Hacked Trane XL19i install - Restricted Air Flow!

[demmylowther]

Is there a posibilty a homeowner bought this Trane from an unscrupulous dealer or a friend in the business,or is a stolen piece and tried to put it in himself cause he was too cheap to pay someone ? This contractor should automatically lose his dealership with Trane. Then Trane should call all the other Companies and tell them to look out for this morons.Ofcoarse they wouldn't inform their competition.But that's how bad this is. No excuses.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

Have you noticed excessive vibration concerns about the Copeland ZR-- Series compressors, lately? I sure have. It's worse than Lennox's 5-ton condensors. Bad stuff. It's a service nightmare looking for a place to happen. It always seems to rear it's ugly head during my watch.

I'd like to hear your advice. I may not like your battery choice, or, your preference in electrical meters... but, you seem to know your shit when it comes down to the nuts-n-bolts AC stuff.

[hackfreehvac]

Well the last year I've done all commercial so i don't get many noisy comp calls like when I did residential. But boy did some units give us a bunch of nuisance calls. Them Scrolls in the Carrier RoofTop Units used to generate a BUNCH of calls. And the new Trane units, which are just a Trane sticker on Copeland Scrolls, sure got complaints in compare to the older Trane. It went from a steady hum in the recip comps to an oscillating hum. And that made people nervous about their new units.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

I've heard tell that Makita's lithium-ion batteries don't like the desert heat. I work mostly in the low desert (below 500 feet above sea level) of Southern California... Palm Springs and the rest of the Coachella Valley.

My number-one issue is with the cheap dual run capacitors installed at the facory. Those things drop like flies. They 'plump' when ya cook'em.

Next issue: Compressors.

[hackfreehvac]

"Plump when ya cook..." that happens here too in the summer. Makes easy service calls though! LOL!

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

Crap like this keeps me awake at night. Or else, wakes me from a dead sleep.

Units with 'real' hard start kits have compressors that run, while the outdoor fan just hums. Lo and behold, those 80/5 MFD 370VAC dual runs have completely failed. No measurable value at the hermetic terminal.

Manufacturers need to prepare for the worst possible scenarios if they are going to offer their equipment for sale in certain regions. Palm Springs/Coachella Valley is just as tough on ACs as Phoenix.

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

I really like your 'take' on service and installation issues. Helluva sense of humor and keen service skills.

Hints: Lose that cheap-o meter (is it a Fluke?) and invest in a Fieldpiece. The HS-33 is a bitchin' stick meter. Check out their website. I like the 1.5Ah Makita impact you own. I prefer the 3.0Ah (batteries) impact and hammer drills I purchased.

Sorry to read that you shut down your domain. No good deed goes unpunished. The Almighty Dollar assures it.

[hackfreehvac]

Was no need to maintain the website. Youtube works great and get many times more hits!

I don't think I had a meter in this video. But you may have seen the RED Amprobe one? I liked it but it wore out. I think a field piece is what I'm using now. But not the ones that have removable pieces. I love the Makita impact. One of the batteries just died again. The chargers says it is bad. Them batteries have microchips in them! Maybe they hate my inverter I use to charge them?! LOL!

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

Yo, HackFree(k),

I plunked down a c-note for two of those 1.5Ah lithium ions. Light weight and convenience for powering the impact and the flashlight in that $500 kit I scarfed up when it was on sale for four Benjamins. It's kinda like getting two extra batteries for free, if I had paid full price.

[mkimerling]

What ton is it?

[hackfreehvac]

I don't remember. Probably not 5 tons. Maybe two 3 tons or a 3 and a 4 ton. House was big, but not huge ya know. A proper change out should have included relocating these units for proper unrestricted space around them. But knowing these bozo's... just sell it and slap it in!

[PutSome5tankOnIt]

I've seen more than a few of your videos. You're preaching to the choir when you cite installers and maufacturers as liable for some of the crappiest work. I've seen worse.

I place much of the blame on salesmen that estimate and sell these service nightmares. As an installer, I refused to install those proposed abortions. Call-backs on my installs were a very low percentage because I made sure my jobs were done correctly. Now, as a service technician, I'm reaping the same benefits as you.

