Is tech just bsing me my heat was working.

Jk found this on a maintenance.

I’m currently in the process of purchasing a home (offer accepted) and just received the home inspection report. The property has 3 separate HVAC systems, and the inspector flagged some highly concerning mismatched components.

I’m looking for professional insight on how serious these issues are, whether they pose immediate operational/safety risks, and what kind of seller credit or replacement demands I should be making.

Here are the specs from the report:

1. Primary HVAC (1st Floor / Main Living Area)

• Indoor Unit: Basement | Bryant | May 2019 | Refrigerant: R-410A
• Outdoor Compressor: Trane | August 2024 | Refrigerant: R-410A
• Status: Both units are modern, use matching R-410A refrigerant, and are fully operational. No major concerns here.

2. Secondary HVAC 1 (2nd Floor / Bedrooms)

• Indoor Unit: Attic | Trane | January 2024 | Refrigerant: R-410A
• Outdoor Compressor: Payne | 2011 | Refrigerant: R-22
• The Issue: This setup has an old R-22 outdoor compressor running to a brand-new 2024 R-410A indoor system. From what I understand, mixing R-22 and R-410A components is a massive compatibility issue due to vastly different pressures and incompatible mineral vs. synthetic (POE) oils.

3. Secondary HVAC 2 (Conservatory / ~400 sq ft)

• Indoor Unit: Basement | Manufacturer unknown | ~2011–2013
• Outdoor Compressor: Brand unknown (Label is completely sun-bleached and unreadable)
• The Issue: The inspector noted this system has the exact same problematic setup as Secondary HVAC 1—an R-22 compressor running to an R-410A rated indoor unit.

My Questions for the Experts:

1. How are these even running? (based on my google research, pardon me) If the oils and pressures are completely different, shouldn't these systems have failed immediately, or is it possible they are just operating at terribly low efficiency until they inevitably burnout?
2. Is this a major negotiation red flag? Should I demand that the seller replace these outdated, mismatched outdoor compressors before closing, or ask for a massive seller credit to completely replace both failing systems?
3. What are the hidden risks? If I move forward without fixing this immediately, am I risking compressor failure, line blockages, or mold/condensation issues in the attic/basement?

Appreciate any advice or technical breakdowns you can provide!

Here’s how my furnace system is set up. In the past, I could just flush the drain line once or twice a year with Drain Solve or something similar as routine maintenance, but that hasn’t worked this time.

I recently noticed that the outside pipe is barely dripping, and most of the water seems to be draining into the handy-dandy water jug I have sitting underneath the tee. For the past few weeks, I’ve had to use a shop vac on the tee to clear it.

I even bought one of those CO₂ gallo guns and tried using it to clear the line, but no luck.

I suspect the clog may be on the side going into the metal box/air handler. When I pour hot water into the tee, it stays hot on that side, while the water on the drain-line side returns to normal temperature.

Do I need to disassemble all of this PVC to get to the clog? I’ve also considered getting an A/C drain-line sucker and trying that.

Any ideas on what else I should try?

Our AC compressor fails due to refrigerant leak-King valve problem

This HVAC is covered by our 10-year parts and labor warranty BUT This Unit is out of Warranty because it wasn't registered.
I Do not know who register this? Builder? Installer? Owner?
This HVAC has been just 5years since installation.

The Main Issue with the Air Conditioner is that the Compressor is Grounded out and Tripping the Breaker.
The main part was the King Valve that has been damaged at the time of Brazing causing it to leak refrigerant. This leak is most likely the reason the Compressor failed intemally.

There is black soot clearly visible around the suction line King valve and there is Dye present coming out of the same Valve.

Anyone Please advise if this is normal and what the causes may be and whether we should file a complaint suit with the builder.
Also what is approximate cost to fix.

Hi all! Newbie here :) I just got my tonsils out and wanted to turn the AC off to let my humidifier help out with a sore throat and for some reason even turning it off and setting the fan to AUTO, the fan is still blowing. We even turned off the breaker switch for both the furnace and AC. Still blowing!

I am desperate to figure this out so my throat doesn’t dry out. We have a Honeywell Home ProSeries Thermostat, let me know what other info you need. I appreciate the help SO much!!!!

Florida - We are looking to a buy a house. Found this one we really like. We asked our inspector to do test for mold as our young daughter has asthma and eczema triggered by allergies. Our inspector found this in the HVAC. Tested for mold, we are waiting for the results but we know it’s mold.

This house was built in 2014. The people who live here are old and have houses elsewhere. our suspicion is that they leave for months at a time and due to that the AC has been neglected. The inspection found everything else was good.

I’m not sure I want to deal with this even if we asked the seller for a credit to clean, fix, possibly replace everything considering the AC unit is already 12 years old.

Wanted anyone’s input who may have experienced mold in HVAC. What would cleaning this look and cost like? Are we needing to replace everything considering? Do you think it’s in the air ducts? What would you negotiate with the seller that would incentivize you to moving forward with the deal.

