HVAC (heating and AC) question

[KSMH]

Yes
Yes

Then you most likely have a forced air system.

Try as follows, turn the heater off (switch on side or near the furnace) wait 2 minutes.
Turn it back on.
Listen to the furnace (at the main big machine) or you can look, if there is a see thru glass. Do you hear a small sound of blowing air or do you see a fire going on for a few seconds and  then going out ?

[yos9694]

Agree with KSMH, in all likelihood the furnace isn't actually running. You can try to figure out why by observing during a cycle. Listen to the fan running and watch the fire. If everything is working properly, the fan starts blowing for a few seconds then the fire turns on and then warm air starts to flow out of the vents in the house. The fire should stay lit for several minutes. See which of these is not happening. Post a video of that part if you can.

[CountValentine]

Depending how old the furnace is it will operate differently.
Do you have air coming out of the floor registers?

[yelped]

I set my thermostat yesterday to 71 and it hasn’t been able to keep up. Last night it was 70 in the house and now it’s 67.
Is there anything that I should try to check myself before calling someone to come down?

Do you have anything covering the open pipe on the furnace? The furnace won't turn on as a safety feature if that pipe is covered.

[Jellybelly]

Agree with KSMH, in all likelihood the furnace isn't actually running. You can try to figure out why by observing during a cycle. Listen to the fan running and watch the fire. If everything is working properly, the fan starts blowing for a few seconds then the fire turns on and then warm air starts to flow out of the vents in the house. The fire should stay lit for several minutes. See which of these is not happening. Post a video of that part if you can.

Too hard to post a video, but the fan does blow and the fire does goes on for a few min. It does feel warm in the house, But it’s still not reaching 71, it says 68 now. Could the issue be with the thermostat?

[yos9694]

Too hard to post a video, but the fan does blow and the fire does goes on for a few min. It does feel warm in the house, But it’s still not reaching 71, it says 68 now. Could the issue be with the thermostat?

The question is if we can figure out what causes the fire to turn off after a few minutes. Did the thermostat click off? Then the thermostat would be the problem. If it didn't click off, then the furnace is not running a full cycle and there could be many reasons (e.g. bad flame sensor, condensate bucket is full, blocked chimney - just to list off actual issues that I've dealt with)

[CountValentine]

Going to need to know what type of furnace you have.

Too hard to post a video,

How about a pic

[Jellybelly]

The question is if we can figure out what causes the fire to turn off after a few minutes. Did the thermostat click off? Then the thermostat would be the problem. If it didn't click off, then the furnace is not running a full cycle and there could be many reasons (e.g. bad flame sensor, condensate bucket is full, blocked chimney - just to list off actual issues that I've dealt with)

Well my wife gave up on me trying to figure it out myself and called down a guy.
He said it was the sensor

[CountValentine]

Well my wife gave up on me trying to figure it out myself and called down a guy.
He said it was the sensor

High temperature sensor?

[Jellybelly]

🤷🏻‍♂️
I wasn’t home when this took place,
 My wife  just said it was the sensor and it cost a couple hundred dollars

[yos9694]

Well my wife gave up on me trying to figure it out myself and called down a guy.
He said it was the sensor

Glad you got it taken care of. If it was an electronic sensor, not sure you'd have been able to get it diagnosed just with help from here let alone fixed it.

[CountValentine]

Glad you got it taken care of. If it was an electronic sensor, not sure you'd have been able to get it diagnosed just with help from here let alone fixed it.

You underestimate our collective knowledge. 

[YitzyS]

Can anyone recommend which MERV (MPR rating) I should get in air condition filters? Is there anything wrong with the lower end ones (for ex. MERV 5, 300 MPR) or should I go for the better ones (like MERV 11, 1000 MPR)?

[mod]

Can anyone recommend which MERV (MPR rating) I should get in air condition filters? Is there anything wrong with the lower end ones (for ex. MERV 5, 300 MPR) or should I go for the better ones (like MERV 11, 1000 MPR)?

I'm not an expert, but I was told that if no major allergy sufferers, get the cheap fiberglass ones and change monthly.

