Am I being lied to?

[Noah Darrow]

Funny you mention that.
A few details that got lost in translation.

1. We bought the condo back in Aug of 2007. When we had the home inspected, the inspector let us know that he was not able to inspect the unit/ductwork upstairs because of too many obstructions and boxes.
Being anxious to buy our place, we foolishly went ahead anyway. Please save your comments on this one!!! believe me..this poor decision has led to too many temperture and wallet problems!!!! A lesson learned.

2. The unit never really worked right...and there was an obvious reason..the couple who we bought the condo from had had the system installed about 3 years ago...new heatpump and new air handler. The ductwork might as well have been made out of cereal boxes tho. There were holes that a small dog could fit through...every joint leaked air...dampers were broken, and there were parts of the ductwork in the attic that were literally suspended with cardboard boxes. According to logic, this was the first thing i had fixed. In fact...when I had the guy come over to fix it and he saw what was up there he actually started laughing (a very comfortable feeling as a home owner by the way) All of the duct work was redone, new dampers, resealed all joints. The air handler was lifted and reset.

3. After the duct work was fixed. I had someone else come in and check for leaks. all the gas was removed. They filled with nitrogen. No leaks. They then weighed the proper amount of gas back into the system. It worked great (and still does work) but the freezing problem continues.

This caught my attention though. Obviously trying to find out what is wrong is usually a process eleimnating what isnt wrong. The air handler is Bryant, the Heat pump Lennox. That is why Garys question really struck me.

I cant begin to thank you guys for the advice so far.
David, I am going to log into your website and Gary..are these two components known to cause a problem?


I guess what i really need to know is...what is my next step..
am i seconds away from my unit ceasing to work? Do i need to replace the unit or do you think it is more likely the thermal expansion valve or other regulating device?

[David A. Andersen]

It worked great (and still does work) but the freezing problem continues.

It seems to work in heat because there are two heaters in a heat pump.
When the refrigeration process of the heat pump does not operate the electric heat takes over, and costs a lot to operate.

I told you what can be the problem. I can not tell you any more from here. It's up to your local HVAC contractor now.