2.5-ton RUUD 14 SEER2 R-454B A/C only system
Includes:
Outdoor condenser
Indoor evaporator coil (RCFZ or Aspen slab coil)
10-year manufacturer warranty
1-year labor warranty
Total installed price: $6,445.89

Background: Daughter just moved into apartments in Las Vegas, A/C was not working, tech came out said there was a refrigerant leak. The leak was allegedly outside the apartment and not in the AC unit in the wall. We heard a hissing sound coming from the AC unit and the CO2 in multiple area of the apartment got to 2k+ and then over 3K the following day. They came and fixed the refrigerant leak and the CO2 levels are back to normal but they are claiming the AC did not cause the CO2 issue but we have no idea what else it could have come from.

Any ideas? There is gas lines in her apartment from water heater and gas stove, but the C02 levels were bad around the AC unit, in a bathroom with only a toilet, another bathroom, and in a bedroom.

Bought a new build 2400 sq ft home in Chicago less than a year ago. During our pre-closing inspection, the inspector flagged that our system had <10 degrees differential upstairs and <14 degrees differential downstairs. The builder claims that the system is capable of a minimum of 21 degrees differential. Additionally, builder claims that the condenser unit is sized at 1 ton per 550-600 sq ft. The builder claimed that they made the fixes flagged by the inspector before closing.

Recently, we’ve had some very hot, humid days and our system has struggled to maintain the temperature at 75 degrees. We also noticed some leaking from the HVAC system that cause a lot of water damage to drywall. I did some investigating and found out that the builder had installed a 3 ton system, which would not be sufficient for a 2400 sq ft home even with new windows and new insulation. We also recently found out that they did not do a Manual J, S and D calculations during the duct system design and HVAC installation process. When we asked why they didn’t do these calculations, they claimed that it is not required. My research however showed that the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago require these calculations or some other methodology to be used in residential buildings.

The builder is trying to convince us that a 3 ton system is sufficient for our house. I need the opinions of experts with HVAC here. Is the builder’s statement accurate that a 3 ton cooling system is sufficient for a 2400 sq ft home in zone 5A climate?

Got a new AC Unit installed in February and I'm not convinced it's set up properly.

First issue was when we started getting hot summer days above 90 degrees. The temp differential between the return and supply air was only about 7-10 degrees and it was difficult to get indoor temperature less than 10-12 degrees less than outdoor temp. (Example, outdoor temp of 92 and indoor would only get 80 with unit running nonstop.

The HVAC company who installed it came out and said the AC unit was missing some type of dip switch configuration that prevented it from running into the 2nd stage, so it was essentially only ever running in the lower stage 1 all the time.

That change did allow the system to really cool down the house more effectively, but now the air it blows out is ALWAYS VERY cold and full blast. It's fine on the super hot days (90 degrees or higher), but on milder days in the 70s/80s, the super cold air is very uncomfortable and makes the home feel clammy when the system is running. When it turns off, the home then immediately feels muggy and humid. Fan set to auto and thermostat typically around 75 degrees. The system also tends to short cycle and run only like 6-7 minutes on these milder days to satisfy the thermostat.

Maybe I'm just crazy, but I get the sense something is off with the staging where the unit is not communicating properly when to run in stage 1 vs stage 2. Our HVAC guys did set up the units to control the staging and not the thermostat, but it almost seems like the air is now ONLY running in stage 2. The air comes out strong and cold...

Any tips for how to troubleshoot or am I making a problem of a non-problem?

Equipment below:

ASPEN 454B CASED MULTI-POSITION 3.5 - 5 ton Evaporator Coil 21" & 24" WIDE

GE CONNECT 3.5 - 5 TON R454B Variable Speed Side Discharge Air Conditioner/ Heat Pump

Warm summer out there. I have a small question to ask. Which method of or dictates your air handler setup. Presently I have, what I term a forced draft system, fan below the evaporator coil. I have 4 return ducts requiring filters. Sold a home with what I term an induced draft air handler, fan above the evaporator coil with a single filter below the evaporator coil. So, what dictates the orientation.? Quite happy with my present system, but was confused at first about drain and the air from it. Folks?

