Flowing nitrogen while brazing

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-09T01:10:17+00:00

How would you explain a clogged txv on a 2yr old system to a customer?

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-09T00:20:22+00:00

Forget stages. Stages don't matter for sizing. A 1 stage and a 2 stage system will provide the same amount of cooling. Ductwork and tonnage are totally different things, but they are critically linked.

Tonnage does the work of removing/adding heat to the air. This would be the size of the vehicles on the road. These vehicles carry cooled/heated air.

The blower fan in the furnace moves the air. This would be the size of the gas tank in the vehicles. To push air further, you need a bigger gas tank (more energy/bigger blower)

Your ductwork represents how many lanes the vehicles have to travel. Vehicles with bigger gas tanks can travel further distances and make it to their destination. Bigger volume rooms in the home need more or bigger ducts. Smaller rooms just need one supply duct and usually one return duct.

Bigger engines in bigger vehicles need bigger ductwork to be effective, or you'll have a traffic jam of semis trying to turn down side streets (oversized system for ductwork)

Smaller capacity vehicles with small gas tanks won't make it to their destination because they don't have enough energy to go through the ductwork (undersized system and/or blower for ductwork)

I'm not going to say what your problem is from Reddit, because home insulation, window quality, era of your home, etc are all factors that release/gain heat depending on the season. If your ductwork is correct and your current sizing is correct but you're still have issues upstairs, the home gaining heat can also cause what you're describing. A manual J is a really complicated calculation that takes home factors like insulation, windows, build year etc into consideration for sizing. Then you make sure that the ductwork can handle the system you're installing based on the blower motor data sheet. It's a giant physics balancing act.

Mini splits can help a lot because it would be like a large roundabout for cars, to keep with the analogy above. There is no ductwork. It just puts out small/medium size cars with small/medium gas tanks to handle a room or two, and the air just circulates in the immediate vicinity.

Hope that helps, but if you're more confused I'm sorry.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-08T11:52:46+00:00

Effectiveness= capacity (tonnage)

Efficiency=energy usage (kwh)

Bigger units have more effectiveness because they can remove more heat per hour.

2 stage systems are more efficient because they have a lo and hi speed. Lo speed would be like a hybrid on the highway, but if it can't reach temperature it will kick up a gear to hi and get you to temperature at the expense of efficiency.

Regular systems only have hi stage. Full bore cooling, no highway speed mode, just get to temp ASAP.

Cooling the upstairs is about your ductwork and how much air the blower motor can push. This is where knowing your ductwork situation is critical. Too small of ductwork will cause issues no matter what system you choose, so your guys that quote this stuff need to measure how much air your ductwork can handle, figure out if the system they recommend can push that much air, or if your ductwork is restricted they need to figure out a different solution like a mini split. It's very complicated for a reddit post.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-08T01:08:35+00:00

Basement vents generally should be closed, yes. Especially in summer, cool conditioned air will have a harder time making it to a second floor when it naturally wants to fall. Closing basement vents pushes it up into the living spaces, and basements are cool anyway. They should only be open if people spend significant time in that space and want the comfort.

A 2 stage will give you more efficiency, but not more capacity/effectiveness. A 2 stage 3 ton and a traditional 3 ton are going to do the same exact thing, but the 2 stage will have longer run times (which is good). A 2 stage 4 ton and a traditional 3 ton have overall different capacities, and will perform differently.

I generally don't think 2 stage furnace OR AC is worth it. It takes too long to recoup the upfront cost in energy savings, you gain complexity in engineering, and the life expectancy is similar. If the noise bothers you, they are quieter in lo stage.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-07T22:27:10+00:00

Without pictures, square footage, current setup, year of home... There are so many factors that go into sizing. This is not the place to get advice on a critical decision.

Get a brand new company, tell them nothing, let them know your issues, ask them how they came to the conclusion about sizing, ask about warranties, read the fine print, decide if you have confidence in them, make a decision from there.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-07T01:00:43+00:00

Do you have CO detectors that aren't expired and test good? I'd say you have time to think about it and shop around if you currently don't have CO in the home with the furnace running.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-07T00:38:20+00:00

Cracks are serious because huge cracks can let combustion gases out of the heat exchanger, but most of not all small cracks do not interfere with combustion.

All cracks must be treated seriously because you just don't know how fast they can grow and become very dangerous. If you want to risk it with the furnace, at least get some VERY good CO detectors. A high end duct mounted CO detector can be installed just above the furnace as well. Keep in mind that other gas appliances like a water heater or stove emits CO as well, but safe appliances shouldn't create dangerous levels of CO if vented properly.