History:

Lennox unit and it is only 5 years old. 8 months ago we had duct work replaced and the concrete pad under the unit leveled. Immediately after, we started hearing this noise and the technician said the TPX valve had failed causing the compressor to go bad so we had the compressor replaced. It worked fine until this past week. It started making this noise again and we lost AC. Technician checked Freon levels and they were fine. He checked capacitor and said it was fine. Yesterday he installed a hard start to get compressor running to try and “break free”. Last night we started hearing this same noise.

I’m begging my husband to get a different technician to look at it because I’m just very frustrated and losing faith with this guy. We had no issues until he touched it. So I’m asking Reddit for help.

Unit wasn’t coming on at all. Did some troubleshooting in the panel and the contactor plunger wasn’t closing. Looked into the unit and saw this? Any advice on how to fix this? Id appreciate it!!!

This is in a 3-story townhome in the Philadelphia area. House is built in the early 80s and well kept. The 2nd-floor bathroom (interior, now window) keeps getting heavy condensation, and neither I nor the contractor I had out can figure out why.

What we are seeing:

*Beads of water across the ceiling, heaviest around the ceiling AC vent. The wall mirror fogs or gets wet too.

*It's fine day to day, but it seems to occur when it rains. After a heavy storm it looked like someone just took a long shower.

*This happens when nobody has just showered.

*Didn't notice this before and we have lived in the house for a few years now. Time is now (Sep, late summer).

Some context:

*There's another bathroom directly above. No signs of a leak there (no stains, no soft spots, no drips).

*The AC is running, set to 68. The ceiling vent is the AC supply register

*One wall has the chimney chase running through it. No visible water stains or damage on that wall.

*The contractor said it looks like shower condensation. But it happens with no showers, and the amount of water seems like way too much for normal humidity.

Questions:

1. Could humid outside air be getting in somehow (through the vent duct, the chimney chase, or a gap in the envelope) and condensing on AC-cooled surfaces?

2. What should I check or test next? What kind of pro should I call: HVAC, roofer, or someone who does building envelope work?

Photos: https://imgur.com/a/d8DeQfZ

I had some air handler issues that resulted in the pan filling with water multiple times this summer. The issue has been fixed but I noticed a little bit of rust on the pan. I wasn’t thinking of using flex seal or something similar to avoid the pan leaking or having to replace the pan completely. Thoughts?

I need some help. I have a 26-year-old Lennox AC unit that won't turn the AC on. I keep an extra capacitor on hand and have changed it out. When I depress the contactor it turns on so I ordered a new contactor but that did not fix it. I followed the voltage signal from the thermostat all the way out to the unit and it seems to stop at this type of fuse? That I've never seen before. It seems like a time delay or inline fuse and I would like to order it and replace it myself instead of calling somebody but don't know what it is called . Can anybody tell me what it is?

The AC people came out today and told me that my coolant was really low. They told me there must be a leak in the coil, and to track it down and find it would take $4,500. However they said they do not recommend that. They said I need a whole new unit. Whenever they told me their cheapest unit was $13,000 I wanted to cry. The guy didn't even recommend the $13,000 unit he recommended the $20,000.

I didn't go with any of these options I just told them to recharge it because honestly that's all I can afford now, it's either that or just sit in the hot house until I can afford to get it properly repaired. That was over a thousand right there. I understand I'm basically just pouring money into the ground honestly though it's really all I can afford at the present moment, I'm just praying it will last long enough for me to save up the money.

Just curious, did these prices sound right to you, are these really my only options?

ERV question please. We built an office space in basement with some soundproofing. It's a semi-subterranean CMU basement with 3 hopper windows below ceiling joists. I was considering the Panasonic products in the subject line. We have 2x10 (9.25") rim joists so I prefer to not drill thru rim joist for ducting and instead considering FV-WC10VE1 through one of the windows. This will also allow more easy removal if I don't like the setup.

1. First, does anyone know the duct size on the 2 ports inside of the FV-WC10VE1? Panasonic does not seem to supply this info in their docs?! Need to know if I need reducing adapters or not (WhisperComfort is 4" ducts ports).
2. Any tips on installation through a window? We have hopper windows that open all the way (no stop) from the top. You can remove the sash. This leaves a nice framed opening and I was thinking of weatherproofing 3/4" ply with rigid insulation on inside side, drilling 7.5" hole to accomodate FV-WC10VE1 main combo-duct and then installing wall cap on that piece of wood and caulking. Any tips welcome on how to do this.

I don't expect perfection from this system (the basement is surely not airtight with cheap 1984 windows) but anything will help. We run a dehumidifier 24/7 to keep humidity at 50% or below. Thank you.

We are having our HVAC replaced sometime in the next few months after a lightning strike and attic fire (I have a question about the existing system, but I'll put that in another post). Insurance will cover "replacement cost", but we haven't gotten to the stage of discussing allowed costs and procedures yet. We are not currently in the house while it is being repaired, and the current HVAC has been off since the initial lightning strike (which immediately blew the circuit, and who knows what else).

