HVAC and Ionizer advice needed

[ponytug]

They are.

I guess I am talking about the cold air return register.

In a previous house, we did that, too. The dog liked to snooze near the cold air return, and nobody thought much of it. Then one day, I was checking the furnace over for a pre-winter check up, and noticed a pile of dog hair at the bottom of a return duct. Vacuumed it out. Traced the duct, and the hair, back to the dog's favorite vent and discovered pound and pounds of dog hair that had basically closed a 10x18" duct. Vacuumed everything out and put an extra filter on that one vent. I am sure that the extra filter distorted the return air flow, but as long as we had that dog, it was going to be an issue.

I would point out there is a difference between a standalone ionizer, which tends to stick things on the adjacent surfaces, many of which are also significant ozone generators, and the whole house electrostatic precipitators. The latter are much more effective because of the whole house fans. Running the whole house fan will help reduce the dust, if you have issues. Usually, the added power cost is minimal, but in our current house, the net effect is cold drafts, so we tend not to run the fan during the winter. In the summertime, we do it whenever the air quality drops.

I have had good luck with the 3M filtrete electrostatic air filters in other houses. Pricey, but I found them effective.

+1 on checking the pressure drop before you go changing the air filters. You can throw a lot of things out of whack, with fans working harder, furnaces overheating, etc.

I use the coil cleaners all the time on my cars, and trucks. I can't say that I have noticed a difference in the brands either. Spray the can into the coils, wait, repeat, check the drain water to see if it is clean, and if not repeat. (Why does Ford refuse to put a cabin filter on a work truck?!! Do they think that nobody drives a pickup on a dirt road? Knock, knock, anyone home? It's a three thousand dollar repair on my truck if the condenser clogs, oh, and there is no great way to get to the coils, either. End of rant.)

All the best,

Peter

 

[EddieWalker]

...
What I do know is no one I know of complained about spending money on a IAQ "ionizer".

This hits home. My wife had colon cancer 2 1/2 years ago and if there is a chance that it could make her air quality better, then I'm willing to spend the money.

 

[EddieWalker]

Update. The original reason the HVAC guy came out here was that that our 2 year old unit was not cooling. He added some Freon and said that the dog hair was plugging up the coils, which was the problem.

I cleaned off the dog hair and put in the larger filter, and the following week, he was back again because it wasn't working. He added die and sealer to the Freon in case there was a leak, but he didn't think there was a leak with a two year old unit.

He was back again yesterday and said that the leak was so big that there was no way he could put any Freon back in it and the coils needed to come out and be replaced with new ones. They put a window unit in the kitchen and a standing AC machine in our bedroom too keep the house cool. Outside temps have been in the high 70's, which is nice when outside, but my wife has been ultra sensitive to the heat and humidity since beating colon cancer 2 1/2 years ago.

The new coils should be here Tuesday, which means I'm not dealing with cleaning the old coils. I have a ten year warrantee on parts. Guess that's a plus.

I haven't committed to the ionizer yet. Their quote for the Ionizer is with an Iwave unit. Is that a good brand?

 

[Sigarms]

Update. The original reason the HVAC guy came out here was that that our 2 year old unit was not cooling. He added some Freon and said that the dog hair was plugging up the coils, which was the problem.

I cleaned off the dog hair and put in the larger filter, and the following week, he was back again because it wasn't working. He added die and sealer to the Freon in case there was a leak, but he didn't think there was a leak with a two year old unit.

He was back again yesterday and said that the leak was so big that there was no way he could put any Freon back in it and the coils needed to come out and be replaced with new ones. They put a window unit in the kitchen and a standing AC machine in our bedroom too keep the house cool. Outside temps have been in the high 70's, which is nice when outside, but my wife has been ultra sensitive to the heat and humidity since beating colon cancer 2 1/2 years ago.

The new coils should be here Tuesday, which means I'm not dealing with cleaning the old coils. I have a ten year warrantee on parts. Guess that's a plus.

I haven't committed to the ionizer yet. Their quote for the Ionizer is with an Iwave unit. Is that a good brand?

