In this month’s troubleshooting problem, you’re responding to a complaint that the temperature in a house is too warm. When you call ahead to let the customer know you’re on the way, they provide the additional information that “something is running,” but the temperature just continues to rise.
This month’s troubleshooting situation involves an air-to-air, package unit heat pump that is approximately 8-years old, and the customer’s complaint is that, rather than providing cooling, it’s just blowing warm air.
The equipment in this month’s article is a two-stage air conditioning system. The operating conditions are high ambient, and the customer’s complaint is that there is no cooling.
In this troubleshooting situation, the equipment is a walk-in refrigeration system in a busy restaurant that has experienced a compressor failure…specifically a mechanical failure.
In this troubleshooting situation you’re called out to a tavern to check on a beverage storage unit that, according to the complaint, is “not keeping things cool”.
This troubleshooting problem involves a 5-ton, R-22 rooftop air conditioning unit, and the customer’s complaint is that on days when the ambient temperature exceeds 90°F, the system doesn’t keep the store, which was recently remodeled, comfortable even though it seems to be running continuously.
In this troubleshooting situation, the customer is complaining that their comfort cooling system isn’t performing as it should. Their description of the problem is that the house always seems to be too “sticky”. They also say that the problem seems to be especially evident when the outdoor ambient reaches its highest level in mid-afternoon.
This troubleshooting situation has a history. In the six years that the up-flow gas furnace in this three bedroom house has been in service, several attempts have been made to solve the problem of one bedroom that, according to the customer, is always too cool during the heating season. This residence is a brick home on a slab, and the air handling system, which located in the crawl space above the ceiling, is shown in Figure One.
This month’s troubleshooting situation involves an up-flow gas furnace that serves as both the heating source in the winter and as the air handler in a split system for cooling in summer. The condensing unit is on a pad next to the building on a concrete slab. Since there is no crawl space or basement, the connecting tubing and wiring for the condensing unit are routed through an underground chase from the equipment room to the outside.
The equipment in this month’s troubleshooting problem is a forced-air electric heating system with five resistance-type elements, and in order to ensure that this equipment can operate with maximum efficiency and prevent an electrical system overload on a call for heat, a multiple-step sequencer system employed.
