Central Air Problems (electric consumption, water leak)?

[Dejola]

My daughter had a central air-conditioning installed about six years ago. It has performed fine until now. Two problems have surfaced which have caused concern. One involves how much electricity the system is consuming - even when it is not in operation, and the other involves a leak of water that has permeated the bathroom wall in her master bathroom on the second floor of her two story home. These two problems may or may not be related.

Electric consumption. My daughter's electric bill has for some unknown time (possibly dating back to when the AC system was installed) been about twice that of her neighbors who have similar homes. This recently prompted her to do a breaker test which revealed that the breaker dedicated to the AC, when turned off, significantly slowed the rotation of the electric meter disk EVEN THOUGH THE AC SYSTEM WAS NOT TURNED ON. This seems to indicate that even when the AC system is turned off it is drawing significant electricity!

Water leak. It has been discovered that a device in the attic that I will call a condensation device has a defect in the way it is attached to some sort of piping or ductwork such that water has leaked down inside her master bathroom wall and over time created a widespread mold problem.

My daughter called a plumber thinking it was a plumbing problem. The plumber said that the leak was related to her AC system so she called the AC vendor/installer. His response was disappointing. He asked why the plumber just didn't fix the leak. Finally he did send a serviceman who found a problem with how the condensation device wa attached to the pipe/ductwork. He applied silicon as a temporary measure but said that a more permanent correction was needed. I'm not sure if he said there was a defective installation insofar as the condensation device is concerned. My daughter seems to be faced with having to rip out the sheetrock to correct the mold situation. She has no idea what the warranty is on the AC system and is not confident that the vendor/ installer will correct the problem without cost to her.

Can anyone here address either problem and help us figure out what is going on?

Should she call in some sort of independent professional to evaluate the situation? What type of professional should she seek?

Sorry if my description os the problem is a bit weak. I hope that those of you who are HVAC professionals will be able to figure out from this meager description just what the problem(s) may be.

Thanks.

[Noon-Air]

Call a competent tech to check, service, and correct any problems with the system. No its not going to be free.

[Dejola]

Thank you. Of course that is an option and a fairly good one at that. But I was looking more for an answer that begins something like, "It sounds like what is happening is that..."

[B-Hate-Me]

HAHAHAhahahahaha! It costs even when it's NOT running.

That's f****ng beautiful.

PS- I was going to request a picture of your daughters t*ts, but that would be rude.

[gofish]

first & foremost, you want documentation. Lots of it. Digital pictures really help. Lots of them. Documentation on the electrical issues, as well as the mold issues. Armed with such overwhelming documentation, you might be able to persuade the installing contractor to face up to his liabilities.

You might also employ another ac company to act strictly as investigators. Tell them upfront you want a complete, non-biased report on the installation, and make it clear they will not be part of any remedial action. Investigation & report only, and they may be called in as expert witnesses if the case goes to litigation.

Last, it will be really benefitial if you can produce documentation that the system has been maintained. Personally I would not allow any repairs to be made by anyone other than the installing company, up to the point of litigation. Typically we void any warranties if systems are serviced by other ac companies, as we have no control over the quality of their work

[Noon-Air]

OK.. it sounds like it was installed by the lowest bidder, and you have had problems with it since day one, its never been checked or serviced since, and now that the warranty is expired, you want it fixed for free. Beyond that, I can't *SEE* it through the computer screen, you need to call somebody that actually knows what they are doing. Its pretty obvious that the installing company either doesn't know what they are doing, or wants to wash their hands of it, or both.

You never mentioned the make or model numbers of the equipment or whare your located.... I can only assume that the equipment is some low end POS

10SEER(maybe) builders model from Goodman, Janitrol, Coleman, Nordyne, or Armstrong.

BTW... why did the tech(?) only do a temporary fix with RTV on the leak and not do it right??....oh yeah, I forgot... lowest bidder. never mind.

[James T. White]

Some condensing units have compressor crankcase heaters in them that come on when the unit is off and the outside ambient temperature drops low enough. If your daughter's unit is equipped with one of those, you might have checked when the temperature was low and it was heating as it should or if the outside ambient temperature wasn't low then something could have failed and the crankcase heater is on all the time and shouldn't be.

In any case, you will want to have the unit checked by a competent service technician to figure out if it is drawing current when it shouldn't be and to deal with that condensate leak.

HTH

[Stormin Mormon]

Your AC system needs annual maintenance, like your car needs oil changes, tune up, etc.

If the energy use was high from the beginning, why didn't she call the guy back? Mighta been any of a bunch of causes.

By the AC breaker, I'd guess you mean the double breaker for the outdoor unit? Yeah, they typically have a crankcase heater for the compressors. It's OK to leave those off during the winter. Just be sure to turn the breaker on a day or two before you actually use AC.

As to the water leak, why didn't the plumber just fix it? Usually white PVC. And the heating guy shoulda just fixed it, too. Sorry about the mold and stuff.

[Ed]

Okay, you want a guess ? My guess is the electric heat strips in the air handler are energized even when the unit is off. You give no model numbers, or anything else even remotely close to an accurate description of the equipment. Nobody here can diagnose anything without a lot more information. We can't see it from here ! Call someone locally to diagnose and correct the problem.

Ed

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

I've never seen one that's wired to activate upon sensing of ODT, ( have you )?

Besides--at ~27 watts or so for a big one then the meter certainly ain't gonna be no f****ng whirling dervish.

[jamesgangnc]

You don't really supply enough information. There are legitimate reasons it could be using some electricity when "off" as well as problems that could cause it. The water leak just needs to be fixed where ever it is. AC's have condensation at the inside coil and it has to be drained. We'd really just be guessing. Someone needs to look at it. If you're concerned that you're not getting a good service technician then be there and hang around with him while he works on it. If he's decent he shouldn't have any problem telling you what he found and what he thinks should be done to fix it. You'll have to pay him for his time.

[Dejola]

My sincere thanks to those here who have tried to despite the fact that I provided very little information for them to work with. I am in the process of collecting more precise details and will post that information when I finish gathering it Thanks again.

[Oscar_Lives]

Yep, you are going to need so post some pics before we can help you...

[Oscar_Lives]

Don't forget posting some pictures...