Reality thread...continued.

[Sparky]

I may be selling off components from my retrofitted headlights. I don't think most people would want to rewire half the front end lighting of the truck to get them working as I have them lol and I may reuse some parts from them on the silverado anyway (not sure).

 

[SnowBlazer]

Hit me up for sure, Sparky if you decide to sell. I'd be interested in the whole housing if they are from your TB.

 

[Sparky]

I'll let you know.

I'm a little confused now with my furnace stuff. I used a system selector to pick out the proper sizing etc for my new furnace. Now I see it gave me a 2 ton condenser, but a 3 ton coil. Plus, the coil is uncased and now I'm seeing on their site that for a new furnace install they recommend a cased coil as they are simply just set in place vs having to custom build it into the air plenum. And this 3 ton coil is bigger than the furnace outlet dimensions, which makes it that much more difficult to install it

I left them a message asking about this, and asked if it would be best or possible to exchange the uncased coil for a cased one. Besides, I'm going to have to order plenums from them anyway as I had made the assumption that I could get all that from the local Home Depot, Menards, etc... WRONG. They don't carry those in stock, and the only ones they have available for online purchase are 2x the cost as ordering from Alpine

OK then...!

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I have not had much luck with their customer support lately unfortunately

 

[Sparky]

So far so good.

I got a response to my email and they told me for the higher efficiency setups the larger coil is what is used. That's what that TX valve (or whatever it is called) is for also. They did agree that a cased coil would be best for my setup and instructed me to call the CS number to get the exchange done. So I called them and she was friendly and helpful to do that.

Later once I measure stuff some more I'll order the proper plenums I'll need.

I want my AC, it is getting warmer out. Temperature in the house is still not bad, but the humidity is what's gonna kill more than anything.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I did the cased coil and my buddy had his metal place he uses for work bend up the plenum. Was cheaper than I thought. I have a extra 1/2 ton coil and the txv as well

 

[Sparky]

Yeah I wasn't really thinking or paying close attention, just took whatever the selector gave me. Whoops.

I don't have any contacts.

 

[Sparky]

Well they credited me the evap coil, but so far have not shipped or billed me for the replacement. My guess at this point is that never got put through, so I'll just place the order manually. That's OK.

I also finally found a source of all the ductwork I'll need locally. Menards actually does have it all! They don't have the return plenum as a kit which I think is why I missed it on their site, but they have all the various pieces. Price is right too, not jacked up like HD or Lowes.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I use Menards as much as possible even though double the distance away. My father gets most stuff for his few dozen rentals there as well due to the savings and they have great customer service.

You are seeing the Alpine failure in Customer Service. I can not even elicit a response from them now that I tried to claim the damage was on them.

 

[Sparky]

Well in the end it was a minor thing. They forgot to put that order in. Oh well, things happen. I've forgotten to do stuff too so I'm not going to hold it against them. I could not find anywhere close to the same pricing anywhere else. The incorrect coil for the application was a bit of a nuisance but it is OK.

The plenums from Menards aren't the exact size I need so I'll have to do a bit of trimming and fitting but for the convenience of it all being right here that's OK. Menards is 10 maybe 15 minutes from me.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Use aluminum tape on all your seams. Make a difference and hides your trimming.

 

[Sparky]

Oh definitely will. The number of air leaks through my entire duct system as it stands now is horrible, particularly the run to the master bedroom.

 

[Sparky]

I finally went to Menards and now I have a stack of sheet metal in my house. I'm hoping to have everything hooked up this weekend that I can do. I was given the phone number of a guy who has his license for doing refrigeration systems and does that kind of thing on the side. His primary job is maintaining such systems at a hospital. Perfect.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Ought to work out pretty nicely then.

 

[Sparky]

Hope so. After I mow the grass this evening (first day it isn't raining this week!) I'm going to try to get working on the sheet metal. I'd love to have the sheet metal done by tomorrow afternoon but I doubt that will happen.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

You got a metal brake?

 

[Sparky]

No, but they included the bender tool to make the 1/2" and 1" bends for flanges. I think that's all I'll need. All the sheet metal parts are already basically formed for the 10x24 duct, the boot, plenum, etc. From looking at it all the bending I'll need to do is just making those flanges for attaching the parts together with the sheet metal screws.

If I do need to bend a larger part of sheet metal I think I can get by with a couple straight edges to make a crease while holding it flat against the concrete floor.

