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Big Lake Air Conditioning
Big Lake Air Conditioning.
One of my favorite places to install heating or cooling equipment is in the big lake area. A small community that is imbedded into the landscape. In this particular Big Lake Air Conditioning installation the home basically over looked big lake, perfect to watch the fourth of July fireworks.
Trane And American Standard
Most people do not realize that Trane is actually manufactured by American Standard, funny thing is that American Standard is a higher rated(according to consumer reports) piece of HVAC equipment than Trane. Although the brand name Trane is more recognized they are literally the same piece of equipment.
When the AC coil wont fit
In this particular application there is simply not enough room to get the new American Standard air conditioning coil into the existing duct system. In any gas furnace application we must install the AC coil down stream of the furnace. What to do? Well most HVAC people know that in a upflow application (such as this) you can either enter the furnace from the bottom or the side. Here we simply dropped the furnace down, entered the return air from the side and add the coil onto the top of the unit.
Air Conditioner Location
Its really not that hard to figure out where to place the air conditioner, I try to avoid putting the AC near a master bedroom and or the neighbors master bedroom, I try to avoid water spigots, clothe drier outlets and or walk ways. I also try to keep as close as I can to the electrical panel. In this case though the panel was literally around the garage and up a slope.
Conclusion
In this Big Lake Air Conditioning installation we where able to install a matching full cased coil onto the existing Trane furnace, run about 40' of refer line set and install a 13 seer American Standard air conditioner on a preformed pad. My customer is going to be very cool this summer.
Mobile Home Heat Pump
Coleman Mobile Home Heat pump.
Until you actually live in a mobile home you don't realize some of the issues that arise. One such issue is that when installing a fixed appliance it has to be mobile home approved. So when installing a heat pump it has to be mobile home approved, most manufactures do not have mobile home approved equipment. Coleman on the other hand is mobile home approved and offer many models to choose from, including a Mobile Home Heat Pump.
Mobile Home Furnace Coils
In many cases in a mobile home the gas furnace or electric air handler (furnace) is designed to have a heat pump or air conditioner coil added into or onto the cabinet. A lot of the times the furnace will actually have a sticker indicating that a coil can be added and give you choices on sizes. This Coleman furnace had all the information on the blower housing.
Mobile Home Heat Pump kits
Most manufactures actually make kits that are prepackaged for most of the models of furnaces in mobile homes. These kits can include a shelf, some insulation for the cabinet, a control package and filter rack. Now if you get a kit that actually works perfectly, that's a different story.
Heat Pump Location.
Its really not that hard to figure out where to place the Mobile Home Heat Pump, I try to avoid putting the heat pump near a master bedroom and or the neighbors master bedroom, I try to avoid water spigots, clothe drier outlets and or walk ways. I also try to keep as close as I can to the electrical panel.
Conclusion
In this Coleman Mobile Home Heat Pump installation we where able to install a MH kit onto the existing air handler, run about 40' of refer line set and install a 14 seer Coleman heat pump on a preformed pad. My customer is going to be very cool this summer and enjoy low heating bills this winter.
Weil Mclain Ultra Boiler Issue
If you own a Weil Mclain Ultra Boiler, this article is for you.
We have a customer in Anacortes WA with a WEIL McLAIN Ultra Boiler 105. Their boiler is propane (LP), uses a side wall termination kit provided by WEIL MCLAIN and is on the coast pulling in salt air for combustion. This particular boiler has given us trouble for many years. Usually boiling down to a bad air fuel mixture, but on occasion we had to replace parts. All done with tech support on the phone.
WEIL McLAIN Ultra Boiler Venturi
This last service call shed some light on some of the issues, the venturi was compromised, literally falling apart. When we contacted tech support about the venturi they stated that the venturi only has a life expectancy of 5 years! Not only where we shocked to hear the 5 years, we where even more shocked that the existing venturi was replaced by Alpine Heating And Cooling only 2 years ago.
High Maintenance
If you own the WEIL McLAIN Ultra-105 boiler or considering purchasing one, keep in mind they require a yearly maintenance. The yearly maintenance has to be done with a kit that they supply, that kit is expensive and the labor to perform this maintenance is extensive. Also keep in mind that every 5 years you maybe buying the ULTRA-105 gas valve replacement kit #383-501-030, also very expensive. On a final note we share service information with another service contractor in our area, they as well are having issues with another WEIL McLAIN Ultra boiler ... but model Ultra 80. So we don't know if this problem is just for the model 80 and 105 or spreads to all sizes.
Conclusion
The WEIL McLAIN Ultra boiler is not a boiler Alpine Heating and Cooling recommends, especially if you're LP and or living on or near salt water. Keep in mind the boiler is a high maintenance and is very expensive to repair.
Mix Matched Heat pump
Mix Matched Heat Pump in Skagit County.
