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August 12, 2017 in Homeowner Tips, Questions & Answers, Renovation, Uncategorized
Quality Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning
Although we can service and install every brand, not every brand is worth installing. Some brands we try to steer clear of. These brands produce poor quality products and back it up with even worse quality warranties. Our company guarantee our labor for up to one year on everything we do whether its a faucet install, or a new air conditioning system. We have learned our lessons with products that just don’t hold up and we take it to heart when something does not live up to its expected standards. We will always offer advice based on our long learned experience. Our advise is based on product longevity, serviceability and availability of parts. After all customer satisfaction and our reputation is of most importance to us.
August 10, 2017 in Homeowner Tips, Questions & Answers
Air conditioning Refrigerant Freon leaks
In the last several posts we have been discussing different consequences of not changing air filters or not having them at all. Some of the more severe consequences are frozen evaporator coils (inside/ air handler), which we have also discussed. When ice expands so rapidly sometimes things move and or shift. That can create small cracks in the coil which eventually leads to bigger cracks. Some systems have high and low pressure switches built into the condencers that would stop its operation if system is running outside of designed refrigerant parameters. Some do not. Those condensers tend to have burnt out compressors. At that point that is a huge expense if wether parts are under warraty or not. So again, please change your filters and make sure to do a diagnostic/ system check up at begining of each cooling season. A skilled technician (ours) can spot issues before they occur and recommend best possible solution.
Leaking evaporaor coil. Not repairable
August 3, 2017 in Uncategorized
No filter in central air system
Last week I wrote an article about having a really dirty air filter and why it is a important to change them regularly. In that article we discussed that dirty filters will restrict airflow in the air handler, which can cause serious malfunction in the system. Now, lets talk about the repercussions of removing the air filter entirely and forgetting to put one back in . The same effect as a dirty filter is recreated inside the evaporator coil. Dust gets lodged in between the coil fins, which forms into a giant patch and restricts air flow. Side effects may include coil freezing and compressor burnout. At the least it will require the coil to have specialized cleaning which may be expensive and in extreme situations the coil must be removed entirely for propper cleaning. However, this can all be avoided if the air filter is replaced regularly.
Effects of not having an air filter in central air
Evaporator coil dirt blockage due to lack of filter
August 2, 2017 in Our Work, Renovation
Air conditioning in Garnerville
We love to do maintenance on equipment we installed because we istall with ease of service and performance in mind. This is a unit we put in two years ago. Maintenance asures the homeowner that the system will run for many more years to come.
Trane air conditioning
Installation of new R410a condenser
July 31, 2017 in DIY Tips, Homeowner Tips
Leak from ac system
What to do if there is a leak from attic air conditioning unit? First and foremost it is best to turn the system off at the thermostat. If possible, access the attic and confim that leak is actually coimng from ac system. There can be several reasons why the air handler (the attic unit) is leaking water.
One reason the ac can leak is a frozen system. You can see it by looking where the refrigeration line is going into the evaporator coil (the attic coil) it will have ice on it. Let the system thaw out and replace the air filter. Dirty air filter is the most common reason for a frozen system. After 24 hours of thawing, turn system on again and see if it still freezes. If it still does, there may be other underlying issues that may need to be addressed. If so, call for service (hopefully us 😀).
Other possibility could be a blockage or a break in the condensation drain line. In this situation call a professional to clear the blockage, or repair the leak.
Dirty air filter can damage ac system
July 7, 2017 in DIY Tips, Homeowner Tips, Questions & Answers
Importance of changing air filters
There seems to be a lot question and misunderstanding as to how often to chance air filters in central air system (hot air furnace heat). Hopefully reading this will clarify some questions. First, allow us to explain the basics of mechanics of forced air system. Each system contains a motor (blower), which is designed to spin at a designated rpm, which must generate a certain amount of air movement. Besides the blower there is also an evaporator coil. The coil contains refrigerant that boils of at subfreezing temperatures and requires a certain amount of airflow to keep it warm. A filter is designed to allow air to flow through it while catching dust and dirt that is suspended in air. This is a benefit to breathing air as it is cleaner and protects the evaporator from dirt. Filters come in different levels of filtration efficiency and the higher the efficiency the less airflow they allow through them from the start. Additionally dirt and dust accumulation create a form a layer around the filter creating an airflow restriction. Sometimes this airflow restriction creates a bottle-necking in airflow and puts significant strain on the motor as well as an insufficient heat for the coil, which may result in motor failure and or coil freezing (picture bellow). This must be avoided at all costs.
So as to original question of how often to change the answer is not so simple as there are many variables including efficiency of filter (the more efficient the more frequently it must be changed) and other dust factors. Carpeting contains a lot of dust as well as heavy foot traffic and pets generate more dust. So the more dust in house the more often a filter must be changed. The solution is quite simple, install new filter and check after two weeks. When the system turns on and the filter gets sucked in and concave (a sure sign of air pressure change), or filter shows a layer of dust or discoloration then its time to change. If not wait a week and check again. Keep doing so until you notice any signs of a blocked filter. Some houses can be on one filter for 3 months and some houses only 2-3 weeks. Its is up to the homeowner to determine how often. Please do not rely only on the serviceman to change your filters once a season as it is not enough for any household. Picture below shows a frozen coil, one of many we encounter throughout the summer season.
Frozen evaporator coil
October 3, 2016 in Testimonials
Friendly, Fast, Service!
“We needed a plumber fast and this company was there for us. They quickly diagnosed our plumbing issue and fixed it. There was no over-selling and they were very genuine from the start. The price was more than fair. Yes, I absolutely recommend this company. They are locally based, honest and do a great job.”
*review taken from yellowpages.com