16 replies to this topic

[lynnemi]

Hello! I live in a 4 year old Condo with Trane/American Standard Central Air. My new next door neighbor must enjoy living in a freezer. The AC runs almost NON stop and is very noisy and vibrates along my bedroom wall making sleep impossible. It makes a loud buzzing noise and now a metallic sound. I can hear it way across the house in other rooms. It was running last spring while everyone else had on heat in the freezing conditions. I have been fighting the condo board to do something but they dont seem to get the problem and the Heating Contractor she had out tells them  nothing is wrong which is not what they told me when I had them out. I had another contractor come out at night who showed me that the intake line was frezzing up and there was a large ball of ice forming on the outside of it. :X

The other AC units here are not that noisy and shut off in an hour or so even in hot humid weather. This one runs 12 plus hours with out shutting off once. Now with the 50 degree nights it is even worse. It makes living here intolerable.

Any ideas what is wrong and where I can get documentation on the unit to show that it is not running? The letter from the contractor was not very detailed and I cant afford to keep having people come out.

Thank you.

 

 

[exsearsguy]

Without hearing the noise, I can't say much about that. But an ac running all night in 50 degree weather, I'm not surprised by a big ball of ice on the suction line. The evaporator was probably frozen up.

[lynnemi]

HI, thanks! Wouldnt the house be ICE cold if the AC had been running non stop for 12 plus hours? That is what we do not get :X Unless I can prove it is not working right there isnt much they will do. There are several different noises going along with the vibration factor.

[Rrey199]

  That unit may be a heat pump, explaining why it runs during cold weather. Have you talked to your neighbor about the problem? That would seem like the first step. If I understand it correctly, did you call out an A/C guy to check your neighbor's system? Wow!

If this thing does what you say, the electric bills must be staggering.

Talk to your neighbor, warring with the people who live next to you is insane.

[lynnemi]

Hello, it is not a heat pump. I tried talking to her early on. This thing started running back in Feb/march when she first moved in. No one could figure out what the nosie was. We thought she had some rennovation going on inside until one  day I walked out  back and was -its the AC unit! I asked her if she realized it was running non stop and there may be a problem as she came from down South and maybe was not familiar with Central Air here. She said if I didnt like it wear earplugs or Move.

I called the Builder to see if anything could be done to dampen the noise and he suggested having an AC person look at it and fix the unit. When I offered to do that at my expense she said ABSOLUTLEY NOT and slammed down the phone.

So one week while she was out of town ( yes it runs non stop in 4o degree weather while shes gone for weeks) I had a contractor come out and "observe" it from the outside. It is right next to the side of myHouse so its "common ground". He saw ice forming on the suction line and noted it was very loud and vibrating much more so than a normal unit.

She reminds everyone constantly "Money is not an object" and she can do what she wants over there bylaws or not. The Condo association seems afraid of these $$$ people.

In the mean time the constant noise day and night is beyond irritating. Unless a Deaf person wants to buy my house I am stuck with trying to find some way to deafen the noise or force the issue it is not working correctly so it needs to be fixed. No one has yet to figure out why it runs so much.:(

 

 

 

[exsearsguy]

lynnemi, if it is an iced up evaporator,then it won't get cold no matter how much it runs. It just gets worse. And maybe, if your lucky and this is what it is, eventually all the liquid refrigerant getting to the compressor will blow it up(liquid refrigerant will also make it loud). Then your problem will be solved and she gets to buy a new expensive ac. Maybe a quiet one.

[lynnemi]

[user=437]exsearsguy[/user] wrote:

lynnemi, if it is an iced up evaporator,then it won't get cold no matter how much it runs. It just gets worse. And maybe, if your lucky and this is what it is, eventually all the liquid refrigerant getting to the compressor will blow it up(liquid refrigerant will also make it loud). Then your problem will be solved and she gets to buy a new expensive ac. Maybe a quiet one.

:D I could only imagine that happening. Seems the way it runs it should have done it self in by now.  Its not like she has not been informed by several people something is not right.  Another neighbor said he noticed like a plastic bottle thing attached to it now that his does not have right about where the line is attached to the unit and where the ice was forming. What is the difference between an evaporator, condensor and compressor if you dont mind please?

[exsearsguy]

On an ac (not a heat pump,necessarily),the evaporator is what gets cold, the condenser is what throws the hot air outside and the compressor is what makes most of the noise and is what makes everything work. 3 of the essential parts of a conventional ac unit.

[lynnemi]

[user=437]exsearsguy[/user] wrote:

On an ac (not a heat pump,necessarily),the evaporator is what gets cold, the condenser is what throws the hot air outside and the compressor is what makes most of the noise and is what makes everything work. 3 of the essential parts of a conventional ac unit.

Thanks, any ideas on soundproofing the ##$#$#^$# thing? One contractor suggested a compressor jacket and vibration pad but would not guarentee that it would work. He quoted about $500 dollars to do it , IF we could get her to agree. Its 4 am, $48 degrees and the darn thing is roaring away , no sleep :(

[exsearsguy]

maybe a  white noise machine for your bedroom.

[lynnemi]

[user=437]exsearsguy[/user] wrote:

maybe a  white noise machine for your bedroom.

Hi, did that, Have to turn it up too loud to block the noise, then there is still the vibration up my wall that it reflects off. Can never have windows open either :X

Any ideas for soundproofing the unit itself? And THANKS for all your help :)

[exsearsguy]

A hedge perhaps,or a fence. And you don't have to see her , either.

 

[lynnemi]

LOL, Will see what they will allow. Yeah we see plenty of her in the Hot Tub which is right next to the AC unit. The more blockage the better!

[AccApp]

Most local codes require some kind of service disconnect which can be shut off from outside near the unit. Find it.

[lynnemi]

[user=9503]AccApp[/user] wrote:

Most local codes require some kind of service disconnect which can be shut off from outside near the unit. Find it.

:rocketman:LOL! You dont know how many times I have been tempted to hit that switch and put the thing out of its misery. I know right where it is. BUT then she would have the AC people out, they fix the problem, she would assume exactly who did it and Im pretty sure there would be some officers of the law called in the way she is.

[lynnemi]

[user=8359]ahammer48[/user] wrote:

Hello

 

I've heard of people shooting at the condenser coil with a pellet gun. But thats just what I've heard;););)

:D LOL! You don't know the things my friends and I have "imagined" that we would LOVE to do to it! :oops: