HVAC Techs Battling Antique Equipment
HVAC technicians are frequently encountering older, unreliable equipment leading to unexpected repairs and downtime. Common issues include failing blower motors, contamination of refrigeration systems, and persistent leaks that require significant troubleshooting.
SOURCES (60)
“This is my first time making a reddit post other than for a comment. If anyone would take a minute to verify my work or give a pointer I would greatly appreciate it. Earlier this summer my condenser stopped blowing cold air in my house…”
“Do you think this repairable? HVAC tech said they had to replace compressor to fix leak, but said it is right at the fitting of the compressor submitted by /u/lurker436 [link] [comments]”
“That pump is attempting to engage but cannot due to an obstruction , perhaps a broken impeller or something. You will have to replace it.”
“First thing is to address the condensation issue. Have filters with drains and a drip leg. I have over a decade of experience in industrial and manufacturing of air compressors. Everything leaks, this is not the problem here.”
“Pictures from earlier this year. Washer has spent a hard outdoor winter and my guess is my laborer did not follow directions on winterizing, and I am just a daggone fool for accepting his word that it went well and as expected. I found the unloader knob on the ground by the tires. I rethreaded this thing in, but could not get any water out of the hose. I put it all down that day as I had no time to actually think about it. 4 months later, and I see one o-ring on the unloader knob is junk, but am”
“The unit is a heat pump and keeps leaking freon. is there an easy way to tell where? it is getting expensive topping it off submitted by /u/No-Blueberry-1823 [link] [comments]”
“Hello! I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I've tried two different gas lines and they both leak from where the yellow part meets the connector. I thought the first one was defective, but since the second one is doing the same thing, it's probably just me. Any ideas? submitted by /u/GrapefruitTime1420 [link] [comments]”
“My hoses are starting to leak so it’s time to replace them. I need suggestions on what you guys use that are reliable. submitted by /u/TimothyHVAC [link] [comments]”
“AC system leaked and had to replace a section of my ceiling. I had a guy come out and this is the job he did. How bad is it and what can I do to fix it? submitted by /u/AbbreviationsGold587 [link] [comments]”
“Its impossible to tell from that picture. My first guess would be the icemaker line, if the red waterline is not the icemaker. Maybe a hosebib? Its something that needs cold water If that is a brass shutoff valve in the middle you can turn it off and see what stops working. If its some sort of appliance that will suffer damage from not having water supply thats a risk”
“Been an issue the last couple days. Had this system for four years with no issue. Developed an internal leak out of nowhere. Draining a good bit of water. submitted by /u/orange-n-blu [link] [comments]”
“Both upstairs bedrooms in our 1920's house still have the original giant cast iron radiators and up until 6 years ago were still being used to provide heat. One of them rusted through one of the coils and the other leaks at the very rusty looking fittings so I had to close the valve for the upstairs heating loop. These radiators were probably sized for a steam system or something that doesn't get nearly as hot as the ~20 year old boiler the previous owners put in along with baseboards fo”
“Anyone run in to one of these before? It’s at least from 82 before Trane bought them submitted by /u/Terrible_Awareness_4 [link] [comments]”
“Two systems one carrier and one Armstrong. Years with no maintenance on both. Specimen samples in filter and strainer on one. Then soot buildup on another. Fun day so far. submitted by /u/Heatermanbackup [link] [comments]”
“New homeowner here- I've been collecting quotes for a replacement of the ac & furnace and my ac system (pictured) has had the following reactions: Holy shit that's old That thing came off the Mayflower Going to need to dig into the archives to find parts for this one (he was unsuccessful) Yikes As far as I can tell it's from the mid 80's and the furnace is from the early 90's. But I'm curious as to what some of the oldest systems you all have seen? submitted by”
“Question for the techs out there.. in your own home when you are footing the bill... how far would you go repairing your own system? A little history on myself. I've done "simple" HVAC repairs on my system and families. I really enjoy it. But my repairs have been limited to system diagnosis, charging for minor leaks that take a year or so to make themselves a problem, and component replacements (electronic boards, sensors, etc). Over time I have purchased all the equipment/training”
“To piggyback here, this is a combi unit so it has to be descaled on both the heating side and the DHW side. Also the plumbing of the auto fill is going to give you pressure issues in the boiler side, come back to this post when you start seeing error code e351. The expansion tank and air separator on system supply is a bit far from the stainless manifold per manufacturer spec, could lead to overheating issues in relation to water pressure issues. Also from this angle I'm not seeing any therm”