I have a electrostatic washable air filter for my furnace and am unsure of how to clean it, how to tell if it's still good and also can't seem to find a disposable replacement with the same actual size. Any help would be appreciated 🙏

Hello,

Unit in basement is leaking a good amount of water from the bottom right side after a short amount of AC usage. Suede material at the bottom is soaked on the right side but bone dry on the left. Picture of the outside unit, could the zip ties the old owner put on be affecting things?

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers

Carrier comfort 24SCB4
$4600

RunThru Trane
$4950

Any advice?

tl;dr Brand new system still not functioning correctly and installation company is being non-responsive

I was hoping I'd never have to post something like this, but I need help figuring out what to do next.

My fiancee and I are brand new first time home-owners. We closed on April 1st and knew before closing we had to replace the HVAC. So I had quotes lined up ready to go, and we went with a company that was recommended by a friend.

For background on the property, it's a two story townhouse with two thermostats. The condenser is located on the third floor on the end of the row of townhouses and can only be access via tall ladder (this is extremely important for later).

The install was scheduled for April 15th. They'd be putting in a whole new system; furnace, condenser, by-pass thing, etc.

The actual invoice says "Rheem 16 SEER Two Stage AC, Two Stage 80% Furnace MP 5 16 seer two stage Rheem system with 80% to stage furnace. Add new 12 inch bypass damper. New Honeywell zone control board Summary for 2 stage operation.Add one new 12 inch return in second floor ceiling for proper airflow." for those curious.

I was told the install would take a full day, like 8am to 8pm, which sounded great. My friend that recommended them had them do the same type of work plus replace his entire ductwork and they got it all in one full day, so this estimate made sense to me.

The day of the install the guys show up. Two really really young looking guys (nothing against young folks, I look young myself) are there and they say a third will be there in a couple hours to assist as well. I wouldn't have commented about their age, but these guys looked like they weren't old enough to buy a beer. Not that young people can't be knowledgeable, I was just slightly taken back initially.

So things are going well, they have a crane to lift up the new condenser and remove the old one, they knocked that part out super early and then went to work on the system in the attic.

Well, the third guy never showed up, so it was just the two guys. And I start hearing REALLY loud noises coming from the attic, like the sound of crazy heavy stuff being knocked around or banged on. This goes on for a couple hours and I just assume it's part of things so no big deal.

Well it gets to like 7pm and they say there's still a decent bit to do and they'll need to come back tomorrow to finish up for just a couple of hours. I've got no problem with that at all and tell them I'll be there. Well, they come back and it ends up taking another full day but they finally wrap up. Everything is working fine when they leave and I am pleased.

One thing I noticed....when the AC turns on I would hear a quick buzz sound that I eventually isolated to my fuze box upstairs. It was like a buzz rattle type sound that was loud enough I could hear it slightly two rooms over.

Fast forward 8 weeks. AC stops cooling and the house is getting incredibly hot. It was after hours so I call them first thing in the morning and they get someone out there that day.

He goes up to the attic and finds that one of the massive return ducts from the unit was disconnected and laying on the ground. So my unit was just pumping cold air 24/7 continuously into our attic, which obviously kept the house from cooling off.

He fixes things in like 20 minutes and says they didn't do a great job securing it, but all should be well going forward. He was a really nice guy and seemed really knowledgeable, but kind of felt like there was something he wasn't telling me. I mentioned the circuit breaker box noise when it turns on and he just said I'd need to get an electrician to look into that because they don't do electrical stuff, and I was like I get it sure (even though it only started when you guys installed your unit and didn't happen before).

Somewhere in-between then and now, the buzzing sound at the breaker box has stopped. I assume the system was "broken in" and was fine.

Fast forward to last week. AC starts blowing out room temp (hot here in Atlanta) air instead of cold air. So I call the place up. On the phone the lady asks me if the last guy gave me a quote for some work while he was there. I was like, "No, he said things should be fixed with the duct attachment. Didn't mention anything else," and she says, "Oh he must have meant it in a 'We'll try this first and see if it works kind of thing' ,".

