PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Currently selling my home in Hawaii right now for a hell of a lot more then I paid for it 4 years ago.

 

In the house that was built in 1981, the heat pump was located on the side of the house (as it is in most single-family homes in North America). It was surrounded by trees, and my cousins loved to built forts back there and play...

This particular year, there had been an explosion of this particular species of caterpillar, and the three of us spend a good chunk of that visit catching bugs (especially the caterpillars). There were tons of bugs, including the caterpillars, in the air-conditioner alcove.

During the visit there in the summer of 1997, I was eight years old and still quite small for my age; To a small eight-year old who had been afraid of air-conditioners in his earlier years, a 5-nominal ton air-conditioner was quite imposing. I hunted bugs with my cousins in their makeshift fort, but I constantly expressed concern about the air-conditioner* turning on and annoyed them greatly in the process.

It never turned on during the time we were back there, and it would be another five years before we lived within easy driving distance of them, so I had grown out of my irrational fear of air-conditioners by the time we moved back there. Even by the winter of 1998, just one year after the great bug hunt of '97, I paid the heat pump no attention. We lived in California from 1996 to 1998, so the 1997 trip was a rare treat. We lived in Virginia Beach, about three hours away, from 1998 to 2000. We moved back across the country to Washington in 2000 and lived there until 2002. When we moved to Northern Virginia in 2002, and thus lived a half hour from them, I was at that house almost every weekend for the three years we lived there. We moved three hours away to Pennsylvania in 2005, but I showed no interest in the heat pump from 2002 (when it was replaced for the first time) to 2007. Then, in 2007 or so, I started developing an interest in HVAC and asked my aunt what type of heating system the house had. My parents had never owned or rented a house with a heat pump, and I had no idea what one was, so I asked my aunt if her house had gas or oil heat. She told me it had a heat pump, but even she didn't fully know what a heat pump was with the exception of three things:

• A heat pump worked just like an air-conditioner in the summer.
• Unlike a straight-cool A/C unit, a heat pump also ran in the winter.
  
• A heat pump absolutely sucked in terms of heating performance.

Even I didn't fully understand how a heat pump worked until 2009 or so (I seriously thought it was as simple as the fan blades changing direction). Needless to say, I still knew that a heat pump had to defrost when running in heat mode, and under proper conditions it would produce one hell of a steam show. We went there for Thanksgiving in 2008. My aunt and uncle had a Yellow Lab named Sandy, and we had a Black Lab named Molly (Both of whom were 13 years old at the time). The backyard was not fenced during the time my aunt and uncle lived there, so it was not possible to simply let the dogs out and wait until they scratched at the door to come in. The unwritten rule for years had been that the first person to wake up had to take the dogs out; This was almost always yours truly...

Molly and Sandy were senior citizens by dog standards, but they were still fairly large and my mom generally forbade me from walking both dogs at once. As such, I always walked my dog first and then took Sandy out. On this particularly cold November morning, I took Sandy around the block, and as I approached the house I immediately noticed that the heat pump was making a strange noise I'd never heard it make before. That was the year I'd gotten a digital camera for my birthday, and I made sure I always had it with me. I immediately realized the heat pump had to be defrosting, and bolted from the street to the side of the house, dragging poor Sandy behind me. Sure enough, the heat pump was at the end of a defrost cycle, and I'd caught a steam show! I switched on the camera and started recording. Unfortunately, I'd caught the heat pump at the end of the cycle and I probably got less than a minute of steam show footage before the Trane switched backed into heat mode. The video was like a minute and three seconds, and ended up being one of my most popular early YouTube videos!

 

@PennSilverTaco i have completely ruled out a heat pump at this point in my home search

 

The key difference between a heat pump and a straight-cool air-conditioner is that the former has something called a reversing valve (see below)...


The reversing valve does just what it's name implies; When the unit is in HEAT mode, it reverses the flow of refrigerant and allows the unit to extract heat from the ambient outside air. The concept is extraordinarily similar to a refrigerator in terms of basic operation; If you've ever noticed that a typical household refrigerator has vent at the bottom that cranks out warm air...

