Tempstar PGX filter?

[Richard Thomas]

We recently bought an older house. The Tempstar PGX (gas/electric) has been running fine until this winter came around. The limit switch will trip every couple of weeks (it was fine last winter). I'm thinking that it might be time for a filter change but I have no idea where it might be. Is it internal to the unit itself or is there supposed to be a return in the house that has one?

Whoever installed it used some old larger registers as returns and the only kind of filtering there was on that was some thin foamy type material put down and the register placed on top. Not really much of a filter at all if it's supposed to be on the return (and it's gone now anyway... Children in the house).

Unfortunately, I don't have the manual. Tempstar has no manual on their site nor do they provide any contact details.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

Rich

[Bubba]

Id be guessing your unit has never been serviced. Too bad. Probably going to have a dirty blower wheel, motor, inlet side to the cooling coil and heat exchanger...........not to mention the whole inside of the unit and any duct work. Bubba

[Richard Thomas]

1)Probably not 2)Yes, too bad. and 3)Thought as much. For a bonus 4), there was no plumbing installed on where the condensed water comes out so it settled on the concrete pad and the bottom of the unit is rusty. There's a 5) I won't even talk about.

Definitely a proper service is long overdue and I intend to take care of that (or rather getting a professional to take care of it), just doing some groundwork first. I take it there is no separate filter. My guess is that I should get a return designed to take proper filters fitted?

Rich

[Steve Scott]

A filter is pretty much a necessity, but it's more than just a matter of designing something to hang a filter on. If you're using one of the 1" rock stoppers you almost might as well not worry about it now. The 1" "high efficiency" pleated filters will almost certainly add too much restriction to your system. A good media filter like an Aprilaire 2200 or 2400 may be too much restriction for your system.

It's not usually not as easy as just a return change.

Check the static pressure at the supply and return and the temp rise as the system is now. That will tell you what you can do with the exist>>

[Stormin Mormon]

That wasn't a furnace filter -- that was a capacitor!

[Richard Thomas]

I don't (think I have) the equipment to do a static pressure check. I would like to get the system serviced at some point soon so I may as well get whoever does it to run up a quote for a decent clean and have a chat with him about what else needs to be done. I was also thinking about getting a dual fuel split system since to my eyes the Tempstar looks kinda old but I think it may just *look* old fashioned and in reality isn't that old (I need to check the labels). Though the dual fuel split system is attractive, it probably isn't particularly economically worthwhile while the Tempstar is still rolling along.

I'm not sure what the filter options are anyway. All the registers are floor registers and I'm not sure there's a good place one could be put in the wall. Part of why I'd like the manual is any insight it might give me into the options available.

There's a certain attraction to just tearing the whole thing out and starting again. I think some of the ductwork is less-than-stellar. At some point, a cat got into the basement and into the ductwork (it lived). I think I patched up the hole it got in through but elsewhere, there is a hotspot in the floor of the living room where I'm assuming there's another hole.

Personally, with that and other cowboy stuff around the house, I'm kinda scared to hire someone local. At least if *I* do something stupid, I'm not paying a huge hourly rate.

For now, I'll just use less setback at night as it's when it's running for long periods that it tends to trip the limit switch.

Rich

[Noon-Air]

You need to call a local *competent*, licensed, insured, professionaly trained, HVAC technician to come do a complete assessment of your system, and give you a written quote for system replacement including the ductwork. Let him design and install the system that will be the most efficient, and will give the best comfort levels for your home. Its not going to be free, but do look for a contractor that works on flat rate so your not paying "labor" charges. That way it doesn't matter how long it takes, the price is the same. FWIW, the lowest bidder is *NOT* the way to go...look for the contractor that will give you the best quality installation, and the best value for your dollar.

[Richard Thomas]

Well, last night we were greeted by the CO alarm going off so shut everything down. I believe one of the sites I read about limit switch problems indicated a cracked heat exchanger could be at fault and since I assume that normally no combustion products are supposed to enter the air flow, that would tally with the CO issue. Everything is staying shut down until I can get someone to look at it.

Rich

[Bubba]

Looks like you're learning. Luckily you are still alive to know it. I hope that someone you get turns out to be qualified? Bubba

[Richard Thomas]

I'll try to make sure so. I intend to book a service and duct cleaning while he's here and talk about getting proper filter whadjamacallits fitted. I'm also going to discuss options on a dual fuel system though I suspect it's going to be more economical to repair the old one for now.

Rich

[Bubba]

Re-think the duct cleaning. With a shop vac and and extra hose, you can get a large percentage of any perceived dirt in the ducts. You money is best/better spent on indoor air quality products such as: UV light, media air filters, humidifiers, HRV's, ERV's, HEPA filters, etc. Bubba

[Richard Thomas]

Handy advice, thanks. I'll have to see what is available. Some of the ducts might be tricky to get all the way clean but I'm sure attachments are available.

I'm fairly concerned about making sure I can get the right filters set up. I think some of the issue is that the house is old and there used to be an old wood or coal burning furnace in the basement and the returns used were the ones that were already in place for that and hence the lack of real filters. I'm hoping that floor filter units are available as there's no walls really available to put them in (That could change if/when I build an extension).

Rich

[Richard Thomas]

And when I say floor, I don't just mean floor-level but the returns are actually in the floor.

Rich