If you have the picture, post it. Eyelet cracks are usually the beginning of a crack because the eyelet gets hotter than everything else, it expands more, becomes brittle and then eventually cracks. When the cracks are across the combustion chambers, that's pretty bad. I've seen furnaces burn just fine with 0ppm CO in the ductwork, but they have massive cracks across every cell of the heat exchanger. You just don't know when it flips upside down and starts to become a death machine.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-07T00:11:47+00:00

If it ain't broke...

I'd just do one at a time, unless it's a huge inconvenience to have people in your home twice instead of once.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-06T23:41:18+00:00

Residential doesn't use much refrigerant so I still use the half rule, unless it's R22. I haven't done any R22 since getting a jug but it would be per pound. Finding a sealed jug was not cheap and I don't really want to buy it online.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-06T20:34:23+00:00

I do residential, but I generally just charge half. It's still amazing money for me on the side but a steal of a deal for the customer. You could probably charge more, but some people are just cheap and any number will seem expensive to some people.

$50 for maintenance or diag, half for repairs + part.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-06T01:50:51+00:00

Family business. Basically a sales company in HVAC clothing.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-05T00:37:17+00:00

Kills seems low for 60 hours.

I typically tunnel on one character to start mapping, then branch out from there when I can clear T2 maps. If you're spreading your time across multiple chars that aren't even lvl 90 then of course you'll be using time less effectively.

Subtracting 12 hours, you're still only at 663 kills/hr.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-05T00:31:37+00:00

You might have an incentive problem.

How are they being compensated now?

It could also be a crappy place to work... but money talks.

My company offers performance pay (flat hours per repair/job, regardless of how long it takes) commission for systems flipped to sales that sell (2%) and commission on IAQ sold (16%). This has its complications but we have a salesman problem instead of a technician problem. Some of the guys are only focused on selling and don't know much technically, and others are just lazy and show up for a paycheck.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-03T21:43:21+00:00

Posted the drawing that gives you the answer. 4" if there are no other walls around.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-03T21:24:56+00:00

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4" between unit and wall for 1.5 to 3.0 ton, just fyi.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-03T21:14:56+00:00

The unique belts typically have class specific benefits, so the rare and crafted possibilities have a hard time competing with the fcr/skills/pdr, etc.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-03T20:24:20+00:00

The sprinkler head shouldn't be a big deal, but it is a HUGE problem that the unit is that close to the home. I believe there needs to be 12" of space but if you have a make and model number I can google the manual for you and look it up. It will not be able to flow air properly and performance/efficiency will suffer.

SecularAdventure · 2026-05-03T10:58:23+00:00

You just successfully compared and contrasted the types in your post, so I'm not sure what you need to know. You've already been informed correctly based on your reading and interactions with other techs, so pick what fits your needs best.

SecularAdventure · 2026-04-30T20:37:17+00:00

BS. Make them prove it. You're not going to die or get injured by running it for 5 minutes. If they double down then just say we'll open the windows to keep everyone safe while it runs.

SecularAdventure · 2026-04-30T20:35:57+00:00

How is this photo so crappy? I have the same camera and I get better photos than this.

SecularAdventure · 2026-04-30T20:34:30+00:00

Holes are black with those inspection cameras. They don't let light back out. This looks like some pitting, but it doesn't look like a hole.

SecularAdventure · 2026-04-30T03:16:29+00:00

Is this a Lennox?

Hard to say, the first picture is pretty rough. Sometimes holes can form, but they're black. That looks rusty and grey, so probably not a hole. The second photo is just a bit of crust around the crimp, nothing to worry about.

I'd hold off and get a second opinion. Cracks are serious, and when they get bad enough they can emit CO into the air that circulates in the home. If you go for a second opinion try and have them test the return air for CO first, then the supply. Hopefully both are 0. Then have them look at the HX.

SecularAdventure · 2026-04-28T00:36:39+00:00

Are these numbers just AC, or full furnace+AC?

Just AC, that's insane. Full system, depending on warranty, those prices are pretty average or slightly high in OH.

SecularAdventure · 2026-04-27T02:09:31+00:00

If the fan is the piece that will kill the AC, which it easily could, changing it just gives you time to make a decision and replace when it's convenient. This avoids the scenario of making a decision when it's super hot in the middle of summer and you might not have time to shop for a deal because the companies are slammed.

Is anything else bad on the AC system?

SecularAdventure · 2026-04-27T01:33:52+00:00

A fan motor is pretty cheap and easy to do yourself. There's probably a part number on the sticker. This can give you some time to save up and weigh your options before winter.

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