 

[Sparky]

Made some progress. Lined up where I want the new furnace to be, central to the existing ductwork and more central to the house over all. Thing is, I was reading on the install guides and it is a 96% efficient model that is condensing, which means it needs drained. No big deal, drain it the way I'd drain the evap coil right? Just dump it into a condensate pump which will then pump it overhead and to the wall of the basement, where a floor drain is. Well, the drain is almost all the way at the bottom of the furnace, so I'm not sure if there is even enough room to put the condensate pump down there! So I might have to put the new furnace where the old was after all... But then that screws up my refrigerant line length that I purchased. Hm, gonna have to think this through a little bit more I guess.

In the meantime, I got busy ripping out the old furnace, which entailed disconnecting a little more ductwork than I was originally planning. Oh well, no biggie. Some of the stuff was routed horribly anyway so I'll just redo all that. The vent running to the second flue had a lot of ash and rust in it. Looked inside the hole to the flue and the innards of that flue look a bit iffy. Another good reason to abandon it. I just need to seal it off somehow, both down here at the bottom and also I figure cap it on top to keep cold air entering it and making a cold spot on my walls.

Old, disconnected

Pile of old ducts, some of it I can reuse.

New furnace, cover is off as I was checking out the drain line routing options. So much more compact!

 

[Sparky]

I took a vacation day from work to give me more time on this project. But instead of getting up and getting going with it I slept in to some ridiculous hour

Anyway...

It amazes me how long some of this stuff takes to do. Spent a chunk of time cutting and resizing the original air return duct since I have relocated the furnace, relocated the return duct end cap from one side to the other, played around with ideas how to attach the return to the furnace in its new location, extended the outflow duct with another length of the 8x16 duct (instead of the old plenum), cut a bunch of holes in it, and hooked up the 5 round ducts I had disconnected from the old ductwork. It took a lot of wrestling with the elbows to get them all positioned correctly and it was quite the workout on the shoulders getting them all twisted around. I guess they are extra stiff from being older. Also tore up my hands pretty good too!

I tried to reuse as much as possible. You can see in the pictures the difference between the old and the new ducts. Also installed baffles in all the round ducts that I worked on, although 2 of the baffles I bought didn't have any handles with them. Wasn't paying attention when I got them I guess, so I'll just have to get the handles next time I'm at the store. I wasn't going to hold off installing these ducts just because of that.

I didn't get the furnace actually attached to the ductwork as I have to do some pretty funky custom fitting on the return plenum side and after I got the other end all done I decided to call it quits for today. Tomorrow I'll tackle that project, then go through and seal up all the seams.

 

[Sparky]

Got the return plenum done Saturday night. The one side I custom cut and fit wasn't quite right so it wrinkled a bit. Well, a few more screws and it'll be OK lol. Just the return anyway so not as big a deal. I'll probably still use duct seal on it anyway later on. The opposite side came out almost perfect.

I was going to get the main plenum done but between all the work on Friday and then working on my brother's car on Saturday (seized parking brake, had to beat/pry the rotor off) I was tired and sore. What can I say, I'm a wimp when it comes to extended periods of physical labor

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Looking good

 

[SnowBlazer]

So I'm thinking about getting a different car. I've been on this kick for awhile now. I would like something a little more peppy, manual and with a sunroof. Not sure what to get really. I LOVE 5th gen Honda Preludes because they are rare and the body style is way more nice than that of a civic, plus they have VTEC. My buddy has one and it's way fun. It's hard finding one under $5,000 and with under 150k. Thought about an Eclipse but if the timing belt breaks, it bends the valves in the engine . Another concern for me is the snow....I don't want to get stuck.

 

[Mounce]

Get a tune for the TB.

 

[SnowBlazer]

Get a tune for the TB.

But then there goes my gas mileage.

 

[Mounce]

Not necessarily. Ask some of the tuned guys what they get, pretty sure it's not that big of a difference. (don't ask BT because he has other engine and drivetrain mods so he don't stack up equally to a stocker lol)

 

[Blckshdw]

Get a tune for the TB.

But then there goes my gas mileage.

From what I've seen posted, most members either stay at the same MPG or get a slight increase. To my knowledge, I'm the only one that's lost a little bit. I attribute that to slightly larger tires, LWB platform, and a heavy foot.

The truck is a lot more fun to drive, and very responsive on the throttle. You may have seen people in the tune-review threads refer to their truck being "woken up" after getting the tune done. That's a very accurate way to put it. As long as you're not punching the gas all the time from red lights, you probably won't notice much change in your fuel economy.

