AC Peoples...

[JohnOfSheffield]

Not sure...

Look at the indoor and outdoor modules or even better, in the manual, does it say "ion exchange" anywhere on it?

It probably is an ion exchange heat pump, it'll need to defrost every so often when used for cooling, especially in cold weather.

 

[Rubycon]

r22 - 300/150

22 can cool way lower than that. Probably a control restriction. If the humidity allows (proper enthalpy economizer) outside air can be used to cool the conditioned space as well.

 

[Toastedlightly]

http://www.longviewweb.com/pressure.php

If what Olds told us are pressures in inches of mercury, the refrigerant in the cooling coils (ones on the inside) are at ~60 F. That would limit how low you could effectively go with temperature.

I assume it is set at 66 F to ensure a very high load isn't placed on the motor.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

http://www.longviewweb.com/pressure.php

If what Olds told us are pressures in inches of mercury, the refrigerant in the cooling coils (ones on the inside) are at ~60 F. That would limit how low you could effectively go with temperature.

I assume it is set at 66 F to ensure a very high load isn't placed on the motor.

It goes lower in higher outside temperatures which is why i think it has to do with the defrosting.

Another thing to check is the mold and air filters on the inside unit, if they are clogged the fan won't circulate properly and you'll run into the defrosting cycle twice as fast.

I'm no expert at this, i just happen to have a few of them installed back home, mostly for heating.

 

[Toastedlightly]

It goes lower in higher outside temperatures which is why i think it has to do with the defrosting.

Another thing to check is the mold and air filters on the inside unit, if they are clogged the fan won't circulate properly and you'll run into the defrosting cycle twice as fast.

I'm no expert at this, i just happen to have a few of them installed back home, mostly for heating.

Umm....

The coil temperature is physically limited by the operating pressure within. Now I am not sure how the pressure is regulated, but I am assuming it is not going to change appreciably.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Umm....

The coil temperature is physically limited by the operating pressure within. Now I am not sure how the pressure is regulated, but I am assuming it is not going to change appreciably.

I get that but HE SAID that he achieved lower temperatures than 66F when it was warmer outside which is why i don't think the limit in the coolant is a problem.

If it is a vaccuum ion heat exchanger i don't think that 66 would be even close to a limit for such a setup except for when it needs to do defrost cycles often.

 

[Rubycon]

http://www.longviewweb.com/pressure.php

If what Olds told us are pressures in inches of mercury, the refrigerant in the cooling coils (ones on the inside) are at ~60 F. That would limit how low you could effectively go with temperature.

I assume it is set at 66 F to ensure a very high load isn't placed on the motor.

An R22 system running in a vacuum even on the low side is not normal. Those pressures would be in PSIG. R22 at +66F would be under approx 112 PSIG.

Never heard of ion heat pumps. Heat pumps need a defrost cycle because in the heating cycle the outdoor coil becomes the evaporator (opposite of air conditioning cycle) and will get below the frost point. During a defrost cycle the reversing valve is engaged (orange wire goes high) and the outdoor coil becomes the condenser. The outdoor fan is stopped as well to make the coil heat up faster. (rapid increase of head pressure)

Since the indoor coil is now the evaporator and is getting cold we don't want to blow cold air onto people (they don't like that!) so the AUX heat relay is called on to duty energizing strip heaters. Their function is to reheat the air so cold air is not felt from the registers. (it also makes your electric meter spin like crazy as 10+ kW sized strip heaters are not uncommon in a typical residential air handler with a heat pump!

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

An R22 system running in a vacuum even on the low side is not normal. Those pressures would be in PSIG. R22 at +66F would be under approx 112 PSIG.

Never heard of ion heat pumps. Heat pumps need a defrost cycle because in the heating cycle the outdoor coil becomes the evaporator (opposite of air conditioning cycle) and will get below the frost point. During a defrost cycle the reversing valve is engaged (orange wire goes high) and the outdoor coil becomes the condenser. The outdoor fan is stopped as well to make the coil heat up faster. (rapid increase of head pressure)

Since the indoor coil is now the evaporator and is getting cold we don't want to blow cold air onto people (they don't like that!) so the AUX heat relay is called on to duty energizing strip heaters. Their function is to reheat the air so cold air is not felt from the registers. (it also makes your electric meter spin like crazy as 10+ kW sized strip heaters are not uncommon in a typical residential air handler with a heat pump!

I've got some Sanyos ion exchange heat pumps, they don't have anything to heat the air though, it just blows really cold air right down (since it's wall mounted, it doesn't actually blow on anyone, just down).

 

[Rubycon]

Ouch that sounds rough.
Not as bad as a poorly regulated domestic hot water line when showering, but still bad.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Ouch that sounds rough.
Not as bad as a poorly regulated domestic hot water line when showering, but still bad.

I live in England, it's very rarely used and when it is, no one is sitting where it cools anyway, it just runs a couple of degrees lower than the regular air and since the insulation does it's job that's all the heat pump needs to do.

I don't get the point of cooling something so much that you need to heat it before releasing the air with the fan, wouln't it be better just regulate it so that it didn't cool it as much?

 

[Rubycon]

I live in England, it's very rarely used and when it is, no one is sitting where it cools anyway, it just runs a couple of degrees lower than the regular air and since the insulation does it's job that's all the heat pump needs to do.

I don't get the point of cooling something so much that you need to heat it before releasing the air with the fan, wouln't it be better just regulate it so that it didn't cool it as much?

It's a reversing valve that's either 1 or 0. Now one can get fancy with bypass valves and MXVs but that adds a lot of complexity to the system at a cost that would be prohibitive from a savings payback standpoint.

 

[thepd7]

Did you check for mice in the AC unit?

haha best answer ever

If you don't get a good enough answer from the AC people, try asking the DC people.

groan

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

It's a reversing valve that's either 1 or 0. Now one can get fancy with bypass valves and MXVs but that adds a lot of complexity to the system at a cost that would be prohibitive from a savings payback standpoint.

Ahh, so it's not at all like the ion exchange heat pumps then? It's either full on or nothing? That would suck, glad i don't have any of those.

 

[Rubycon]

Ahh, so it's not at all like the ion exchange heat pumps then? It's either full on or nothing? That would suck, glad i don't have any of those.

You have an inverter unit. The compressor motor is variable speed so it has a much wider capacity range eliminating the need for cycling on and off.