Monday, 20 June 2016

There’s a Chill in the Air



We know that winters in Chicagoland are beasty. Mahoney Plumbing and Deerfield Plumbers can make that furnace operate as it should. We’ve been doing it for a half century, and you’re unlikely to find that experience anywhere else.

The furnace is just a part of what is termed a HVAC system—“Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning,” is a functional integration that provides environmental control for your home.

Since last fall, the air conditioning portion of your HVAC has been standing idle. Inside the house, the units have become dusty. The ventilating ducts have a layer of dust that is distributed all over your house. You can vacuum everything and get rid of most of it. Cleaning the ducts properly, however, takes special skills and equipment.

The equipment sitting on the ground outside is going to need attention, as well. There’s a high chance the cooling fins are clogged. Perhaps the coolant needs to be recharged. Perhaps the blower fan filter is plugged. If the units are not properly maintained, the efficiency drops, the power bill will rise, and the units will not shut off as quickly.

Your outdoor unit (condenser) and what you can reach inside the indoor unit (evaporator) both need attention. You can try to do it yourself, but it takes time, tools, and experience to do it right. You may have the time and tools. Experience is another matter.
Varying air conditioners perform essentially the same functions. Often, however, the combination with other devices, such as a heat pump, will complicate the process somewhat.

The outside unit (condenser) generally is a compressor, cooling fins, tubes, and a fan. The fan pulls air, passes it through the fins, cools a coolant, compresses internal air, and pumps it back into the house, generally through copper piping. It takes a professional to check the electrical connections and reset the coolants. Don’t attempt that yourself.

The steps are not complex. Turn off the power. Vacuum away the debris from the fins with a soft brush. Clear any nearby vegetation. Loosen the grill and remove the fan. Be careful not to pull on the wires. This area should be cleaned out. This part is tricky: fins get plugged—dead leaves, dirt that has been drawn in, fine “cotton” from trees and dandelions. When that happens, fins are often warped and bent. They need to be realigned with gentle pressure using a set of fin combs. You don’t want to open any of those fins. Wash the fins from the inside out before you return the fan.

That’s good, but do you need the Deerfield Plumbers to do that? Perhaps not, if you know what you’re doing. We are careful, however, about when we do it. The work is meaningless if the ambient temperature is too low. It’s our skill to ensure that the external unit draws all the air it must to provide the cooling inside the home.
Do you have a home that is “blessed” by field mice? You will find evidence that they have taken shelter inside your outdoor unit. Sometimes they manage to chew the wires.

Knowing what to lubricate is also important. Wherever there is a fan, unless the motors have sealed bearings, there will be lubrication points. If you can’t locate your user manual, we have one—or have the experience to tell us what should be lubricated. Electric motor oil, please. Not automobile motor oil. And certainly, not WD-40.

Inside, the air is blown through ducts in the house after having passed through the evaporator. That evaporator dehumidifies the air as it cools it. That develops condensation that will be drained away into the sewer system. If the inside unit uses the filtering system of the furnace, that will need to be checked. Clean out the dust. Lubricate moving parts. Clean the drain tube(s) and the drain port.

Finally, ensure that if your thermostat has a battery, it has been replaced. Now check the air.

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