Anyway, in COOL mode, a heat pump operates just like a conventional straight-cool A/C unit. In HEAT mode, the process is reversed. When the unit needs to defrost, it switches into COOL mode (albeit with the condenser fan not spinning) to melt ice off of the coils. If a heat pump is equipped with backup heat (typically oversized electric toaster coils), then these kick in to keep the unit from effectively air-conditioning the house when it's in the thirties outside! In warmer and more mild climates, a heat pump is fine, but in places like Northern Virginia a heat pump is a energy conservation nightmare!

 

If you find a house that otherwise fits your criteria but has a heat pump/gas furnace setup, by all means buy it!

 

When I was in the midst of my HVAC filming obsession (approximately 2008 to 2013, with sporadic filming in 2014-2016), I wanted a house with at least one heat pump so I wouldn't have to visit the homes of family and friends who had a heat pump in order to get videos of them defrosting. I have lived in well over half a dozen different houses, in four different states, between my birth in March 1989 and the house I've presently lived in since March 2016. Of those houses, only four of them did not have central air; Two of them were owned by the US Navy, and one of them was rented from a guy my dad knew in the Navy who privately owned it. All but one of the houses my parents have owned since 1988 (Six total) have had central air and gas heat; The house they rented from 2005 to 2007 had central air and oil heat; Not one house I've lived in has had a heat pump.

 

The good news was that every single one of my relatives who had central air knew that I had Aspergers, and understood my HVAC obsession; All of them let me film their central A/C systems. I would also say that 98% of my friends' parents let me film their A/C systems too.

A good number of the central air-conditioners and heat pumps I filmed between 2009 and 2013 belonged to the neighbors of family and friends (mostly family). When my Grandma lived in the condo in Bethlehem from 2006 to 2019 (I started filming HVAC in 2008), more than half a dozen of Grammy's neighbors let me film their heat pumps (not one person said no). Everybody in the "alcove" behind my Grandma's condo knew what I looked like, so if they saw me out their back window filming their heat pump it didn't bother them in the slightest.

Most of the neighbors (of both family and friends) who let me film their A/C units were in their 60s and 70s and probably had little idea of what YouTube was, but the important thing is that they invited me onto their property and explicitly stated that I could film their air-conditioners and heat pumps!

 

One of my personal favorites was a 1998 Trane XL1800 5-ton heat pump, belonging to my aunt and uncle's neighbors (this was in the Northern Virginia neighborhood). I forget exactly how I found out that they had an XL1800, but it was in December 2011; They happened to come over to my aunt and uncle's house when my parents and I were visiting for Christmas if I remember correctly (The date on the YouTube video shows that I posted it on December 18th, 2011). The conversation inevitably turned to HVAC, as if often does when I'm around, and if I remember correctly the husband said that had "Trane with dual compressors" that they'd had installed in the late 1990s. To them, it was a just a very expensive heat pump, but I knew exactly what it was and was practically drooling to get it on video. They said I was welcome to come by the following morning and film it, so of course I did, and I got a defrost cycle "steam show"!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD4rpKtu56U

 

I believe the XL1800 was first introduced in 1996 or 1997, and what makes it unique is that it has dual compressors. It was available as both a heat pump and a straight-cool A/C unit, in 3-ton, 4-ton, and 5-ton capacities. This was the most expensive Trane product you could get, and I believe 2002 was the last year they made them. Trane started redesigning its entire product lineup in 2002-2003, and the newest XE-series I've ever seen was a 2002 model. The XL1800 was replaced by the XL19i in 2002-2004ish (the XL19i had dual compressors as well). The XL-series was in production from 1986 to 2002 (with 12 SEER, 14 SEER, and 18 SEER variants). Your typical air-conditioner or heat pump only has one single-stage compressor; The Trane XL1800 was the first residential A/C unit to have dual compressors! The way it worked was that probably 90% of the time, the smaller compressor was in use; The smaller compressor was exactly half the size of the full-size compressor (1.5-ton in the 3-ton XL1800, 2-ton in the 4-ton unit, 2.5-ton in the 5-ton unit, etc; You get the picture). The 1998 model I had the honor of filming was a 5-ton model, the biggest available. The house was located in my aunt and uncle's old neighborhood, and thus was built by the same builder at the same time (early 1980s). These houses were extraordinarily high-quality even by today's standards, and genuinely built to last. All of the available floor plans were in excess of 3,000 square feet; They were big and well-built, so even in the early 1980s they were NOT cheap. By 2011, when the above video was made, most of the houses in the neighborhood were valued in the low millions!

