We have an American Standard 2 ton (I think) heat pump that heats / cools part of the house. Heritage 10 Model GH0024A100A4, manufactured in January of 2000.
A couple of months ago, the heat pump (outside part) tripped the 220v breaker. Tried to reset, but immediately tripped. There is a pull-type disconnect by the heat pump; when disconnected, the circuit breaker does not trip. I pulled the service panel on the heat pump, but don't see anything obvious that seems damaged, so my guess is that the compressor is dead.
A complication in this is that the air handler inside is in an enclosure inside a closet. From looking at it, I can't believe that at least some sheetrock will have to come off to get it removed and replaced. In the best of all worlds, I won't have to do that...
So a couple of questions -
Am I completely wrong that it is the compressor and that there is another explanation for this that I might be able to fix?
Since the unit is R-22, if I pull the compressor to replace it, the chances of finding R-22 to refill it around here are slim to none. If I remove the R-22 refrigerant, flush the lines, install a new 2-ton R-410A heat pump, and leave the inside air handler in place, will the system operate on R-410A? I understand it will not be as efficient, but would it work OK?
Other alternatives?
I'm fairly sure if I call the HVAC guy who replaced the main heat pump a few years ago ($8K) that was easy to get to, I will be looking at at least the same cost again due to the PIA issues with this system.
Thanks
I don't know a whole lot but I did do AC work for a couple of years in 2021 and 2022.
In my opinion, no AC guy is going to touch an R22 system with a bad compressor short of doing a full changeout. Even if you were able to somehow source a compressor (obsolete) and change the thing, there will be acid in the lineset (from when the compressor burned out) that has to be flushed. Any shrapnel floating around in the system will either clog up one of the expansion valves or the 4 way valve. It's a heartache looking for a place to happen short of doing a full changeout and flushing the lineset. You cannot mismatch 22 and 410 components. The 410 system runs quite a bit higher pressures than the 22. Your heatpump has two metering devices and a 4 way reversing valve in the system. It's not simple like retrofitting a car HVAC, that just has a single orifice or a single expansion valve that you can change.
I changed out a few that required drywall work to get the new air handler in place. Sucks, but necessary.
edited to add: finding 22 isn't much of a problem, but paying for it will offset quite a chunk of the changeout cost to a 410 system. Last year we were getting 150/lb for R22. It's super expensive but the supply houses stocked up very heavily back when it was still being produced and they've been making a killing but selling it for increasingly higher prices every year. I could see where you might be well north of 1000 dollars just for the freon on repairing an old system.
In reply to CJ :
What Cousin Eddie said.
A thought since it looks like you’re in California. Look into rebate programs from the utility companies or state. We have rebate programs here in MA and they can take a lot of the sting out of upgrading equipment by covering most of the cost of newer high efficiency equipment.
Your existing system was at best 10 SEER and considering age, R22 refrigerant and possible contamination of the system due to compressor failure I would not recommend putting any money into it.
We've been in this house since 2003. Place was brand new in 2001, and both heat pumps were Carrier. The smaller of the two units died around 2010 (compressor), and the larger one needed either a new coil or a refrigerant top-off about once a year. Since the installed price for a replacement coil approached the cost of an entire new system, we opted to replace that one around 2014.
Honestly, if you get between ten and fifteen years out of a heat pump, that's about all you can expect. Ours runs nearly 24/7/365.
We replaced the 6 ton unit about 4 years ago. The HVAC guy's wife is friends with my bride.
He reused the refrigerant lines, since they were buried inside the wall and ceiling, but less than 30 ft total. Flushed the E36 M3 out of it and installed an inline filter. Been fine since the install.
I'll have to see if the lines on the smaller unit were run in the crawl space, but I really doubt it. If I'm right, that would mean we have over 70' of refrigerant lines running between the second story floor joists to the air handler. Those will be fun to flush. I'm sure a good time will be had by all.
Rip it out, replace with appropriate number of minisplits, 2/3 the total capacity but with heads in each room you want to keep cool.
You live in California; electricity is expensive and nighttime electricity will only get more expensive. Buy once, cry once.
