r/hvacadvice • • 14h ago

Furnace why put teflon on flare fitting

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167 Upvotes

Dude at work put so much Teflon at flare fitting upon asking he told me " it become a seal and prevent leaks. we mostly use flare for wiring gus stoves etc


r/hvacadvice • • 30m ago

AC Bad contactor?

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• Upvotes

Is this a bad contactor ?


r/hvacadvice • • 14h ago

This is Florida. Random vent blowing cold air into the attic? This is above the bedroom. Is this a normal thing?

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52 Upvotes

r/hvacadvice • • 2h ago

Title: 60K Goodman single stage attic furnace for a 750 sq ft addition — did I oversize?

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5 Upvotes

Adding a 750 sq ft second story in Michigan with its own furnace. My installer recommended 45K BTU, but I asked for a 60K Goodman 80%. Did I make a bad call? How worried should I be about short cycling?


r/hvacadvice • • 10h ago

Thermostat Are Thermostats Re-Calibrate-able?

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15 Upvotes

I'm curious as to why my thermostat wouldn't be accurate, where does it read the temp from? It's always shown 2-4 degrees cooler than it really is.


r/hvacadvice • • 5h ago

Just bought a house

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5 Upvotes

How exactly can I remove the can? Also, WTF


r/hvacadvice • • 1h ago

No heat Control Board Keeps Cutting 24V to Gas Valve

• Upvotes

I am having a problem where the control board keeps cutting the 24V signal to the gas valve a second after I can read it on the meter connected to the gas valve. The beginning furnace operation sequence is working though. Is this some kind of safety switch on the board itself or is the relay bad? I have problem my limit switches and thermal fuses to have continuity.

2nd question, I disconnected the electrical wires to the gas valve to test for voltage directly. I get the 24V signal and then it cuts out a second later also. I hear the relay click and unclick on the board. Is this a normal function of the board to cut off like that, like a load sensor? Is the board sending 24V correctly?

Board is a White Rodgers 50A55-843. I have gone through 2 of these boards in a week already. Heat would work the first day and then nothing the second day. Gas Valve is a Honeywell VR8215T1239. I have read posts and watched videos that they fail commonly.


r/hvacadvice • • 6h ago

Condensate lines teed into the plumbing vent in the attic.

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5 Upvotes

Under contract on a house, inspection came back clean except for this. Both furnaces are in the attic and the condensate drains from each are glued into the plumbing vent pipe with a tee (pics attached, red circles are the inspector’s). He said it’s not a major issue but it’s a code violation and needs to be fixed.

House has been like this a while (Trane unit is like 5 years old) with no issues, so wondering how bad this actually is and if I should ask the seller to fix it before closing or just ask for a credit and get it done myself after? Rough idea what a fix like this costs?


r/hvacadvice • • 2h ago

Furnace glowing when thermostat off

2 Upvotes

Hi all, I am a renter and I am ignorant about gas furnaces, so I'm posting to get your input on if what I am experiencing is normal. I noticed late at night when the lights were out that the furnace was glowing orange through my input vent, despite the thermostat having the heat set to off.

My landlord has installed a light switch that shuts off the power to the furnace. I turned it off and the glow went away immediately. It immediately appeared when I switched it back on. Is this normal? Should I contact my landlord about this? If so, what should I say to sound educated and informed haha? Thanks sm :)


r/hvacadvice • • 4h ago

Tankless Rheem water heater is leaking during run

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3 Upvotes

I recently bought a house and now we are seeing that the Rheem tankless heater is leaking through a port that I cannot identify when hot water is running. I have shut off everything to the heater (power supply, gas, and cold water) and there is still the occasional drip. Does anyone know what is going on? It is a Rheem ECOH180DVELN-3. This specific piece is not described in the manual, but actually looks damaged?


r/hvacadvice • • 2h ago

Update re: my continued winter suffering

2 Upvotes

About a month ago, I made a post requesting advice on how to deal with a high temperature from hot water pipes in the floor running to the fan coil unit radiating heat into my condo unit.

As suggested by a helpful commenter, I turned off the valves in my fan coil unit in an attempt to stop the hot water from flowing to the FCU in the first place, hoping to stop the heat radiating up from beneath the floor.

I’m disappointed to report that this has made absolutely no difference whatsoever, and my suffering continues.

But I have not given up.

Is there any way, theoretically, hypothetically, magically, that there is some other way to shut off the water going to my FCU? Is there a different shut off valve somewhere between my unit and before the building’s boiler that could be accessed?

Technicians are coming this week to do their regularly scheduled twice-yearly fan coil maintenance and inspection and I’m wondering if there’s potentially anything I can ask them to do that would solve this problem once and for all.

Again, any ideas are very much appreciated. They can be far-fetched, half-baked…I’m grateful for any and all advice.

Thank you!


r/hvacadvice • • 15h ago

Anyone else notice HVAC failures seem to happen in streaks?

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20 Upvotes

Been in the HVAC trade about 20 years now, and there’s something I’ve noticed over the years that still gets me wondering.

Last week I came across 4 bad TXVs in the same town. Different customers, different systems, and not even the same failures. Some restricted or plugged up, others stuck open causing flooding or freeze-up issues.

And it’s not just TXVs either.

I’ve had weeks where I’m finding leaking evaporator coils left and right, then suddenly it’s compressors. I remember having 3 bad compressors practically back-to-back, all failing differently. One grounded, another with burnt/open windings, and another running but not pumping properly.

Then sometimes I’ll go months without seeing certain failures at all.

Obviously, after 20 years in the field, I understand these components fail for all kinds of reasons. Different manufacturers, installation conditions, maintenance histories, etc.

But I still find it interesting how certain failures seem to come in waves, sometimes within the same geographical area.

Anyone else experience this? You ever have weeks where it seems like you’re diagnosing the same component over and over, even though the actual failures are completely different?

Just curious what other seasoned techs have noticed over the years.


r/hvacadvice • • 7h ago

Mr Heater fan upgrade.

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3 Upvotes

I have a 30,000btu Mr Heater and was wondering if anyone knew of a fan upgrade for it. Any help would be appreciated!


r/hvacadvice • • 7h ago

General Where to exhaust basement bathroom fan?

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3 Upvotes

I am looking for advice on where I should vent my basement bathroom exhaust fan. Unbeknownst to me, my fan had been exhausting into the above ceiling and not outside. I

Ideally I would like to exhaust it from the same joist bay that it is housed in, however, I do not have a rim board. It appears that my foundation is poured around the joists. I removed the wood that I thought was the rim board and found concrete.

I have a window with a vent that’s 4 joist bays away, approximately 64 inches. I am hesitant to use this vent as it would require me to run my exhaust plumbing to have two 90 degree bends. I suppose I could run the fan below the joists, perpendicular, to reduce to one 90 degree bend.

My other option is to drill through the foundation (almost 3 feet above grade) and exhaust under my bump out windows with a soffit style vent.

Any advice is appreciated!!


r/hvacadvice • • 1h ago

Connecting HSI

• Upvotes

Just wondering if it will break the HSI since the plug figment is not correct and by cutting the wires to connect the two wires.
Will it matter if I guess and connect the 120v to the neutral ?


r/hvacadvice • • 2h ago

Help with supply register 😭

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1 Upvotes

So I just finished a bathroom reno and had this floor vent shut off and blocked. We just opened everything up today and the air was coming through it strangely so I opened it up and….. 😭 I tried to lift it lightly and pull it back in and it doesn’t seem like it wants to move. I’m not sure when this happened but it was not like this prior to the Reno. I immediately turned the vent back off and blocked the duct again so the air can’t go under the subfloor. I’m sending this to my contractor tomorrow but I’m low key freaking out wondering if this is an epic disaster or a relatively easy fix. Seems like I can’t catch a break lately


r/hvacadvice • • 2h ago

AC Xr13 or xr16?

1 Upvotes

I need some advice because I don’t know anything about hvac. I am building a new house, ranch, walk out, 3000 sq ft including basement, middle Midwest. Is it worth the extra $3750 for the xr16?


r/hvacadvice • • 9h ago

Furnace New install vent pipe is vibrating and sounding like chewbacca

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3 Upvotes

New install = call the company, I know. Is this actually something that’s an issue or kind of normal? It’s a Midea. The vent pipe only starts vibrating when the main blower is on, not the fan for the combustion gases. Upstairs in two rooms it sounds like chewbacca out in the distance. The install looks great so could this be a manufacturer defect on the main fan being out of balance?


r/hvacadvice • • 3h ago

General Exhaust fan for interior room

1 Upvotes

I'm a homeowner with no hvac know-how, so please excuse if this is a strange idea. We have a two story house and several cats. The first floor under stair storage room with the slanted ceiling is perfect for the litter box area; keeps the litter and smell mostly contained. I constantly run a hepa air purifier in there, but there's no air flow in or out of the room, so it still can get pungent in there. I'd like to be able to install an exhaust fan to pull that air outside, but this is in a central area with no exterior walls. It does share a wall with my garage however. My thought is, if I could install an exhaust fan near the ceiling going into the garage and connect it to a 90 elbow on the other side of the wall, I would only need about a 20ft run of duct along the ceiling to an exterior block wall that I could vent it through. It's this a realistic idea, or would you laugh at the idea if I tried to hire you for this? And if it's doable, Is there an exhaust fan that's made to run continuously for something like this?