The builder did everything right except for the HVAC systems; Using electric heat (heat pumps) instead of oil or propane, and only using one system in these huge houses). Using heat pumps would be forgivable if they had done separate units for upstairs and downstairs! There is one house in my aunt and uncle's old neighborhood that has dual-zone central air, but I have no way of knowing if the original owner/buyer had the presence of mind to request dual units or if the house was retrofitted later on. The house had Trane XE1000 heat pumps, just like the one my aunt and uncle replaced their original unit with in 2001-2002 (except two smaller 2 or 2.5-ton units instead of a massive 5-ton unit), so these are obviously not the original heat pumps.

My aunt and uncle's neighbor told me that even this top-of-the-line dual compressor Trane XL1800 heated and cooled the house unevenly and struggled to keep the 2nd floor comfortable when it was really hot out. The house was about 4,000 square feet including the finished basement, and in my opinion any 2-story house over 2,000 square feet should have two separate systems (like @Plain Jane Taco 's; Thank you Bill, for contributing pictures of your home's heat pumps to my thread a couple years ago!). My parents' place is almost 3,000 square feet, and dual-zone A/C and heat was included in the cost of the house!

 

Anyone who knows HVAC will tell you that the compressor in any system (heat pump or A/C-only) is the heart of that the system; Trane is legendary because they've made their own compressors for the last five decades (I believe Trane and General Electric merged in 1965-1967) under the name of Climatuff, and they also pioneered the "Spine-Fin" coils. Every XE1000 I've seen has used a scroll compressor from an outside supplier (Alliance? Or Copeland? I think Alliance...?). I believe some XLs used scroll compressors, but most used the Climatuff reciprocating compressors. Scroll compressors have generally replaced recips for numerous reasons, including...

• More efficient
• More durable
  
• Much quieter

Copeland is the most well-known brand of scroll compressor; Trane and American Standard are both owned by the same company (Ingersoll-Rand, I believe...?), but Am-Stan is the cheaper of the two; However, both use Climatuff recips in most of their air-conditioners and heat pumps. While recips are generally regarded as being noisier, less durable, less refined, and less efficient than scrolls, Trane is the opposite...

I have heard pre-2003 XLs and newer XLi units in operation, and they are among the quietest available.

Proof of their durability was demonstrated by the late Snowball, a Climatuff compressor from an 1970s residential unit that was replaced under warranty by Trane/GE when it was incorrectly assumed that the compressor had failed. The "DOA" compressor was sent to corporate headquarters and dissected. It was soon determined that the compressor was not bad. Trane let the homeowner keep their new compressor, and decided to give the not-dead compressor the torture test of the century. The compressor had been cut open, and techs welded it back together. The compressor was hooked up to power (though not installed in an A/C unit) and charged. Snowball was then run nonstop for nearly three decades (27 years to be exact). Snowball got "his" name because being run continuously caused a solid block of ice/frost to from around the outside of the compressor. As stated above, Snowball ran continuously for 27 years before finally ceasing to operate in 2000. A newer Climatuff compressor, appropriately dubbed Snowball II, took the original Snowball's place a short time later and has been running nonstop for nearly 20 years!

I have failed to find the "good" article about the original Snowball, but here's one about Snowball II! CLICK HERE and scroll down to read about Snowball II!

The neighbor's 1998 Trane XL1800 has two of Snowball's younger siblings!

 

Doesn't seem like the heat pump would work well in the winter as there would not be much heat to pull from the outside air.

 

There's ambient heat in the air all the way down to absolute zero (−459.67°F)!

A heat pump will work fine when it's 35-55°F and is cheaper than gas/propane. Operating a heat pump in HEAT mode when it's warmer than 60°F will damage the system, so don't do that (if you must run the heat when it's above 60°F, switch to gas or electric backup heat). On the opposite end of the spectrum, running an air-conditioner (or a heat pump in COOL mode) when it's below 50°F* runs the risk of severely damaging the system because the Freon will liquify and obliterate the compressor. Installing a low-ambient kit will allow an air-conditioner (or, as stated above, a heat pump in COOL mode) to operate safely when it's as cold as 0°F outside. This is a popular addition for air-conditioners and heat pumps used to keep commercial kitchens and entertainment venues cool year-round.

