PennSilverTaco's HVAC BS MegaThread!

Yesterday, I was talking about how some Trane models have a virtually identical footprint regardless of cooling capacity. These are the specs for the XL1400, which hasn't been manufactured since 2002, but as you can see they all share the same height and 2.5-ton through 5-ton have the same width. Even the 1.5-ton unit was fairly sizable at just 9 inches shorter than the other six available sizes. Both the 1.5-ton and 2-ton share the same width, coming in at just 6 inches shorted than the five larger units...

 

Went up to the attic again during a rain storm to check on the roof (all is well) but while i was there i found this box with a broken ignitor Wonder if its J/5 stands for January 05.

 

@6 gearT444E

Goodman heat pump at my aunt's townhouse in suburban Atlanta...

 

As one who has built 5 house in the last 7 or 8 years, my recommendation would be to go single story if you are looking to build no more than 1500 ish sq ft. Also I would say my experience with hvac equipment is that the newer systems are all problematic and something will need to be fixed on them in the first couple years.

if you focus on insulating and air sealing your new house a 2ton unit is plenty for 1500 sq ft provided it’s a single story, if you go two story you will keep the house more comfortable with 2 units and if you go traditional system with zones you will end up wasting energy when the upstairs is the only place that needs the cooling

 

Check into Mitsubishi mini splits also as they have a hyper heat model series that the heat pump works down to quite a low temperature and they have traditional style air handlers available on this system as well

 

@6 gearT444E
@ABA180
@ColoradoTJ
@shakerhood
@Taco critter
@TnShooter
@wilcam47

The 1947 Thatcher oil boiler at my grandma's house that just died in December 1922; 75 years!

 

The heater has asbestos in it and must professionally disposed of, so that's why it's still sitting here...

 

The oil tank also has to go, as the house was switched to natural gas...

 

Brand new Weil-McLain gas boiler...

 

It was already almost 30 years old when they bought the house!

 

@shakerhood

All but one house in this neighborhood was built by NV Homes from 2013-2017, and all but that aforementioned house has Goodman HVAC equipment. The one house built by a separate builder has dual Lennox units. All but two houses in my neighborhood have dual-zone A/C, and those have zoned systems with multiple thermostats. The twin townhomes across the street were also built by NV homes, and those all have ICP units, which I think are of higher quality than Goodman; I obtained one of these units from a neighbor after the system was replaced due to a rusted and leaky indoor coil. A few original buyers in the townhome development paid extra for two separate systems, but most have one system. There is one house in my neighborhood with dual Goodmans that had one of those Goodmans fail, and it was replaced with a Rheem.

 

One Goodman and one Rheem; I have no idea what killed the other Goodman...

 

I think my unit is a Rheem, but will have to double check to verify.

 

Yours is a Rheem; Ruud is identical to Rheem I. All but brand name though...

 

@6 gearT444E
@ColoradoTJ
@Just_A_Guy
@RustyGreen
@shakerhood
@Squatting Pigeon
@Taco critter
@TnShooter
@wilcam47

When my parents bought the house new, it had a Comfortmaker-branded Snyder General air-conditioner like all of the other houses in the neighborhood. These houses were all built between 1990 and 1993, and amazingly enough a couple of the houses still have the original units 30+ years later. All of the houses in the neighborhood have gas heat, and in 1990 I'm assuming David Cutler Group went with 80% efficiency furnaces. My parents sold the house in 1996, and I had the opportunity to chat with the new owner (who still lives there) a few years ago. The original Snyder General failed in 1999, and the whole system was replaced. The replacement air-conditioner lasted less than a decade and was replaced with the Bryant it currently has; I have no idea how old the Bryant is, but I'm thinking somewhere in the range of 2006-2009...?

 

That must have kept the house nice and warm

 

Central A/C unit at a vacant commercial property in Ivyland; I think it's a Lennox...