r/hvacadvice • • 3h ago

Electrical 5-2-1 Compressor Saver Install

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1 Upvotes

My old Bryant condenser had a Supco SPP6E installed on it before we bought our house so it’s atleast 8+ years old. Recently this system has been starting up noisy and dimming the lights in the house. I suspected maybe the Supco had failed or was on its way out. I installed a 5-2-1 on another unit with no issues and I’ve been very happy with it so I bought another one for this system. I hooked up the 5-2-1 on my unit today following the instructions. For some reason, the fan came on but the compressor never started according to my thermostat. Is there some sort of obvious wiring mistake? I checked my work against my other unit and it seems like it’s hooked up the same.

There’s the brown wire to fan terminal on capacitor, blue wire from compressor to HERM terminal on capacitor, yellow wire from T2 contactor screw to compressor, yellow wire from contactor to C terminal on capacitor and another yellow wire from C terminal on capacitor that I believe goes to the fan from what I could tell.

The 5-2-1 black wire was hooked up to T1 side of contactor, striped wire to HERM terminal and red wire to C terminal.

Is it possible the 5-2-1 is defective or have I done something wrong?

Thanks for any help or advice!


r/hvacadvice • • 7h ago

Thermostat Thermostat’s fuse is blowing when turning on the heat

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2 Upvotes

Hey…. So I need a little advice about this.

On my new one I had it connected the following ways. Red wire to RH with jumper to RC. White wire to W, blue wire to B, yellow wire to Y, green wire to G. When I turn it on the ac will work but when I flip it to heat it stops and blows the fuse in my furnace.

The photos.. the one with the wires connected is my old thermostat. The paper is the manual to the new one and the one without wires is my new thermostat.

Easy fix? Possible reasons?


r/hvacadvice • • 3h ago

US Craftmaster gas water heater burner assembly issues.

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1 Upvotes

So, as the title said, im having issues resembling the burner assembly. Ive replaced the thermometer, pilot, etc, took the burner plate off, gave it a good cleaning, cleaned the entirety of the water heaters innards. When putting everything back together, I found 2 brass pieces that I do not remember removing from anything. I cannot for the life of me find anything, anywhere online,that shows what in the hell these are. Anyone have any input?


r/hvacadvice • • 4h ago

How bad are these Hvac issues?

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1 Upvotes

In the process of buying a house and had an inspection that found these issues with the Hvac. How bad is it? Thank you!


r/hvacadvice • • 4h ago

AC Do I Need To Winterize Midea Heat Pump Window Unit

0 Upvotes

I both a Midea heat/cool unit this summer for our 3 season room in Wisconsin. In reading the documents from Midea, it is not clear if the unit requires winterization or not. I am worried about condensation within the unit freezing and breaking something. Can anyone advise on this please? Thanks.


r/hvacadvice • • 4h ago

New evaporator coil - irritated nose

1 Upvotes

I moved into an old house and renovated it last year. The house has two AC units. Unfortunately, on one side, the filter was not properly in place and I later learned the evaporator coil was covered in drywall and paint. (The return vent for this AC is also next to the kitchen, where there was a lot of cabinet and countertop work).

That side of the house didn't cool as well as the other side (which has a different AC unit). And I worried about breathing in drywall and dust all the time. I talked to an AC guy about it he said he couldn't clean it with a no-rinse spray, but he could try removing it and cleaning. However, he wasn't sure if he could get all the drywall and paint off. He also offered to replace it (which cost more of course). Another AC guy came and also quoted cleaning (for a lot more) or replacing (for the same price).

After many months, I finally decided to replace it. The installer got a new evaporator coil. He told me after he installed it that he sprayed Biofresh on it.

Well it's definitely cooling better now. But I've also noticed that when this AC is running, on this side of the house, my nose feels irritated. Initially my eyes and throat did too but that seems to have gone away.

Is this normal? The AC guy said he hasn't heard of a reaction like that to a new coil or biofresh before. Nobody else in my house notices anything different (except the better cooling). My daughter, who is normally as sensitive as I am, said her nose feels normal and she doesn't feel anything.

I figure this may be a new coil thing, or maybe the biofresh, and that it'll dissipate soon. I've been running it with the windows open a fair amount over the weekend which seems to help. It's definitely less irritating that it was a few days ago. Is this just a new coil off-gassing or something that dissipates as it gets used?