Any AC repair guys on here?..

[Willow]

I just need an idea of what the heck is wrong with this thing...

I have one of the big Heil ac/heater units that sits outside..

it has been working ok.. no major complaints.. then this morning I noticed that the house was getting warmer..

So I checked the floor vents.. no cold air.. so I checked the unit outside .. it was running and blowing alot of air out the top (where the big fan is)..

So I went under the house and checked the duct (the flexible kind).. no rips or tears that i could find..

Then I took a knife and cut into one of the ducts (the one that blows into the house).. there was a little cool air.. but not what you would expect to be blowing through the duct..
(I patched that spot btw)..

When I shut the unit off there was a "hissing" sound comming from the unit.. no idea if that's normal or not..

So I am guessing it has something to do with the fan that blows into the house.. not sure cause i know basically nothing about it...

The unit was here when we moved in.. and from what I was told it's a "commercial" unit.. we haven't had it serviced yet.. but that was on the "to do" list...

Any ideas?

[dustint21]

It sounds like it needs to be recharged!

[mdavis735]

if you could find the return air vent and where the inside evaporator coils are.they might be frozen over.if the filter is plugged up then the coils could be dirty which restricts air flow.a way to check is to turn the unit on fan only for an hour or so.this gives the ice time to thaw.then turn it back on and see if it blows cold air again.if so it might continue working or freeze up again.

[CoryDude]

I'd nearly bet you have a restricted evap coil, if you're feeling barely ANY air coming out the vents. The hissing sound is most likely the diff in pressures on the high and low side of the coil. I'd have someone check your freon pressures on high and low side. It could be a simple filter change, pressure switch, low freon, or any # of other things.

[Willow]

Thanks! I shut it off this morning.. so it has had awhile to sit.. i just turned it back on.. I do have some cool air flowing now.. not as much as if it was working 100%.. but enough to tell me that the fan is running..

so I guess I will keep an eye on it and call the repair guys in the morning to see when they can come out and service the system..

Thanks again!

[CoryDude]

Maybe I missed it. But I didn't see in your posts if you had checked your filter? It could be plugged up w/dirt. For a commercial package type unit, there should be 1 inside filter and maybe one outside in the unit. Inside one's at your return air grill (you may already know all of this). The outside one, if there is one, usually has a service panel on the unit marked w/filter change dates or filter size. I used to work as a dispatcher for a large AC company in Austin, and we saved people many a service call by having them check this first.

Cory

[Willow]

The filter in the house is fine.. I changed it last month and once a week it gets cleaned (we have dogs and cats.. so it can get pet hair on it pretty fast)..

I just went out and checked the unit.. I don't see any access panels on it.. so f it has an external filter I don't know where it is or how to get into it..

It is dripping out water now (condensation) which it wasn't doing this morning.. so I think it must have had some ice buildup.. not 100% sure on that though..

regardless I am going to have someone come out and service it.. like I said I have no idea when it was done last.. so I know it's due for it..

So, tonight I am either going to shut it off for the night or just let the fan run... I checked the thermostat this morning and it looked like something bumped it (I blame the cats).. so it was set lower than normal...
We have a big, tall ferret cage that was sitting near the thermostat.. so it's easy access for the cats to climb up there and act like idiots.. needless to say I have moved the ferret's cage so the cats can't play with things anymore.. yeah.. I'm mean... no more fun for the bad kittys...