[AT] OT - Any HVAC people on here

[Mark Johnson]

Brad:

I have heard it said many times that duct tape is really great for 
almost everything except sealing ductwork.

My challenge here is that our basement is fully finished, so there's no 
easy way to access the ducts if they *do* leak. However, there's no 
ductwork running through unheated areas, so any losses there go into the 
house anyway. HVAC is original to the house (just over 20 years old 
now); air conditioning still seems to keep up OK. Have been 
intermittently looking at replacing the unit (gas furnace) with a 
high-efficiency air source heat pump, but with today's economic 
uncertainty, I'm unwilling to throw any money at it right now (guessing 
at $8-10k). 4 years ago an energy audit of the house scored 92/100 - 
after replacement of some leaky windows, door gaskets, and more 
insulation in the ceiling. Not bad for a then 16 year old tract 
house...natural gas is 'cheap for now' but could easily skyrocket again.

Can't speak for anyone else, but I have great respect for craftsmanship 
and pride in workmanship. I'll do crap work for myself in an emergency, 
but if I'm paying the freight I want it done right - and I won't quibble 
about price if the quality is there.

My $$ 1/50.

Mark J


On 6/25/2020 7:08 AM, bradloomis at charter.net wrote:
> Once you have made the brand decision, (good finds by Carl) installation is as much, if not more important. If your ducts are over 5 years old they leak. Again ductwork that leaks are a huge loss and at least here in California when one replaces a system the ducts need to be tested for leakage. Been the law here in California for the last two years. Of course there are those that scream overregulation and don't bother or don't even get the required permits to do the work, but if a contractor is worth his or her salt then they should do all those things. Then they are more likely to do a quality install and not some hack job. Of course higher cost.
>   
> Just for the heck of it, this evening I talked to my friend (friends for 55 years) that I worked for in the late 70s early 80s. He's been an HVAC contractor since 1974. We talked brands, installs, and efficiency. His explanation was spot on talking about efficiency. Studies have shown that the AVERAGE 20 year old and older homes duct leaks are 30%. That's heat or cooling in your crawl space or attic. He said systems we installed when I worked for him, by design of the time the ductwork using only duct tape were  leaky as heck. Natural gas was cheap and nobody cared about climate or the costs really. In a nutshell if you get your ducts sealed and use high efficiency equipment in heating alone it is possible to go from needing a 100,000 btu furnace to even as low as 40,000 btu. Cooling load will of course also come down. That will save you some coin for sure. Check out some of the HVAC Facebook groups. Unbelievable what kind of work people do. I couldn't live with myself if I did that kind of stuff. I'm coming from the perspective of being a licensed refrigeration contractor who jumped thru the hoops and always played by the rules. And a bit of pride in my workmanship. I'm done.
> My .02¢
> Brad