Condensation
17 years ago
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- 17 years ago
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Condensate pump drenched in condensation
Comments (9)It would probably be a good idea to call repair service and then have him explain it all to you, and watch carefully, so maybe it would be something you could do, if it happened again. Water running on to electric is not a good idea, so I would call repair service, sooner rather than later. It is unfortunate when things happen when you are all excited and just moving in, but, it does sometimes. First night in one of my homes, I woke up to go to the bathroom, and stepped in water. The hot water heater had sprung a leak. After turning off the water, my hubby and I spent the rest of the night with a wet vac, cleaning up the mess....See MoreHVAC Register Condensation; Condensation on exterior of attic unit
Comments (5)The ceiling above the crawlspace is the bottom of the first floor. The warm moist air in the crawl space will rise up into to house if there is no vapor barrier to stop it. I would expect a three year old house to have tight windows and doors. The crawl space might be a source of the excess moisture in the house. What size is the AC? I would think a 2.5 ton single stage, or 3 ton 2-stage AC would be sufficient for a newly constructed 1749 sq. foot single story house. Did the builder provide a load calculation? A 6-10 minute run time might be considered short cycling. How often does this happen in an hour and what is the outside temperature?...See MoreIs there a fix for window condensation?
Comments (22)@klem and to your original reply: I recommend you temporarily cover a window cavity with a blanket or plastic then compare amount of moisture on that window with others. Just place blanket against wall and tack in place at top corners. Using a blanket to cover a window can be a great idea if you want to help keep your room warmer, but not if you want to avoid wet windows. The blanket will help keep warmer air, primarily radiant, in the room, but that will also result in lower window glass temperature which increases the chances of wet windows. Hanging a blanket will slow but not prevent the migration of warm moist air through the material of the blanket into the space between the blanket and window resulting in cooler air that will release moisture to the colder glass as the Rh in the space goes up. Per plastic, already covered in previous posts. Trapped air between room and window acts as insulation which in turn reduces/prevents condensation on window. This is not correct on several levels. Calling the air in the space "trapped" is somewhat misleading because the air isn't really trapped by the blanket, bit it is because it's colder than the room air that isn't on the created air space, that aside however, air in the space created by hanging the blanket will be in constant motion because the room side is warm and the window side is cold resulting in convection currents. As the air between the blanket and window gets colder, the window glass temperature also drops. The conclusion that this scenario in any way reduces/prevents condensation is nonsense. Alternatly you can put clear plastic over windows inside and/or outside to alow light to pass while preventing condensation. I recommended plastic as well, but that resulted in this reply -- Click here for the instructions to install what OBERON476 wants you to buy instead of using free method I suggested. Actually I specifically said in my comment that I am not recommending the product in the picture I posted, I was just offering the picture for reference. So, gotta ask if in your opinion is plastic a good idea or not? It was when you suggested it but not when I did? To continue, plastic film when applied over the window must be tight with no leaks to prevent warm, humid indoor air from leaking through and contacting the window surface. Plastic also doesn't block radiant heat to the extent the blanket will (being clear), so that helps to keep that created air space warmer. And while there are still convection currents in the space, they are less than with a blanket. The double panes SHOULD minimize condensation so outside pane might be leaking outdoor air into space between panes. Not sure what you are suggesting here, but if you mean that colder outside air in the no-longer-sealed airspace will result in a colder interior lite and more potential for condensation, then that isn't really the case. Once again convection currents within the space will exist, leak or no leak, and the potential influx of colder air from outside is minimized. However if you are suggesting that somehow outside air is getting into the home because the exterior lite has a seal breach, then that isn't true at all. Inspect exterior of windows for missing seals,busted glass and caulk. If plastic seal strips between glass and frame are missing,replace them or simply put caulk in their place. Air sealing is never a bad idea from any standpoint, so can't disagree with this suggestion, but I see it as more of an energy savings solution than a window condensation one....See MoreCondenser too close to wall?
Comments (32)Hello all, I have an update. As I said, we pushed the GC on this issue and stated we'd like to be present at inspection. The inspection happened yesterday and we were present. The GC made a point of asking the inspector about the clearance to the wall. The inspector said it should be to manufacturer instructions. GC then asked inspector to write it up in the inspection (i.e. fail inspection), so that he can take this to his sub and demand rework. He has already paid the sub for the work at our house, but he has leverage through another means -- they are working with him on another project, so he'll hold the second project's payment until they finish ours. A few things to note: 1) If GC had not made a point to ask inspector, inspector would have passed our inspection without noting the issue. This is because some HVAC manufacturers allow closer placement to the wall, so it depends on the manufacturer. So it was only when we stated explicitly that this unit requires 12" per manufacturer, that inspector saw the issue. 2) We did not have to explicitly threaten not to pay the GC his final payment, which is good. However, we will retain this item on the punch list until the work is redone to our satisfaction. 3) I believe our GC is a bit conflict-averse, and he needed to find a diplomatic way to confront the sub without him being the bad guy. Putting it on the inspector gave him that out. I don't know if he has always been like this, or if it's because in the current economy it is hard to find a good sub to work with so he doesn't want to rock the boat now. 4) While all this happened, the HVAC contractor contacted me and wrote me an email "guarantee" that their 5" clearance was code compliant, would not reduce the unit's efficiency or lifespan, and would not void the warranty. I think they were just blowing smoke, so I responded demanding to see the actual text of the code, and an actual statement *from LG* that it wouldn't reduce efficiency. They didn't reply after that so I think they were blowing smoke. In summary, the lesson we learned is to be polite but firm in advocating for ourselves, insist on going through the GC, figure out where our leverage is, and use it when we need to. Oh, and we learned how helpful the Houzz community is. Thanks so much for all your comments! Especially the builders on this thread like Charles Ross, who gave us confidence our position was credible. I hope this is the end of our HVAC drama....See More- 17 years ago
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oakhill (zone 9A, Calif.)