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Heating & Air Conditioning

Need help quick, heat pump only warm, escrow

15 years ago

I need some advice on a york heat pump system. My daughter is buying a condo here in San Diego. The place is a small (800sqft) single story condo. She is going FHA on the financing thus an FHA appraisal. The appraiser said the heat and A/C were not working so it slammed the brakes on the closing. We are dealing long distance with a bank that is VERY slow to make a decision on anything. So far this has been a 3 month escrow.

I went there this morning and checked the thermometer, low batt was flashing. Replaced the batteries after 5 minutes unit fired up in heat mode. After ten minutes of running warm air was coming out of ducts. But kind of barely warm, not hot like my furnace. I shut the system down, turned on A/c, after 5 minutes it fired up.... VERY cold.

I'm concerned that it is not getting hot enough. She is trying to close escrow next week and we are hesitant to make a huge issue out of this in light of how long it takes the bank to do anything. FHA inspector will come back and I would imagine sign off on it since it does heat & cool but I don't want her to be stuck with HVAC problem right out of the gate.

Is this likely to be a very expensive issue?

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Comments (4)

maryland_irisman
15 years ago
Without going into a lot of technical stuff I'll suggest...To be certain everything is ok, it would need to be checked out by a technician. But, keep in mind, the heatpump will not feel as hot as your furnace. What you describe is usually the description I hear from those who do not normally heat with a heat pump. Not knowing what the outside temperature was Or the temp. at the closest supply duct when you felt the air, I wouldn't want to say what you felt is normal or not. If it needs to be replaced, it can get pricey. A repair/maintenance service can cost 200-300 dollars
jeffrow
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you for the reply. Temp outside was probably 60 or so, about the same as inside as this is an empty unit. The funny thing to me is that I have 2 reverse cycle ac units on my boat and they really crank out the heat. I just thought it odd that the A/C was so cold and the heat so anemic.
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Let's get the input temperature. If you run the house at 80 degrees and the HP if putting out 79 degrees, big problem, you must be in A/C mode. If you run the house at 60 degrees,then 79 degrees may be real good. A rise of 20+ degrees across the heat exchanger is pretty good, i.e., you're moving the right amount of air to get efficient heat transfer. I have a two speed heat pump and the heat rise is about the same in both speeds, but the air is different: 1000 cfm in low 1400 cfm in high. I use a dark room thermometer to measure air temp. I drilled a 1/4" hole in the duct just above the air handler and stick the 4" long temp sensing rod into the air flow. My air delivery ducts are insulated, the return is not. If you're running your house at 70 degrees, the air out of the HP near the heat exchanger should be around 90 degrees. I run my house around 65 degrees and get 85 degrees out of the HP.
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"The salesman also states he can only give me 48 hours to decide because new systems will be coming in shortly at a 10 to 20% increase." - Nothing like high-pressure sales tactics to force a quick decision. I would't buy from that chump. The Trane price sounds very reasonable. I was quoted about the same price last year for a 3-ton XL14i in Baltimore. You need the model numbers of both the condenser (outside unit) and air handler. Condenser will be something like 2TWX... and air handler 2TEE... Post the model numbers and I will confirm efficiency ratings (SEER/EER/HSPF) as well as cooling/heating capacity. I agree with Tiger about the 10 year PARTS AND LABOR warranty to protect yourself. It sounds like you have ductwork issues that need to be addressed. Ductwork is critical for a good install. Poor ductwork = poor air flow = poor system, regardless of heat pump manufacturer. Best to you.
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He said $200 instant rebate from Trane and he thinks a rebate of $300 from power co. but that is up to me. also he is recommending 20kw, I know you thought that was to much..he said he doesn't believe in bells and whistles therefore he doesn't like to upsell. I don't care for a lot of bells either but I do want energy efficient product that I can afford and this I can do (at the top of my price range) I can't tell you how much You and others on this site are helping. I think I may purchase the 10yr labor warranty $600
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Thanks again for your input. I think we've decided on a Trane. The Carrier our friend quoted was the base model 25HBC536A with FX4DNF037T and even at $3368 it'd be a few hundred more for permit and hurricane pad, which would make it close to the cost of the company who quoted 25HCC536 and 25HBC536 models. Also with our friend, we'd need to pay it all by check. we have the funds, but Carrier is offering zero percent for a year or so - minus well use thier money for a year! Both the Carrier Comfort and Trane XR15 seem comprable in function and effeciency, so then I had to decide which one looked better to me. That's a woman for ya! :) I'm going to try to get the company who quoted the 2 Carriers and the TRANE TWR536 with TEH3F4ZB $4150 to come down a few hundred and see if he'll include the $125 for the MERV 11 1 year filter. Is it common to ask for lower price on this type of service? The only company that even asked about our windows was the One Hour AC franchise that did the only load calculation. He factored our house needs 2.5 ton unit. We had the windows in a few months before the ac broke and there was not really a significant change in our electric bill. We did go from aluminum single pane 30 year old windows to impact laminated insulated glass vinyl windows. You could feel the heat coming in on the old - the new you can barely hear any outside noise and it's got a coating that helps block the solar gains. neohioheatpump - it's always hot here in Daytona! ;) I think we're only expected to not hit 90 today because it's raining.
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tigerdunes
15 years ago
jeff

it is amazing that so many prospective homeowners go into a purchase without knowing about their HVAC. I would want to know age of system, mdl of both inside and outside units, how and where air is filtered, when it was last serviced, and review service records if available. any person advising you on this forum of the working condition of system in question is just guessing. I would assume the system size is most likely a 1 1/2-2 tons. call an HVAC pro familiar with HPs and find out exactly what you have. HP systems have an average lifespan of about 15 yrs.

IMO
jeffrow
Original Author
15 years ago
I agree..... thanks for you input. Unable to get too much history as this is a repo. I'll take a run at the selling bank on all this, otherwise assume the worst.

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