Dayton Aluminum Tour

I’ve been in this Heating & Air Conditioning field for almost 30 years now. Thru all the years we at Aire-Com of KY have seen two problems during the cooling season that keep re-occurring. It does not matter which manufacturer or dealer, it happens to all of us. The problems are bad capacitors and leaking evaporator coils.  We are going to talk about the evaporator coils today. They are the cooling coils inside your house that perform the cooling function for your air conditioning system. They are usually located either on top of your furnace or underneath it, depending upon the furnaces application. The coils down thru the years have primarily been copper coils with aluminum fins. But, GOODMAN/AMANA is now manufacturing them with aluminum coils with aluminum fins. It’s made a real difference in resolving the freon leakage problems that our industry as a whole has endured for the last 15-20 years. They began the testing a few years ago and started production in the last 1-1/2 years. Because they are such a good piece of equipment, the industry is buying them faster than GOODMAN/AMANA can manufacture them. They have went to 3 full shifts producing these coils and are now trying to build another plant to increase production of these evaporator coils. A lot of Heating & Air Conditioning dealers are buying these coils to use with their brands of equipment because they are so trouble free. Watch the video above and see for yourself how these coils are manufactured. It’s a very amazing factory tour from their Dayton, Ohio plant.

Apr 25, 2012

We’ve all heard someone say,”My AC is out of freon. It needs to be recharged.” These dreaded words were bad in the past, but now they are getting to be worse than ever. The price of the older R-22 freon that the majority of people have has doubled in price from last year to this year. Aire-Com of KY has tried to absorb as much of this price increase as we can. But, we do expect it to go much higher. So, besides being uncomfortable when your freon is low, you are also going to be concerned with the price of the freon.

Most leaks in the early spring are from leaking indoor evaporator coils. These can be replaced or sometimes repaired or sealed. If we replace the coil, then the problem is solved. Well maybe not, because it can create other problems on down the road. We will talk about these problems later in another article.

We received a call today from a supply house. The supply person was wanting some information on a Crane boiler. He had looked everywhere online and could not find any information on the boiler. Another heating and air conditioning company was wanting to convert a customer’s boiler from oil to gas. They did not know if the boiler was hot water or steam. So the supply company person called us. Whether its hot water or steam depends on what we call the “Trim” for most of the old cast iron boilers. You can read about this in more detail on another article that we wrote on here titled “Boilers – Is it hot water or steam?” What amazed me was that this company was going to work on a very dangerous piece of equipment that he had no knowledge of what-so-ever. A boiler is very safe, if its set up properly. This person had no idea about how a boiler operates. The supply person had no idea either, but he had seen the damage that an exploding boiler causes in the past. I told him that if a guy worked on a furnace and did not know what he was doing, the most that would happen is that the furnace would not lite or would run continually. No real harm done. But, a boiler is part of a system. Its got heat, water, pressure, possibly steam, controls that are totally different from a furnace and piping. You must work on the system as a whole for the boiler.

Back in the early 1800′s, there was at least one boiler explosion a month in the United States. That was cured when boiler safety controls were made mandatory. But, we still hear occasionally about a boiler exploding and killing someone. This is a link to a boiler explosion that happened in 2007. It happened in another room but was caught on camera showing it exploding thru the wall. It killed a boiler operator. This is the link: http://youtu.be/1WoA2mxtSHU. The explosion is caught on the security camera at the 1:20 time stamp. This is an industrial boiler.

A boiler exploded in a residence in this article. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/DC-Boiler-Explosion-in-Central-Jersey-129210278.html. This was last year in 2011.

If you do a search online for boiler explosions, you will find numerous pictures and details with many people losing their life or being seriously injured. Boilers are not something that many people are familiar with and that can spell disaster for the person that owns one. Yet, with the safeties that are installed on todays boilers (providing they are working properly) it’s almost impossible for them to cause any concern. We know what the safties are and how to check them. Call us today for your boiler at:

(502) 447-5508.

So, you are in the market for a new Air Conditioner. You don’t know what size Air Conditioner you have. Well, it’s not that hard to determine the size of the Air Conditioner that you now have.  And yet, it can be very difficult also.  The guy from the first company that came to your house said that you have three (3) ton Air Conditioner. The guy from the next company said that you had a 36,000 BTUH (British Thermal Units per Hour). The next person tells you that you have a 3 ton,  34,000 BTUH Air Conditioner. Who’s correct. Would you believe that all of them are pretty close to the same answer and are fairly correct.

