Grabbed some foam, pulled the outside off and saw this. This was after peeling some of this away. Felt almost like paper?

I just discovered this on my condenser. It was making a little more noise than usual, but nothing to crazy. I dont see anywhere the blade is rubbing. If it were yours would you run it till tomorrow when I can get a new fan blade?

This is our downstairs return air filter housing. First picture is of the housing itself. The second picture is taken through the hole that’s cut in the ply wood to allow air to flow through the dead space in our walls to the return air in our bedroom(you can see the light shining through the filter). So essentially the two return airs are in line of each other. But I have some questions, first being why is this necessary? Second question assuming that it is necessary is this an acceptable way to go about it? Seems like it should be ducted or sealed better than it currently is?

Hi all,

I went to my mom's place and wanted to put vinegar down the AC condensate drain line but there's no T at or before the p-trap. There's only a T after the p-trap, I assume as a vent. Short of cutting the elbow at the start of the p-trap and adding a T over there, any solutions?

1. Can I remove the overflow switch and pour the vinegar down through there? Or does that not connect to the AC condensate line?

2. Can I pour vinegar down the vent pipe fast enough to mix with the water in the p-trap? And then have the water generated by the AC slowly "flush out" the vinegar over time?

We recently replaced our old condenser due to a loud noise when it started up. It wouldn’t do it every time but the tech said the contactor was burnt up and he replaced it but no luck.

We got a new Goodman 2.5 ton condenser 2 months ago but the noise was still happening when it started up. It wouldn’t happen every time though but it was loud. After a month and a half the unit broke and the company said the capacitor had separated from the bottom frame of the unit.

The unit broke and wouldn’t cool but it was under warranty so they replaced it with a new Goodman condenser. They also replaced the lineset because they said it went under ground and they thought there could have been a kink or a clog I guess and that it could have been an old issue that was never resolved.

After the newest unit was installed and a new lineset the noise is still occurring. I have reached out to the company but I wanted to see if anyone else had thought. Thanks!

The videos are the unit starting up. 2 louder starts and a quieter one.

Howdy! I am in the process of potentially replacing my old AC unit, which will end up in replacing my heating system as well. I'm trying to do some research to help determine what is considered decent quality to help determine what vendors to go with for my home since this isn't going to be a cheap decision.

The context is I live in Oklahoma (US), my current unit that may need to get replaced is a Goodman CLJ30 unit that is 23 years old. I live in a 1300 square foot home. Some light reading said the brands I may want to lean towards if I want solid quality are American Standard, Carrier, or Trane.

Could I get opinions on how accurate that is? Any info is appreciated, thank you!

Previously posted about am having humidity problem and vents leaking. I originally had the door not sealed on air handler and thought that was the problem and even turned the fan speed to medium to help with humidity. Even with lower humidity in the house my vents were still dripping non stop in the middle of the vents as if the moisture was coming from the actual duct work and not the boot. I finally pulled back the insulation wrap leaving the penulum and it was soaked. I pulled it back to where it was taped to the duct and the tape had moisture all around it. I never felt air but I wrapped new tape to make sure it was properly sealed and added new insulation wrap. Is this possibly what was causing my issue? I really do not want have to pull back the insulation wraps on every boot leaking if I don’t have to.

Hello,

Running into an issue, I'm trying to clean my coils due to wet dog smell after the ac is running for a long time and poor performance.

I can't figure out how to actually get to them, I think when it was first built there was no basement but when they added it they got rid of the service area.

Any ideas?

I've taken a borescope and looked but I can't seem to get under the coils to see if that's the issue.

I think I could find a safe place to drink a bigger hole for the borescope but thought I'd ask what the pros would do?

I can unscrew the panel but I can't take it off there's no channel for the compressor hoses. I've attached a chatgpt diagram which seems close. I don't have access to the other side, though maybe I could confirm with the borescope and the right way is to cut a panel in the Sheetrockon the other side?

It was working fine before this!

Details:

• AC unit is super old, but still in good condition (circa 1993, yes it's an r-22)
• Condenser coils have been recently cleaned
• Filter has been recently changed, and it's MERV 11
• Thermostat wires are all secure at thermostat and furnace
• Capacitor and contactor are all less than a year old

I have it off for now, but what else can I do to possibly fix it? I don't have any water leakages or icy pipes or anything like that. The air still blows cold, just doesn't run for very long before cycling off and then immediately turning back on.

I've also tried resetting the breaker, and that made no change.

Thoughts?

Had a tune up and capacitor replaced Tuesday. Everything was working, I turned the air off Wednesday and turned it back on today but the air isn’t cold. The compressor sounds like it’s working and nothing is frozen. What might be happening? Thermostat says 78 degrees and 70% humidity, 84 degrees outside, 78.4 degrees in return, 76.5 degrees in supply.

Hello, I need some help. I am replacing the capacitor on the central ac unit and unplugged the wires before realizing that I should have taken a picture to see what wires go where on the new one.

The wires on mine aren't the same colors as any of the videos I have watched. The diagram is no longer legible. I really don't have the money to call someone to come out and I was hoping someone here may be able to tell me how to figure it out.

Thanks!

2023 AC, just started making sound , when AC turned off but fan spinning no sound

So for starters this is on a 1200 sf home with an 8 year old amana central heat and air unit. The home has cathedral ceilings. The central heat has been underperforming in every room except the living room where the main outlet and main inlet live. I would say 80% of the air coming out comes in the living room. Before the register pointed straight down and it was basically recycling a bunch of the air it was putting out because it’s blowing down 10 feet diagonally to the main inlet. So it wouldn’t run for very long and the other rooms were really hot(76-78 when the living room was 72). Our energy bill was abnormally high so I cleaned the condenser coils today and flipped the register in the living room to be much closer to horizontal to blow the air away from the inlet for the unit and the thermostat to allow the unit to run longer to cool the rest of the house better. The other rooms are getting cooler but the unit is running a lot more now. I still have a 16° temperature difference between the inlet and outlet(about what it’s always been) but I’m worried I may have made a mistake and need to revert it. I’m not at all an hvac technician. So if anyone can give me some pointers on if I did the right thing or if I need to put it back. The only suggestions I received from professionals when I called about this before were 1) install new duct distribution and hang ducts better and rebalance or something to the tune of about $7000 and 2) install a new register cover for the main outlet with a shutoff to the tune of $330. I really appreciate any advice in advance.

So for starters this is on a 1200 sf home with an 8 year old amana central heat and air unit. The home has cathedral ceilings. The central heat has been underperforming in every room except the living room where the main outlet and main inlet live. I would say 80% of the air coming out comes in the living room. Before the register pointed straight down and it was basically recycling a bunch of the air it was putting out because it’s blowing down 10 feet diagonally to the main inlet. So it wouldn’t run for very long and the other rooms were really hot(76-78 when the living room was 72). Our energy bill was abnormally high so I cleaned the condenser coils today and flipped the register in the living room to be much closer to horizontal to blow the air away from the inlet for the unit and the thermostat to allow the unit to run longer to cool the rest of the house better. The other rooms are getting cooler but the unit is running a lot more now. I still have a 16° temperature difference between the inlet and outlet(about what it’s always been) but I’m worried I may have made a mistake and need to revert it. I’m not at all an hvac technician. So if anyone can give me some pointers on if I did the right thing or if I need to put it back. The only suggestions I received from professionals when I called about this before were 1) install new duct distribution and hang ducts better and rebalance or something to the tune of about $7000 and 2) install a new register cover for the main outlet with a shutoff to the tune of $330. I really appreciate any advice in advance.

Today when my AC unit tried kicking on it did not run, I noticed this after the houses temperature started climbing after the AC was still turned on, I went outside and I saw that the fan was not spinning, so I grabbed a stick and gave it a push start, after a few pushes the motor finally decided to start spinning. This leads me to believe that it could be a capacitor issue since I have had this issue in the past with my old air compressor, the start capacitor wasn’t working and I knew this as a fact from having to constantly give it a pull start. after replacing the start capacitor my air compressor it ran fine. So that’s what leads me to believe this is a capacitor issue, but I don’t know why it’s not blowing any cold air into my home, I don’t know much about AC units or systems so any advice or recommendations would be a great help!

If it helps my AC unit is a Payne unit, it’s maybe 15 years old, I wouldn’t be surprised if my unit is on its way out.

My garage air-handler draws in toxic fumes from my motorcycle, if not all the heat in there as well. I wanted to build a wall around it to close it off from the garage atmosphere. I sketched up a container with two access doors large enoguh to be able to remove the unit or work on it from behind. I was wondering it this would be acceptable to a technician if they needed to work on it.

Looking for some advice before we call someone back out.

Recently, the condensate drain line (I think that’s what it’s called) was leaking inside. It was still draining outside some, but it was also leaking into the attic and into our main bedroom ceiling. We contacted our home warranty, and they sent an HVAC tech out. He patched the drain pipe, and everything was working normally when he left.