Correct me if I'm wrong...

3 trips by the contractor, all happening in the last two weeks for a no cool service call.

1st trip contractor states the coil is clogging up with dog hair, why it's not cooling.

2nd trip contractor doesn't think there is a leak because it's only a two year old unit, but he added a sealant into the system in case there was leak.

3rd trip out (yesterday) now you have a leak so big that you need to replace the coil?

Did the guy show you where the hole in the coil was at? Did the guy ever run a system start up check list and record the data to show you? (including static pressure and CFMS).

Something is not adding up on how all of a sudden the leak is so big but he couldn't find it the first two times out.

You have a parts warranty, what is the guy charging you to replace the coil under warranty? Or is he putting it on the house because he charged you for 3 service calls or has he charged you anything at all for the 3 trips?

If this guy installed the system and it's an Amana system, I'd be curious why he didn't offer you a factory 10 year labor plan, or did you turn it down? With a labor plan, you pay for the diagnostic call, but the labor plan picks up the labor so you don't get charged for it. Being it's a 16 SEER as well, should have at least a 10 year unit replacement if the compressor every fails.

If you go with the iWave, make it the iWave-R. Look at the REME-LED and HALO as well.

 

[EddieWalker]

Correct me if I'm wrong...

3 trips by the contractor, all happening in the last two weeks for a no cool service call.

1st trip contractor states the coil is clogging up with dog hair, why it's not cooling.

2nd trip contractor doesn't think there is a leak because it's only a two year old unit, but he added a sealant into the system in case there was leak.

3rd trip out (yesterday) now you have a leak so big that you need to replace the coil?

Did the guy show you where the hole in the coil was at? Did the guy ever run a system start up check list and record the data to show you? (including static pressure and CFMS).

Something is not adding up on how all of a sudden the leak is so big but he couldn't find it the first two times out.

You have a parts warranty, what is the guy charging you to replace the coil under warranty? Or is he putting it on the house because he charged you for 3 service calls or has he charged you anything at all for the 3 trips?

If this guy installed the system and it's an Amana system, I'd be curious why he didn't offer you a factory 10 year labor plan, or did you turn it down? With a labor plan, you pay for the diagnostic call, but the labor plan picks up the labor so you don't get charged for it. Being it's a 16 SEER as well, should have at least a 10 year unit replacement if the compressor every fails.

If you go with the iWave, make it the iWave-R. Look at the REME-LED and HALO as well.

Good questions. You listed what happened and I paid a service call each time of $90, which is the hourly rate. The first time, he didn't charge for the freon. He said that the pressure was low and that could be from a variety of reason other then a leak. A week later, he added more freon and charged me for that, along with his time. Third time out he didn't charge me for anything and left us with two AC units too keep the house cool.

Tuesday he is supposed to come back with the new coils. What he charges to do this is a mystery. I'm not happy with the unit, or all that has happened with it since getting it. The owner has really been great to me over the years, and I've sent them a lot of work from my clients, who have also been very pleased. Then he got into building spec homes and he's really been dropping the ball. He says one thing, forgets it, and nothing ever happens. I no longer recommend his company to clients because he is so distracted. I've known him for years, but we are not what I would call friends, just somebody that I was comfortable telling my clients to use if they where not happy with who they already had. That's no longer the case, and I'm feeling like my time with him and his company is coming to an end.

My current plan, which can easily change after the coils get replaced, is to buy the ozone unit myself and install it myself just to avoid dealing with them again.

 

[Sigarms]

Good questions. You listed what happened and I paid a service call each time of $90, which is the hourly rate. The first time, he didn't charge for the freon. He said that the pressure was low and that could be from a variety of reason other then a leak. A week later, he added more freon and charged me for that, along with his time. Third time out he didn't charge me for anything and left us with two AC units too keep the house cool.

