Changing out a heat pump stand with unit in situ
Hi all
I have a 36,000 BTU unit which was installed on a Senville stand around 4-5 years ago.
The Senville stand has rusted quite badly (Canada) and concerned about it's ability ongoing.
I want to change the stand over to an aluminum one (height is almost identical, and can dig out/add a think layer of stone as required to match height 100%).
But I don't want the expense or hassle of having the system drained and refilled, and so I ideally want to do it with the unit in place.
Understand that the hard lines must not move, and am considering building a temporary frame of some kind to hold it in place whilst the stand is changed over.
Does anyone here have experience with this process?
Comments
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Can it be done….Yes.
Just remember 1 mistake and that minor fee to pump the system down gets really expensive!
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I'm in Canada. The minor fee was $600 that last time I had it done.
Hoping to avoid that, especially as it's not needed.
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If you're careful, it's not too difficult. There is often some give to the copper as well: soft copper (linesets) are, well, soft; and even if it's hard pipe (ACR), well, it's still copper.
Jut don't drop it, & get it back to the same elevation.
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The replacement refrigerant will be 2X that + labor
Your risk!
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I had to do pretty close to this, my case swapping for wall mount to ground mount (note, wall mount on studs is a very bad idea).
Used a longer ladder over the unit and suspended it with two ratchet straps on one of the rungs. The unit is much heavier on the compressor side so make sure it is properly supported on that end.
Used the ratchet straps to take the load off the existing mount then simply removed the wall mount and built new ground mount under it. Dropped it back down once done. The outdoor unit had barely moved.
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Thanks for the input, much appreciated!
I hadn't considered lifting it from above using a ladder an ratchet straps. I had considered lifting from above, but was concerned it might want to move too much so was looking to build a frame wider than the base to support it from underneath (no movement). I considered adding a bolt and nut to the frame legs in some way to make them adjustable (i.e. to lift the unit a couple of mm clear, and then easily remove the old stand knowing the weight is support, kind of a micro jack).
It's given me extra thoughts, appreciate the input 👍️0 -
For $1200 plus labor for replacing the refridgerant, I'll definitely try doing the stand swap over!!! I don't need that cost in my life (if I can avoid it) 👍️
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Place a ladder over the outdoor unit and suspend the unit with the proper straps to handle the weight. I actually owned something that was made for lifting condensing units to a roof using a ladder as the crane support. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1sE-y3RadDc But you can just use straps on the ladder to lift the unit a few inches.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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Use two straps one side to side and one front to back so the unit can't fall out of the sling
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I used a ladder crane a couple of time to lift compressors to a roof. Didn't like it much. The shop I worked for thought it would save money instead of having two men on the job.
Is the one in the video electric? The one we had fit on the ladder rungs and you had to crank it like starting an old car. Cranking and having to push the ladder out to have the compressor clear the building was risky.
I worried about the ladder feet kicking out and would brace it against my truck when I could.
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I owned the electric version. and all roof top jobs needed 2 men to operate the ladder crane. Once the two men part of the job was completed, the second mechanic could go do other work. or if it was a helper without a truck, then he stayed as a runner from the roof to the truck and learned how to use a vacuum pump and micron gauge.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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Thanks for the input and advice!
I have a metaltech scaffold here (the yellow one), and I think the best option would be to set that up safely over the unit, then put a ladder horizontally across the rungs on the two uprights (and lock them into place with clamps), and then attach ratchet straps over the ladder and under the unit on both sides (and maybe add a pair of back-up ratchet straps on the insides of the legs of the heat pump in case of - hopefully unlikely - slippage.
If I do it carefully I think this should work well. As long as there's no swing back and forth as this would make the unit want to pull away from the lines, but correct positioning of the ladder should be able to prevent this.
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Does it have a plank? Wrapping the straps around the plank would be better than a ladder.
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2 people would make the rest of the job 3 times faster to also have someone to go get things and hold things. Maybe this is part of why trades can't get new people. I'll have to rant about the company I had make gutter for me to install last Monday sometime.
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No, the metaltech do not have planks just the full-width (2.5' approx) platform.
This is why I thought to put the platform on the highest rung (6') and then put a ladder (or similar) on a lower rung closer to the unit. The ladder should be around the same width as the unit, which will help stop it wanting to move backwards and forwards. And I can slide the ladder around within the rung gap to get it directly above the unit, and then clamp it into place.
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This is the unit I have:
(I also have height adjustable feet, would not use wheels for this!)
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@Lion_Heart, it appears the your Scaffold is the perfect item to lift the outdoor unit off the stand about 3". that should give you plenty of room to remove the old stand and install the replacement stand. I would not stress over it, just lift, replace and lower. 3"- 4" movement should be no problem. If the line-set is strapped vertically to the wall, then remove the support straps for extra movement.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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I wouldn't use a ladder across the scaffold. Get a 4 x 4 or something similar or screw some 2 x 4s together at least 3-4 of them so it doesn't roll. The unit isn't very heavy. You only have to pick it 2"
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the floor of the scaffold which is essentially a proprietary plank is designed t support a couple hundred pounds over a a horizontal span.
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