficiency & load) or they shouldn't be trusted to put in a battery in your t-stat. Proper sizing makes or breaks the system, and too many shitwits guess or over-do it and that's terrible for the equipment).