“Neighbor recently lost their AC and I offered to help them out since they really don't have the money for a new system right now, locked as shit 24k BTU recip compressor in a 2.5T Ameri Std package heatpump. I had a 3 Ton compressor (29k BTU Scroll) out of an old 3T York that had recently had the compressor replaced before other shit failed in it leading to a system replacement. So I figured screw it ill do a lil repipe and put that scroll in their system at cost for my supplies. Did the swa”
“Found this beauty this week. Replacing leaky sight glass, bad service valves and new charge. Returning tomorrow for start up, co2 tank is empty right now. A year ago I would have (and absolutely have) had a panic attack lol. It was a fun job for sure, the only information anywhere on that entire pad/tank was stamped into the body of the compressor. If your new or newish to the field, always remember, you may not be confident about what’s in front of You, but be confident you’ll figure it out. &#”
“Last week our HVAC stopped working at my shop, while it was 100 degrees outside. Tech said it was the TX valve and it was blocked so I spent 1,300 for them to replace it. This week it still isn't hitting the right temperature, so they checked again and a Schrader valve is leaking? They put a cap on it but told me it would just be temporary. The fix was quoted at $700-$1,100. How quickly do I need to get that together before the cap stops working? submitted by /u/GoblinGarbage [li”
“Hello all! My first post on [ r/HVAC ]( r/HVAC ) ran into this guy today. Was manufactured 06/2002 quite literally the month and year I was born. Cap and contactor replaced 5 years ago. Fan motor is leaking but besides that. Still running like a champ! this was a maintenance call customer didn’t want to replace the fan motor submitted by /u/ScrubLif3 [link] [comments]”
“I'm house hunting and came across this behemoth in a basement of a house built in 1913. I cannot imagine what the heating bills would be! submitted by /u/313forlife [link] [comments]”
“The ac in my dinosaur unit has been out all month. I just want it fixed but instead I almost have my home burned down by maintenance. submitted by /u/Zetta_Stoned [link] [comments]”
“Got a new unit this year and want to take care of it. Any winter cover recommendations, if any? submitted by /u/Southern_Jury_8204 [link] [comments]”
“Found leaking in our heater this evening and can’t find the source of it. I tried to get decent photos, so apologies if they’re not great. We changed out the filter recently and checked on it; turns out it was soggy and wet. We opened up the only spots that we could, but couldn’t find anything. Any ideas as to what could be happening? My husband and I are both unemployed right now so we would loveeee to not have to sink money into this, if that’s even possible 😭 submitted by /u/Invo”
“I pulled a water heater last week that was installed in 1963. It lasted 63 years!!”
“Got an estimate to replace my 28 year old Bryant furnace today. It seems the estimate is for a lower capacity furnace. Does this seem right? submitted by /u/Extreme_Raccoon_8736 [link] [comments]”
“Such a pain in the ass to wrestle these through the 90’s. What’s your guys worst experience with sealtight? submitted by /u/Aidsaidsaids4 [link] [comments]”
“Just wanted to put a thank you up on here. My AC wasn't blowing cold, so I came on here and went through some old posts, and got some great advice. I just swapped my capacitor out for 20 bucks, fired up the AC, and it's blowing cold again. I'm a contractor, but I've never messed with any HVAC, so you guys saved me a few hundred bucks. I felt like that was worth a couple minutes of my time to thank everyone who takes a couple minutes of theirs, to help people like me. submit”
“Hello. I apologize for the double posts. I made a prior post this morning about a potentially leaking regulator valve. The picture is near a gas furnace/air handler system in my attic. A gas company sent an inspector out, and they replaced the regulator valve. I have a home detector. When they left, everything seemed fine. I have walked back into the attic to check, and when holding the detector over the small, tiny holes on the bronze hex valve, it goes off. This only happens over the holes. I’”
“If 99% of people in the industry can't or won't fix it then it's not unneeded. Are you going to warranty it? If that broke what else is going to break and when. These things aren't made to last. It's the planned obselesence thing you ignored. They're going to pay you to fix something that's a piece of shit and then be paying you to fix it again in 4 months. Better to not be a cheap ass and replace it and not deal with it again. Most things like this aren't made to”
“I posted yesterday about a leak I’m having on an 8 year old Goodman 2.5 ton unit and got a quote from what I now know is a PE-backed shop (recent acquisition) for complete unit replacement. Yikes. Second opinion came, I actually can’t confirm whether or not they are PE-backed but they confirmed a coil leak for me and also jumped straight to new unit. Quoted me a replacement at $6k, said they couldn’t give me an itemized quote. The tech also threw in the whole 410A of it all, but I’m a noob and u”
“Out of those three, Bradford White seems like the pretty clear consensus. Also kind of funny that John Wood vs AO Smith isn’t much of a comparison.”
