Heating & Cooling Any HVAC people here?

[mowerman1193 42]

Looking to put in a heating and cooling system in the future ( probably next year ) and looking to arm myself with info. Don't want to make the same mistakes as the last time, lol

My house is on a slab and has block wall about 3-4 foot up (started out years ago as a basement) . I bought this place from my father who built it in 1964 and then fully remodeled it in the mid-late 1980's. He never had any heat source other than a wood burner. When I went to get a mortgage I had to get someone to install a furnace.

I had someone put in a furnace in the attic and ran duct into the ceilings. BIG MISTAKE. I only used the wood burner as well for many years until about 5 years ago I switched to a wood pellet burner.

Problems with my furnace that I do not like are...The furnace and duct condensate in the winter and have caused water stains around my furnace vents in most of the rooms. I redid the crappy flex duct they installed 2 years ago because they had only a R3.2 rated flex duct. removing the duct I found that some of them was nearly half full of water from condensation. I installed R-8 flex duct and have not had any issues since. BUT, the furnace itself condensates in the winter and I have some minor water damage from that in the attic.

All this being said, I am looking for other heating options as well as cooling options..I would like to get the furnace out of my attic and never put one back up there..If I have to I might consider leaving the duct work up there but would just as soon rip that out as well.

I only have propane and electric as a option. Not sure how the heat pump things work or if that would even be an option..

Wondering if anyone has any experience with these wall mounted units from Mitsubishi?

http://www.mitsubishicomfort.com/

This would be perfect if they are as good as they say..

My house is small (1200sq. ft.) and heats and cools very well. I am just fed up with taking out and putting in the window A/C units every year and messing with the stupid furnace up in the attic. Imagine the furnace up there is getting quite rusty over the last 17 years of condensation.

Any advice/ tips as to what you would do?

Thanks,

Kevin

[stevasaurus 23,274]

Kevin. I am not ,but my son is. You are limited on options for sure. Do you have an attached garage? He did one for a friend of mine and put the units up in the garage...easy access for power, duct work, etc. I would think that you would want to use existing duct work if possible. Just a thought if you have the garage. :hide:

[Redbirdman 7]

I don't know too much other than I almost got screwed two years ago when I thought I had to replace part of the unit.......What I did not knew was they could SELL a specific type of unit but after this past January they could not service it anymore

.......something about the freon type. Which probably was the reason the dude wanted to sell (get rid of) it and install it so cheap.. I have since learned about the 'seer' number being very important as well. I was lucky in that last time someone came along and repaired the unit and told me about this freon and seer stuff to look for. (It was simply a capacitor that vibrated loose......a $50.00 service call!)

of course when it's 120 degrees they got you by the 00.......

ed.......

I FOUND A LOTTA INFO HERE

[jdog_kustoms 82]

I have been ac work since 2000 and I have seen this problem a lot it is from a contractor not properly insulating the ductwork and not putting the proper condensate piping and emergency back up pan needed because some time the condensate trap will get clogged with slim and other stuff

over half the heat pump I put in were in the attic even my parents is like that and when they are properly installed and insulated you will never know it

[W9JAB 156]

Not the serious business of garden tractors.

But hear goes,

One of the BEST heating and cooling systems I ever had was a combination

of hydronic (hot water boiler w/radiation) for heat and a attic mounted A.C.

system with ceiling vents for cooling. Heat rising and cold air falling.

The boiler was a standing pilot type, with just the pilot on the system would

heat up to 100 deg. so I did need to shut off the pilot in the cooling season.

I even put a strip of radiation in the garage, and in the dead of winter was

able to hold 70 deg. in the garage. The hardest part of installing the cooling

was putting in a good return air ducting system, but was able to use the space

between the wall studs as ducting for the returns.

:hide:

[mowerman1193 42]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Jdog, "not putting the proper condensate piping and emergency back up pan needed because some time the condensate trap will get clogged with slim and other stuff "

Hmmm this may be what my problem is..Maybe I will have to go up and look things over again. Think I will call a few of the local heating/cooling places and have them take a look and see what they have to say..

Thanks again,

Kevin

[Brrly1 1,146]

Kevin, you need to talk to Duke! If I remember correctly this is kind of a sideline for him other than taking care of the jail. :hide:

[HorseFixer 2,013]

I have been a Licensed HVAC Industry since 1977 and am an HVAC Contractor since 1982 was in Buisness for 10 years and was a Carrier Dealer. Presently I am Mechanical Systems Manager for my county and Run the Jail Maintenance Dept but handle all the Mechanical needs in all County Buildings.

Yes, get the furnace out of the attic PERIOD. you are better off if at all possible to keep the ductwork down in the conditioned area. Is there any way you can centrally locate the furnace and hug the ductwork and ceiling along a wall and ceiling and box it in? You can then put the grills in the bottom or side of the bulkhead or both.

How large is your home? If you make a detailed drawing I can do a Manual J Load calculation for the heating & cooling needs of the structure and give you the CFM requiremnts for each room. You are limited on options as the house is on a slab and this restricts good ductwork placement. As far as Fuel that all depends on yer local cost per gal of propane and cost of KW hour of electric alot to consider.lets start with the demands needed first.

Cheers ~Duke

:WRS:

[rwilson 128]

What about GEO-Thermal? A little expensive to start but I have heard thet it is the way to go for all your heating and cooling needs. Here is a link that didcusses exactly what it is and how it works. Plus its a good way to go "GREEN". And I know Here in pa it is a good way to get a tax break!! Good luck.

http://www.geocomfort.com/

[coldone 35]

If you suspect that your drain line is clogged, try attaching your shop vac to he line where it exits the building. Seal the connection with duct tape or rags and turn on the vac. This will usually pull any slugh out and clear the line.

[HorseFixer 2,013]

Geothermal is a viable option. The Heat Pump Itself has been around a long time, alot longer than most people think. Dr. Willis Haviland Carrier is the father of Air Conditioning since 1902, and in 1932 invented the first Heat Pump. Carrier spends more in R&D than most companies make in a year. The first step is to do a load calculation.

Heat Pumps are based on the HVAC size there is 12,000 btu's in 1 Ton of cooling. Most avg size homes require a 2 to 3 Ton Air Conditioner. So that