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macgould10 · Mar 13, 2008, 09:13 AM

I have a 2 ton Payne heat pump that is truly living up to its name "Pain". It's performance is very inconsistent. 99% of the time, the heater runs constantly. It won't go into on/off cycles on its on. 1% of the time it will remember how to work correctly, and may cycle on and off a few times. That usually lasts a few hours, or a day at max. I've had at least 8 technicians out to my house trying to get to the bottom of what's wrong with this thing. The one technician said there was a "back feed" problem in one of my wires. He replaced the wires, but that did nothing. The last technician changed out the thermostat. That did nothing as well. I know very little about heaters except to know that a heat pump running all the time is not normal... something a technician tried to convince me of.

I'm having yet another technician out to my house on Saturday, and would like to have a few ideas as to what he should be looking at.

There is something odd about my system that I think may be a clue as to what's wrong with my heater. Here me it, I know its weird. This is actually the 2nd Payne heater I've had in less than a year. The first unit I got had to be replaced because of a faulty defrost system. The previous heater, and the one original to the house did go into on/off cycles consistently. What was unusual about them is that when the air blew the vents, it caused the main heat duct on my main floor to make an annoying rattling sound. One of the things that's different about my current heater is that it doesn't do that. However, there was this one day, about a week ago, that my current heater was blowing hard enough to make the vent rattle. Coincidently, the heater worked perfectly that day. It cycled on and off throughout the day just like a good heat pump should (and it wasn't even that warm outside). Unfortunately, the rattle went away by the end of the day along with the on/off cycles.

What would affect how hard my heater blows? Could that be a reason as to why my heater doesn't cycle on and off? Both of my previous heaters were 2 ton heaters as well.

hvac1000 · Mar 13, 2008, 11:17 AM

If you have has all those service people out to your house and they could not find the problem how are we supposed to when we are not there.

First contact a qualified heat pump service person.

Use the link below to find a NATE certified person to start with.

NATE - North American Technician Excellence

Next have them visit your home to find out what is going on with your system.

You obviously have a problem but to many items can cause this so I would be just guessing here.
Good luck with your repair..

macgould10 · Mar 13, 2008, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by macgould10

I have a 2 ton Payne heat pump that is truly living up to its name "Pain". It's performance is very inconsistant. 99% of the time, the heater runs constantly. It won't go into on/off cycles on its on. 1% of the time it will remember how to work correctly, and may cycle on and off a few times. That usually lasts a few hours, or a day at max. I've had at least 8 technicians out to my house trying to get to the bottom of what's wrong with this thing. The one technician said there was a "back feed" problem in one of my wires. He replaced the wires, but that did nothing. The last technician changed out the thermostat. That did nothing as well. I know very little about heaters except to know that a heat pump running all the time is not normal... something a technician tried to convince me of.

I'm having yet another technician out to my house on Saturday, and would like to have a few ideas as to what he should be looking at.

There is something odd about my system that I think may be a clue as to whats wrong with my heater. Here me it, I know its weird. This is actually the 2nd Payne heater I've had in less than a year. The first unit I got had to be replaced because of a faulty defrost system. The previous heater, and the one original to the house did go into on/off cycles consistently. What was unusual about them is that when the air blew the vents, it caused the main heat duct on my main floor to make an annoying rattling sound. One of the things thats different about my current heater is that it doesn't do that. However, there was this one day, about a week ago, that my current heater was blowing hard enough to make the vent rattle. Coincidently, the heater worked perfectly that day. It cycled on and off throughout the day just like a good heat pump should (and it wasn't even that warm outside). Unfortunately, the rattle went away by the end of the day along with the on/off cycles.

What would affect how hard my heater blows? Could that be a reason as to why my heater doesn't cycle on and off? Both of my previous heaters were 2 ton heaters as well.

I'm not looking for an exact answer to my problem... I'm really just looking for advice on some possible causes, or things I should have the technician look for. I don't feel as though the technicians are being thorough when they come and look at my heater. Most of them don't go any further than looking at the thermostat. This unit is under warranty so I'm pretty much stuck with the technicians that Sears sends out to my home. I would love to hire a technician to come out, but with having my electric bill more than double what it was a year prior, I am pretty much strapped for cash. Because the thermostat has already been replaced, that pretty much rules that out as the problem. What are some other things that could be causing this??

hvac1000 · Mar 13, 2008, 12:28 PM

((Sears sends out to my home))

I hate to tell you this but Sears has the cheapest and most untrained people in the HVAC business.

((I would love to hire a technician to come out, but with having my electric bill more than double what it was a year prior, I am pretty much strapped for cash))

You will continue to be strapped for cash because your electric bills will get no cheaper if Sears keeps working on the unit. In fact they may go up.

I only tell you the truth about your situation.

List of items that can cause your problem

Dirty air filter
Duct to small for your system
Improper refrigerant charge
Defective defrost system
Kinked refrigerant line
Noncondensibles in the refrigerant from not pulling a vacuum correctly or in the case of Sears possibly not doing it at all.
Leak in refrigerant system
Unit to small for the house
There are more but you have enough ammunition for them

Call sears and tell them they have failed to fix your system under warranty.
Tell them you want the system removed and your money back
Call the attorney general for your state and complain
Call the BBB and complain
Threaten to sue them and get there name in the paper.

There are more items you can do but once again you have enough ammo.

There service people are not going to listen to you since there company is not being paid to go back to your house every time you lodge a complaint.

I hope the situation is clear to you now.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

T-Top · Mar 13, 2008, 07:28 PM

If you have a house with substandard windows and very little insulation, With outside temps around 30 degrees, it will run all the time. Average temp(and I say average) is around 98 degrees supply air temp. You may have to small of a tonnage system or you may be to far north for the system to work the way it should.