York AC constantly running, barely keeping the house cool

8 years ago

As with everyone else, summer is here and everyone is just switching their system to AC.

Of course, starting up AC again reminds me that my AC has been struggling to keep the temps down since I bought the house 3 years ago. I don't know the exact model right now but I know it's not a 2 stage unit.

A bit of tablesetting -

1997, 2600 sq ft home, 2 floors above ground, basement has a walkout

Minnesota

York AC and furnace (maybe original? haven't checked dates)

Enviroair(or tech?) electrostatic filter with some kind of foil sandwiched between expanded metal as a prefilter?

As stated, AC is on very often trying to cool the house down. It was 80 F the other day, I set it to 76 F and it was on most of the day.

There's a lot of advise on the net, and I've pieced together this much - measure temperature differential at return register and vent, it should be between 15 and 20.

I took a dew point meter that my technicians use at work and measured the differential. I had 55 F at the vent, and 74 F at the return register in the top floor bedroom. The 19 degree differential doesn't seem bad right?

I tried to get at the evap coil to clean it but the ductwork around the coil was all caulked, and the in/out refrigerant lines were going into the access door/panel. I unscrewed the panel and couldn't get it far enough to fully access the coil. I sprayed would I could but I couldnt get to the underside, which should be the dirtiest section.

Cleaned the outdoor unit fins of lint and fuzz also. No effect.

My research tells me that I may have a leak and am low on refrigerant but I don't have the equipment to test this. I don't want to spend 100 bucks for them to come tell me that it's low and they can't do much because it's R-22. Am I right? I read that even if they find the leak, they can't refill it.

Any thoughts? items to check?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

dovetonsils
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
If you are getting 55F air when it is 80F outside, there is no reason why it should not be cooling the house properly. How is the airflow? Is your filter clean? As an experiment, remove the filter (s) and run it without the filter to see if that is your problem. You may want to get a tech there to measure the airflow. If the airflow is low, could be a clogged coil.

Is this the first year that it is not working since you moved in, or has it always been like this?

There is no restriction on refilling R22 systems, although at some point it may be prohibitively expensive.
ddlaz
Original Author
8 years ago
It's always been like this, as far as I can remember. My first house with central air so I didn't have anything to compare to as far as a properly air conditioned house.

The filter is an electrostatic one with a foil type prefilter. I cleaned the electrostatic filter fins and the prefilter. Felt like plenty of airflow as I was pulling out the prefilter while the fan was running.