We size Air Conditioners by the ton and also by the BTUH. The key to the correct size is one(1) ton of Air Conditioning is equal to 12,000 BTUH’s.  So, if you have a three (3) ton Air Conditioner, you also should have a 36,000 (3 x 12,000) BTUH Air Conditioner. If you have a 5 ton Air Conditioner, you should also have a 60,000 (5 X 12,000) BTUH Air Conditioner.  However, it’s very seldom that a 5 ton Air Conditioner will be rated at 60,000 BTUH by the manufacturer. For many years, most 5 ton Air Conditioners have been rated by most manufacturers as 56,000 BTUH.Most 3 Ton Air Conditioners are 34,000 – 36,000 BTUH’s. The BTUH’s will change depending upon both the outdoor Air Conditioner and the indoor evaporator coil. The same outdoor unit can have multiple BTUH’s and efficiency ratings with different indoor coils.

So, to determine your Air Conditioner size, you need to look at the model # of your outside Air Conditioner or Heat Pump Unit. The model will almost always have a number that is a multiple of 12. A 1-1/2 ton Airconditioner will have 18 (which is short for 1.5 x 12,000 = 18,000 BTUH)in the model #.  A 2 ton is 24 (2 x 12,000), a 2-1/2 ton unit will have a 30 (2.5 x 12,000 = 30,000), a 36 for 3 ton, a 42 for 3-1/2 ton, a 48 for a 4 ton and a 60 for 5 tons. Now, this is not set in stone. Some manufacturers will have a 19 for 1-1/2 ton, a 23 or 25 for a 2 ton, a 29 for a 2-1/2 ton, a 34-37 for a 3 ton, and the most common is a 56 for a 5 ton. Notice that these numbers are still in a very close proximity to the # 12 multiple. One thing that can confuse you is that some Carrier brand Air Conditioners may have a number like 30300 in the model #. The second 30 (30300) is the one that tells you the size.

So, the next time you have someone ask you if you know what size your Air Conditioner is, look at the model # and pick out your #12 multiple and you will have your answer. If you are still unsure of the size, then call us at Aire-Com of KY  at (502) 447-5508 and we can tell you the correct tonnage of it.

There are two ways that we in the service business price out our work. Both are acceptable and work. However, they are both very different and have a lot of differences in them depending on which method of pricing that the contractor uses.

The first method is what we call “Time and Material”. This type of pricing means that the contractor will come to your house, repair your system and he charges you for the material that he uses and for the amount of time that he’s been at your location. The worst part of this is that you do not know what the charges are until he’s finished and he surprises you with the amount you owe. Your bill depends on the speed of the technician more than anything else because he can tell you the price of the part up front, but not the price of the labor until he’s finished. Like the vast majority of contractors, this is the method that we used for years.

Now we use the “Pricing by the Job” type of billing. Our prices have been determined by the national average of how long it takes to complete a specific job and the national average price for our parts and then they are combined into a book that all of our technicians carry with them. Sometimes, the job will take longer due to unforeseen circumstances and it still remains the price that you were told it would be up front.  In time and material pricing, the cost to you, the homeowner would go up because of the additional time required.  Pricing by the job means that whether you get a very slow or a very fast technician, the price will remain the same. This gives you “Peace” in knowing up front whether you can afford the repair or not. It also helps you decide if you want to repair or replace the item in question.

I know that when I go to the automotive repair shop and they tell me up front what it’s going to cost, I feel much better about the job than be surprised by the bill at the end of the job. With up front pricing, I can decide whether to accept the job as quoted and if I can afford the repair. With time and material, I get the bill at the end of the job and I owe for the work whether I can afford it or not. I’m stuck with the repair because it can not be undone. Think about the type of billing that you would prefer and give us a call the next time that you need to get your heating or cooling system repaired.

Jul 30, 2011

We, at Aire-Com of KY have told people for the last several years that they will no longer be making the R-22 Freon after the year 2020.  This has always been a big incentive for people to purchase a new Air Conditioning or Heat Pump system with the new R-410a freon in it. The newer R-410a systems are also more energy efficient than your old systems were. So, it just makes sense that everyone will want a new R-410a freon system.  But, as most of us know, just because we want it does not mean that we can always afford it right now. This also holds true for a new heating and cooling system. So, what are your alternatives when the compressor in your old system dies?

The least expensive alternative is to temporarily install window AC units. Its also the most undesirable due to the way that they make our house look and they also are the most expensive to operate. But, it is an alternative to replacing your system until money becomes available.

The least expensive thing to do if you want to retain use of your central system is to replace the compressor.  This will typically be about 25-35% of the cost of a new replacement cooling system. (Now, if you have a leaking outdoor coil that can not be repaired, then this will not help you. When the outdoor coil leaks, you almost always have to replace the entire outdoor unit.) When you replace the compressor, then you continue using your outdoor unit and it’s components, however you have a new compressor which is the “Heart” of your cooling system. This is matched to your units freon type.  A new compressor has a 1 year parts warranty on it from the manufacturer. You can request an additional 4 year warranty from the dealer who purchases the warranty from the supply house. Most of these warranties are covered by the selling supply house and not by the compressor manufacturer. They cover only parts and they normally cost between $100.00 - $400.00 depending on the voltage and BTUH rating. Most cooling contractors will only install a new compressor and a liquid line drier. When we change out a compressor, we change it as a kit. It’s  all of the components needed to keep the new compressor from going bad prematurely. The kit includes a new compressor, a new liquid line drier, a new contactor and a new capacitor matched to the compressor and to the outdoor fan motor. This costs a little more initially, however it also insures that the compressor has everything it needs electrically  to function properly.

