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Very illogical compressor installation

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#22 ·
You say overcharged, that is an opinion based on what facts?

Were you not there when they did this?
Did you not have a say in how it was placed?

If you have the a/c going, are you going to be on the balcony at the same time? If so, how much will you notice the difference?

Stop and think about the position change and then look at what would need to be done to accommodate that. Not saying it can't be done, just stating the fact wiring and refrigerant piping need to be run to the unit.

How do you know it is oversized?
 
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#23 ·
tswielder said:
The upper half is just a railing. My friend told me that all they have to do is to raise it just a bit or put it on a platform but that it was not necessary for the entire fan to be above the wooden slats. I seriously doubt that air would recirculate back with how much room there is for air to escape.
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You're former HVAC president friend is wrong. I'm guessing he was never an installer or service tech? That ENTIRE fan WOULD have to be ABOVE the slats for the unit to operate correctly. That balcony space is tiny and to me it looks like they did the best they could.

What did you have for air conditioning before?
 
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Discussion starter · #25 ·
ammoniadog said:
You're former HVAC president friend is wrong. I'm guessing he was never an installer or service tech? That ENTIRE fan WOULD have to be ABOVE the slats for the unit to operate correctly. That balcony space is tiny and to me it looks like they did the best they could.

What did you have for air conditioning before?
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From physics stand point, that makes no sense. If equipment was so fragile that it cannot function unless the entire fan was above the slat line, there is something wrong with it. One could however argue that there may be a difference in efficiency (e.g. 100% max efficiency vs 90%). There is an ideal installation and there is a realistic installation. A good contractor comes up a way to not sacrifice a living space. Based on your post, I'm surprised that you are marked as a pro member here. And, no, my friend is very much qualified. His father started the company, and he made my friend and his brother start as employees, making them do everything. He is a hands on guy and got his first hand experience doing almost everything. That's how he ended up being the president. His brother was older, but my friend was talented and trusted by employees. In fact, he's the one that brought the company from a small local company to a reputable company that ended up taking on major contracts, such as hospital, airport, huge law farm, football stadium, etc.
 
#26 ·
tswielder said:
From physics stand point, that makes no sense. If equipment was so fragile that it cannot function unless the entire fan was above the slat line, there is something wrong with it. One could however argue that there may be a difference in efficiency (e.g. 100% max efficiency vs 90%). There is an ideal installation and there is a realistic installation. A good contractor comes up a way to not sacrifice a living space. Based on your post, I'm surprised that you are marked as a pro member here. And, no, my friend is very much qualified. His father started the company, and he made my friend and his brother start as employees, making them do everything. He is a hands on guy and got his first hand experience doing almost everything. That's how he ended up being the president. His brother was older, but my friend was talented and trusted by employees. In fact, he's the one that brought the company from a small local company to a reputable company that ended up taking on major contracts, such as hospital, airport, huge law farm, football stadium, etc.
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Sorry, but that's not a living space. The living space is on the other side of the door that's shown in your 3rd picture. I'd bet most others who live in your building don't spend much time out on those patios and are fine with how the units are installed. I'd also bet if given the choice, most people in your building would rather have the units be able to work as well and as efficiently as possible.

I doubt your god's gift to hvac friend would really recommend installing dozens of units in a way that's against installation instructions which could possibly void the warranty and cause the unit to have a shortened life, in addition to making it almost impossible to replace the fan motor if it were ever to need to be replaced.

If part of the fan is blocked it will cause the amp draw of the motor to go up and will cause some of the hot air to go under the unit to get recycled. Even if that doesn't make sense to you, that's how physics works.
 
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#27 ·
tswielder said:
From physics stand point, that makes no sense. If equipment was so fragile that it cannot function unless the entire fan was above the slat line, there is something wrong with it.
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Best manufacture of minisplits. Has basically written the Bible on them. Yet you know better!
 
#29 ·
ammoniadog said:
Sorry, but that's not a living space. The living space is on the other side of the door that's shown in your 3rd picture. I'd bet most others who live in your building don't spend much time out on those patios and are fine with how the units are installed. I'd also bet if given the choice, most people in your building would rather have the units be able to work as well and as efficiently as possible.

I doubt your god's gift to hvac friend would really recommend installing dozens of units in a way that's against installation instructions which could possibly void the warranty and cause the unit to have a shortened life, in addition to making it almost impossible to replace the fan motor if it were ever to need to be replaced.

If part of the fan is blocked it will cause the amp draw of the motor to go up and will cause some of the hot air to go under the unit to get recycled. Even if that doesn't make sense to you, that's how physics works.
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I agree and just to add it could potentially cause high head resulting in premature failure or trips.
 
Discussion starter · #31 ·
Since it's apparently against a rule to post numbers here, I'll just explain an overview. I looked up the unit pricing on the unit they installed, and I calculated labor based on both national and state average, in addition to my friend's expert knowledge. I also "generously" estimated material and other costs. I didn't just assume the overcharge. I actually did research to confirm it.

As for, your point about balcony use, I hear what you are saying, but that only works if we assume that everyone is either inside or outside. As you can imagine, some people would be inside while some others may be relaxing on the balcony, so it's not practical to say that we can only use the balcony by turning off the AC. I live on the top floor of this building and has a nice view, so this takes that away and also can affect property value as prospective buyers would look at this and feel discouraged to buy it. There are many layers.
 
#33 ·
tswielder said:
Since it's apparently against a rule to post numbers here, I'll just explain an overview. I looked up the unit pricing on the unit they installed, and I calculated labor based on both national and state average, in addition to my friend's expert knowledge. I also "generously" estimated material and other costs. I didn't just assume the overcharge. I actually did research to confirm it.

As for, your point about balcony use, I hear what you are saying, but that only works if we assume that everyone is either inside or outside. As you can imagine, some people would be inside while some others may be relaxing on the balcony, so it's not practical to say that we can only use the balcony by turning off the AC. I live on the top floor of this building and has a nice view, so this takes that away and also can affect property value as prospective buyers would look at this and feel discouraged to buy it. There are many layers.
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Just get your expert HVAC friend to mentor you...you have running a profitable HVAC company already figured out. Not even sure why you are asking any of us anything......

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
 
#35 ·
Well; there's your answer then - Condo Association / Home Owners Association - it has been my consistent experience that neither fit the stated criteria.


tswielder said:
. . . . Anyone with a common sense would stop and think how wrong this is: making the entire balcony unusable.
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#36 ·
tswielder,
Beenthere pretty much gave you the most practical solution to your problem in post #4 and post #7.

Now you need to raise he!! with the HOA about the rest.

I have never been a prisoner of an HOA but based on years doing service and repair for them the only people that are happy in an HOA are the folks in charge of them.
 
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#37 ·
Relocate the unit if you want to.
It's your unit, right?
 
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