It sounds like you have a 13SEER condenser tied into a 6SEER Evaporator. The SEER rating is the efficiency rating (the bigger the number, the more efficient). this also made it very hard to get a correct charge into your system because. I prefer to weigh in the refrigerant on heat pumps(condensers usually come charged with enough refrigerant for the entire system with 25' of line sets). Do you recall how much bigger your new Trane condenser was compared to the one that crapped out. The physical size helps with gaining the efficiency of the current EPA standards. Your new "more efficient" condenser is only more efficient when paired with the larger indoor coil made by trane (or other manufacturers). The main idea is to match the tonnage of the indoor and outdoor coils properly

It sounds like you probably got an R22 system. I don't recommend doing a refrigerent swap to the R-410A. If you want an R-410A system, then sell your two year old condenser and get a complete R410A system installed by someone that is:1 certified to install (licensed journeyman), and 2- R410A certified. R410A is a real delicate refrigerent, it does not hold up well against contaminates, it requires both Suction line and high line filter driers (I think).

I suggest to everyone that hates to pay for service calls is to find a local community college or trade school that has a refrigeration program and enroll in a night class or two. Look for classes like "fundamentals of refrigeration", "fundamentals of electricity"(95% if HVAC problems are electrical in nature), and "residential refrigeration". A good program will have "labs" where you'll be able to work on actual equipment in a learning environment. The school will probably offer some kind of EPA sec 608 certification class which (once completed) will allow you to purchase refrigerent. Then for the price of one major HVAC problem, you've learned how to fix almost any HVAC problem you could possibly experience for the rest of your life. You might say "who has the time for that???". I say that it takes time to make the money to pay for the service calls and those rates will never decrease. The proactive approach is to, at the very least, educate yourself on this topic (as it is probably attached to one of your largest investments) so you can at least spot the predators and idiots and put them in their place when they show up to your house wanting your money(that took time to make) to fix the problems that they made(when they didn't take the time to do the job right).

Sorry for the long response, I could type about this all day. I get really aggravated when bad HVAC techs get over on people. You should have never been sold that bad condenser without the bad evaporator that went with it.

 

It's twice as tall and 1/2 again as wide.

The physical size helps with gaining the efficiency of the current EPA standards. Your new "more efficient" condenser is only more efficient when paired with the larger indoor coil made by trane (or other manufacturers). The main idea is to match the tonnage of the indoor and outdoor coils properly

No I won't be swapping!!! I'll stick with the R22 for now.
Yea I know quite a bit about electrical and refrigeration and usually know enough to smell a "RAT". I smelled the RAT when the second repair man came and did not replace the reversing valve AFTER the first guy told me that the valve was the problem.

 

After thinking about it after my post, your system was overcharged because the larger condenser had a larger volume of refrigerant. Then the Rev Valve had to work harder going from the de-energized state to energized state causing its premature failure.

When heat pumps are installed correctly, they are the most efficient way to heat a home when the outdoor ambient temp stays above 40 degrees.

I just noticed you are in the DFW area. I got stuck in the DFW airport not once, but twice on the same trip a couple weeks ago. TG for all the Fridays in there, I made it to five or six of them.

 

New condenser on an old coil huh? I'd be curious to see what the Trane rep would say about warranty on that setup.

Best bet at this point is to find someone that knows what they are doing, and have them replace the indoor coil at least. My guess is if you get someone that knows what they are doing on site, they are going to find a host of other issues that need dealt with.

 

That's not entirely true if you have cheap gas and expensive electric. Our energy audits are showing a very fine line of a air to air heat pump being any advantage in our area.

 

Well considering that the installer was supposedly a TRANE certified installer I'd say that they need to honor the warranty or prepare for a lawsuit!!
I followed their suggestions to the letter.

 

50/50 whether or not the contractor you hired is an "authorized" dealer. No one uses the word certified for listing dealers anymore as it carries risk over to the manufacturer when the dealer screws up.

Unfortunately authorized or not, you got hosed by someone throwing a 13 seer heat pump on an unlisted coil. I guarantee you Trane isn't going to stand behind the equipment, the dealer will have to eat this one once the TM discovers there is no coil number listed with the job in their warranty database. It's just not going to happen. If you're lucky, the outfit that sold you the stuff will bite the bullet and make it right. I wouldn't count on it though, and would recommend you get it checked out by a good company.

Ask around until you find someone that is willing to check superheat, subcool, Total external static pressure, and probably run a manual J on your house to see if the thing is even sized right. If an outfit seems hesitant to check that out or tells you it's not necessary, don't let them in your home.

 

how many winter days and nights stay above 40 degrees in Wyoming??? Your in an area that gets a REAL winter. I can go almost 9 whole months in my area without thinking about the heat side of my system. I have never seen a chart that indicated that Wyoming was a good place for a heat pump. I would venture to say that only a geo-thermal heat pump would be sufficient for Wyoming.

I said efficient not the cheapest. The coefficient of heat from a heat pump is something around 3 to 1 where as the coefficient of heat from propane or natural gas is <1 to 1. Electric strip heat is 1 to 1. There is no gas furnace that has an AFUE rating of 100% or it would be 1 to 1 also. I learned all of that in a heat pump class back in 2004 from an instructor that was also factory certified to sell and service Carrier equipment.

