AboutJ Cook Expertise With 25+ years experience, I am familiar with residential, commercial, and industrial HVAC equipment including but not limited to boilers, chillers, reciprocating and screw compressors. I am trained in all manners of control wiring.
Experience I currently have three HVAC licenses and Refrigeration license by the State of North Carolina. I have been in this field for over twenty years. I have been a service technician for a contractor and also worked at a state college in the repair and maintenance of steam lines and equipment. I am currently the Building Maintenance Superintendent for a municipality.
Question The house did not have AC before atall. The house is 2700 sqft two story. The contractor says I need 5 tons to cool it. My question is that with existing 3/4" diameter return pipe, any technical problems like freezing, bursting pipe or any. I want to understand technical part of it. He says smaller unit may not cool the house and I don't want to spend money for repiping since it goes through bedroom, kitchen etc. Bottom line is if I go ahead with the existing 3/4" diameter return pipe and 5 tons, any issue? I want to understand what wrong can happen.
Thank you,
Hari
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Followup To
Question -
My house has a built in 3/4" diameter return pipe for AC. The condenser & evaporator have bigger diameter pipes. The return pipe in the house is approx 45 feet long. My question is using 5 tons Trane model # 2TTB3060A1000AA CONDENSER AND MODEL 2TXCD061AC3HCA COIL & ENCLOSURE WILL CREATE PROBLEM? I DON'T WANT TO SPEND MONEY IN REPIPING THE HOUSE.
Answer -
A 5 ton system will require larger lines. Out of curiosity, what was the original tonnage of the system and why is it being replaced with a 5 ton. Thanks, J
Answer A 3/4 line is not large enough for a 5 ton unit. The compressor will eventually fail due to lack of refrigerant flow. Depending on the length of the run, it may need to be larger than 7/8. The compressor is a pump, and the smaller lines will restrict the refrigerant flow and cause failure. Thanks,J
