YA Airconditioning Thread: House smells like dust / smoke - AC is on.. its barely cooling..

[The Stigenator]

I know its hot in LA, for some reason it smells like dust / smoke..

Any idea what's going on.. ?? the system was checked last year. Its blowing cold air, but not what I am expecting it. I wish it would cool down a bit more.

I can try replace the filter, i assume its on the air return. My parents are in Alaska, so im not sure what goes where, but i assume the filter is on the top of the stairs.. what looks like an air return.

 

[rudeguy]

shouldnt the filter be on the intake?

 

[dirtboy]

Just take the filter out, which won't hurt anything. Throw it away and go buy the exact same sized one from the hardware store. Most cheap fiberglass filters are less than $1.

The other thing you can do is turn off your a/c. Then go outside to the unit and hose down the fins. Dirt gets trapped in the radiator and will prevent it from cooling as good as it would when it's cleaned out. Same goes for car radiators.

 

[The Stigenator]

Originally posted by: dirtboy
Just take the filter out, which won't hurt anything. Throw it away and go buy the exact same sized one from the hardware store. Most cheap fiberglass filters are less than $1.

The other thing you can do is turn off your a/c. Then go outside to the unit and hose down the fins. Dirt gets trapped in the radiator and will prevent it from cooling as good as it would when it's cleaned out. Same goes for car radiators.

the AC unit is on the roof, to get there, its almost impossible, but this being a town house I will need the keys to the roof. I am not sure where my mom has kept her stuff, got to ask the neighbour when they get back. I believe we have replacement filters in the garage.. im going to try replacing it in a few.

 

[The Stigenator]

i just changed the filter.. doesnt seem to help.

I am beginning to think i need to call American Home Insurance and have them come and have a look. Its blowing cold air, but not like how it used to blow. I am wondering if its low on its refridgerant. The thing with this system, being on the roof, you cant hear it, if its malfunctioning. On top, its a combined heating + cooling system.

 

[MikeMike]

call the local AC guys, why AHI?

MIKE

 

[The Stigenator]

Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
call the local AC guys, why AHI?

MIKE

cause we have insurance with them. Among other things, they are to fix "equipment failures". Which means if the AC goes bezerk they are to come and fix it. I only pay them 40 bucks for it. I believe they cover the AC/Heater, Kitchen Stuff, Plumbing, Fridge & washer/dryer.

A local AC tech will charge a lot more to do that.

It seems to have reduced a bit in smokey smell.. let me go upstairs and smell.

okay it smells a bit better now.. maybe it was teh filter that needed replacing (though it didnt look dirty). I put in a 3M filter over the other crap that was in there (glass fiber).

im going to run it for a bit longer and see what happens.

 

[flot]

It sounds plausible that you might have managed to turn the heat and A/C on at the same time - is there any way for you to check that that is or isn't the case? (could be a malfunctioning thermostat etc, but some of them have digital readouts that might indicate which mode it thinks it is in)

 

[The Stigenator]

Originally posted by: flot
It sounds plausible that you might have managed to turn the heat and A/C on at the same time - is there any way for you to check that that is or isn't the case? (could be a malfunctioning thermostat etc, but some of them have digital readouts that might indicate which mode it thinks it is in)

last week in an attempt to turn off the AC i accidently went to the heat mode (switch) and then when i tried to get back to OFF, it went back to AC, and then it went back to heat and finally to OFF.

All in a span of 2 seconds or so.. I dont know if that caused this smoke.

I want to replace this thermostat with an digital one. Any idea how to replace the manual one (big square block with a dial on it) with a digital one. I am sure its a matter of wiring up. I am not sure if I will need an seperate power line, which in case would be a bit too much for me to handle.

 

[The Stigenator]

well the house seems to smell a bit better..

lets see how the evening goes.

 

[TekViper]

Originally posted by: The_good_guy


okay it smells a bit better now.. maybe it was teh filter that needed replacing (though it didnt look dirty). I put in a 3M filter over the other crap that was in there (glass fiber).

I hope i am reading this wrong and that you did not put in 2 filters at the same time.

Another thing you can check is to make sure the evaporator is not clogged up with dirt. if the system has run on a dirty filter or no filter it will clog up and you'll get very poor airflow. Im not sure what kind of setup is in your house and if you have access to it or not. Find the refrigerant lines somewhere in the house and trace them to the evaporator.

 

[The Stigenator]

Originally posted by: TekViper

Originally posted by: The_good_guy


okay it smells a bit better now.. maybe it was teh filter that needed replacing (though it didnt look dirty). I put in a 3M filter over the other crap that was in there (glass fiber).

I hope i am reading this wrong and that you did not put in 2 filters at the same time.

Another thing you can check is to make sure the evaporator is not clogged up with dirt. if the system has run on a dirty filter or no filter it will clog up and you'll get very poor airflow. Im not sure what kind of setup is in your house and if you have access to it or not. Find the refrigerant lines somewhere in the house and trace them to the evaporator.

Well its not easy to find the stuff.You need to get to the roof to get to it. Its a forced air cooling system. Meaning it forces air down. The system is an integrated system, the blower, heater and cooling is all in one unit (from what i remember). I wonder if there is dirt in there, i cant check it at this point cause the neighbour isnt back and i cant find the keys to the stairs to go up and look.

edit: i took the old glass fiber filter out and put the 3m one in.

 

[sillymofo]

You can't expect it to cool down when you just turn it on, with central air, you'd want to leave it on auto at a set temperature. This would saves you greatly in the long run.

 

[The Stigenator]

Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
You can't expect it to cool down when you just turn it on, with central air, you'd want to leave it on auto at a set temperature. This would saves you greatly in the long run.

i know i know.. i usually dont set it below 76F.. It was 88F when I got home this afternoon but it barely cooled then. Now with the new filter it seems to be cooling. BUt then its gotten cooler outside. It was close to 100 outside today. I set it at 80 and let it run, its now at 76F and running fine.. its cooling and the smoke smell seems to have gone away for the moment.

 

[sillymofo]

Originally posted by: The_good_guy

Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
You can't expect it to cool down when you just turn it on, with central air, you'd want to leave it on auto at a set temperature. This would saves you greatly in the long run.

i know i know.. i usually dont set it below 76F.. It was 88F when I got home this afternoon but it barely cooled then. Now with the new filter it seems to be cooling. BUt then its gotten cooler outside. It was close to 100 outside today. I set it at 80 and let it run, its now at 76F and running fine.. its cooling and the smoke smell seems to have gone away for the moment.

Dude, 80 is toooooo high... it's good if you set it for 72-77.

 

[imported_weadjust]

Don't call the American Home Insurance Co. Waste of time for you and adjuster. Insurance doesn't cover maintenance.

The adjuster will just come out and tell you it's not covered under your policy and my (our) premium goes up due to claims cost.