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    DougMcN's Avatar
    DougMcN Posts: 10, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Aug 15, 2007, 12:58 PM
    Added 135' AC space; affected Bedroom comfort level
    We enclosed a (roofed) patio last year. 135sq ft. Added 4 small windows and an entry door. Windows and door are doublepane glass. Added insulation in new wall and ceiling.
    Added a duct from the unit; this duct splits off from a "box" into two new outlets in the new, enclosed patio.
    Winter heat level is fine - all over the house including the new area.
    Cooling level in the Master Bedroom and bath has worsened considerably. (The average summer temperature in these two rooms is about eighty degrees. The rest of the house is about 75 degrees.)
    The air coming into the bedroom and bath is lower in volume and higher in temperature than in the rest of the house.
    An AC tech replaced the duct going to a "box" which splits off - one duct to the bathroom and one duct to each of two outlets in the bedroom. He said that the "box" is clear and the three split-off ducts are clear.
    The replaced duct did not solve - or help to solve - the problem.
    The tech says the unit is too small since we added the 135 sq ft.
    To test his theory I cut off the air supply to the added area by closing the installed damper in the new patio duct. I verified that it was closed by finding NO air coming out of the vents in the new area.
    The new area has two doors besides the new entry door. One door goes into the bedroom and the other door goes into the Den on the opposite side of the house.
    After cutting off the air, etc. I closed both of these doors also. This DID NOT lower the temperature in the Bedroom and Bath at all.
    This tells me that the problem is not a too-small unit because the environment after I did the above is exactly the same as before the 135 sq ft was added.
    CAN YOU OFFER SUGGESTIONS TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM?

    Thanks,
    Doug McNeill - Carrollton, TX
    acetc's Avatar
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    #2

    Aug 15, 2007, 04:47 PM
    Was the bedroom OK before the room addition?
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    #3

    Aug 15, 2007, 06:28 PM
    Yes, both it and the adjoining bathroom were very comfortable. Thanks for asking.
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    #4

    Aug 15, 2007, 06:32 PM
    Then what is different now in the duct work that may have been changed when adding the duct run to the patio?
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    #5

    Aug 16, 2007, 04:50 AM
    The tech that installed the new duct to the new area decided to replace the old duct that led to the Bedroom/Bathroom. At that same time, he looked at the "box" that services the Bedroom/Bathroom and said that it is clear.
    The new duct he installed didn't make any difference.
    The last thing he did was to install, what I think he called, a "spoon" that is intended to catch more of the air into the new bedroom/bathroom duct which he just installed.
    That didn't help either...
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    #6

    Aug 16, 2007, 08:09 AM
    So by replacing the existing duct to the bedroom he made it worse, did he enlarge the duct or stay the same size?
    Does the new room addition come off the same "box" as the bedroom duct ? Or are the ducts for the bedroom and patio independent and go all the way back to the plenum where the other ducts attach. A lot of times the person installing the new duct run will connect it to the nearest duct run to the room addition and this does not work, it only decreases the air to the room that was served by this duct and does not provide enough air for either space.
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    #7

    Aug 16, 2007, 10:03 AM
    So by replacing the existing duct to the bedroom he made it worse, did he enlarge the duct or stay the same size?
    NO, I DON'T THINK HE MADE IT WORSE; HE JUST DIDN'T HELP ANY.
    HE INSTALLED THE SAME SIZE AS THE ORIGINAL DUCT.

    Does the new room addition come off the same "box" as the bedroom duct ? Or are the ducts for the bedroom and patio independent and go all the way back to the plenum where the other ducts attach.
    THEY ARE TWO SEPARATE DUCTS - EACH WITH IT'S OWN "BOX."

    A lot of times the person installing the new duct run will connect it to the nearest duct run to the room addition and this does not work, it only decreases the air to the room that was served by this duct and does not provide enough air for either space.

    ONE THING I HAVEN'T TOLD YOU WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE SIGNIFICANT:
    THE HEATING/COOLING UNIT SITS IN THE ATTIC horizonally.
    THE DUCT GOING TO THE BEDROOM/BATH "BOX" IS MOUNTED IN THE PLENUM ON top OF THE PLENUM. THE OTHER DUCTS COME OUT FROM THE sides OF THE PLENUM.
    THE ADDED DUCT - GOING TO THE ADDITION - WAS also installed on top OF THE PLENUM.
    TO SUMMARIZE: I HAVE TWO DUCTS INSTALLED ON top OF THE PLENUM AND THE REST OF THE DUCTS, WHICH SERVE THE REST OF THE HOUSE, COME OUT FROM THE sides OF THE PLENUM.
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    #8

    Aug 16, 2007, 05:35 PM
    If this is one of those coils that is made of duct board and the coil is mounted inside the duct board coil/plenum then I can understand why you might not get air from this type of a coil, ( I am guessing you might have this type coil) A coil in one of these duct board plenums is "U" shaped and you would not get very much air out the top, see if they can put it on the side or end of the plenum.
    You can identify this coil because it is made of 1" thick fibre glass board , you will not see a coil case and a plenum (sheet metal box). Comes with a black plastic drip pan under it. This type coil is called All Style.

