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For all the AC threads…check your ductwork
Posted on 8/11/23 at 1:01 pm
Posted on 8/11/23 at 1:01 pm
I’ve been battling this shite all summer.. My unit has been having issues the last few months. Spent over a thousand bucks on it and just not keeping up, fan motor died, one of my valves crapped out, super dirty(had it cleaned)
Met a local guy through friends and had him come out and give me an overall check on my system. Literally every connection point in my ductwork had some leakage in it, including a pretty big gap in the return duct and it was sucking in 130 degree attic air…
Just a friendly suggestion to either go check yourself or have someone check your ductwork
Met a local guy through friends and had him come out and give me an overall check on my system. Literally every connection point in my ductwork had some leakage in it, including a pretty big gap in the return duct and it was sucking in 130 degree attic air…
Just a friendly suggestion to either go check yourself or have someone check your ductwork
8
Posted on 8/11/23 at 1:13 pm to PenguinPubes
Had a friend of mine who couldn't understand why there walk in attic always felt so cool! Until their unit broke down and the repairman found that the plenty was disconnected from the unit. That unit ran 7 years before she noticed!
Posted on 8/11/23 at 1:16 pm to PenguinPubes
Any tips on what to look for to self-diagnose the problem.
Posted on 8/11/23 at 1:38 pm to Drunken Crawfish
quote:
Any tips on what to look for to self-diagnose the problem.
I'm guessing the first sign would be inefficient cooling?
edit
I wasn't trying to be a smartass. I figure that would actually be a tell tell sign.
This post was edited on 8/11/23 at 2:04 pm
Posted on 8/11/23 at 1:47 pm to PenguinPubes
I had noticed that my furnace had a massive leak coming out and freely letting go of hot air. Got some of that metallic tape and wrapped it up good. Made a big difference for the summer. Once the heat dies down and it's not an absolute hell hole in my attic I'll put that mastic type material where the tape is and use that as a longer lasting fix.
Posted on 8/11/23 at 1:58 pm to BilbeauTBaggins
Is there any type of product that you can easily wrap your current flex duct with that would provide more insulation to it?
Seems like some sort of insulation sleeve with velcro that you can wrap around and secure in place would an easy product to produce and market.
Seems like some sort of insulation sleeve with velcro that you can wrap around and secure in place would an easy product to produce and market.
This post was edited on 8/11/23 at 2:06 pm
Posted on 8/11/23 at 2:11 pm to DukeSilver
The mastic stuff (I can't recall what it is exactly) is probably the best to use.
Posted on 8/11/23 at 3:00 pm to Drunken Crawfish
quote:
Any tips on what to look for to self-diagnose the problem
Turn your system on and go in your attic and literally put your hands all around your ductwork where you can see two pieces of duct are connected together. Should be sealed from the inside and taped up around the outside as well.
On mine, if you’d put your hands around the connecting spots you could feel cold air coming out. Doesn’t seem like a lot.. but if there are 4-5 connections each leaking cold air, it adds up
On the return duct part, can’t help you out there bc I wasn’t up there when he fixed it
Posted on 8/11/23 at 5:07 pm to DukeSilver
Posted on 8/11/23 at 5:13 pm to Drunken Crawfish
Just give EF Hutton a ring.
Posted on 8/12/23 at 7:39 am to PenguinPubes
quote:
Spent over a thousand bucks on it and just not keeping up, fan motor died, one of my valves crapped out, super dirty(had it cleaned)
I spent years fighting clogged drains, blown caps, fan motors - and it was all due to a leak in the return air that was drawing in debris from outside the house.
Posted on 8/12/23 at 8:28 am to jmon
quote:
Had a friend of mine who couldn't understand why there walk in attic always felt so cool! Until their unit broke down and the repairman found that the plenty was disconnected from the unit. That unit ran 7 years before she noticed!
A lifetime ago I worked for a sheetmetal company that did residential and commercial ductwork. Got a call one day from a guy that had another company do his work and he had them come out to find the problem since his house wasn't cooling properly.
He obviously had an issue with squirrels, and or, rats in his attic and they chewed holes in a lot of the flex duct that was installed.
The original installers only did flex duct and didn't do any all-metal Joval round pipe and plenums, so the guy hired us to replace all that was up there and had someone come out to fix the issue with the rodents.
He was a few grand poorer, but comfortable from the day we finished onward.
Posted on 8/13/23 at 10:19 am to PenguinPubes
quote:
Literally every connection point in my ductwork had some leakage in it, including a pretty big gap in the return duct and it was sucking in 130 degree attic air…
I found exactly the same situation in my central ac unit. I sealed my ductwork up with some high quality foil tape and there was a world of difference. If you crack a door when your unit is running and can feel air being sucked in to your house, that is your problem.
The best way to diagnose this is with a $20 infrared thermometer.
Posted on 8/13/23 at 10:49 am to PenguinPubes
This is a good topic as ductwork is every bit as important in home comfort issues as properly sized and operating HVAC equipment.
For those not aware, a duct leakage test can be performed by a professional, often home energy specialist, using the same equipment as a blower door test (= house envelope leakage test). When I had it done 3 years ago, it cost about $350 (no pun intended).
For DYI testing for leaks one can use a smoke pin, incense sticks, or a inexpensive thermal or infrared imager/camera to check for significant air leaks in the ducts, and as stated, it’s important to not only check the supply side ducts, but also the return side ducts.
For those not aware, a duct leakage test can be performed by a professional, often home energy specialist, using the same equipment as a blower door test (= house envelope leakage test). When I had it done 3 years ago, it cost about $350 (no pun intended).
For DYI testing for leaks one can use a smoke pin, incense sticks, or a inexpensive thermal or infrared imager/camera to check for significant air leaks in the ducts, and as stated, it’s important to not only check the supply side ducts, but also the return side ducts.
Posted on 8/13/23 at 11:00 am to PenguinPubes
I would say the majority of houses over 10 years old have leaky enough ductwork that it affects the performance of their system. Its a great project for a homeowner to check for and fix. They're not likely to fix it to the standards of a competent hvac guy but generally anything is better than leaking air in or out of an attic. Sometimes compressing insulation too tight to a duct will cause condensation drips that might show up on ceilings. Not many homeowners are willing to crawl around in an attic in the South even in the morning hours though.
Posted on 8/13/23 at 9:39 pm to PenguinPubes
Spray foam insulated the duct to register boxes to seal the connection. Re-zip tie all duct to Plenum connections. I just finished spray foaming all ceiling penetrations. Can tell the difference.
Posted on 8/13/23 at 10:12 pm to Drunken Crawfish
Cold air escaping your duct into the attic
Posted on 8/14/23 at 10:26 pm to Drunken Crawfish
Get you a cheap fog machine and fan to push fog through your ductwork and you can see the leaks or a cheap thermal camera will show you where the issues are
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