A/C Job for Darrel to look at.

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

Here is something to look at and why it went this away.

I had a 4 ton 13 seer Goodman condenser and a Arcoaire 5 ton evaperator coil expanion valve with Arcoaire 100k gas furnace set up in my house. I had run it for about 6 or 7 years or so and out of the blue the piston Compressor bite the dirty. I changed out the condenser to a 3.5 ton 8 seer second hand 1982 Rheem condenser till i could get time to get me a matching condenser Ordered at the warehouse. this part of the country no body wants anything above 10 seer and the warehouses don't carry much in the line of 13 or 14 seer.

So i was running a Goodman 13 seer 4 ton condenser and a Arcoaire 5 ton expanion valve evaperator valve type and 5 ton blower gas Arcoaire furnace in the beginning. I was getting about at the time the highest electric bill of $200.00.

Then I just put a 3.5 ton 1982 second hand condenser in the place of the 4 ton

13 seer goodman condenser units and my electric bill dropped down by $50.00 or so. The highest electric bill that year was $150.00 and so has been the case for a couple of years now.

So Why did my cost to operate drop when i only changed out a Goodman 4 ton 13 seer condenser unit to a Rheem 3.5 ton 8 seer condenser unit ? How does going from a 13 SEER to a 8 SEER save money ? This does not seem right here.

TURTLE

[Stormin Mormon]

Dear Hard Shelled One, I had a read through your post a couple times. Also glanced through Darryl's answer. Darryl is a wise man, and well worth the time to read his writing. As you mentioned that you are using a TXV coil. It make me wonder if you were only using about 3.5 tons of cooling and the bigger compressor wasn't doing much more cooling. However, perhaps I may be of some service. I got my first couple years of experience working on window unit, or PTAC. The thing I learned good and clear is that window shakers suffer greatly from low air flow through the condensor. I suspect your difference was air flow through the condnsor, and also how clean were the fins. Heat transfer is everything, so I've found. Dirty coils drive up the head pressure, and amperage. You didn't say, but perhaps were the coils cleaner on the Rheem? Or perhaps more surface area?

[lp13-30]

Turtle,I don't know the answer to your question about your bill, but what I am wondering is why you didn't just change the compressor on the Goodman. Even the 12 SEER have a 10 year warranty, and they don't even charge any shipping/handling fees like most of the others do.

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

the goodman 13 seer condenser was a 1992 model and only had 5 year warranty on it but in 1994 they started the 10 year compressor warranty. The first of the 12 and 13 seer condenser was 5 years and then in 1994 went to 10 years. I just bought a 13 high seer too soon before warranty had cought up with them. There was a problem with the Rheem warehouse getting a 13 seer in 1992.

i bought too early.

TURTLE

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

Stormy , I clean my coils every year and keep up with it pretty well.

And no the compressor was not inefficent for it will run a 400+ psi on the head with the cond. fan shut off. It just put a 8 seer in a 13 seer place and cut cost to operate a great bit. It does not add up.

TURTLE