You should never recharge a heat pump or condenser without investigating the source of the leak. It is expensive and not good for the environment. The phase out of R22 is causing the price to rise. This is happening everywhere.

The heat pump is about 14 years old. It probably doesn't make sense to spend money fixing it given it is a builder's grade Goodman unit. Leaks are some times difficult to find and contractors typically don't like to spend time looking for a leak in an old unit. I suggest you start shopping for a new heat pump.

Are you sure the attic floor is not insulated? If you have plywood on the floor, then lift a board to see if there is insulation. You must have insulation between the attic and the ceiling of the house.

Post mdl number of your furnace.

I would install a basic 13 SEER heat pump with matching coil. Something of good quality, no Goodman.

You will need a DF thermostat with outdoor sensor if you don't already have one.

What size is your current condenser?

Post back.

IMO

U have a propane gas forced air furnace for 1st floor? So it has an external a/c unit with condenser in plenum? So u have 2 a/c units? What is ur typical summer a/c elec bill?

cavell: Yes I have two ac units. Forced air furnace on first. Everything as you say. Summer usage is approx 2000KWhr/mo and 230 to $270/mo. Half that in winter.
Tigerdunes: Tomorrow I will see if I can find condenser size. I don't know where to look. Perhaps GOOGLE will tell me. Same for furnace.
mike: Yes of course I have insulation under the attic floor. I am talking about the roof. There is no insulation up there and the attic can get real hot in summer (i imagine 120 degrees F) and the heat pump ducts all run there. And yes, I know R22 is phasing out but I assumed that provision is being made to reclaim old stuff and millions of homeowners must have 14 and 30 year old units. I don't consider 15 yr old units to be old, do you really? If I bought a new unit, would it be old at 15 years?

All attics get hot the key is how much of that hot air gets downstairs. You could add blown in or batt insulation to get up to r60. As far as age, yes 15 years for new equipment would be considered old. Just ditch the old one and get a new one.

Duplicate

This post was edited by audiomixer on Fri, Feb 22, 13 at 18:46

You are correct in R22 is being reclaimed from old equipment. But due to decreasing supply the price continues to rise.

I don't recommend insulating the roof deck. You are better off upgrading the insulation of the duct work (R8 would be a minimum) and sealing any leaks.

I don't consider 15 year old units old either. It more the fact you have a leaky builder's grade Goodman heat pump.

"I don't consider 15 year old units old either. It more the fact you have a leaky builder's grade Goodman heat pump."

Thanks Mike. That makes sense to me. Now, I am just guessing about this being a builder grade, but it is likely true. Can you or someone, let me know exactly what (or where) I am looking for to determine the size and effeciency of the unit?

And one more question. I am quite sure I had two charges to this unit but I don't know for sure, it might have only been one. I had a tech out two years ago re something else and asked him to check the unit. At first he said it was a little low and suggested some leak stop stuff he had. It sounded to me like it might be something like car radiator stuff that has been known to gum up rather than fix small radiator leaks. After a few minutes, he checked again and he said the unit was fully charged and didn't need anything. I suspect that you all are going to tell me that the stop leak stuff is bogus. However, if it has possibilities, under the circumstances it might be worth risking.

I see that the unit is listed as goodman CPKE 24-1AB. I googled all around and can't find anything clear although one poster stated that his unit as listed above was a 10 seer 2 ton. However, someone else said something different. It also indicates original charge was 106 oz R22.

I checked my records and I can only find one HVAC record in 2007 for a recharge of 1.5# of R22 ($28.00 for the 1.5#). I still suspect I needed a charge in 2010. Perhaps I just didn't file it.

I looked at my flex ducting. There are no marks on the final runs but the bigger stuff says R5.8 dynamic and R4.2 static. They are very bulky. Are R8 ducts rigid or also flex but of better materials?

Your electrical rate seems reasonable. I would recommend replacing your systems with Carrier Infinity Greenspeed heat pumps coupled either to Infinity gas furnaces (96% efficiency minimum) or Infinity fan coil units.

Your present equipment is getting on in years and there have been a lot of advances in efficiency. I would not spend the money to repair it unless you plan on selling in the next year or 2. What size capacity is your electrical entrance?

I too would not recommend insulating the roof deck but I would recommend evaluating the attic ventilation to determine if there is sufficient airflow from the soffits through the roof vents.

SR