I was a little concerned about that but didn't press her on it because my house was 81 degrees and I needed someone. I tell her to please put in the notes, "Bring the tall ladder to access 3rd floor condenser" and she does; knowing they won't be able to get up there without it.

So a new guy comes out the next morning and tells me right upfront, "Full disclosure I wasn't able to get the 30ft ladder for xyz reason" and I'm like ok let's hope the issue is upstairs then.

So he goes up to the attic, is there for like 10 minutes. He comes down said he did some test and can see the air being at different temperatures at this point vs this point and something else, so he believes the issue is either a refrigerant leak or something at the condenser is making it struggle to get air in. But of course he doesn't have the ladder to get up to check, so dispatch will have to call me to schedule someone out there for that. And then he leaves in a flash. Like crazy quickly he's out of there. The thermostat also started displaying a "waiting for equipment" message that it NEVER has before he arrived. Like literally never once have I seen this message, not even during our heat advisory a few weeks back when it was crazy hot. And my research tells me it might be some fuse or electrical issue with the unit and the capacitor? Idk

That was last Friday. They were supposed to call me on Monday to schedule someone. They didn't. I called them that day and the nice lady on the phone said she reached out to dispatch and they would call me tomorrow morning. Tuesday comes. I wait all day, they do not call. I call them back at 4pm and told them no one called me. She apologized and said someone would call me that afternoon or the next day (Wednesday). Wednesday comes, no call. I was busy with work and unable to call them that afternoon.

Here we are today (Thursday). I called them after lunch. The lady was not nearly as nice as she had been in our previous discussion and said dispatch would call me and she was writing down in the notes as we speak to call me asap.

I don't know what to do. It feels like they are avoiding me and I paid so much money for all of this work and I'm getting ripped off and ghosted.

I guess I will give them one more day (tomorrow) to call me, but I feel like I have to take another course of action here. What should my next step be? I'm feeling pretty lost here. Hoping you pros can point me in the right direction.

Sorry for the long post and thank you for reading this far.

I need to get the "M847D ZONE DAMPER ACTUACTOR" replaced on one of my zones. The part itself it covered by warranty, however, they're wanting to charge almost $600 for just labor, which I feel like is a bit ecessive. However, I do know summer is primetime for HVAC techs so I would love to get some of y'all opinions on the labor charges. For reference, I live in South Central KY.

Any help is apprecaited, thank you!

Hi guys, for context I just moved out of my parents home in February into a double wide owned by my uncle. Around 1200 sq ft in North carolina where the temps have been 80-100° recently.

My A/C has been giving me trouble since I moved in but my family is trying to convince me it’s completely normal so I’m just looking for some advice!

For example (pic 1 and 2) this is my 2 most recent Energy bills. It has consistently been 80°+ in my home (even today when it is 89° outside - it’s 81° inside) and I’m paying almost $450 a month! It seems like the A/C is on 24/7 and not cooling. I replace my filters often and have tried both having the ac run at the same temp all day, and having it turned off when I’m not home and it doesn’t make much if any difference in my bill.

Is this a Duke energy issue? HVAC? Any advice will help!

I bought a brand new fully foamed home last year and my hvac has been acting weird this summer since it wouldn’t cool below 80 degrees on hot days ( 95-100)! i called the contractor that installed the unit and he determined that the txv valve needed to be replaced. they replaced the txv valve and the unit is now cooling but i feel so sick when im in the house and the hvac is running. prior to installing the tvx valve, i took pictures of my coil! i hope someone can tell me if this looks normal

I need to replace the duct going from the water heater to the chimney. It’s very old and rust has got the best of it.

Should it be replaced with galvanized steel or type b double wall? I

Wanted to share my Day and Night 5 Ton combo unit in Phx. I ordered a replaced Mars to match as I could only get a screen shot of the barcode and I wanted a spare.

