Performed an installation today that didn't go well. We were installing a 4 ton, 16 SEER system unit, and things went wrong from the first 20 minutes on site when we learned that the condensing unit was bolted to the slab. We didn't have a sawzall to cut the bolts because I had left it at home for another project. We couldn't start welding the copper lines because the can of Rx-11 was empty. Since my tools were stolen a month or so ago, I didn't have a swage kit, so I had to weld a bunch of fittings in place to seal the lineset.
Worst of all, when the unit started running, we were ready to test the unit, the heater came on and heated the house up to 100 degrees at 8pm. We finally found a new thermostat to install, and our problem was solved. It felt like Mr. Murphy was sitting on our shoulders reminding us of his laws and letting us know that everything was going to go wrong.
In all, it took 10 hours to complete what should have taken 5 to 6 hours to complete.
three way manifold
Gauges used for testing refrigerant pressures.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Your Furnace in a Cold Snap
The worst time to find out there's something wrong with your furnace is the first day of a chilly snap. We all procrastinate and also have no worries regarding our central air system until it's gone. Without routine maintenance and repair, you may find your family "out in the cold" whenever temperatures fall. Gas furnaces are well-liked for their ability to heat an area quickly and easily, however it is good practice to get your device inspected once a year to be sure that everything works properly. This way, you can make certain that it is there for you when you need it. Don't worry and wonder whether your own equipment is gonna be functional whenever you flip that thermostat to heat. With All Seasons Comfort in your corner, you can be confident your equipment is in good shape, and if you have an emergency or even unexpected circumstance.
Heating repairs by reputable heating contractors are in high demand when cold snaps hit. All Seasons Comfort is here to help, as are many other HVAC contractors. Heater repair and furnace repairs are just as important when it's cold as AC repairs are when it's hot. Don't be left in the cold.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Federal Energy Star Tax Credit a Thing of the Past
The Tax Credit for everyday household appliances with an Energy Star certification is almost over. On the 31st, it disappears for good. The only credits available will be for the high priced items like solar water heaters and geothermal heat pumps. Those last until 2016.
Replacing the tax credit for a short time will be the mail in rebate for Energy Star appliances and HVAC equipment worth up to $1000. This rebate is on a first come, first served basis though, so you have to move fast. There was actually a time where you could have taken advantage of both incentives at the same time. That was between December 20th and December 31st. It's gone now though, so say bye bye to the big stuff before too long.
I'll be sure to keep you informed of manufacturer's rebates that come up so you can get more help paying for a new unit and saving on utilities for the foreseeable future. I've seen some manufacturer's rebates for up to $1300. That's still nice to combine with the CPS credit and the mail in rebate while it's still available.
Have a great new year!!
Replacing the tax credit for a short time will be the mail in rebate for Energy Star appliances and HVAC equipment worth up to $1000. This rebate is on a first come, first served basis though, so you have to move fast. There was actually a time where you could have taken advantage of both incentives at the same time. That was between December 20th and December 31st. It's gone now though, so say bye bye to the big stuff before too long.
I'll be sure to keep you informed of manufacturer's rebates that come up so you can get more help paying for a new unit and saving on utilities for the foreseeable future. I've seen some manufacturer's rebates for up to $1300. That's still nice to combine with the CPS credit and the mail in rebate while it's still available.
Have a great new year!!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
All of The Ads That Google Puts Around My Blog Entries.
Do you see all the ads around this page? There are ads for Sears, Rheem, Trane, various A/C companies and all kinds of things related to air conditioning units, services and installations.
Do me a huge favor, please? Don't click on them or use their services! My company is right here, and we can do all the same stuff for you any of these guys can do. We can probably do it cheaper than them.
If you feel it necessary to click anywhere, click on the link to my website.
http://www.allseasonsac-sa.com
You'll be able to learn a lot, and contact me or someone at my company to get the things done that you need done.
I just wanted to offer up that public service announcement.
Do me a huge favor, please? Don't click on them or use their services! My company is right here, and we can do all the same stuff for you any of these guys can do. We can probably do it cheaper than them.
If you feel it necessary to click anywhere, click on the link to my website.
http://www.allseasonsac-sa.com
You'll be able to learn a lot, and contact me or someone at my company to get the things done that you need done.
I just wanted to offer up that public service announcement.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Post Office in San Antonio, part 3
So . . . talking about the same post office I was talking about a few days ago. I thought I'd log back on the next day, but I had cool stuff like the Floresville Peanut Festival come up. I just HAD to go!
Anyways . . . we did all this work to find out what was wrong with that York unit, and learned that the other contractor was right about the compressors being bad. While I was there, I was able to talk the management company into letting me clean the other unit on the premises, and perform basic maintenance.
So the next day I spent about half the day pulling that other unit (it's a Trane by the way) apart and cleaning everything so it would function properly and not leak all over the place . . . pain in the butt, but it was a $600 (for me) pain in the butt. When I got done, I noticed that the liquid line was running cool . . . about the same temperature as the suction line. The liquid line actually carries liquified refrigerant, which is compressed from its gas state, so it's supposed to be warmer than the suction line which carries refrigerant in its gas state. You see, refrigerant cools down as it is sprayed from its liquid state through a metering device into the evaporator coil. Spraying it allows it to form back into its natural gas state, cooling it considerably. Just think of your bottle of Windex that you spray on the windows to clean them . . . or those misters used at football games to keep the players cool . . . or a fuel injector. All of those things vaporize a liquid by spraying it.
