My cousins new restaurant just opened, and we can't get it to cool down. Here's the scoop so far. It has 2 Carrier units, a 12 ton and an 8 ton Both units have been checked numerous times, coils are clean, temperatures and amperage are all good, supply air is 60 degrees and return air is 80 degrees. So everyone says the units are working hard, and they are not the problem.
The restaurant is 8,000 square feet. I know a study probably needs to be done, but we need some tempoarary fix or suggestions until then.
Here is what we tried so far, that did not work, We shut off all of the air ducts in the kitchen area, to try and help get more air into the dining rooms. There are no return air ducts in the dining rooms, only on one wall of the building, above the ceiling and over the kitchen. So we ran 2
18"insulated ducts across the ceiling to the dining areas to try to move the air from these rooms, rather than send the hotter load above the kitchen to the return. We placed a couple rotating fans on the floor to try and move the air.
None of this really did anything. It is about 90 degrees out here, and humid. The restaurant is about 75 when empty to 85 inside when filled to capacity. This will kill business, we need a temporary fix.
I measured the air temperature at the supply ducts in the dining room, and it measures 67 to 70 degrees. The air coming out of the supply ducts was at the top of or beyond the a/c guys flow meter readings, so the air flow out is good.
The dining room ceilings are about 16 feet high open to the corrugated roof over the aws joists.The return, if you want to call it that, is the drop ceiling plenum over the bar and kitchen areas which runs back to the back wall where the a/c units are. There are about 4 foot by 3 foot screens on the return ducts, which i cleaned. Now we also have three 8 inch insulated ducts pushed up against the return ducts that we ran to the dining areas to try and pull air from them better.
Should we turn the kitchen ducts back open? What should we do? help.