Hello all,
I'm in the Dallas, Tx area, and have to replace a 4 ton system with a grounded compressor. The good news is that it's lasted for 22 years and been uncharacteristically cool so far this year; the bad news is that it's going to get really hot here soon, and the unit conditioning the master and one of the kid's rooms, so have to replace, like, NOW. I'm an engineer, so have done a lot of research on this to become educated, but am NOT a professional HVAC guy, so need your help
I'm getting quotes from several top contractors with very good referrals/install processes and reputations, all doing Man J, so am confident that the install will be excellent regardless of the equipment. Will cover any equipment questions in another post as necessary - this one is about my original builder duct work. My experience is that it’s like pulling teeth to get the HVAC contractors around here to do their work on the ducts, but dang it, I’m committed to make them face their fears ;)….
Our home is around 4600 sqft, with 3 zones. The one that is out services the front part of the house. The Man J’s have confirmed that it needs to be a 4 ton system, and will be updating the duct work as a part of it. All duct is currently flex. The duct work and furnace sits in the attic (as most in TX), and supplies a bedroom and bath directly below the furnace, then the HUGE VOLUME (22 foot ceiling entry area open to the upstairs), then the master bedroom, bath and closet 50+ feet away. The current builder-installed system has 2 returns, a 14" outside the master bedroom, and an 8" at the top of the entry area, but none in the master or front bedroom, so I know that's not enough return. As a part of the upgrade, I'll be adding a 12" return in the master for better air flow, but will leave the front bedroom alone, as it's below an upstairs bedroom and would be nearly impossible to access (it also gets GREAT airflow, as it sits under the furnace; not ideal, but works fine;)) I "think" that should solve the lack of return issues, but would welcome any input on this part.
NOW, to the part that has me most confused. The current system has 8 supply registers. The front bedroom and bath each have their own supply runs. The rest of the front of the house is served by a 14" inch flex trunk that runs 50+ feet that drops 10 feet down from the front area into the attic space over the master, where it is terminated into a duct board box (yep even though it's an expensive custom house, this is a hack job)..... The box then has flex branches that serve the rest of the front of the house. Two ducts climb back up into the entry area (a 10 inch and a 9 inch), two in the master bedroom (9 inch), one in the master bath (8 inch), and one to the master closet (4 inch). I installed a high cfm remote air flow fan system in the master bath when we remodeled it a while back to get rid of the moisture, but the master bath, with its one supply (oh, forgot to mention, ALL rooms are high ceilings - master is 12', master bath is 15') and south-facing window gets pretty toasty when my wife is running her hair dryer and curling iron, even with the fan off;). SO, am thinking of adding a second 8" supply to the master bath. Opinions would be great here as well.
So after all of this, my MAIN question is about the approaches of the various contractors in updating the supply side of the duct work. They seem to be split between running multiple new supply ducts, splitting them with metal "Y's", and running to/updating the duct box with additional drops. My searches have not given me any definative guidance on this. Some say that more "home runs" with "Y" adapters are better, while others say that the "remote distribution box" reduces static pressure and increases airflow. HELP!!!! When I quiz the contractors, they all have pretty well reasoned replies; I just need the right ANSWER!! I'm sure it's written somewhere in Man D, but I don't have access to, or time to review it.
Sorry for the long post. Wish I had the time to do more research/engage more contractors to evaluate, but it's about to get really hot down here, so have to make a call with imperfect information. Any guidance that you can provide will be VERY much appreciated, as I'm certain that I can get the short list of companies I'm working with to implement the solution that I specify, if I'm able to do so. THANKS IN ADVANCE!!
I'm in the Dallas, Tx area, and have to replace a 4 ton system with a grounded compressor. The good news is that it's lasted for 22 years and been uncharacteristically cool so far this year; the bad news is that it's going to get really hot here soon, and the unit conditioning the master and one of the kid's rooms, so have to replace, like, NOW. I'm an engineer, so have done a lot of research on this to become educated, but am NOT a professional HVAC guy, so need your help
I'm getting quotes from several top contractors with very good referrals/install processes and reputations, all doing Man J, so am confident that the install will be excellent regardless of the equipment. Will cover any equipment questions in another post as necessary - this one is about my original builder duct work. My experience is that it’s like pulling teeth to get the HVAC contractors around here to do their work on the ducts, but dang it, I’m committed to make them face their fears ;)….
Our home is around 4600 sqft, with 3 zones. The one that is out services the front part of the house. The Man J’s have confirmed that it needs to be a 4 ton system, and will be updating the duct work as a part of it. All duct is currently flex. The duct work and furnace sits in the attic (as most in TX), and supplies a bedroom and bath directly below the furnace, then the HUGE VOLUME (22 foot ceiling entry area open to the upstairs), then the master bedroom, bath and closet 50+ feet away. The current builder-installed system has 2 returns, a 14" outside the master bedroom, and an 8" at the top of the entry area, but none in the master or front bedroom, so I know that's not enough return. As a part of the upgrade, I'll be adding a 12" return in the master for better air flow, but will leave the front bedroom alone, as it's below an upstairs bedroom and would be nearly impossible to access (it also gets GREAT airflow, as it sits under the furnace; not ideal, but works fine;)) I "think" that should solve the lack of return issues, but would welcome any input on this part.
NOW, to the part that has me most confused. The current system has 8 supply registers. The front bedroom and bath each have their own supply runs. The rest of the front of the house is served by a 14" inch flex trunk that runs 50+ feet that drops 10 feet down from the front area into the attic space over the master, where it is terminated into a duct board box (yep even though it's an expensive custom house, this is a hack job)..... The box then has flex branches that serve the rest of the front of the house. Two ducts climb back up into the entry area (a 10 inch and a 9 inch), two in the master bedroom (9 inch), one in the master bath (8 inch), and one to the master closet (4 inch). I installed a high cfm remote air flow fan system in the master bath when we remodeled it a while back to get rid of the moisture, but the master bath, with its one supply (oh, forgot to mention, ALL rooms are high ceilings - master is 12', master bath is 15') and south-facing window gets pretty toasty when my wife is running her hair dryer and curling iron, even with the fan off;). SO, am thinking of adding a second 8" supply to the master bath. Opinions would be great here as well.
So after all of this, my MAIN question is about the approaches of the various contractors in updating the supply side of the duct work. They seem to be split between running multiple new supply ducts, splitting them with metal "Y's", and running to/updating the duct box with additional drops. My searches have not given me any definative guidance on this. Some say that more "home runs" with "Y" adapters are better, while others say that the "remote distribution box" reduces static pressure and increases airflow. HELP!!!! When I quiz the contractors, they all have pretty well reasoned replies; I just need the right ANSWER!! I'm sure it's written somewhere in Man D, but I don't have access to, or time to review it.
Sorry for the long post. Wish I had the time to do more research/engage more contractors to evaluate, but it's about to get really hot down here, so have to make a call with imperfect information. Any guidance that you can provide will be VERY much appreciated, as I'm certain that I can get the short list of companies I'm working with to implement the solution that I specify, if I'm able to do so. THANKS IN ADVANCE!!
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