When it comes to heat pumps a lot of people don't fully understand that you still need a 2nd source of heat. A heat pump will only work down to about 32 degrees, after that we need to switch over to an electric, gas, LP or oil furnace. In some cases their existing furnace will work just fine, and if they/we get lucky we can even install the HP coil directly into their furnace, such is the case here.
American Standard With Lennox
In this case of a mix matched heat pump we have an older Lennox electric furnace (that's in great shape) with a 3 ton blower. This furnace was designed to have a heat pump or air conditioning coil installed directly into it. There is actually a rail system setup and a filter system designed for the coil. Of course it was originally designed for a Lennox coil.
Fitting In The New Coil
The trick to fitting a coil into an older piece of equipment is the physical size of the coil versus the space it goes into. We also have to make sure the existing furnace can actually produce the air we need for the new system. Years ago our coils where much smaller, the reason they grew in size was because of efficiency, the larger the coil the more efficient the system can get. And with today's minimum standards the coils are much larger.
All Working Great
We where able to find an American Standard heat pump coil that fit (with a custom modification to the rails) into the existing Lennox furnace. The new American Standard heat pump(mix matched heat pump) matched up to the coil and the Lennox furnace produces more than enough air. With a few modifications to the control system and a new Honeywell thermostat we had that old Lennox electric furnace turned into a full heat pump system.
Conclusion
We actually saved our customer a lot of money by not selling him a complete system rather converting his existing furnace to a heat pump. He will see his bills drop dramatically and of course he gets air conditioning.
Sedro Woolley Air Conditioner
Simple Sedro Woolley Air Conditioner.
This year we have sold and installed record numbers of air conditioners. In this case we actually replaced the existing gas furnace with a new American Standard furnace at the same time. Seeing how the home was fairly small the customer decided against a high efficiency furnace. In reality the difference would have only been about a 15% savings on a very small gas bill.
American Standard Furnace
As you can see the new furnace installed right next to the washer and dryer in the utility room, nice tight fit. Seeing how it was the same efficiency there was no need for redoing the venting. We did have to cut down the existing base can to make the coil fit, everything else just got reconnected.
Air Conditioner Location
When it comes down to it there is a compromise when I look at the Air Conditioners location. I have to think about the refrigeration lines from the indoor coil and the high voltage lines coming from the panel. I also have to think about cosmetics, no one wants an air conditioner located in the front of their home. Overall this Sedro Woolley Air Conditioner turned out great.
Carrier Heat Pump Replacement
Carrier Heat Pump Replaced
The Carrier Heat Pump never worked right
Sometimes things are not always as they appear, at first glance this looked like a straight forward Carrier Heat pump change out. The ducting is there, the line sets and the electrical. So I took some measurements, took some pictures and went back to the office to work up a bid.
What caught my eye
What caught my eye is what changed everything for me on this project. I noticed the motor HP and amp draw had been changed on the manufactures label. There is only one reason a technician would change motor HP ... duct issues, specifically return duct issues. After talking to the home owner and listening to all the problems they where having It had become perfectly clear ... the unit has never moved enough air.
Just not enough ducting
Unfortunately in this older farm house increasing the return duct work would prove to be impossible, and I am sure that is what the original installation company faced as well. Fortunately American Standard makes a variable speed air handler that can overcome duct issues such as these.
After replacing the indoor unit, outdoor unit and the line set we where ready to test our theory out .. and sure enough the new American Standard air handler performed perfectly.
Conclusion
When you are faced with ducting issues in a situation where increasing the ducting is impossible but you need the air volume? Use a variable speed piece of equipment. Of course there are limits to what these variable speed units can do, BUT they will help dramatically in cases like these.
American Standard 95
American Standard 95
American Standard 95 .. again
I love upgrading customers equipment, here we upgraded our customer from a single stage 80% to a new American Standard 90 to 95 variable speed 2-stage gas furnace. Not only will this furnace run much quieter than their existing furnace, but it will also save them 5% more on their heating bill.
American Standard is a Trane
The first picture is the older furnace and hot water heater. The Trane unit was and still is manufactured by American Standard.
Bradford White Tank
As you can see we also replaced the existing hot water heater with a new Bradford white water heater. I have installed many brands of hot water heaters, I prefer Bradford White. I will usually discount the hot water tank when replacing the furnace at the same time.
Living Room Furnace
Living Room Furnace
Furnace Room Heater?
Can you imagine trusting a mechanical contractor you hired over Craig's list to install a room heater in your living room while you where at work? These people came home to a full sized furnace installed in their living room, all they wanted was a room heater. Can you imagine trying to watch TV as this furnace ramps up to heat your home? Now imagine that you paid him in FULL already!
I actually looked up the contractor who installed this furnace, he has no contractor license, he has no bond, he is not insured and on his proposal he asked the check to be made out in his personal name! Even though on his invoice he was clearly charging tax! Normally I would be the first in line to turn this contractor in, but the customer actually beat me to it.
PLEASE when hiring a contractor, do a little homework. And Don't do a Living Room Furnace
Living Room Furnace