(Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) For questions about installing, repairing, and troubleshooting HVAC systems.
0
votes
0answers
46 views
Can I convert a window A/C unit in to a pool-water cooled system?
I have an 18,000 BTU A/C unit that blew a compressor last year. Perfect for a small project. I however could not find a professional to help me out, so maybe it's DIYable. I know just about enough ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
What is going on with my central air?
I have a re-occurring issue with my central air. I have changed filters, cleaned all three intake vents and even had a serviceman out on three different occasions (two separate companies). My problem ...
-1
votes
0answers
29 views
Can I build my own vacuum chamber sealer system? [closed]
I've found a few examples on the internet of other's who have created there own vacuum chamber sealer (There are many advantages of using a chamber sealer compared to the bench top FoodSaver style ...
2
votes
0answers
39 views
Why is my air conditioner tripping the circuit breaker?
Our air conditioner recently stopped blowing out cold air. When I went to check on it, I noticed that the outside unit wasn't coming on. We had had problems with ants in the contacter in the past, ...
2
votes
2answers
33 views
How to find areas where heat/coolness are lost?
I live in a 2-story rental townhome (basically an apartment with 2 stories). Our central air/heat system isn't really the best at keeping the upstairs and downstairs the same temperature whether in ...
1
vote
2answers
76 views
Should we use A\C in the unused second story of our home?
We don't use the second story of our home. Is it better to shut off the air conditioning completely upstairs to save money, or keep it set but at a higher temperature, such as 78-80 °F?
1
vote
1answer
51 views
What is a quieter alternative to gas forced air heating?
My small 1BR apartment has an old gas furnace that works great, but costs my landlord too much to insure. He plans to install gas forced air, an in-unit upright furnace. I'd love to suggest a ...
1
vote
3answers
154 views
Would a normal ethernet cable survive the conditions in an air conditioning vent? [duplicate]
I am currently renting a flat, which prevents me from making modification to the walls. However, I still would like to run ethernet cables between rooms. Between all the rooms, there are AC vents ...
1
vote
2answers
75 views
Should I insulate air conditioner coolant pipes?
I recently replaced some rotted insulation on the coolant pipe that runs out of my AC unit and into the evaporator in my house. When cleaning inside the actual AC unit itself I noticed that the ...
2
votes
1answer
52 views
Does outside air conditioning compressor fan run all the time?
Had some electrical issues with an air conditioner and after I rewired it, I noticed that the fan was stopping every 30 seconds or so. Is this fan supposed to shut off when unit is running?
2
votes
1answer
60 views
How do we replace an old 3-wire thermostat with a 4-wire one?
How do we replace an old 3 wire thermostat with a 4 wire one? We have an AC/heating unit, but the wiring for the thermostat does not have a yellow wire.
What can we do?
0
votes
1answer
55 views
How effective is a heat pump for AC and a heat pump/furnace for heating in New England?
We currently have a central AC unit and oil furnace. The AC is broken and the furnace is old, so we are thinking of replacing both sometime in the next year.
We are considering replacing the AC with ...
3
votes
3answers
148 views
How can I repair these rusty electrical connections?
When I turn on my air conditioner at the thermostat the vents kick on but nothing outside. Also the last time that it worked it took a few minutes to get going and was pretty loud. I checked the ...
3
votes
1answer
50 views
Why won't the fan run independently of the air conditioner?
I have central air and heat, with a Nest thermostat. My system has Y, G, R, C and W wires coming out of it:
which are wired into my Nest like so:
In between, there is a splice where the C wire is ...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
Exhaust venting into air return?
In the condo (2 story semi-detached townhouse built in 2004) I rent, the main bathroom has an interesting vent system.
When turned on, 2 fans are activated. One is a booster of some type and ...
1
vote
4answers
182 views
What could be wrong with my air conditioner?
My outside fan (compressor?) will not turn on. I have a week or two before the weather gets warm so thought I would try fixing it before I hire someone.
Symptoms - I turn on the air. The blower ...
1
vote
3answers
105 views
I need a multiple-switch light switch which can't all be turned off at once
I have a 4 switch (I think it's called "4-gang"?) light switch on the wall.
It's not connecting to lights though, but to AC vent doors. Now, these AC vents must never all be closed at once. Meaning, ...