 

[littleblazer]

From what I've seen posted, most members either stay at the same MPG or get a slight increase. To my knowledge, I'm the only one that's lost a little bit. I attribute that to slightly larger tires, LWB platform, and a heavy foot.

The truck is a lot more fun to drive, and very responsive on the throttle. You may have seen people in the tune-review threads refer to their truck being "woken up" after getting the tune done. That's a very accurate way to put it. As long as you're not punching the gas all the time from red lights, you probably won't notice much change in your fuel economy.

I hit the floorboards off every light and still get around 13mpg. Just saying. [emoji13] Under normal driving it seems to get better fuel economy.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I gained MPG and would never own another without a Tune.

 

[Sparky]

So I thought I was done with duct work but guess not. I need to slightly adjust another duct to make room for the wiring/refrigeration lines to the condenser outside. No biggie. Just move an S bend from the middle to the end and that should work out fine.

I put the condenser in place outside the house but before I drill the hole and run the lines I think maybe I should get the AC guy to look at it and give me the OK on location and stuff. Maybe do the drilling and connection all at the same time so the ends of the pipes aren't open to the great outdoors for any length of time. Don't really need some bugs or crap getting into them.

 

[DAlastDON]

Summer will be over in a month and a half. You do not need air conditioning.

 

[Sparky]

The last half of summer also can be the hottest. What about next summer?

Besides, in just a few months, I'll need heat too, and I haven't even started on the gas part of it! The outside unit isn't just a condenser actually, it is a heat pump.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

AC n Heat are good things for a residence.

 

[Sparky]

Slow going... Had a lot of other stuff going on, plus the weather has not been cooperating (rainy) for me to drill holes in the side of the house. But I got the new thermostat wiring done, the 120VAC run from the panel to the air handler all wired up, and most of the drain line taken care of aside from needing a couple more pieces from the hardware.

Really wished it was up and running this past weekend as it was pretty warm and humid in the house. Oh well.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Keep at it. It will be worth it in the end.

 

[Sparky]

Yesterday I called the AC guy and he said he can be out early next week to fill 'er up. Sweet!

Got the hole drilled in the side of the house today. I guess I know for certain my walls aren't going anywhere anytime soon as I drilled through three boards lol. Ran the lines and that bigger insulated one was a pain! Heavy, kept pulling out the plastic hangers, and stiff as anything. I almost kinked it at a bend which sucked, but I felt it start to go and stopped quickly. Pulled the insulation back and the pipe there is just a bit ovaled. Squeezed it with some pliers carfully and it is back to mostly round. I'll check with the contractor but it will likely be fine.

Got the 220V run to the outside unit also. When I pulled the access panel off to hook it up though I found a friggin mouse nest in there and one of the small wires was a bit chewed From the materials used it happened while the unit was sitting in the garage after it got delivered. Go figure. Damage to the wires is minimal thankfully but it is still very irritating.

I got the humidifier installed also.

All that is left now (for the AC side) is the low voltage wiring to the outside unit, drain tube from the condensate pump to the drain (40 feet), and the guy to braze the fittings and start it up! Can't wait!

Of course before winter gets here I'll need to do the gas line and the venting, but that's not too big a deal. Biggest part there will be getting the propane tank and running the outdoor lines through the yard.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Atta boy! bet it will be nice when wrapped up!

 

[Sparky]

So I've been struggling with the LV wiring which is quite embarrassing. Finally gave in and asked Alpine's tech support. The guy kindly pointed out that I bought the wrong thermostat which totally explains why the wiring doesn't make sense

AC guy should be out on Thursday to hook up the refrigerant lines. I can use this wrong thermostat to operate the heat pump side at least to make sure things work right, it just can't handle two systems.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Dang.

 

[Kyle]

I would recommend this on every seam you can get to..(minus return) It makes a HUGE difference.. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Master-Flow-Water-Based-Mastic-Half-Gallon-Tub-WBA50/100396973
Just my

My old neighbor does commercial HVAC installs.. He came over and laughed at my ducts.. We fixed them.. Now I can get the basement vent to whistle when I close it.. lol

 

[Sparky]

Yep I have a tub of that stuff that I'll be putting on everything. One thing at a time though.

I also plan on putting insulation around the ductwork to the north side of the house as that goes through the crawlspace and the metal ducts just bleed off heat. Seal the ducts, wrap them, and insulate the floors. Should make it more comfortable.