The more expensive repair is really old school, but very new also. Replace your old R-22 freon outdoor unit only with a new R-22 outdoor unit. Down thru the years, when an outdoor unit went bad, we just replaced the outdoor unit. It was very fast and was fairly inexpensive compared to a new cooling system. But, on January 1, 2010, the manufacturers of heating and cooling equipment were no longer allowed by the federal government to produce cooling systems containing R-22 freon. Now, you need to realize that since residential cooling systems were first made and sold in the U.S., the manufacturers have always shipped them out containing the refrigerant that was needed to operate them in most circumstances. In the last year, someone realized that the law said “that no unit containing R-22 could be manufactured after the year 2010″. They realized it was a loophole in the law and said we can still manufacture R-22 cooling units, only we”can’t fill them with R-22 freon. We need to fill them with dry nitrogen gas and let the technicians in the field remove the nitrogen and install the R-22 freon”. So, some manufacturers took a big chance and produced some of these units. What they found was a large demand for them. The bad thing about them is that they contain a freon that will no longer be produced after the year 2020. The good thing about them is that you can get a new outdoor unit with a 5 year warranty on all parts for about 1/3rd to 1/2 the cost of a new R-410a system.  So, this is now an alternative to the replacement of just a compressor. The new units are still a minimum of 13 SEER in efficiency and that will cause some problems down the road for some people.  But, so far, my suppliers have told me that they have sold a lot of these units and have not had any complaints from their performance.  I was in the supply house the other day and the manager told me that the diference between the cost of a new R-22 outdoor unit and a compressor was about $300.00 -500.00 depending on the BTUH of the system. The labor costs to replace a new outdoor unit is less than to replace the compressor, and they both would have to have the freon added to them.

So, when I look at the alternatives that are available to you when your compressor goes out, It seems to make better sense to go with the new outdoor unit over the compressor. If you replaced the compressor and developed a leak in the outdoor coil, you would then have to replace the unit. If your fan motor goes out and you have to replace it within 5 years of replacing the compressor, then you have already spent more on the compressor replacement and fan motor than you would have spent on a new outdoor unit. I definitely don’t like the idea of installing a new 13 SEER outdoor cooling unit on an older Air Conditioning system, however I still think its better than replacing a compressor.

But, don’t mis-understand me. I still think the safest and best way to correct the system is the replacement of the old system with a new hi-efficiency R-410a cooling system.  But, it’s your money, your house and your choice. Get the prices and decide for yourself what you think is your best solution.

Call us at: (502) 447-5508

Jul 7, 2011

                                                                                                                                             There have been heat pump/furnace installations around for over 30 years. They were combined using a kit full of relays, thermostats and other items that were kind of intimidating to the personnel installing the system. Today that big box has been replaced with a dual fuel thermostat. It’s become easier to do now so we hear more about it because there are more of the systems sold now. This has also became more common since the price of gas increased so dramatically a few years ago.  With a combination of heat pump and gas furnace installation, it becomes possible for the homeowner to decide which fuel (electric or gas,lp gas, fuel oil, wood furnace) to use depending on the costs. These systems are known by the names of “combination heat pump/furnace”, “Fossil fuel system”,”dual fuel systems” and “Hybrid systems”. The “Hybrid”  name has been registered by the Carrier/Bryant Companies and they can brag that they are the only ones who have the “Hybrid” heating systems and they are right. No other companies can use the Name “Hybrid”, however it still does not make their products any different from anyone else’s except that they fix it so that if the thermostat ever goes bad, you are probably looking at a $600.00 – $800.00 cost for a new thermostat. But, most manufacturers like Goodman/Amana allow you to use a Honeywell, White-Rodgers or most any other brand of thermostat that you would prefer. They also have the really feature rich thermostats like Carrier/Bryant but at a much lower cost.

These systems will usually utilize the electric fueled heat pump for heating, but as it gets colder, the heat pump becomes more inefficient. When the outside temperature gets to the temperature that you choose (usually 30-35 degrees for the R-22 heat pumps or 6-10 degrees for the newer R-410a heat pumps), they will automatically switch over to the alternate furnace heat. You can also switch it to the furnace heat at the thermostat very easily. There are a lot of advantages to this system and we will tell you some more about them later.

Jul 6, 2011