1
vote
1answer
40 views
Plug HRV (Constructo 2.0 ES) into power bar?
Would there be any issues if I plugged this HRV into a power bar? I have this unit (says 200 watts of power) which is in the closet of the master bedroom and plugged directly into a wall socket.
I ...
1
vote
3answers
154 views
How can I add ventilation to my basement office?
I have a finished basement with an office, guest bedroom and bathroom. All about 700 sq ft.
I work 12+ hours in the office and really need to get some fresh air circulating by extracting stale air. ...
0
votes
1answer
88 views
What to look for in a new furnace
I've recently been told that my furnace, which is about 20 years old, is on it's last stretch and that I should consider replacing it now rather than waiting for it to fail - potentially at a very ...
0
votes
1answer
40 views
How can I add a relay to the manual control for my HVAC unit?
I have a self standing HVAC unit that has a control panel with manual buttons. There is no thermostat. Eventually my goal is to create a relay that can be controlled via IR/RF so I can install a Nest ...
3
votes
1answer
72 views
How do I install a bathroom exhaust system?
We are set to close on our house in about three weeks and one of the problems that the inspector noted was that the vent in the guest bath vents into the attic (never going outside) and the master ...
1
vote
0answers
70 views
How do I size a wall sleeve for a through-the-wall air conditioner?
We are shopping for a through-the-wall air conditioner. We do not currently have a hole in the wall with a sleeve in it. We are trying to figure out what sleeve to buy.
The air conditioner we like ...
3
votes
1answer
57 views
Does code require the gas line to be replaced when replacing a furnace?
I replaced my 45 year old (still working) original furnace with an American Standard furnace about 5 1/2 years ago. Now I have a gas leak; the Nicor technician sealed a connection in the gas pipe ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
Why isn't my thermostat working?
I have an old Lennox (gas heat only) thermostat. There are 3 wires coming from the wall. Black, yellow and a light blue color (could be a faded green or an old dirty white).
The thermostat wouldn't ...
2
votes
2answers
53 views
Why does the pilot light on my Vermont Castings stove keep blowing out?
I bought a house with a sunroom heated by a Vermont Castings gas stove with a problem the HVAC/stove repair person hasn't solved by replacing the thermocouple, valve($$$) and taking apart and ...
3
votes
1answer
79 views
How do I provide proper fire protection in this situation?
HVAC guys are running a vertical duct (supply and return) from my basement to my 2nd floor attic. It will run adjacent to an exterior wall and will eventually be enclosed in a drywalled-in vertical ...
4
votes
1answer
79 views
Connection for C wire on Mastertrol Mark V zone control panel
I have spent hours searching the web for information on this 20+ year old zone control panel, which supports 3 zones of Heat and A/C.
The thermostat I'm replacing (on Zone 3) connects to T4/T5/T6 as ...
0
votes
1answer
104 views
How can I get my thermostat C wire connected? [duplicate]
I have an older furnace, on the switch block I have Y,C.W,R and an unlabeled screw that connects to the shut off it looks like. I need to hook up a thermostat that needs the C wire. I have a spare ...
1
vote
2answers
92 views
Is it safe to install a heating duct register in the ceiling directly above a home entertainment center?
We're in the process of getting bids for central heating and one of the conundrums is where to position the registers. Due to the layout of our living room (and style preferences of my significant ...
2
votes
0answers
67 views
Does each zone in a two-zone heating system have its own pilot light?
I have two zone heating, in the basement and upstairs where we really live. The pilot light is lit downstairs, but the heat isn't working upstairs (the air is not getting hot). Is there also a pilot ...
2
votes
1answer
81 views
Where should carbon monoxide detector be located?
How many carbon monoxide detector is need in house and where it's more strategic to place it? Is it better to place it low close to the ground or high close to the ceiling?
1
vote
1answer
130 views
Can you terminate more than one common on the furnace C terminal?
TL;DR: Can you terminate more than one common on the furnace C terminal?
Background:
I've linked a diagram of how my non-programmable thermostat is currently hooked up. I want to replace it with a ...
8
votes
2answers
590 views
What does a Summer/Winter switch on furnace air ducts do?
