And so the HVAC struggle continues...

[Evil Lurker]

This time my central took a complete dump. Think a valve blew and dumped all of the refrigerant. Let me say this, Goodman heat pumps are complete and total pieces of crap. And even though they purport a 10 year warranty, lemme tell ya it ain't worth a damn if all 8lbs of the $20+ per pound r-22 leaks out and you have to pay labor for installing a new valve, fixing leaks, and bad start run capacitors every other year.

http://www.furnacecompare.com/heat-p...odman/reviews/

After looking at all the negative reviews on the website above and considering the track record of my unit, I have decided to switch over to window AC units. I snagged two of them out of my grandmother's house, one of which was actually mine from when I lived there before (she is in an Alzheimer's care facility and it will probably eventually get sold off to pay her nursing home care, so no loss to her... she doesn't even know who I am or where she is at she is so far gone). Sure they are noisy, but if one takes a dump its only $125-250 to completely replace the entire unit... that's less than the cost of the refrigerant needed to fill up the central! I think that this winter I'm going to natural gas wall units.

I'm dreading installing my AC unit. Its a circa 2008 GE 18k BTU 240v unit. That means I get to run a new dedicated circuit... joy. Goodman can burn in hell as far as I am concerned.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Originally Posted by Evil Lurker

circa 2008 GE

I'm afraid that's the problem. GE air conditioners are now pretty much just rebadged Chinese stuff.

And 2008 was a bad year, because it was still in a period where companies think they can play guinea pig with consumers.

[Evil Lurker]

Just finished getting it all wired up. Dipshit that wired in my house used the smallest drill bit he had when running wires into the breaker box, I ended up having to go thru the ceiling and back into the wall since there was no room to get a drill in there to put a new wire in. Will have to go back sometime in the near future and run some conduit, fix the insulation in the attic from where I had to crawl back to the corner of the house, and finish stapling the romex down.

It took a minute for the compressor to kick in when I first turned it on... I have to admit I was kinda worried there for a minute. May of had some trouble starting since it sat unused for nearly four years.

And yeah your right, the unit was made in china. Oh well, it works anyways at least for now.

[ratdude747]

I'd look into replacing the heat pump with a separate AC unit and furnace... they are far more foolproof than a heat pump. Since you already have ductwork, you are better off to use it.

(my late grandpa owned a HVAC shop).

Carrier used to make good AC units... much better than the plastic York units at that time (mid 90's). If my grandpa were still with us, he'd have some advice and probably would still suggest carrier (he sold multiple brands at his shop).

My old house has a Heil made unit which sprung a leak and needs fixed... The new house has a 1986 Goodman AC unit which still runs strong... dang 80's stuff was durable...

For furnaces, I am not too sure... never had to replace one.

[ben7]

Originally Posted by ratdude747

I'd look into replacing the heat pump with a separate AC unit and furnace... they are far more foolproof than a heat pump. Since you already have ductwork, you are better off to use it.

(my late grandpa owned a HVAC shop).

Carrier used to make good AC units... much better than the plastic York units at that time (mid 90's). If my grandpa were still with us, he'd have some advice and probably would still suggest carrier (he sold multiple brands at his shop).

My old house has a Heil made unit which sprung a leak and needs fixed... The new house has a 1986 Goodman AC unit which still runs strong... dang 80's stuff was durable...

For furnaces, I am not too sure... never had to replace one.

Yeah, our carrier AC system has treated us very well, its a bit noisy, but it hasn't broken down once since we got it, around 10 years ago.

Once I thought the fan motor was going bad (house smelled inside) but then when I went outside I realized the smell came from out there instead. (a lightning bolt struck a pipe at chemical plant, caught loads of chemicals on fire! That stink was around for weeks!)

[RJARRRPCGP]

Originally Posted by Evil Lurker

It took a minute for the compressor to kick in when I first turned it on... I have to admit I was kinda worried there for a minute.

Like my GE window unit with Samsung compressor. Haha.

I bet that's the control unit refusing to turn the compressor on for almost 5 minutes.
Like when I use my window unit for the first time of the season.
That happens even when the compressor didn't get stuck.

(Else you be seeing lights dimming and/or hearing a buzz, if the compressor got stuck.)

[RJARRRPCGP]

Originally Posted by ratdude747

The new house has a 1986 Goodman AC unit which still runs strong... dang 80's stuff was durable...

Makes me regret leaving the 1985 GE window air con at the boonie shack in Cavendish, where I lived before moving to Springfield. No made-in-China bull during that time!

It was a freebie and I also was given a smaller GE window unit made in 1981, IIRC, but didn't test it.

[delaware74b]

Watch that GE window unit for slime and black mold buildup. It sounds like the one I just cleaned for my sister. I found the evaporator (inside coil) drains plug up easily even with the unit's outside section pitched down.

I have 6 window units and the GE's give me the most problems with condensate leaks. I remove the covers and thoroughly clean them when installed in the spring. I use Clorox Cleanup with bleach to keep the mold and slime under control. I have also 'modified' all of the window units with a 1/4" drain hole to drain out most of the water.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Originally Posted by delaware74b

Watch that GE window unit for slime and black mold buildup. It sounds like the one I just cleaned for my sister. I found the evaporator (inside coil) drains plug up easily even with the unit's outside section pitched down.

I have 6 window units and the GE's give me the most problems with condensate leaks. I remove the covers and thoroughly clean them when installed in the spring. I use Clorox Cleanup with bleach to keep the mold and slime under control. I have also 'modified' all of the window units with a 1/4" drain hole to drain out most of the water.

I doubt it can be any worse (And I doubt it's that much of a problem when cleaned) than my made-in-2002 GE purchased (The one with the Samsung compressor) on August 20, 2003.

In summer, 2005, I discovered that the mainland-China made ones can easily leak into the button pad! The button pad stopped working and thus required to use the remote now, lol.