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Can't get Carrier furnace to work---4 months later!

lopusone
lopusone Member Posts: 4
in Gas Heating
Ok, I'm just a mildly intelligent consumer--don't know much about furnaces at all. Moved into a new loft in September and the brand new furnace hasn't worked properly since. First it was 'short cycling'. Couldn't easily fix it, so they thought it was an issue with venting (80 feet away). The short cycling stopped, but now it 'flamed out'... Tried many things, and they ultimately replaced the entire unit. The problems continued. Note that this is installed horizontally (as in on its side); the 'best' tech from the company said the guys 'screwed up' when they installed, he did some stuff and it worked....for a week. Now it keeps flaming out again. They now think there's not enough gas getting to the unit. The gas company came and tested...it was 'over 7 inches' whatever that means (adequate I was told). But the tech said it might be that the supply is 1 inch into our unit, then goes to 3/4 then to 1/2 inch at the unit itself....he still thinks not enough gas. They replaced the regulator at the entrance to our unit. Someone else said its not getting enough air: it's 140,000 btu (for a 2400 sq ft unit!) and the only venting is a 16 X 20 grate. I looked in the book and it says if installed horizontally, there needs to be a vent on the bottom (meaning the left end, since it's sideways). The contractors are trying to fix it ( they're not blowing us off) but I think they are ill-equipped for what must be a complex issue. I thought of calling Carrier and seeing if they have a SWAT team or something ?
Help! Any suggestions are appreciated. We're cold in Michigan.
Thanks

Comments

  • Abracadabra
    Abracadabra Member Posts: 1,948
    Sounds like the "techs" you are using don't know what they are doing. If it's a new unit under warranty, ask Carrier to recommend someone that will service the unit under warranty and see if they find something. The terminology you are using doesn't do anything for me. A furnace "short cycling" typically to me means that either the furnace is oversized, the ducting is not correct leading to the heat exchanger overheating, a blockage in the return or insufficient return air flow. The original installer who installed should still be on the hook for the work they performed.
  • hvacfreak2
    hvacfreak2 Member Posts: 500
    edited March 2016
    Remove the combustion air intake pipe and see if it will stay running. That was always my quick test for these to at least narrow the possibilities. 80 ft 1 way is long for these.
    hvacfreak

    Mechanical Enthusiast

    Burnham MST 396 , 60 oz gauge , Tigerloop , Firomatic Check Valve , Mcdonnell Miller 67 lwco , Danfoss RA2k TRV's

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    Ironman
  • Paul S_3
    Paul S_3 Member Posts: 1,286
    edited March 2016
    Can u take pictures of the installation? Whats the model number?Do you have the installation manual ? Maybe they never switched from upflow to horizontal and not draining the condensate...or unit oversized will trip hi limit multiple times and eventually lock out
    ASM Mechanical Company
    Located in Staten Island NY
    Servicing all 5 boroughs of NYC.
    347-692-4777
    ASMMECHANICALCORP@GMAIL.COM
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    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/asm-mechanical-company
  • Ironman
    Ironman Member Posts: 7,612
    edited March 2016
    140k btus for 2400 sq. feet? That's at least twice the size it needs to be! And that's on the coldest night of the year. Anything warmer, and it's 3 - 5 times more than what's needed. No wonder it short cycles.
    Bob Boan
    You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
    SWEI
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,310
    If you could include pictures of the "cold air return" in your loft. This is your home air going into/thru the furnace and then pictures of the "hot air supply" leaving the furnace.

    Was the book still in its plastic bag?
    margsuarez
  • Abracadabra
    Abracadabra Member Posts: 1,948
    JUGHNE said:


    Was the book still in its plastic bag?

    ;) what are the odds of that?

  • lopusone
    lopusone Member Posts: 4
    Ok, thank you all for your comments. The first line from Abracadbra is obvious. I've attached a few photos...not sure if that will help. They did indeed screw up the horizontal thing at first...pools of water in the tray (it's installed onto a loft--ceilings are 14 ft and frees up floor space in utility room) so much so that it **** down because of moisture sensor...which they fixed by disconnecting it.
    Anyway, I have a call into Carrier to see if they have a 'furnace whisperer' that can come and figure it out.
    Sounds like it's way over sized....not sure if that can cause all of our issues, but....
    And ps our gas bills are double what our neighbors are in case that means anything
  • lopusone
    lopusone Member Posts: 4
    More photos
  • Abracadabra
    Abracadabra Member Posts: 1,948
    edited March 2016
    What's the first photo? The return? What room is it drawing from? I see doors. If supplies are in other rooms that are behind those doors, doors need to remain open if there's no way for air to get from those rooms to the room with the return on it. Also, in your last pic, looks like the return? pipe has separated from the elbow
    Mike
  • lopusone
    lopusone Member Posts: 4
    Yes, first photo is return. Feeds from a 30 ft long , 14 ft tall hallway. Yes, utility room/furnace behind that door (room is 11 X 20) But why does it matter if air is in there (open door)...its drawing air from hallway, no?
    And ps, the elbow is a flex material. It's sealed

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