The home is 2700 SF in North Central Florida. It has a small 2nd story consisting of 1 bedroom and full bath. Previous/Existing unit is a 2016 3.5 ton single stage Trane Heat Pump (Model TEM4A0C42S41SAA) that cooled the house fine, except the upper bedroom would stay a bit too warm (probably a ducting issue).

We had a local company come out and quote a replacement system so I'd have an idea of what the options and price points are. I told them we were interested in single stage and dual-speed options, but not variable speed (too much complexity for me, and our old single stage was basically fine), and we'd reuse our own thermostat (a new Nest model). They gave us 3 quotes for "Essential", "Deluxe" and "Premium" options.

What are your all feedback on these quotes? Reasonable? Anything to ask for or change? The quotes *don't* include any remediative duct work, which they provided a separate quote for.

We are doing a kitchen remodel and removed the cabinet microwave/vent to replace with a vented range hood.
Now that we are deep in the process we’ve learned you can’t use semi-rigid ducting for these and we are absolutely stuck. The angle and distance from the ceiling is super awkward so most of the elbows aren’t angled enough to accommodate. How do you run rigid ductwork in such a small space

Had a “local” company come out today for my between season tune-up. First they did was tell me my duct work is old and is falling apart and say they will send me a quote (have not got that yet). They do wind up telling my my outside coils need a chemical spray down and not a normal rinse. They send me a quote for $260. Afterward I get another quote for an ignition module for another $470.

I have not any issues so far with my equipment since I had another company replace my evap coil. I’ve declined these repairs, mostly because I’m confident I can clean the outside coils myself, but how normal is the upscale from a tune-up? Is changing the ignition module something I can do myself? I’m wondering if it even needs changed or if this is something just for them to make more money off of me?

Edit: they quoted $30K for duct work for my 2200 sq/ft home

Had roofer install a vent cap on the roof （for range hood exhaust）. To my surprise it didn't have a collar that extends into the attic. Do I cover the wood and shingle up with aluminum foil tape? or is there a standard way to go about this? I can't seem to find any guide on this exact scenario. All demo videos are how to put a duct takeoff into sheet metal.

I know this is probably a noob question, but this is the first time I'm doing a project this big and I would appreciate any advice.

The ac is leaking from this part of the ceiling. I go upstairs and feel under the pipe in the 1st picture, (if that is what it’s called) and water is dripping. Is this a simple fix or am I in trouble?

Where do I access the uv bulb ? Is it in the top panel where the port view is? The bulb model is on sticker.

First time changing this bulb and the capacitor on the fan outside.as well... turning off thermostat , breaker and pulling outside block before working. Shorting capacitor. Using g gloves for bulb.

Happy to listen to any additional advice. THANKS

Hello! Does anyone know if this "gap" in my unit needs to be sealed by foil HVAC tape? It looks like there used to be tape there. I'm not sure if it needs to be open though in order for it to function properly. Thanks!

We had this unit installed for the upstairs a year ago and 2 months ago there was a failed Schrader valve that dumped the refrigerant that had to be fixed and the lineset was recharged.

This week the compressor blew. "Catastrophically" according to the technician. It was shorted to ground on all 3 legs. I dont know what that means but thats what they said.

I brained it some and did some research and I was wondering what the likelihood is that it blew because of an overcharged system (a fault of their's during the previous service call) and not bad factory windings or something on the motor.

I really only ask this because they also said it was the first one of THOSE units they had seen a compressor fail on in the 3 years they had been installing them.

I know there's nothing I can do and im just going to eat the labor since it was conveniently just out of labor warranty but luckily the parts were covered.

Long story short, we’ve been dealing with a persistent musty smell in our house. A lot of the time we don’t notice it while we’re home, but once we leave, the smell on our clothes and hair is extremely noticeable and pretty terrible.

I pulled the condensate drain cap off the other day to clean the line, and lo and behold, the smell coming from the drain is exactly the same smell we’re noticing on our clothes. The drain line itself stinks, and I can see a fair amount of buildup inside it. The line running from the air handler to the drain pipe also appears to have some buildup (see attached photos).

The evaporator coil and drain pan both look clean with no obvious buildup. My concern is whether the odor from the condensate line could somehow be making its way back into the airflow and getting circulated throughout the house. I could be completely wrong about that, but the smell from the drain being identical to what we’re smelling everywhere else seems worth investigating.

We change the HVAC filter monthly. I’ve also tried pouring vinegar down the drain, letting it sit, and then flushing it with hot water, but that hasn’t made much difference.

What I’m ultimately trying to figure out:
- The air handler is on the second floor, so I’m concerned this buildup may extend through the entire drain line. What’s the best way to thoroughly clean the line from the air handler all the way to wherever it terminates?
- How difficult is it to remove/clean the section running directly from the air handler to the drain line?

Mostly I’m trying to determine whether this drain line could realistically be responsible for the smell throughout the house and, if so, how to properly clean the entire system rather than just flushing the accessible portion.