It's time for our seasonal maintenance on our HVAC and the company we have been using recently got bought out. They sent out this kid who looks like he should be in home room right now but at first I'm not too concerned.

Then he opens the HVAC closet and yells "Ain't no frickin way dude!". We ask if everything's okay and he doesn't answer but a few minutes later it sounds like he's decided to deconstruct my home and says "what the heck is that?!". Uhh... You'd hopefully know better than I would... I am absolutely petrified and glad it's supposed to be cool tomorrow in case this child can't figure out how to put this thing back together. No questions, just amused/ terrified.

I called out an hvac guy to the house to fix this heater in our back room. It was added from previous homeowners (I don’t know how old) when they turned the all season porch into a finished living room. There is no central air going here and it gets cold in the Midwest winter.

The unit stopped lighting, it had a gas line and small flame that kicks on blowing heat into the house. It tries to light but no flame kicks on.

What is this heater and is it fixable? It worked so well when it was working and don’t want to replace if I don’t have to.

My hvac guy says my heat exchanger is cracked, I don’t believe him. Is he trying to scam me

This is on a Tempstar furnace. Tech's report states: "During the heat exchanger inspection, multiple cracks were identified around several eyelets. These cracks compromise the heat exchanger integrity and make the furnace unsafe to operate due to the potential for combustion gases, including carbon monoxide, to enter the household air. "

Based on the photos, would you agree that a furnace replacement is the only option?

Thanks for any help!

Had a HVAC inspection set up through a company that had a rep at Lowe’s. He came out and said this may be a crack in the heat exchanger. The entire scenario was very high pressure and the reviews on the company are mostly fake 5 star reviews or 1 star reviews that the company engages in scammy practices. As far as I know he didn’t do any other pressure tests to determine leakage. Quoted me 4K to replace the heat exchanger (which may be under warranty - XV80 Trane from 2012 - and a failing leaky capacitor (which seemed legit).

Curious whether this is the right test and trying to get a second opinion about whether this could be legit.

Thanks in advance!!

We have a gas pack unit that is about 20 years old. Our regular HVAC company came by for the routine fall maintenance and the tech said this rusting meant the gas flame could no longer be contained, so he turned the gas off and recommended we replace the unit. As far as I know he didn't test the flame.

We have a home warranty (scam, I know) that I contact to see if they would cover any of the cost. The tech that came out said they don't service those kinds of units (always the case), but in his opinion the unit is fine. That the coils are all intact and that's what matters. That's such a different story than what I was expecting that I am questioning things now.

We'll end up getting a third opinion in a few days by default as the warranty company theoretically sends out a qualified tech to look at it seriously.

And so I turn to the internet for random opinions.

I'm a very skilled tradesman in industrial maintenance and am good with tools.

My biggest concern is dealing with the ac coils. I have the coils in the AC unit replaced 5 years ago. The furnace is 25 years old

My wife and I just found out our baby has a low allergy with pet dander and was told to get an increased UV filtration system to add to our current HVAC system. I’m not sure what that means or even what to look at. Is there something we can do to our current HAVC that would help decrease our pet hair/dander? It’s not a severe allergy but does irritate a little bit so we wanna try everything we can before thinking of re homing our dog.

Curious of everyone’s thoughts here - I had a E298 error (no power) show up on my main floor thermostat with the AC not functioning.

Checked the feeder breaker - all good.
Checked the outside condenser wiring - seems good
Checked the condensate line and noticed water was dripping - seems good.

Opened the furnace panel and checked the control board 3A fuse and that was good. What I noticed was when reinserting the fuse the unit started back up then turned off. I looked and there was a bunch of tape on the panel switch holding it closed.

I pulled the tape off then pressed the button and the unit started working as expected. I didn’t want to touch anything until I removed feeder power so I put the panel back on and let it go overnight and it has been working ever since. Just now i received another E298 error for about 30 min then it recovered shortly after. I don’t see any error codes on the control board and am suspecting an intermittent access pane switch. Curious of everyone’s thoughts.

Hi, I’ve received a quote of £8,950 for four Daikin Perfera 2.0 kW units across four bedrooms, connected to a single multi-split outdoor unit. I’m based in Berkshire and just wanted to get your opinion on whether the price seems reasonable for this setup?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice regarding my gas furnace and would appreciate a second opinion from experienced HVAC technicians.

During my annual maintenance, the technician used a borescope and showed me what he said was a crack in the heat exchanger. Based on his findings, he shut the furnace off, stating that it was unsafe to operate.

I have attached the photos he shared with me. Could anyone experienced with furnace inspections please take a look and let me know whether the images clearly show a crack in the heat exchanger, or whether it could be a seam, discoloration, corrosion, or something else?

I also had another technician inspect the furnace, but he did not have a borescope available that day. He mentioned observing draft/air-pressure readings but was unable to visually confirm the suspected crack.

The heat exchanger is still under the manufacturer’s warranty, but I’ve been quoted approximately $3,000–$4,000 in labor alone to replace it. I’m also being quoted for a complete furnace replacement.

Before making such an expensive decision, I would like to understand:

1. Do these photos provide convincing evidence of an actual crack?
2. Is there a reliable way for another qualified technician to confirm the diagnosis?
3. Is replacing the heat exchanger alone worth considering at that labor cost, or would a complete replacement generally make more sense?