NOTE: Back in October 2010 I did a little experiment with the upstairs central A/C unit at my parents' old house. It was about 50°F outside and really stuffy inside the house, and my allergies were acting up, so I decided to turn on the A/C instead of opening my bedroom window and using a window fan. I actually watched the A/C unit (one of two builder-grade 2007 Carrier 2-ton/24,000-BTU 13 SEER units) for several minutes (It was well past midnight and I had just gotten back from a friend's birthday party and was a bit buzzed, so that no doubt played a role in this). The A/C did not make any weird noises or start to freeze.

 

If I ever had a system like that it sounds like I would need some form of a serious back up for heat, cant stand winter.

 

@shakerhood

There's a moron in Doylestown who runs the central A/C in their apartment even when it's below freezing outside. I know this because the A/C is mounted on a metal rack about 10-12 feet above a public sidewalk. It is a piece of shit 2003-2008ish Gibson (NORDYNE) straight-cool unit with a scroll compressor, and on two or three separate occasions I have seen this thing running while the line set is a solid block of ice. When the A/C is running, the low-pressure line will get cold and sweaty. This is normal. However, when the A/C is run in cold weather WITHOUT a low-ambient kit, the line will get cold and the "sweat" will freeze. With a low-ambient kit, a special high-pressure switch will briefly deactivate the condenser fan motor every few seconds. This causes the compressor (and the refrigerant) to warm up, thus preventing potentially fatal "freeze-up".

That said, if a shitty old NORDYNE with a scroll can survive being frozen like that, anything with a scroll can in my opinion. Obviously, the compressor will probably blow if you run it nonstop for a day or two when it's in the single digits, but that poor Gibson was probably saved because (A) the thermostat reached the desired temperature or (B) the "failsafe" switch in the compressor shut if off.

 

Yes, the propane...

The reason I'm telling you to get a heat pump with propane is because they will back each other up!

 

I should say that it's cheaper to run than propane at 35-55°F; Below that, standalone heat pumps suck!

 

There is a convenience store I use the bathroom in sometimes, the HVAC Vent is directly above the commode and in the middle of winter there is brutally cold air blowing down on you so I assume they have the AC on too.

 

@shakerhood

There are, however, exceptions to the "Nordyne HVAC products are shit" rule...

This is my friend's 2003 Gibson 2.5-ton/30,000-BTU straight-cool unit, installed at her house almost 17 years ago (the house was built in 1958 and did not originally have central air); This thing is almost Tacoma-like in it's reliability! It has never had a service call and runs amazingly quiet for a 10 SEER builder-grade unit (it does have a scroll compressor) that's pushing two decades in service!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfVRLdU7LV4

I made this video on an unseasonably warm day in April or May of 2011, right before I got my driver's license...

 

@shakerhood

Also, my old house had far better central air than the house I live in now...

The old house was a 2,500 square foot, 2-story townhouse, built in 2007. It had dual Carrier 13 SEER 2-ton units matched up with Carrier 92% efficiency 40,000-BTU gas furnaces. My room was located above the garage, but it was always like a walk-in beer cooler in the summer!

My current house is a 2,900 square-foot, 2-story single-family, built in 2015-2016. It has dual Goodman 14 SEER units (2.5-ton for 1st floor/basement and 2-ton for upstairs), matched up with Goodman 92% efficiency gas furnaces (forget the BTU/heating capacity). When it comes to the townhouse vs this house, the heating systems are evenly matched (and the upstairs heater in this house probably works better). Don't get me wrong, the A/C in the current house works great. However, the way the ducting is laid out literally means my better room is the "last stop" for that conditioned air. My room gets noticeably hotter than the other three bedrooms when its really hot out unless the ceiling fan is on. We've had both the builder's HVAC contractor and our preferred contractor out here to look at it, and there isn't much they can do beyond tweaking the the damper in the flex-duct, and recommending that we close the vents in unused rooms.

I'm also embarrassed to say that my Tacoma's A/C isn't as powerful as the A/C in a damned 2019 GMC Terrain. However, I'd still take my Tacoma over that Terrain any day because the Terrain has hat dinky 1.5L turbocharged direct-injection 4-banger! I'd like to see how any 4-banger GM product holds up for 107K miles!

 

I am going to put some kind of electric heater in the garage next year so that I can make it somewhat tolerable in there during winter, its horrible cold in there the way it is now.