Needless to say, there needs to be a perfect balance of refrigerant so it will be liquid going into the home and vapor coming out of your home. If this balance is thrown off, it will damage your compressor or you will notice ice accumulating in your unit. That's why HVAC contractors are hired. We know what we're doing! We have to understand pneumatics, hydraulics, elctricity and plumbing to do what we do. It's not easy, and there are people out there who know more about each of the things we work on than we do. It's just amazing how scentific all this stuff is.
Back to the subject now. 15 ton Trane unit, post office, cold liquid line, suction line freezing up. There was a reason for the last two paragraphs. See if you can follow now. We checked the unit out by actually following the liquid line from where it came out of the wall outside backward to the unit, inside the unit to a filter/dryer that was attached.
Now, do you want to hear something cool? The the liquid line was about 20 degrees warmer going into the filter/dryer than it was coming out of the filter dryer! Based on everything I said in the previous paragraphs, that means something was happening to the refrigerant as it passed through the filter/dryer. It was entering as a liquid, but exiting as a vapor. How the hell could that happen? Well, this is a filter we're talking about here, so it gathers up particulates in the refrigerant as it passes through the filter/dryer. It just so happens that the filter was clogged so much that the refrigerant had to move through tiny holes in the filter to get to the other side. So as it passed through the filter, it was being sprayed through those tiny holes and turned into a vapor as it moved to the other side. That's why the liquid line was so cold when it is supposed to be the warmer line. Remember? When refrigerant becomes a vapor, its temperature drops considerably.
That's exactly what was happening in this situation. We're not sure how long this went on, but that puts back pressure on the compressor, shortening its life, so we needed to get the filter/dryers changed out as soon as possible.
I'm getting tired of typing now, so I'll continue later.
Anyways . . . we did all this work to find out what was wrong with that York unit, and learned that the other contractor was right about the compressors being bad. While I was there, I was able to talk the management company into letting me clean the other unit on the premises, and perform basic maintenance.
So the next day I spent about half the day pulling that other unit (it's a Trane by the way) apart and cleaning everything so it would function properly and not leak all over the place . . . pain in the butt, but it was a $600 (for me) pain in the butt. When I got done, I noticed that the liquid line was running cool . . . about the same temperature as the suction line. The liquid line actually carries liquified refrigerant, which is compressed from its gas state, so it's supposed to be warmer than the suction line which carries refrigerant in its gas state. You see, refrigerant cools down as it is sprayed from its liquid state through a metering device into the evaporator coil. Spraying it allows it to form back into its natural gas state, cooling it considerably. Just think of your bottle of Windex that you spray on the windows to clean them . . . or those misters used at football games to keep the players cool . . . or a fuel injector. All of those things vaporize a liquid by spraying it.
Needless to say, there needs to be a perfect balance of refrigerant so it will be liquid going into the home and vapor coming out of your home. If this balance is thrown off, it will damage your compressor or you will notice ice accumulating in your unit. That's why HVAC contractors are hired. We know what we're doing! We have to understand pneumatics, hydraulics, elctricity and plumbing to do what we do. It's not easy, and there are people out there who know more about each of the things we work on than we do. It's just amazing how scentific all this stuff is.
Back to the subject now. 15 ton Trane unit, post office, cold liquid line, suction line freezing up. There was a reason for the last two paragraphs. See if you can follow now. We checked the unit out by actually following the liquid line from where it came out of the wall outside backward to the unit, inside the unit to a filter/dryer that was attached.
Now, do you want to hear something cool? The the liquid line was about 20 degrees warmer going into the filter/dryer than it was coming out of the filter dryer! Based on everything I said in the previous paragraphs, that means something was happening to the refrigerant as it passed through the filter/dryer. It was entering as a liquid, but exiting as a vapor. How the hell could that happen? Well, this is a filter we're talking about here, so it gathers up particulates in the refrigerant as it passes through the filter/dryer. It just so happens that the filter was clogged so much that the refrigerant had to move through tiny holes in the filter to get to the other side. So as it passed through the filter, it was being sprayed through those tiny holes and turned into a vapor as it moved to the other side. That's why the liquid line was so cold when it is supposed to be the warmer line. Remember? When refrigerant becomes a vapor, its temperature drops considerably.
That's exactly what was happening in this situation. We're not sure how long this went on, but that puts back pressure on the compressor, shortening its life, so we needed to get the filter/dryers changed out as soon as possible.
I'm getting tired of typing now, so I'll continue later.
Adding Financing as an Option For a Business.
Recently, I was able to start offering financing for my HVAC company, All Seasons Comfort in San Antonio, TX.
I always though there would be a lot of hoops to jump through in order to get this done, but was amazed at how simple the process was for me. You see, I've tried with a few different businesses to get something like this going, but have been turned away for various reasons in the past, usually because the business I was managing wasn't old enough. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me, because I always thought that the financial institution had to deal with the customer, not me and my business.
It's a ridiculous thing if you think about it.
Anyways, my worries are over on that front. Let's see how this new deal will pan out for me.
I always though there would be a lot of hoops to jump through in order to get this done, but was amazed at how simple the process was for me. You see, I've tried with a few different businesses to get something like this going, but have been turned away for various reasons in the past, usually because the business I was managing wasn't old enough. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me, because I always thought that the financial institution had to deal with the customer, not me and my business.
It's a ridiculous thing if you think about it.
Anyways, my worries are over on that front. Let's see how this new deal will pan out for me.
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