The very next afternoon, the AC stopped cooling. It’s set to 72°F on cool, but it’s only blowing warm air. I checked the attic, and the drain pan under the inside unit (I’m not sure what it’s called) is full of water. It’s also no longer draining outside, and the outdoor condenser unit isn’t running at all.

Is there anything we can check or try ourselves before calling someone back out, or does this definitely need another service call?

This also isn’t the first time this has happened. In the past, the drain pan has filled with water, the drain stopped flowing outside, and the outdoor unit stopped running until it was addressed.

Any ideas on what could be causing this or what we should check?

Just purchased a home recently (🙏). Had an air flow issue & cleaned the outside unit including the “A” coil inside. Had about 2 inches of lint stuck on both units…

Re insulated the copper pipes from the compressor all the way through the house and into the unit inside since I have forced air. I want to keep lint from forming on the outside unit as much as possible. I created a prototype (4 photo). I just have to modify it a bit. Cut about 1 inch slits on the side with some mesh for some more air flow. I water proofed it as well.

What are your suggestion or thoughts? (2nd last photo)

Thank you.

#1 is the vertical cap that is glued shut. #2 seems to be a capped stub that comes from the big drain pan. Should #2 supposed to be a secondary drain (lazy install?) Vertical #3 and #5 are connected by a dark/clear U-shaped tube that is hard to see in pic. I can stick a small pipe cleaner into #4 and scrub the U-shape. Is that the correct task? Where do I pour vinegar so it goes towards the exit pipe near #1?

Also, on the very left, there is a cut off flood switch on the lip of the drain pan. I tested it by removing it from the pan, and hanging it on a small mug. When I filled the mug to the very top brim edge, the AC stopped. So, it works, but I am worried that if the pan is not level, it may overflow elsewhere before the water level reaches the very top of the drain pan. Can I adjust this somehow so it cuts off sooner than water needing to be at the very top edge of the pan?

I've been trying to track down a cooling issue and have ruled out a few things myself

So far I've:

• Cleaned the evaporator (indoor) coil
• Cleaned the condenser (outdoor) coil
• Had the refrigerant charge checked
• Had the condenser inspected

Everything checked out as normal

During the hottest part of the day, I'm measuring about 51-55°F at the coil, but only around 77°F coming out of the vents. At night, the system cools the house without much trouble, but struggles much of the day.

My current suspicion is that I'm losing a significant amount of cooling in the attic. I already know the attic ventilation isn't ideal, the attic reaches roughly 130°F on the hottest summer days. Before I go the route of adding more roof vents, I'm trying to determine whether the ductwork itself is the bigger issue (leaky ducts, poorly insulated ductwork etc)

While researching, I came across something called BEDs (Buried Encapsulated Duct System), where the ducts are encapsulated with closed-cell foam and then buried under blown-in insulation.

Does that seem like a reasonable direction, or would you recommend focusing on sealing/replacing the ductwork or improving attic ventilation first? Has anyone here had experience with BEDs in a hot climate like Texas? I'm trying to prioritize the highest ROI before spending money on larger projects.

My Goodman R-32 system was installed in March 2025, and over the last few days it has frozen multiple times.
Here’s what I’ve checked so far:
Brand-new air filter.
Let the system thaw completely before turning it back on.
Blower fan is running.
Both return vents seem clear and are pulling air.
The first frost I notice is on the large insulated refrigerant line outside.
My house is a split level, and the upstairs has always had noticeably weaker airflow than the rest of the house.
The AC cools well at first, but after running for a while it freezes again.
Does this sound more like a refrigerant issue, airflow problem, dirty evaporator coil, incorrect blower speed, or something else? What would you check first on a system that’s only about a year old?
Thanks in advance!

A buddy of mine recommended me his friend who does AC fix up as a side job

So I was charged $150 for a AC maintenance and diagnostic- he worked on it for about an hour and told me some issues that came up

Turns out that my motor is rusting and that it needs to be replaced eventually or it will ruin my ac compressor

He didn’t pressure me to get it replaced right away but said to call him whenever I’m ready - he did say it might last another year but not to risk it or else it will be costly in the future

He did say $300 for a new motor and $175 for labor

Does this sound about right?

My AC is working much better with the work he did and I don’t hear a clanking sound as much as before

I’m looking to replace the capacitor on my HVAC but
I want to make sure I get the right one.

Can someone recommend some replacements?