[CountValentine]

I'm not an expert, but I was told that if no major allergy sufferers, get the cheap fiberglass ones and change monthly.

What is changing them monthly going to do?
If you get the cheap ones you probably should change them less often as they are filtering a lot less particles.
https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/what-merv-rating-1#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20MERV%20rating%3F%201%20This%20value,filter%20is%20at%20trapping%20specific%20types%20of%20particles.

The higher MERV will restrict airflow so there is a lot of things to consider.

ETA: I use 11 but would not go below 8.
11 is for the upstairs addition furnace. For the main furnace I use a 13 in a air cleaner setup: https://www.airqualityparts.com/air-cleaners/media/aprilaire-3410-air-cleaner.html

[justaregularguy]

Can anyone recommend which MERV (MPR rating) I should get in air condition filters? Is there anything wrong with the lower end ones (for ex. MERV 5, 300 MPR) or should I go for the better ones (like MERV 11, 1000 MPR)?

I asked my friend who does hvac and he says the lower end ones are fine but he doesn’t know anything about the ratings part 🤷‍♂️

[yos9694]

Answers are going to vary but imo Merv 8 is a good balance between filtering and not choking the intake

[YitzyS]

I'm having an issue with my HVAC, and I'm hoping the collective knowledge here can help me.

The HVAC system in my house was running non-stop over Shabbos. (It's always on, but the temperature got hot the last day or so, and it didn't go off.) On Shabbos afternoon, the temperature on one of my floors (separate system for each floor) started rising, and I noticed that the airflow seemed weak.

After Shabbos, I gave the system a half hour break and changed the filter. Turned it on and it seemed to start cooling, only to taper off an hour or so later. So I shut it off for a few hours, and when I turned it on again, it doesn't seem to be blowing at all.

I looked by the unit, and it seems to be letting off a little water. There is a small amount of water in the basin in which the machine sits, but it doesn't even cover the entire floor of the basin.


Here is my uneducated hypothosis. Can anyone tell me if it makes sense? I think that maybe the unit froze (do indoor central units even freeze?) and that is why the airflow and cooling was restricted. A short break allowed some thawing, which is why it worked briefly after, until it froze again. A longer break allowed for more thawing, which released water, and it triggered the auto shutoff (I know there is an auto shutoff when there is water pooling in the basin.)

I know nothing about HVAC systems, and I would love to know if there is any way I can fix this without spending money on a repairman. TIA!

[aygart]

I'm having an issue with my HVAC, and I'm hoping the collective knowledge here can help me.

The HVAC system in my house was running non-stop over Shabbos. (It's always on, but the temperature got hot the last day or so, and it didn't go off.) On Shabbos afternoon, the temperature on one of my floors (separate system for each floor) started rising, and I noticed that the airflow seemed weak.

After Shabbos, I gave the system a half hour break and changed the filter. Turned it on and it seemed to start cooling, only to taper off an hour or so later. So I shut it off for a few hours, and when I turned it on again, it doesn't seem to be blowing at all.

I looked by the unit, and it seems to be letting off a little water. There is a small amount of water in the basin in which the machine sits, but it doesn't even cover the entire floor of the basin.


Here is my uneducated hypothosis. Can anyone tell me if it makes sense? I think that maybe the unit froze (do indoor central units even freeze?) and that is why the airflow and cooling was restricted. A short break allowed some thawing, which is why it worked briefly after, until it froze again. A longer break allowed for more thawing, which released water, and it triggered the auto shutoff (I know there is an auto shutoff when there is water pooling in the basin.)

I know nothing about HVAC systems, and I would love to know if there is any way I can fix this without spending money on a repairman. TIA!

Most likely froze over. Are your filters clean?

[YitzyS]

Most likely froze over. Are your filters clean?

Thanks!

Filter was not changed in about 3 months, but I changed it last night and it worked briefly after that.

If it froze over, I should just turn it off for a while and try again? How long does it take to defrost?

And if the water triggered the auto shutoff, do you know if I need to deactivate it, or will it work again as soon as the water is cleaned up?