    I may be grasping at straws here but take a look and see if it looks like I described
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    #9

    Aug 16, 2007, 07:47 PM
    Here's what you sent: (I'm doing this for my benefit!)
    "If this is one of those coils that is made of duct board and the coil is mounted inside the duct board coil/plenum then i can understand why you might not get air from this type of a coil, ( I am guessing you might have this type coil) A coil in one of these duct board plenums is "U" shaped and you would not get very much air out the top, see if they can put it on the side or end of the plenum.
    You can identify this coil because it is made of 1" thick fibre glass board , you will not see a coil case and a plenum (sheet metal box). Comes with a black plastic drip pan under it. This type coil is called All Style.

    I may be grasping at straws here but take a look and see if it looks like I described"

    You're 'way over my head and I'm going to try to figure out what you're telling me and then see if it applies.
    (I don't even know what a coil is or what it looks like! How can I FIND this coil?)
    I'll be doing that tonight (It's almost 10:00pm here) and in the morning.
    And when I find out something - or I don't, I'll get back with you.
    Thanks again for your help!
    Doug
    Ps. Please tell me where to look to find the coil...
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    #10

    Aug 16, 2007, 08:13 PM
    Your furnace has a box attached to one side of it, the refrigerant lines connect to this box and the ducts that go to your rooms also attach to this box, inside this box is the air conditioning coil (evaporator coil) This coil looks like a car radiator, if this is a All Style coil it will be very shiney and will be made of fibre glass board (you could stick a knife through it but don't)
    It is not metal. The ducts will attach to this box and it will have a black plastic pan on the bottom of it, these coils are about 3 feet long and 18 inches high.
    IF this is the type coil you have then the coil is made in the shape of a big "U" and if a duct were cut into the top of this box it would be cut over the bottom of the "U" and the air would be restricted by the coil itself.
    You may not have this type of coil at all, this is the only coil that I know of that you should not cut into the top, this is why I mention it, good luck , Mike
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    #11

    Aug 16, 2007, 08:51 PM
    Thanks Mike,
    I think I'm beginning to understand what you mean!
    And I have a fellow church member who has been in the AC business but has been puzzled by my problem. I'll ask him about what you said. I know he'll know what you mean.

    As soon as I can talk with him and get his answer I'll get back to you. Hopefully this can be tomorrow.

    Thanks again - so much!
    Doug
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    #12

    Aug 17, 2007, 09:08 AM
    Hi Mike,
    I haven't been able to get with my friend yet.
    I have a JPG image of the unit that I'd like for you to see.

    I hope the attachment worked. It doesn't say anything about an error.

    Anyway, if you got it, you can see the plenum with all the ducts coming out of it. The Bedroom/Bath duct is the shiny one you see on top. The one going to the patio enclosure is just like it but is hidden by this duct.
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    #13

    Aug 17, 2007, 09:38 AM
    Great picture, you do not have a All Style coil, you have a slab coil. The only thing I might suggest is putting in dampers in the ducts to balance the amount of air to each area of your house. This is not expensive and culd be done at the plenum where the ducts attach. Mike
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    #14

    Aug 17, 2007, 10:37 AM
    OK Mike, so we're back where we started.
    We verified that when the new area is blocked off the rest of the house should have been as comfortable as before and it is NOT.
    Now all of the house is comfortable except the Bedroom and the Bathroom and we don't know why.

    Therefore, we're back where we started.
    Is this correct?
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    #15

    Aug 17, 2007, 06:49 PM
    Looks like we still have not hit on the problem, the reason I suggest dampers is to try and balance the air by partially closing the dampers to the other rooms and forcing more air to the bedroom and patio.By adding more duct to the system the air is going to take the path of least resistance and go out the shortest or closest duct, the ducts were sized to carry the amount of air produced by the furnace, by adding ducts now we need to dampen down on the other ducts to force the air out the new ducts,
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    #16

    Aug 17, 2007, 08:41 PM
    Yep, I just don't know what else we can do. I'm at a loss to understand why we can "set the environment" like it was and we don't see an improvement in the BR/Bath..

    Anyway, we gave it our best shot.
    Thanks again for your suggestions.
    Doug

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