Can you help this fellow?

Ric Murray

Thank you all! I will forward the info.

Ric Murray

Tech questions to HVACTV.com

All:

People occaisionally send me tech questions at HVACTV.com that are about the industry and not about our website. I always refer them to The Wall, but then I never find out the answers! I'm posting this one because I'm curious myself.

Mike wrote:
It's good to know that I can ask you questions that I cannot find the answers to as fast. One problem I had the other day were filters that had been changed about a month before, but were black like from a chemical presence or something ....... Do you have any answers to why the filters would change to an almost black color without being dirty, in only a month or so? they were white! They have an old highboy that is over thirty years old, and a deteriorating ductboard duct system with an old Aprilaire 112 on the S/A plenum.. Their living area has black residue around the supply air outlets, and the returns also have it. I checked the combustion, and the heat exchanger looks good. There is a good draft, and no signs of sooting anywhere. I am trying to get them to change to metal duct, but I'm not sure they will. They are thinking of replacing their old HVAC system.
Do you have any idea why these filters are turning almost black? I have seen this on only a few other jobs in the past, but I do not know what the reason is. Can you enlighten me?

Thanks............Mike Newman

Steve Levine

Ric

I have not been following on the wall every day, especially this last week when I was on vacation. Nonetheless, they cause of most black soot deposits in homes, around registers, above baseboard radiation. etc., is ALMOST ALWAYS from candle burning. Most of them produce a great amount of soot.

Steve Levine

ed wallace

black filters

candles or cracked heat exchanger

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Joannie

Black Stuff

Click on "Hot Tech Topics" on the left, and then choose "Ghosting" (they are listed alphabetically). Good stuff over there on the left.

Mark A. Custis

I never bought into much of the

candle thing. I would look to asperigious niger of some othe creapy mold thing, especianlly in a newer home built out of wood chips and glue. I'm an Indoor air Quality freak.

Post back and I'll give you more just came off a roof.

Mark

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sootmonkey

candles, cracked heat exchanger, or they are burning "herbs" and/or incence.

Glenn Harrison

Two more thoughts,

Are there smokers in the house? I've been in a few houses with two smokers, one pack a day each that will turn a filter black in no time.

Do they have a fireplace that they use alot? The fireplace might be spilling back into the house due to lack of combusiton air.

Glenn Harrison, Residential Service Techician

Althoff Industries, Crystal Lake, Illinois

Althoff Industies Link

Mark A. Custis

Glen: do you do that voudoo that,

So I like Mell Brooks. We now do steam, hot h2o, air , music, movies, basketball, living wills and all the other stuff that makes it imparative to get up in the morning. Every day, without fail, they need us, and we need them.

I put up stuff about folks that can not breath, because "we" did this when and do dah, do dah.

I just wish to add breathing to what we do.

Hard day great week even if I was not in the windy, we all have been asking for spring. It is here or will come.

I hate needing to berate IAQ.

Mark

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