Bizzare mystery


  #1  
Old 06-29-06, 09:00 AM
J
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Bizzare mystery

I am stumped and am looking for some help from those of you that know anything(as I know nothing) about heat pumps.
I live in the mid-atlantic region and currently have an intertherm heat pump that I assume is the original with the house(approx 12 years). The house is approx 1300 sqft and I have never had any problems with the system. I change out the filters inside every 2-3 months but have never had a professional service in the 5 years I've owned the house. We have a mercury type slide thermostat. The information plate on the outdoor unit is completely faded so I'm not sure of the exact tons but everyone seems to think it is 2 1/2.
We started to notice an increasing amount of humidity in the house approx 3 weeks ago but noticed the house was still relatively cool. Then on sunday night, it was obvious that a/c wasnt creating cool air but the fan in the house was still running. We called monday morning to have someone come out to check out the system but it kicked on around 9am and seemed to be working just fine so I cancelled them. That night the same thing happened again so next morning called someone to come out but no one could get out for several days. Instead, I assumed that since the unit was so old, I would have someone come out to get me a price on a new system. Amazingly, all the companies I called had someone available to come out that same day.
So while waiting for them to show up, the outside unit kicked in around the same time in the morning and stated working again...nice cool air. So the different companies showed up, looked at the existing system, and gave me their written bids. One company hooked up some type of device with a blue and red guage(I'm sure you all know what that was but again, I'm clueless) and told me that the compressor was bad due to some pressures being off. I've been getting different bids over the last couple of days and have the final company coming today.
So herein lies the mystery that no one seems to be able to answer for me. Every single night when the temperatures actually cool down outside, the outdoor unit shuts itself down and we loose our a/c. However, every single morning around 9am, when the sun hits the outdoor unit, it suddenly starts working again. Twice I can write off as a coincidence, maybe even 3 times, but this has happened every single day so there has got to be something to this. Again, we dont have any programable thermostat and most guys tell me this is the opposite of what normally happens since they usually shut down when the outdoor temps climb. So no one has been able to give me any kind of answer and I'm looking for any help or suggestions from all of you.
Thanks for your time.
 
  #2  
Old 06-29-06, 09:57 AM
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It's possible that if your suction pressure is low "the blue gauge" that when it cools down in the evening that it cuts out on a low pressure switch.
 
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Old 06-29-06, 11:03 AM
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This exact same thing was happening to me.
Exactly the same!

I was low on freon...thats it....well thats not all of it of course....being low on freon means there is a leak.
And you either fix the leak or replace the system.
Funny though, all the guys who do it for a living say they rarely fix leaks...just slow them down.

The gages he used were checking the pressures.

My system did the same...run all day, and kept things cool, then at night it would freeze up.
all the fans running...but no cool air, and no air coming out of the vents.
Shut it off for a hour or so...and she would cool the house back off with no problem.

A possible stop gap would be to have the system charged while you look for a new system.
A charge of freon could last for years if the leak is tiny, or could last a few weeks if the leak is small.
I charged my system 3 years ago, and again last week, so I am figuring I have between a week and 3 years to decide on a replacement.
 
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Old 06-29-06, 04:04 PM
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Guys...thank you both very much. I'm going to try the r-22 charge first and see if that temporarily fixes the problem then go at it from there. One guy had a similar theory so we'll give it a shot. I'll try to give an update after it's done.
 
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Old 06-30-06, 05:40 PM
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Wink

Did any of them check the defrost setup on the unit 12 years old. Dont know if it would have a board on it or the old thermistor set up to make it work???????

ED
 
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Old 06-30-06, 08:56 PM
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Well guys...problem solved. The circuit board in the outdoor unit actually was bad. It looked like 2 of the pathways were blackened out when it was cooked. Still dont know why it did what it did when it did. But the board was replaced and its running like a champ. 200 for everything is much easier to swallow than 5 or 6k. Thanks again for all your suggestions. And btw...there was nothing wrong with the pressures...wonder if its a thing salesman use to make you think things are bad??
 
 

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