I understand that photos alone may not be enough to make a definitive determination, and I’m not looking to operate an unsafe furnace. I would simply appreciate professional opinions on what is visible in the images and what additional inspection might be appropriate.

Thank you for your help!

I have a branch that is 12x8 sq duct, now I want to supply it from underneath with an 20x8 duct that runs perpendicular. My thoughts were to just stack them on top of each other with a hole cut out.

Is that too much turbulence? How would you ordinarily connect them?

It's for a ducted heat pump.

It’s a 3-year-old unit with no issues, but I was thinking about pouring some vinegar down the line. First, is what I’m seeing normal? Second, where exactly should I pour the vinegar?

I have a relatively new house, only about 4 years old, with a 4-ton Rheem single stage unit currently installed. The house is insulated with spray foam and has an outside air return on the system, but there's no damper installed. I live in central Texas, where the humidity is quite high. About two months ago, while inspecting the attic, I removed the panel from my unit and was shocked to find standing water inside and mold growing in the supply plenum.

I suspect the unit installed by the home builder wasn't set up properly. For some reason, it doesn't drain correctly. Although the condensate line isn't clogged and water does drain out, it seems like the cooling coil is leaking into the unit, and not all the water makes it to the drain. It even looks like water is splashing inside, and the cooling coil is already corroding.

I've had several AC companies inspect the system, and at this point, I just want to replace it with either a 2-stage unit or a variable capacity unit. My main concern is reducing the humidity in the house. Do you think the extra cost for the variable capacity unit would be worth it control the humidity?

I received two quotes—one for a Lennox Elite Series variable-speed unit and another for a two-stage Lennox Merit system. The company also plans to replace the supply and return plenum and install a humidity sensor and damper for the outside air.

Do these quotes seem reasonable?

I have an American Standard 2 ton inverter system controlled by an acculink 1050 thermostat. Currently set at 410 CFM / ton. I have an in-line dehumidifier (dead, getting replaced) that is controlled by a separate humidistat.

I know the 1050 can control the dehu, but I would like advice on whether this is the best way to go. The dehu (Trane 90 pint) has decent CFM (320 CFM at 0 static pressure) so it doesn't absolutely need the main fan to disperse air. Also the acculink won't run the dehu at all unless the last call was for cooling. The house is unoccupied a lot so humidity can build up on cool, wet winter days.

Any thoughts?

I help manage a small, older motel, and we’re trying to replace the loud wall units in a handful of rooms. I expected it to be a pretty straightforward swap, but the quote I got has me second-guessing the whole thing. The contractor walked me through a few packaged terminal heat pump options, which was helpful. The part I’m unsure about is the wall sleeves. He said some of the less expensive PTHP units might not fit the existing sleeves cleanly, so there could be extra labor in each room for sleeve modifications, sheet metal work, sealing, and drywall cleanup. I understand that not every unit will be a perfect slide-in replacement, and I’m not trying to cut corners if it could lead to water leaks or airflow problems later. At the same time, I don’t want to save a little on the equipment only to spend more cutting into walls, disturbing old finishes, and turning this into a much bigger project.

I’m working on a Payne 80 that’s not making any sense. The igniter lights, gas valve clicks and opens. The burners light then fizzle out. However, as you can see in the video, it’s not any sensor as it’s consistently sending 24+ volts to the gas valve as the pressure drops. I changed the gas valve thinking that was it but it’s still having issues. Inlet pressure is high (12.9) and outlet (3.27) is a bit low but both are within the tolerance. It seems like a gas pressure issue but it just doesn’t make any sense. Any advice is appreciated.

I had an hvac guy come out and check out my system. I took a picture of the readings. He was saying I was under a lb low of refrigerant and that it would be 300 dollars to top it off. I didn’t have him top it off because it seemed like he was trying to sell me the top off. Was the guy being honest or just trying to make a few extra bucks?

I have a steam radiator system, powered by oil. My oil tank is rusting on the bottom and it is definitely time to replace the tank. My Smith cast iron boiler is about 14 years old, and my Bock 50 gal hot water heater is about 11 years old.

I already have gas lines running into my home for stove, fireplace, and dryer - since the tank needs to be replaced anyway, is it worth just switching to gas at this point rather than replacing the tank? The cost to replace the whole system (with permits, new Burnham IN6 steam boiler, Bradford 50 gal hot water heater, chimney flue, etc) is $19k.

By the way, I do have 4 Fujitsu mini splits in my house, which offer both AC and heat. However, I don't know how efficient they are when the temperature gets really cold and there's not enough of them to use them as primary heat source.

Good afternoon!

I’ve bought a used home, and the ac does not appear to engage the blower motor. I’ve been looking for a low voltage fuse, but been unable to locate.

Any advice as to why it’s giving me a error of “no power”

Is ALL water supposed to flow through the PVC pipe and be shot out through the pump?

I wanted to have a spare capacitor ready for a Trane air conditioner. The label shows 45+5 uF +10/-5%. I see a lot of capacitors online with +/-5% or +/-6%.

How important is the +10% and can can I get by with +5%?