On some of our furnace ducts, there is a switch/valve for Summer/Winter or S/W.
What does changing this switch/lever accomplish?
Can bad things happen if I forget to switch it?
Bonus question: ...
0
votes
1answer
164 views
How can I use a separate transformer to provide a C wire to my thermostat?
I Purchased the Honeywell WiFi Prog Thermostat to replace my Round Digital Honeywell Thermostat.
I have separate Heating and Cooling (Heating is a Weil McLain Boiler for Hot water baseboard and Hot ...
2
votes
0answers
32 views
Should I install the jumper on my new limit control?
I needed to replace fan and limit control (White-Rodgers, model 5D51-35), because the fan switch was broken (fan would constantly run) and heat would not stay on.
I took a picture of the control, ...
0
votes
0answers
89 views
Why isn't water running through our radiators?
We had a plumber in today to bleed our rads. He also changed the batteries on the thermostat and fiddled around with the boiler. Since he left the temperature has dropped dramatically and he's refused ...
1
vote
2answers
99 views
Why is my furnace blower coming on so early in the ignition process?
Alright, I installed a new furnace a few months ago and have begun to notice an issue with the blowers. When the furnace first starts up, the exhaust blower should turn on to expel gas, then the ...
0
votes
2answers
167 views
Why does the air flow heavily from my downstairs vents, but very weak from my upstairs vents?
I live in a two-story townhouse where the first floor is ground-level on a slab. On the first floor, all air vents are either on the ceiling or at the very tops of the walls. Upstairs, the vents are ...
4
votes
1answer
445 views
How can I prevent my HVAC condensate drain line from freezing?
Last night, my heat (forced air) suddenly stopped. Today, a plumber figured out that my heater is 90% efficient, produces lots of condensate, and the drain line had frozen. We went outside and saw ...
0
votes
2answers
122 views
What could be causing this leaky evaporator problem?
My apologizes if I do not know the correct terminology for some of the parts. I will try my best though.
We have a Trane A/C system that is causing us a headache. It is causing water damage in our ...
0
votes
0answers
55 views
What does the low limit do, and where should it be set on an oil fired hot water furnace?
What does the low limit do, and where should it be set? My furnace has
a honeywell triple aquastat relay and has a difference dial. Water temp is about 190 deg F. Also, water psi gauge is only ...
0
votes
0answers
130 views
How can I stop cold air from coming through my basement air return?
there is cold air coming in from my basement air return when the heat is not running , my HVAC unit located outside any suggestions on how to stop the airflow?
1
vote
1answer
82 views
Why won't my propane boiler's pilot stay lit after replacing the thermocouple?
The pilot on my propane boiler won't stay lit for more than 30 minutes even after replacing the thermocouple and outside gas valves. The inside gas valve was replaced two years ago. Service people ...
1
vote
0answers
152 views
What's causing my draft inducer to stay on?
I have a new, 3-year old, high-efficiency, gas furnace in my home. I recently realized that my draft inducer, which normally kicks on before the burners and before the main blower, is not stopping.
...
4
votes
3answers
505 views
What's causing the rumbling sound when my furnace kicks on?
I have a new, 3-year old, high-efficiency furnace in my home. Last year it started making a slight whining noise that was audible during the very first stage, before the blower motor started. No ...
2
votes
2answers
209 views
Does a whole house humidifier go on the intake or outlet of the furnace?
On what side of the furnace do I install the tank of the humidifier (the warm side or the return air side)?
1
vote
2answers
103 views
Is a PTHP a HVAC option for a super insulated structure?
Is a Packaged Terminal Heat Pump a good HVAC system for a structure that is super insulated or passively insulated assuming the unit is sized and fitted to meet the needs of the structure.
There is ...
0
votes
1answer
102 views
How do I turn off the power to my programable thermostat?
I am installing a new programable thermostat. In trying to cut power to the old one I have tried a couple of things but not sure I have done enough to cut all power. One, I shut off the furnace ...
1
vote
1answer
534 views
Are there any ductless mini split systems that offer standard HVAC controlls?
Have been looking for in the US a ductless mini split heat pump system something like the Mitsubishi Electric Mr. Slim that uses a non proprietary wiring scheme for its wall mounted thermostats. ...