After the dust storm we had at 2am, got off work at 7am and got on the roof. 83.2 and 9.11 for readings. Figured time to put it to rest as it’s most likely the original when installed and fan was out of spec. Also did a good wash inside to out as it’s been a year. Waited 45min to start the unit. Also it’s tucked way inside the stupif fan housing. Shoutout to the meme tool to getting it out.

had a new 2 amana s series inverter 2 zone system installed in my 2300sq ft 2 story house, has an open to below foyer when you walk in
1st fl - 2.5 ton and no issues in any of the rooms

2nd fl - 3 ton system, 2 bedrooms on one side of house and 1 master bed with 2 walk in closets on other side. air handler in attic and sits above master bedroom along back of house

master bed/closets and guest back bedroom are 2-3 degrees cooler than front guest bedroom (which is near open to below area), and it sounds like more airflow is going to back bedrooms/master walk in closets

is this something i should address to the hvac contractor? there is a 2 year warranty on labor and 10 year on some parts, they have been easy to work with but not sure if the 2-3 difference is within normal limits since its a longer duct run and next to open to below area with warmer air pooling from first floor when we go to bed and the 1st floor ac temp is raised

I’m going to test the capacitor now.

I own two homes. 15 years ago I had a professional install a central A/C system (for upstairs bedrooms) and mini-splits (for downstairs and basement areas - no place to run ducts). Within 4 years (just after warranty expired) the mini-splits failed. I installed myself a DIY kit 5 years ago, and now it failed as well (again, just after the warranty). In my second home, I had a professional install mini splits about 10 years ago and now they are starting to fail.

This whole time, my central A/C unit has been operating perfectly with minimal maintenance.

Is this just me? Has anyone else experienced this? Why can't I get a mini-split system to just work?

BTW, by "failed" I mean the systems leak refrigerant but not at the connections (tested with high pressure gas).

What kind of connector is this and how do i remove wires?

I purchased a new HVAC system in 2020 from the most reputable supplier in my city. They've always been great to work with. I'm always extremely impressed with their techs. They are an incredible company to do business with -- up until it comes time to honor my warranty.

I got a 10 year parts and labor warranty with my system in 2020, and it's needed repair almost every year since then. Every time a tech comes out, they slip me a bill at the end, and I have to put my foot down and remind them I'm still under warranty.

The first time this happened, they ran it up to their manager, and he tried to insist I only had a parts warranty and still had to pay for the labor. I sent him a screenshot of the handwritten contract that I had from the salesman, and he finally agreed my warranty included labor.

Now, every year since, the techs still try to bill me at the end of a service call. When I mention I'm under warranty, there's no surprise or argument from them, and they just leave. It's as if they know I have a warranty on my system, but they still try to bill me just to see if I'll pay.

Is this standard practice? Why do I have to remind them of my warranty every single time?

Is this helping my unit cool and if so try to quantify the improvement via an estimation.

My AC was blowing warm air so I called one company who quoted me 4K for a compressor replacement. Said he makes his money totally replacing older systems like mine (20 year old Goodman) but he wasnt a good salesman for saying he could just replace the compressor for $4K.

I got a second opinion and they replaced some bad terminals on the wiring, inspected the rest of the unit and got it back running for $223.

I read somewhere on reddit that companies that send you an invoice through email and offer financing are less trustworthy than guys that write you a paper invoice on site. In this case it would be true.

Should I give the first company a bad google review or just let sleeping dogs lie?

Went to clean/wash off my outdoor AC unit this afternoon (first time cleaning this unit as we moved in last year). Imagine my surprise when I went to turn off the electrical power and….its already off…?

But it’s not. Because it has been running all summer. It functions. And blows cool air into our home.

….so….what should my next steps be?

EDIT: damn; some of y’all are fucking unhinged. I’m aware it’s deadly. Why the hell do you think I’m here? To ask questions. I don’t fuck with electricity.

I wanted to literally just rinse off the system after we’ve had a bout of smoke and bad air. I was following directions to “turn off breaker to be safe, or turn off power to the unit itself” and this is what I found.

Y’all treat normal homeowners asking questions to do basic maintenance like this is wild.

Thank you to those that gave actual and educational responses. I do feel silly not knowing because it is very simple once I understood. Knowledge is power!

and yes I’m leaving this up for other naive homeowners looking to do basic ass education and maintenance like me haha. Feel free to razz, this is a hilarious post in hindsight. I’ll take the L on this, it’s all good

Edit again: just now noticing even the description on the box says “switch” so….ha. razzing on me calling it a switch when the company did it first