“My 14 year old Trane heat pump with natural gas back up needed a new blower motor. So I had it replaced. I asked the service guy if I should have him install a new capacitor and contactor... Since they are 14 years old and he was already here. He said no... That the parts he would install are probably not as good as the original parts. What do you guys think? Would replacing those parts be good preventative maintenance? submitted by /u/jjb9999 [link] [comments]”
“Admittedly, it’s an old unit. But it was just tuned up and serviced. Contactor replaced. A small leak was topped off with 410A (I got lucky with a non-R22 mid-00s unit). But every so often — not frequently, this rattle occurs. Sounds like something is loose-ish? Filter is new. No fros on suction line or outside line. Inside supply blows cold. Return vent is working properly and I have a good differential temp between the two. I’m having a company come out regardless through my home warranty prog”
“I’m getting vary tired of working on this Popeyes The motor mount was starting to crack on this 20 ton rtu and wobbled a little to much had to cut it out submitted by /u/fallout123107 [link] [comments]”
“Hint, it wasn’t the blower motor and wheel that was just replaced. submitted by /u/heldoglykke [link] [comments]”
“Looking to clean this guy up and can't open the panel due to interior screws? Tried just zipping the screws off with a multitool but I need to get a drill bit in the morning to finish the job.figured I'd post here to ask if this is normal? I'm just trying to clean my coils, every which way I've read to do this is blocked. If I have to pull the evap out, I need to cut the PVC drain line. If I do all of this and manage to get it out, will the to/from coolant line bend enough so tha”
“This is how I found the disconnects servicing two AHU’s in the attic of my fraternal lodge. Not anchored to anything, literally resting open like that on the flex. I am replacing some dummy thermostats with some Honeywell Homes, but had to go up and get them hardwired as the old ones were battery operated. So yeah, this is not the worst I’ve seen but it’s up there. submitted by /u/AOP_fiction [link] [comments]”
“Ac stopped working this afternoon. It makes this constant clicking noise. Am I in for a doozy of a repair bill or is it likely on the cheaper side ? submitted by /u/No-Jackfruit9764 [link] [comments]”
“This is by far the worst capacitor blow out I’ve ever seen. Also check out the melted pecker head cover! submitted by /u/7logan07 [link] [comments]”
“Those of you who saw my other post, you saw the company that ran my refrigerant lines had them sticking out way further than expected. A lot of you said though it technically worked it was very sloppy and you would never do it that way. One person even mentioned the humidifier pipe was sloped the wrong way. I didn't mention in the post a couple other small details like the cable to the AC unit that was hanging from where they had cut some zip ties and never put it back up except looping anot”
“Haha whaaaa? The expansion tank is friggen sitting on the floor dude. The primaries to the manifold to the far left is all up and right back down for nothing, there is like 4 foot stubs of pipe that aren’t supported, he used 1/2” or whatever that is zone valves, messy solder joints and that’s just what the secondary side.”
“We have an older Westinghouse AC unit in a bonus room above our garage. Any concerns with running this? I’m pregnant so I’m not trying to have strange chemicals floating around lol submitted by /u/Epi-please [link] [comments]”
“Yeah it looks like the swivel didn't come with any o-rings at all. The connection to the hose is fine, but the connection to the gun is leaky. Any idea what size o-ring goes in there? Feels wasteful to buy kit of 500 for just one. Appreciate your help!”
“I'm getting my AC replaced because I moved into a subpar rebuilt home and I'm sure it was installed in a shit fashion. Everything is maybe 4 years old. During the replacement, my guy tells me that my heat exchanger has holes and will need to be repaired or replaced. I've attached pictures and was hoping someone could tell me how serious this issue is. For some context, I live in a townhouse with a 90k rated furnace when I was told I really only need 75k rated one. It was explained to”
“This is an American Standard from 2021. Any idea what this horrible noise is? Turned it off and back on and seems to be better but still a rattle coming out of it submitted by /u/tpjamez [link] [comments]”
“Got called out to look at this old Trane. Manufactured in November of 1986. A new contactor and capacitors got it back going again. It used to be hard to stop a Trane lol. Now I'm not so sure... submitted by /u/warndog19 [link] [comments]”
“I find this all so fascinating. My house has its original one still, 1972. It's built into a damned hard place to get into (been there once to add a valve), so, replacing it is going to require removing a wall anyway. But I guess I never think about it. Still won't. Gonna be a real bad day the next time I do, I'm sure.”
edit: title is supposed to be replace instead of her place, I didn't catch it till I hit submit.. my Lennox unit started having issues throwing an h3 code (compressor overload), one…
“Had a friend in HVAC over today to look at my blower motor. I looked up the model and serial number and it looks like the furnace unit is from 1986. Went further down a worm hole and found out units from this era are around 65-70% efficient. I've owned this house for 8 years and the only thing I've had to do was replace a capacitor on the outside AC unit, and now this blower motor. My question...should I consider replacing this unit due age and poor efficiency? submitted by /”
“Had it running. Didn’t realize how much of the fan stuck through the partition on the bottom side. woof submitted by /u/thed3adhand [link] [comments]”
“Morning everyone, my wife and I just purchased our first home. The AC unit is a bit old, my handler upstairs is from 2015 and the condenser I believe, is from 2013. I will confirm and post down in the comments later. We have a Google nest here in the house, the one with the mirrored front. I gotta admit I’ve been quite apprehensive about keeping it. When we moved in, I had the unit checked out and everything was fine, my HVAC tech checked free on pressures, capacitor and so on and said the unit”
“Second bad compressor in two weeks. Swapped and had a hard hit TXV. I’m guessing the valve failed first and caused the compressor to die. (Both were grounded). Now, I’ve cooked a few pork loin’s during this time. I could use a different rub recipe. Hot and sweet just isn’t cutting it now. Any advice will be appreciated. submitted by /u/heldoglykke [link] [comments]”
“I have a traditional US 3 ton split system. The compressor/fan quit running. I put gauges on it. Zero pressure. Started looking for leaks. Found this. I'm 99% sure this is the source of the leak. Just want more eyes on it to confirm. submitted by /u/Low_Reading9468 [link] [comments]”