A heat pump in the heat mode is only efficient when the outdoor ambient air temps are above 40degrees. The closer it gets to freezing outside the less heat the outdoor coil can absorb to send inside thus reducing the coefficient of heat and reducing the efficiency of the heat pump. That is also why most heat pumps cannot stand alone. A heat pump system will usually be paired with electric strip heat or a dual fuel system that utilizes a gas furnace. Unless you go geo-thermal, its not a good idea rely on a heat pump by itself for primary heat because when it gets too cold it just don't work well.

judging by your handle, I am sure you probably know hella more than I do about HVAC systems, especially whats going on in the trade today. I didn't stay in the trade long enough to be considered a good technician (I like installing kick EDIT systems) and I sure as heck didn't have the patience for R-410A. Sub-cooling, super heat, Delta T separates the boys from the men. R-22 and the temp pressure chart was more my style. So I bought an almost lifetime supply of the stuff.

 

You have to be an authorized dealer to purchase Trane equipment. Don't confuse that with someone who knows what they are doing.

Like I said earlier, and has been mentioned since...

Your 13 or 14 SEER outdoor unit with what is probably a cap tube style indoor coil just ain't right. TXV's are a wonderful thing!

The problem you run into now is the manufacturing of R-22 equipment stopped at the beginning of 2010. That chance of finding the correct size indoor coil that matches your outdoor coil may be slim to none. There are some leftovers, but they are few and far in between.

R-22 will still be manufactured and sold until 2020.

People are scared of R-410A because they don't understand it...plain and simple.

On the other topic...heat pumps will work well in many areas, even up North...provided you have a good backup or emergency heat source, be it fossil fuel or electric. A well insulated home is a must though.

I installed a heat pump in my house with my propane fueled furnace as the backup. We have 2-3 months max. where the O.A.T. is below 30* for any extended period of time. What we do have a lot of is 40-60* weather where you still need some heat, but a furnace designed to heat your house to 70* on a 0* day is wasting expensive fuel.

There is a lot more to it...but that's why they pay me the big money.

 

Ok After some research I've found that Direct Service Air Conditioning is not an authorized TRANE dealer. At least according to their website.
So now I gotta decide.
Do I call these guys and hope that I get the actual repairs that I expect, do I call a TRANE authorized dealer or do I call the man (retired independent) that I know will not cheat me and pay him for everything???
Not saying that an authorized TRANE dealer will cheat me but my initial cost might be less with him than a TRANE dealer.
Is it possible that a TRANE authorized dealer might warranty my unit going forward if I get the inside unit from them and get things done right.
FYI- weather has been good enough that I haven't called the other guys yet. I tried to contact TRANE directly but have yet to figure out how. They have a web based contact but for whatever reason it gave me a major headache trying to use it. I can't find a phone number for them.

 

It says they are...

http://www.directserviceair.com/OurServices.htm

 

Yea but the TRANE site doesn't list them. Got me scratchin my head????
Just really bother's me that they didn't change that reversing valve the last time out and now I'm stuck having to call them again.
Well that and the fact that they told me that I didn't need to replace the inside unit with the outside unit.
Granted I have gotten 2 yrs out of it as is but something I hate more than spending money is doing something more than once!!!
They'll have to drain the system to replace the reversing valve or to replace the inside unit.
Had they replaced it all the first time I possibly wouldn't be making this post right now. Could be that the reversing valve might have crashed anyway. If so there would be no doubt that the part is a warranty item. Now we have the uncertainty that the old inside unit could have caused the issue.

 

It is a situation that I run in to often...

I get called in to a job where the owner is not happy with the previous companies work...i.e. they spent a lot of money on something and their system is still not working properly.

If you are not happy with the company that you've been using, your best bet is to find one you are comfortable with. One that is going to stand behind their work.

When I go on a service call of this nature, I'll present the customer with what they need to make every thing work properly, and guarantee it. If they approve what I say and let me do the work, and they have a problem after that, I'm fixing it own my own dime, not theirs.

I'm not against slapping band-aids on things either. There is a time and place for it. But I will let them know and make them sign off on it as well.

This is just my professional opinion...but stay away from Trane and Lennox residential equipment.

 

You might be able to get direct service to right their wrong, but it will require a face to face visit with the service manager or maybe even the service managers manager at their location. You'll still have to pay for any parts that they install, but they look big enough to eat the labor on something they really screwed up on as a good faith effort to make your situation right. Then again they also appear big enough to not worry about a disgruntled customer.

There is no law against just selling a condenser, but a "TRANE dealer" should have known better.

Sounds like megacabdad has made a pretty good living picking up the disgruntled customers from companies like direct service. The larger service companies really focus on getting in and out because their overhead is enormous. Smaller Independents can make money doing it right everytime because the boss is usually out in field too and its usually his name on the door of the service truck.

 

We had the original Lennox electric furnace in our house for 26 years and only required one service call, well actually two. Then we had it replaced to get better efficiency and less future trouble.

We went with Lennox because we knew the owner of the company. He had done the previous service work and had installed other units in rental properties. He replaced everything, the elec. backup furnace, A coil, outside unit. Nice clean job.

In three years he has been here 4 times for service. (And two times was servicing and then replacing that switching valve!) Not his fault. Lennox just isn't the quality you'd be lead to believe. But what is your advise for future installations?