Air Conditioning - changing central air yourself
Doityourself.com community forum was created to provide answers to all questions related to home improvement and home repair. Doityourself community can help you find information about how-to topics on small fixes to large remodeling projects. With comprehensive how-to content and expertly moderated community forums DoItYourself.com makes it easy to tackle even the most complex home improvement projects.View Full Version : changing central air yourself
jpatz18
05-04-06, 12:50 PM
how hard is it to change a rheem 2.5 ton(inside and out) unit, to a Carrier 4 ton, i added on to the house. all the lines where ran with the older a/c so it'll just be a swap i could reuse all the refig line and electric, and i iwll call a tech to charge the system. any input?
Jay11J
05-04-06, 04:45 PM
:thumbdn:
This should be left in the Pro's hand from start to finsh. There are too many other things that needs to be looked at closer.
How many sq ft did you add on? what is your total sq ft of the home?
Is your current furnace able to handle the big jump in tonnage? Ductwork able to take it?
ect. ect.
So my advise, this is not do-it-yourself.
This should be left in the Pro's hand from start to finsh. There are too many other things that needs to be looked at closer.
How many sq ft did you add on? what is your total sq ft of the home?
Is your current furnace able to handle the big jump in tonnage? Ductwork able to take it?
ect. ect.
So my advise, this is not do-it-yourself.
GregH
05-04-06, 04:54 PM
jpatz18,
"how hard is it to change a rheem 2.5 ton(inside and out) unit?"
Too hard for a diy'er.
The issues as Jay pointed out center around the sizing of the ductwork, blower fan, wiring and line sizing.
It's a forgone conclusion the refrigerant lines and wiring will be too small but a qualified person will have to both size everything up and do the refrigeration work.
Also, there is a misconception that a licensed tech can just drop in and "juice 'er up".
The licensed person installing the lines will need to be proficient at brazing or silver soldering and have the necessary reclaim and evacuation equipment.
"how hard is it to change a rheem 2.5 ton(inside and out) unit?"
Too hard for a diy'er.
The issues as Jay pointed out center around the sizing of the ductwork, blower fan, wiring and line sizing.
It's a forgone conclusion the refrigerant lines and wiring will be too small but a qualified person will have to both size everything up and do the refrigeration work.
Also, there is a misconception that a licensed tech can just drop in and "juice 'er up".
The licensed person installing the lines will need to be proficient at brazing or silver soldering and have the necessary reclaim and evacuation equipment.
ChrisHarris
05-04-06, 10:38 PM
If someone catches you trying to "DIY" with a refrigerant system--and they get it on video tape--you could be looking at a serious fine ($10,000) and possibly some jail time. :eek:
As a DIYer, you have no way to recover the freon. Federal law requires you to recover the used freon into a special vessel. It's a machine called a recovery machine--or recovery pump. They cost anywhere from $400 up to thousands of dollars.
A recovery machine is the only way to safely and legally recover the freon in the system.
Yes, you could put simply a screw through the line and allow it to vent into the air--but, if you get caught--your looking at a serious fine. It wouldn't exactly be the most environmetally responsible thing you could do either.
:thumbdn:
As a DIYer, you have no way to recover the freon. Federal law requires you to recover the used freon into a special vessel. It's a machine called a recovery machine--or recovery pump. They cost anywhere from $400 up to thousands of dollars.
A recovery machine is the only way to safely and legally recover the freon in the system.
Yes, you could put simply a screw through the line and allow it to vent into the air--but, if you get caught--your looking at a serious fine. It wouldn't exactly be the most environmetally responsible thing you could do either.
:thumbdn:
Danno6102
05-05-06, 05:13 AM
Here is a link to a pretty good guide on how to do it yourself. They still recommend leaving the brazing, final electrical connections & freon fill to the pros, but you can still save a lot of money doing the rest of the dirty work yourself.
www.********.com
Some things are best left to the pro's.
www.********.com
Some things are best left to the pro's.