[hackfreehvac]

That is the way it SHOULD be! I commend you for standing up to the salesmen! Many installers have no guts. Even though they know something is sh*t, they'll keep their mouths shut and just do what the boss tells them to! :( My first job was a helper to a perfectionist installer and company owner. A company who pulled permits, etc (before I moved to Phoenix). They always explained why we did things for FUTURE SERVICE! I learned from the greats, down here it's the "Blind leading the Blind"!

[Arcidious]

As far as the Trane POS comment. The only thing I hate about Trane condensers is plastic plastic plastic. Besides that there really nice.

[hackfreehvac]

I don't mind the plastic tops. But they should not stuff 10 Lbs of shit in a 1 Lb box! In fact, they SHOULD do like Lennox and use a design where a large panel provides access to the compressor, electrical, RV, etc. Instead of using these rediculous CUBE designs with all the electrical shoved into the corner. :( Leave that crap for Goodman Engineers! LOL!

[Chuggiebrown]

You can also blame, the distributor for acting like a whore and selling the equipment to just any hack. Trane usted be selective about the dealers. Broken

[hackfreehvac]

LOL! I showed the videos to a Trane parts house. The guy in there was like WTF? He couldn't believe the hackery and lack of common sense! Then he told me that the regional Trane sales rep wont do jack shit, because he's making his cut as long as these bozo's keep selling the Trane units!

[damusician]

if you installing a brand new condenser today, do you have to replace the indoor coil too due to the new seer rating. i bet some people just hook it up to the existing coil.

[hackfreehvac]

You are HIGHLY suggested to replace the indoor coil as well. If that's not possible, you can install a new base model 13 SEER condenser on a 10 SEER coil, and install a TXV on the inside coil to provide proper metering to the coil. It wont be much over 10 SEER though.

[magictouchair]

Disgusting!

[hackfreehvac]

That's the feeling I got. Unlike some of the other "Zero Clearance Installs" by these guys, this one had ZERO excuses for this sh*t!

[akshona]

Isn't the end result to get the heat OUT of the house?

[hackfreehvac]

Why, YES it is! I am not sure these guys knew that though!

[ratonss]

how stupid to do this.

who did it?

did they pull a permit?

[hackfreehvac]

You hit the nail on the head!

Permit??? Heck no! The manager at this HVAC company in Sun City West, argues and says that there is NOTHING WRONG with these installs! And to think this costed the customer $10,000 to replace (no ductwork or linesset, JUST teh equipment). My rebutal to him was that if only they pulled a permit and had a REAL inspection by a TRAINED inspector, we wouldn't be arguing at all and I would NEVER have to see this shit because it wouldn't stand a chance in passing code!!!

[Amovernshaker]

Code is 18" from the unit all the way around.

I know, I had pros install my unit. I also told them that I would have the city inspector inspect their work. I do too.

[hackfreehvac]

THAT right there is exactly the reult that I am looking for! Which is the END USER being aware enough that THEY would have an inspection done to ensure the work was done per code. Thus ensure it could be serviced properly in the future, and ensure that the equipment actually performed as the manufacture intended. If enough people did that, or if the corrupt city officals would ENFORCE pulling permits, it would greatly reduce the hack installs!

[hemiownzu]

LOl, all they needed was maybe a new whip and some copper and like 15 extra minutes.

[hackfreehvac]

LOL! Exactly what I mentioned to the company manager. But they refused to spend any extra time or material. Even as minimal as this would have required to install this $10,000 system change out properly! Can you believe they were proud of these installs?

[DrZarkloff]

asshole installers.

[hackfreehvac]

This is my second favorite one but the most STUPID out of all installs. I think it's STUPID because clearly there was ZERO excuses for putting that side of the coil against the wall when they had TONS of room to move it over. My $10 says they didn't have enough copper to make it reach any further away. This company doesn't like the installers to leave and go chase down a part to finish the job right! :( It's clearly a "Git-Er-DOne" HVAC company!

[cutlassmountain]

The best is when the builder wants to set an a/c on 8'' of snow . HMM. what do you think will happen? Minnesota in the spring.

[hackfreehvac]

When I worked in Payson(AZ), we waited for the snow to melt as well. But here in Phoenix there just is no excuse for this kind of STUPID. It's just a SAD place where these companies don't have to pull permits!