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Home AC unit

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marde239
marde239 Member Posts: 5
in A-C, Heat Pumps & Refrigeration
Hello. I have my 3 ton ac unit in my attic on third floor. The thermastat is on second floor which get gets very cool during summer. First floor is not as cool. When I put my 5x25 honeywell air filter in, it seems to get dirty very quickly(within a few days) can that be restricting air flow to my first floor? When I walk down from my attic I noticed inside the Return looks dusty. Would simply cleaning out the return help air flow or do I need to clean all the ducts?

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  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,673
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    marde239 said:

    Hello. I have my 3 ton ac unit in my attic on third floor. The thermastat is on second floor which get gets very cool during summer. First floor is not as cool. When I put my 5x25 honeywell air filter in, it seems to get dirty very quickly(within a few days) can that be restricting air flow to my first floor? When I walk down from my attic I noticed inside the Return looks dusty. Would simply cleaning out the return help air flow or do I need to clean all the ducts?

    You're going to have to post a lot of pictures, or a drawing of the duct work for help on this.

    We have no way of knowing how your system is laid out.
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • Mike
    Mike Member Posts: 94
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    The air filter is restrictI've to begin with. Weather it's a 1in or 5in thickness, the higher the number the more restrictions. And the more dirt it collect s, less air can pass threw it. Who ever installed the system should have taken the filter size into account, and adjustEd the air flow accordingly. A dirty filter will restrict the air flow to the whole system, not just certain areas. So if you have less air to the first floor, your getting less to the second and third floors also. As far as duct cleaning, how old is the system, and how much is it used? Try to look inside the ducts. It should be fairly clean. The filter was originally designed to keep the coil clean, not to purify the air,as now the norm. A dirty filter can seriously damage the system. We recommend to change, or at least check it once a month.
  • John Mills_5
    John Mills_5 Member Posts: 951
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    The 16x25 Honeywell is OK for 1400 CFM according to them, 20x25 for 2000 CFM. Obviously there's some static drop but sure beats a 1" pleated filter. They do get restrictive fast if they are plugging up. Could be an opening in the return ducting allowing dusty attic air in. Most change these type of filters annually.

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