outside temp over 80F, still test?

[mschild]

I am having an issue from last summer -couldn't get the furnace to fire, it was 80F outside, furnace was 1 yr old, had a programmable thermostat that wasn't cooperating! I reported I as unable to test, outside temp too high - see SOP 2.4E. Recommended to have a heating and cooling specialist fully inspect and clean the furnace prior to closing.

Now they are having problem with the furnace.
Actual problem was inadequate flue distribution.

Did we report this correct, and should we NOT test when ambient temp is >80F?
Thanks!

[thejnicki]

Mark, I think if they are now having a problem with the furnace then they did not follow your recommendation. You should remind them of your recommendation and you did make the correct call.

[Brian E. Kelly]

I tested the gas furnaces here today at about 95 F.

But if you could not over ride the thermostat and noted it in your report, you should be ok.

[Blaine Wiley]

Just don't test heat pumps in heat mode over 80 degrees.

[David A. Andersen]

Just don't test heat pumps in heat mode over 80 degrees.

But you need to test the electric heat on the heat pump!

[Blaine Wiley]

Ahh, but the strip heaters are in the electric furnace, not the heat pump...

[David A. Andersen]

Ahh, but the strip heaters are in the electric furnace, not the heat pump...

Where are your heat pumps made, Cuba?

If you don't know what Aux heat or EM Heat means on the thermostat, you had better keep away from HVAC stuff.

The heat pump air handler is not an electric furnace.

[Blaine Wiley]

Our heat pumps don't have electric heaters, the air handler has them. The aux heat and EM heat are the same electric strip heaters located in the air handler. When in em heat mode, the air handler becomes an electric furnace, as the heat pump is locked out. Perhaps the terminology is different in TN than in FL or VA?

[David A. Andersen]

Think not.

Electric furnaces with A/C have a separate coil on top.

Heat pumps come in two parts. The inside part and the outside part. One will not work without the other.

Not to say that you can't put a heat pump condenser and coil on top of an electric heater.

Would you like to post a picture of this machine your talking about? I have spent a considerable amount of time in Fla, I have yet to see one.

the air handler has them.

Are you saying the Air Handler is not part of the Heat Pump?

[Blaine Wiley]

It obviously is. But the strip heaters are not in the outside condensing unit, they are in the air handler, unless you're talking about a package unit, which I wasn't.

[mschild]

Did I mention that the buyer is now the pastor of our church? Talk about a gray area! I can't believe it, but we did not state specifically that we could not start the furnace by overriding the thermostat. We only said that it was unable to be tested because of ambient temp and therefore he should have it checked out before closing.
We met with him yesterday. He said we weren't stressing the failure to start enough and it should have been in red instead of black type so he would have taken it more seriously. Whatever, that was last June. We want to keep a good relationship going, so we partially refunded the inspection fee and he is happy now. If it were anyone else, I probably would have pushed it a bit more, but it was not worth a few hundred bucks.
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[Michael R. Boyett]

Use the same logic on him at his next sermon. "Oh, Pastor Joe, you just didn't emphasize in red that I shouldn't cheat on my wife, so it's your fault". Well, maybe that's not a good example but you get the idea.

[Doug Edwards, CMI]

I have a statement in our agreement and also in a cover letter that we give or send to every customer prior to the inspection that specifically states that " we will not override any normal operating controls". I do not know if anyone normally does that but it is not a good practice for a HI. We did it for HVAC during troubleshooting procedures but never for a HI. If you override the normal controls you just made yourself responsible for anything (whether you caused it or not) that may go wrong with that piece of equipment. They can always come back and say you did not use the normal controls. It has happened, not to me, but to others. If the thermostat was faulty, I would have written that up as the biggest reason for not checking but also noted the outside air temp. AS stated though the idea that you can't check the emergency heat in a heat pump is wrong. I get the impression folks think that the small amount of heat generated is going to somehow damage the unit. It is a furnace. It is designed to get hot, very hot. A lot hotter than what you need to do an assessment. You do not need to set it on the highest setting in order to check it for function.