Heat Pump Line Set Temperature - bad charge?

[nscarnati]

I live in maryland, and have a 1 year old, 13 seer Goodman 3-ton heat pump for a 1200 sq ft house (yes I know its oversized, but it doesn't act like it) and it is hooked up to a Space Pak high pressure hvac system

All summer my AC (heat pump) unit kept the place fairly cold (and would run constantly during the day, occasionally going off at night), but would never get the place lower than about 73 degrees during the day, so I always wondered if it were working correctly. There was a 20 degree differential between the return air temp and the air coming out of the registers, which is supposed to be correct according to my HVAC tech who installed it. The temperature on the lineset big tube (superheat pipe?) was averaging about 60 degrees (measured using an infrared thermometer), whcih I'm not sure if that was correct or not. It was well insulated (just the last inch was exposed before it entered the blower), so I don't think there's was much of any loss in temperature inside the line set (which is about 15 feet long)

Today, its not cold outside, but a little chilly (65), so i decided to I turn on the Heat Pump just to see how hot the air would be (last winter it didn't heat the house too well, but I figured it was because it was really cold outside). The air coming out of the registers was only about 75 degrees, and the big tube on the line set was only about

80 degrees.

My gut reaction says that the charge on the system is wrong, and that the larger pipe of the line set should have been a lot colder than 60 degrees in the summer, and now should be getting a lot hotter than 80 degrees in the fall.

Any advice on what the problem is, and what I should say to the next HVAC tech that I hire so that it gets done correctly?

[Noon-Air]

Only 1 year old?? It should still be under full warranty, get the installer back out and have him correct the problems.

[Bubba]

Yes. The next time you and your buddy and your beer get together dont try and install something you have no idea about. As you can see, it doesnt work out too well. Bubba

[Megatron]

Sounds like you need Stormy down there.

[Tater Salad]

bubbas a hack installer ,dont read his posts. just look up all the posts here where he sells and installs goodman products and they dont work .seems he cant get it right either..... tader

[Bubba]

So tell me which one you did, tater boi? You say "dont read my posts" yet you say "just look up all the posts...." C'mon, my web bitch. Get it straight. What are we going to do? Read or not? Bubba

[<kjpro]

Coming from a retard that uses WebTV for his/her/its internet connection... doesn&#39;t mean all that much *if* anything at all. Are you Stormy and Dave&#39;s long lost cousin?

[Stormin Mormon]

3 tons for 1300 sq feet in Maryland? You should be able to use your house as a meat locker. How about "I&#39;ll pay you when it&#39;s working". Do you leave all the doors and windows open with a fan blowing for cross ventilation while the heat pump is on?

[nscarnati]

First off, I didn&#39;t install it, second, I don&#39;t know the guy who did, he was referred to me by a general contractor who uses him regularly. I found out about half way through the install that this was his first high-pressure system install, which is why I have no confidence getting him back here to attempt to fix it, since he obviously didn&#39;t install it correctly in the first place

I got one more question for everyone, why is it about half of the people in here are assholes? I&#39;m just looking to cover my ass, and not get taken again by a shoddy HVAC contractor when I find another one to fix my system. I don&#39;t want to play the "i don&#39;t know whats wrong, please fix my HVAC system, here&#39;s some money" game that I played with the first guy, and get bullshitted by some guy that trys&#39;s to tell me my &#39;flux-capacitor&#39; was the problem

[nscarnati]

That&#39;s what I thought, which I why I think/know something&#39;s wrong. The house is a 1800&#39;s brick rowhouse (which inherrently has holes) , but I&#39;ve sealed it up tight, and added new windows, doors, insulation, 50+ cans of expanding foam, etc.

I don&#39;t want to pay the next guy until it&#39;s working 100%, its pretty damn hard to get any contractor to complete a job 100% before they get paid. And then once they get "some" money, they dissapear for a few days until they want more money, so I&#39;d like to be somewhat informed so that I don&#39;t get another run-around from someone else

[<kjpro]

Then I suggest that you go to school so you can fix it yourself. I just hate people that try and tell me what&#39;s wrong with their system when I get there... if they know, why did they call me????? Tell me what the issue is and stay the hell out of my way and let me diagnose and correct the problem. I don&#39;t care if you watch, but I don&#39;t expect to have to WAIT for you to get out of my way so I can MOVE!!!!!!

[Stormin Mormon]

They don&#39;t work if installed upside down.

[Stormin Mormon]

Well, with those sizes, and your insulation, something is definitely not putting out three tons. Wish I was there to see it myself. I&#39;m in NY, and no plans to be in Maryland.

[Bubba]

Some of us just cant seem to be anything else. :-)

You want to know why 1/2 of us are assholes yet you want to cover your ass?? You&#39;re just not making sense boi.

Well, its a little late for that now, isnt it, boi? Here is Bubba&#39;s lesson of the day for you nscarnati. First off, why would you have someone put in a slightly more complex system (high-velocity) and only ask your contractor who obviously didnt have a clue since this was the first one the heating guy installed? When you buy a new car, do you just ask a friend, "Hey, whats the best car to buy?" and then have someone just deliver it to you? Once again, for you and any of your buddies out there in the cheap seats not paying attention.............................. If you are going to put a heating/cooling system in your home that will likely last 20 years or so and keep you comfortable each and every day..............WHY oh WHY do you clowns insist on doing absolutely no "homework" what-so-ever on your purchase and insist on the absolutely cheapest price you can possibly find? Please oh Please tell me why, grasshopper. Bubba

[Bubba]

Keee--rhisssstttt. Get the popcorn out boys. You&#39;re going to have to buy a ticket for this one. Stormy getting technical............bahahahahaha Bubba

[<kjpro]

He doesn&#39;t need another HACK!!!!

[nscarnati]

I asked them point blank if they had installed them before and it was "yeah yeah sure no problem"... it wasn&#39;t until the job was half done that the truth came out

I didn plenty of research on the systems. Spacepak is what would work the best in my house. It&#39;s an 1800&#39;s rowhouse, with no basement, and no excess room for bulkheads to run normal ductwork while preserving the original architecture of the house.

stick to install HVAC systems in trailer parks, since that&#39;s where you appear to live "boi"

[nscarnati]

Thanks for the input (and for not being an asshole like bubba and many of the other contractors here)

They must not get much business due to their incredible people-skills, which is why they have so much free time to sit on here flaming people for asking questions

[Bubba]

At which point you should have used that god given mashed potato like matter between your ears and shown someone the door without so much as a penny leaving your pocket. Too bad you were too damn stupid to figure that easy problem out. Go play with your trucks in your free idiot forum.

Too bad you didnt use that same amount of research into who would install that system. I guess thats where that "dumb thing" comes in again.

Sounds like a piece of shit for a caveman to live in. Join the freeworld and buy a real home. Leave the old shit to the museums.

boo-hoo. Im all busted up now. bahahaha Bubba

[nscarnati]

I can go all day with you hack contractors... my "piece of shit" appraised for $550k, which I guess must be slightly less than your double-wide did... un-chock the wheels on your house and drive it up here any time... oh wait, I forgot you don&#39;t even own it... ask your landlord if you can borrow the house for the weekend and tow it up behind your 1980 el camino

its no wonder hvac con-men are regarded as the lowest scum of the trades (except the select few trying to make an honest living)