Another aspect of the house - kitchen and informal living room are connected with vaulted celing. Maybe the insulation isn't up to par? Should I look for a thermal imaging camera to borrow and look for any hot spots?
Related Discussions
Keep cool, all you northerners!
Q
Comments (11)
Hot. I'm mowing a very overgrown lawn and just came in to take a break. Thunderstorms with heavy rain are supposedly on their way this weekend and will be very welcome. dcarch, I'm shaking my head at your story. Option 1: Try to get a cop with a slim jim to open your car. Not great odds because they don't like to be bothered, and even if they are willing to try, newer cars tend to be made to protect against this. But the price is right so it's worth a shot. Option 2: Call a locksmith. Costs approx $80. Option 3: Break a cheaper window. $350 or so in a higher end car, less in a regular car. Option 4: Call a friend to go to your house, search for keys, then drive at least 4 hours round trip because you were a knucklehead. These are NY prices, verified over a few phone calls as I procrastinate because I really don't feel like going outside and finishing the lawn in this heat.
...See More
How long does it take for new A/C to cool a hot house?
Q
Comments (20)
I've got the installer coming out early next week. He only appeared in the morning and left installation to his underlings (he tells me all are on the payroll though!). He said the condenser or coil--I am not sure which--gives off some air. If anyone is interested in seeing a pic of the unit with the air leaks, I could send a pic that I took with the leaks circled in red. Now he also says something about the possibility of the ducts having leaks...
...See More
Please help!! AC won't cool
Q
Comments (4)
Well, if you want to do a lot of studing you might discover some things that are not right. An exceptional tech can usually find ways to improve the AC system's performance including ways to reduce the radiant & other heat gain. Considering the kind of heat you have (Temps & large City?) & perhaps air infiltration of fair amounts of humidity, etc., 76-F at 60% Relative Humidity might be okay. Get a humidity gauge & follow the temperature taking directions in my pages & get back to us with that data. udarrell Here is a link that might be useful: udarrell.com
...See More
AC cools for about 15 minutes and slowly loses ability to cool
Q
Comments (15)
thanks. especially because the temps are supposed to be a bit more sane this week, I think I can wait until, hopefully, a tech gets out here late in the week. It is able to do some cooling. If you mean to bypass the actual overload PTC on the compressor that is cutting out...no I think that would be insanity. It's there for a reason. Or do you mean another thermal switch? My understanding is code 72 relates only to the compressor itself. There are other messages for other sensors. The troubleshooting guide says: If the control senses the compressor voltage after start--up, and is then absent for 10 consecutive seconds while cooling demand exists, it will de--energize the compressor contactor, keep the outdoor fan operating for 15 minutes (if 230v power present) and display the appropriate fault code. (See table 3) Possible causes are compressor internal overload trip or loss of high voltage (230V) to compressor without loss of control voltage. Now the interesting thing is, before I replaced the contactor, I was getting a lot of "no 230V to compressor" messages, in addition to the thermal cutoff messages. Now I'm just getting the thermal cutout messages. The control board on the outside unit has two leads that attach across the common and the start coil of the compressor, to detect the voltage. So I think if you are just getting the thermal cutoff message, it somehow detects that 230V is still on the line (contactor working), but there's no current flow in the windings because the internal overload is engaged. BTW years ago when this unit first started having trouble, I did get 82 codes (back then, the guy said it was the capacitor but I'm not privy to how he tested it) 82 is what happens when you have 4 consecutive 72s. These days I shut it off at the first 72 code and let it cool down. Now that I think about...Occam's razor at work...that could be it all over again. Maybe even though the cap. tests ok, it isn't.
...See More
dovetonsils
8 years ago
What is the size of your unit? How is the airflow at the vents? I have a three ton and you can feel the cool air coming out of vents from 10 feet away.
ddlaz
Original Author
8 years ago
I can't recall checking on the unit size exactly, but I faintly remember looking into it and saw 2.5 ton..I'll doublecheck tonight.

The airflow isn't great. Standing above the vent, I can feel cool air on my face, 6' up. But it's not COLD enough to give me chills or anything.
dovetonsils
8 years ago
If you can't get the size, post the complete model number. Your insulation should in a 1997 house not be the problem as long as your heating bills have been reasonable.
tigerdunes
8 years ago
Age and size of system?...when was it last serviced?...if it is 2 1/2 ton, I would say it is undersized for the home...ductwork leaks a possibility?...home has adequate returns?...

IMO
ddlaz
Original Author
8 years ago
Until I look at the tag again, I'm going to say it's the original one from 97. I've read that 2.5 was too small for the house but I also read that it's fine for 2 or 3 months of use. On the backside of the furnace, I counted 4 or 5 returns going in.

What is the typical procedure for finding leaks? Smoke?
Brunon M
8 years ago
Hm maybe refill the liquid?
Luckily I have climaconvectors from Verano and have no problems of this kind. To be honest I have no problems at all.

York AC constantly running, barely keeping the house cool

Comments (8)

dovetonsils

ddlaz
Original Author

Related Discussions

dovetonsils

ddlaz
Original Author

dovetonsils

tigerdunes

ddlaz
Original Author

Brunon M

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

York AC constantly running, barely keeping the house cool

Comments (8)

dovetonsils

ddlazOriginal Author

Related Discussions

dovetonsils

ddlazOriginal Author

dovetonsils

tigerdunes

ddlazOriginal Author

Brunon M

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

ddlaz
Original Author

ddlaz
Original Author

ddlaz
Original Author