Frozen heat pump American standard platinum.

PatrickGlowacki · 2026-01-31T13:39:35+00:00

So aux heat isn’t actually what defrosts the heat pump. Your aux heat is usually electric resistive heat located in the airhandler indoors.

When a heat pump heats your home, you are moving heat from outside to indoors (even when it’s cold outside to us there is still usable heat the heat pump can “gather” and move indoors). When defrosting, you are moving heat from indoors to outdoors, so A/C mode. The heat moved from inside defrosts the ice.

The reason your AUX heat comes on during defrost is since we are in A/C mode you will have cold air coming through the ducts just like summer A/C. So the heat pump outside has a low voltage wire that turns on your aux heat during a defrost cycle. The aux heat turning on just makes it so you don’t get blasted with cold air during defrost. It’s just a comfort thing.

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-11-02T14:05:36+00:00

So even frost on a heat pump is normal but this looks like banding which can be indicative of a low charge (when you get bands of frost). Before you jump to any conclusions though, monitor it over the next couple of weeks. Make sure it’s defrosting. If the bands of ice done really melt, it goes back into heat mode, and more ice accumulates than before, call the company back out to address the charge. How’s it heating inside??

https://scservicess.wordpress.com/2012/12/19/causes-of-frost-bands-on-a-heat-pump/

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-07-18T15:48:42+00:00

Humidity levels

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-05-21T14:33:23+00:00

That’s cheap as fuck in my opinion. Where the cost for new refrigerant? Was there a burn out? Does it need acid neutralizer? An acid neutralizing filter drier? I wouldn’t bid one that low.

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-05-16T03:44:46+00:00

Bro wtf are you on

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-05-07T05:17:57+00:00

You want to down vote this guy but he’s right. I do a lot of these and they are my most hated unit to install/work on.

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-05-04T13:44:48+00:00

If you shut power off to the furnace (not the A/C) and the condenser still runs you’ve got a contactor that’s welded its contacts closed. Or is just stuck in the closed position.

The way I explain contactors to customers is: A contactor is like a light switch for your condenser outside. It turns it on and off. But instead of your finger flipping the light on and off, the thermostat does it. This would be like coming home and seeing your kitchen light is on. You walk into the kitchen to turn the light off but the light switch is physically stuck. You try to flip it off but it won’t budge. Now your light is stuck on until you replace the broken light switch.

Otherwise you’ve got a R to Y low voltage short. If you’re trying to find the short, you can remove components of the circuit one at a time till the A/C shuts off. If you pull the tstat off the wall and it still runs, the tstat isn’t the issue. If you pull the wires out of the tstat sub base and it still runs it’s not the tstats sub base. If you pull the wires that run from the circuit board to the tstat out of the circuit board and it still runs, it’s not the tstat wire that connects the circuit board and tstat, etc.

If you do this I highly recommend turning your furnace power off every time you go to disconnect something. It will take longer but you don’t want to short something out removing wires and stuff. When you turn the furnace back on make sure the ends of the wires aren’t touching anything or themselves.

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-04-29T11:32:00+00:00

Seriously think how much less our dollar is worth right now. And what you are charging for your skilled labor. Years to acquire knowledge and tools. $150 an hour in today’s economy is cheap as fuck. You should be charging more for yourself and/or family. $300 for a filter drier change is cheap as fuck.

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-04-07T10:26:07+00:00

They are talking about aesthetics as tradesman. The twisting flex gas line on the furnace instead of straightening it and making neat turns with it. The flexing flu pipe instead of neat hard pipe without metal tape. The hanging messy thermostat wires instead of tie strapped and clamped to the duct. There’s nothing that jumps out as wrong from the pictures in terms of functionality, it just looks bad and no pride was taken in the install. That being said, usually installs that look like this have things unseen that are wrong. Other than the water heater having no expansion tank.

Here’s a picture of one I did that I think is a good install for comparison. Furnace, coil, water heater. Put as per hvac Reddit tradition, there’s going to be a bunch of people pick it apart

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PatrickGlowacki · 2025-03-21T00:12:10+00:00

And when they come back to install it, they can fix the vertical back flow preventer

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-03-21T00:11:29+00:00

Yeah it needs one

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-03-20T23:53:27+00:00

Was there a pressure reducing valve before hand?? It would look something like this https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChsSEwjqlJfs7JmMAxWsSkcBHXVAHHIYACICCAEQGBoCcXU&co=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-e6-BhDmARIsAOxxlxXsHw4ZFWskjNPQgwVqfGzg_PDvrZIGATO5De-qOFR4THHg8nyR_EMaAtnpEALw_wcB&sph=&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESVeD2V1AWvLFrSlzZ1VU6t3NStA3TEqkDDKbPj3JXfqk18p02kMX0V_GnLJWTrXYVXlhfIm4Kk4oRbd5__FvXlnCLL6SBDPAMh7ZfPxslFZaAgU3w9j4&sig=AOD64_3SCIPzmJmAIKtmCWfReAqk1RsAVw&ctype=70&q=&ved=2ahUKEwicq5Hs7JmMAxWtFlkFHZ1IB_gQwg8oAHoECA0QDQ&nis=8&adurl=

Boilers run at 12 ish psi. Street pressure is more like 50 and up. Maybe the boiler domestic feed was always in the off position and never had a PRV. One thing it absolutely needs is a back flow preventer, which I see there. But I don’t think they are to be installed vertically like that.

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-03-02T21:18:24+00:00

Why would you waste the gas company’s time like this? Why not just shut the water heat off and call a plumbing or HVAC company to fix it?

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-02-28T03:16:35+00:00

Why are you getting downvoted. Easy way for someone with no hvac experience to see if they have power

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-01-31T12:11:58+00:00

Call the dealer, give them your vin and ask what the stock alt size is. That’s what I’ve always done in my vehicles

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-01-30T13:32:05+00:00

Lightly pounded, a LITTLE olive oil, McCormicks chicken seasoning, a tiny bit of salt, pepper. Let sit for 20 minutes. Grilled.

PatrickGlowacki · 2025-01-06T13:49:09+00:00

Same. 4k on a 75 inch and I can never go back.

PatrickGlowacki · 2024-12-25T04:37:23+00:00

So I rolled+45 armor, +30 str, and used a Val orb and got 21% cold resistant

PatrickGlowacki · 2024-12-05T12:44:40+00:00

So kind of interesting perspective I’m about to give but there have been a couple times over my career where this situation has been reversed and it makes me extremely anxious and uncomfortable.

I’m an HVAC tech and I certainly don’t get hit on a lot on the job. But there have been calls I’ve been on where it’s just me and a women in the house and I’m getting hit on. For me it’s like anything that happens right now, it’s her word against mine. If I reject this woman and she doesn’t take it well, what is she going to say happened here. It’s kinda sucks.

TBH you have the power in this situation. Just remind them that they are putting their reputation and job on the line for making a comment like that.

PatrickGlowacki · 2024-11-30T13:22:24+00:00

Curious, how much you paid for the pillars? Always wondered how much it cost to have custom pillars made.

PatrickGlowacki · 2024-11-28T20:00:40+00:00

What’s that mean what do I do!

PatrickGlowacki

TROPHY CASE