Tuesday he is supposed to come back with the new coils. What he charges to do this is a mystery. I'm not happy with the unit, or all that has happened with it since getting it. The owner has really been great to me over the years, and I've sent them a lot of work from my clients, who have also been very pleased. Then he got into building spec homes and he's really been dropping the ball. He says one thing, forgets it, and nothing ever happens. I no longer recommend his company to clients because he is so distracted. I've known him for years, but we are not what I would call friends, just somebody that I was comfortable telling my clients to use if they where not happy with who they already had. That's no longer the case, and I'm feeling like my time with him and his company is coming to an end.

My current plan, which can easily change after the coils get replaced, is to buy the ozone unit myself and install it myself just to avoid dealing with them again.

Honestly Eddie, it really never is the equipment for the most part, but the contractor installing it. Amana is made in the same facility as Goodman, that is generally offered to "better" (AKA higher volume) contractors that is considered more higher end because once you hit 16 SEER on a series, you recieve a lifetime unit replacement on the unit if the compressor ever fails (sounds good but the warranty opens a whole can of worms 10 plus years down the road if the outdoor unit does need to be replaced). My only point is don't let the contractor sour you on the brand name. 2 year old coil leaks are a rarity with pretty much most brands out there. Heck, I've had coils leak in 6 months. Sometimes it happens. The biggest is factor is how the contractor handles it. Being that he'll be on his fourth service call in less than a month to resolve the issue should tell you what you need to know.

Guys will always check the pressure of a unit for refrigerant, but the majority never check CFM's or static pressure during a system dianostic, and that is the first sign IMO that they are not in the upper percentile of good service techs. The reality is airflow and static pressure can affect the charge of the unit. Point being is you have eliminate all the variables to find the root cause of the issue to ensure it's resolved right the first time. Might take an extra 10 mintues to perform a airflow check, but that 10 minutes can save you a lot of headache down the road. Just something to look for down the road.

I'm thinking it's only one coil in the air handler, you probably have an "A" coil that is sitting over a drain pan.

You're at $270 (bad math, can't read, take your pick make that $180) paid for 2 service calls already on 3 calls without the problem being resolved. Being he installed the system, it's less than 3 years old, I would of gotten the price on labor up front to replace the coil. Could become a bone of contention depending on what he will charge you labor wise on top of what you've already paid. I would expect he would give you a huge break on replacing the coil per labor, but it would of been nice to say that up front if that's what he's planning on doing.

 

[jaxs]

Good questions. You listed what happened and I paid a service call each time of $90, which is the hourly rate. The first time, he didn't charge for the freon. He said that the pressure was low and that could be from a variety of reason other then a leak. A week later, he added more freon and charged me for that, along with his time. Third time out he didn't charge me for anything and left us with two AC units too keep the house cool.

Tuesday he is supposed to come back with the new coils. What he charges to do this is a mystery. I'm not happy with the unit, or all that has happened with it since getting it. The owner has really been great to me over the years, and I've sent them a lot of work from my clients, who have also been very pleased. Then he got into building spec homes and he's really been dropping the ball. He says one thing, forgets it, and nothing ever happens. I no longer recommend his company to clients because he is so distracted. I've known him for years, but we are not what I would call friends, just somebody that I was comfortable telling my clients to use if they where not happy with who they already had. That's no longer the case, and I'm feeling like my time with him and his company is coming to an end.

My current plan, which can easily change after the coils get replaced, is to buy the ozone unit myself and install it myself just to avoid dealing with them again.

Not intending to beat the dead horse,you've already seen the light but to help readers better understand and validate your decision to change companies.
It is true that a varity of things can cause low pressure BUT,a compitent tech will nail down the reason instead of guessing and adding freon. There's no excuse for not finding the problem first visit. Adding freon a secound time then declaring leaky coil on 3rd vist is over the top incompitence. In this cae it goes even farthar by adding dye and (GULP) sealant. It might be argued that dye is ok but certainly not before testing with electronic tester and/or bubbles. A leak bad enough to require recharge in less than 6 months can be easily found with electronic tester. Which bring's us to sealant which should be a hanging offense. That crap will damage a perfect unit.
Best of luck in this solving your problem and prayers for the wife's continued recovery.