Q. Is it OK to pour drano or similar products down the pvc drain lines of your a/c unit to keep them clean? Also is there any reason I should not install a "T" PVC joint where the drain lines come out of the unit so that I can do this w/out having to detach the drain lines to do maintenance?

A. You can pour dilute chlorine down the drain, once you have cleared the line. It is possible to blow out the line with compressed air, CO2 or the ole' fashioned tuba method. You can install a clean out T in the line. They now manufacture a cleanable trap with a clear u joint so that you can monitor the drain. I'm not sure if is available at home stores, but you might be able to get one from a local company that installs HVAC equipment AND they sell over the counter. If you go with PVC T, install with the T junction up and add a 6-inch riser. Pick up a tight-fitting cap for the top of the T. Don't use glue on the cap, just snug it up.

Q. Ok so i am ddeciding whether to buy a porsche 944. i just need a list of what to look for. i dont plan on taking it to the track but just to drive 3 or 4 times a week to and from destinations. if i were to drive it casually would it still end up breaking down and repair costs skyrocketing? i just need to know what to look for when buying it and if many parts of the car will need repairing/replacing even if i do not abuse it on the race track Mileage: 136,000 Body Style: Coupe Exterior Color: Silver Interior Color: Burgundy Engine: 2.5L I4 Transmission: MANUAL 5SPD Drivetrain: N/A Doors: 2 Wheelbase: 94 Inches Options Included: Air Conditioning, Cruise Control

A. Gabe, I understand this will be a "Long winded answer" but try to take it in, after having a 924 and 944, and doing the maintenance on both, there is a lot to learn about these cars. So I enjoy helping anyone when I can. No matter how you drive a car, parts will eventually break down, and need replaced. The thing about the 944 is that parts can be costly, they are FAR more difficult to work on comparatively to their 924 little brothers and have different maintenance intervals. At 136,000 miles, you are approaching the wear for the mainshaft bearings if they haven't already been replaced. As well as the clutch if that isn't already replaced. On top of this you'll need to change the timing belt every 3 years or 40,000 miles. To buy the tools alone, just to do these things alone, yourself, the clutch kit will be about $400-600, the tools for the timing belt are $150-200, and the bearings will be about $100 + the tools to do those. If you have the time to do it you're looking at about 4 hours for the timing belt, 6 hours for the mainshaft rebuild, and a lot more for the clutch. This doesn't include the actual timing belt cost, which will be around $100 to get the belt and countershaft belt. If you've never done a timing belt, it may be a bad idea to start with a 944 as the first one as they are an interference engine, and if you get the timing belt off by a tooth or two and start it up, you'll bend all the valves in the engine and then get to learn how to install new valves and guides as well. The other things to keep in mind is that these cars are horrendously neglected by the previous owners on a common basis as there are very few shops that know these cars extremely well since they are so old. To keep the car from "Breaking down" you'll need to keep on top of the maintenance. That means ensuring to stay up on what Porsche recommends. Brake flush every other season, keep on top of inspecting the fluids, make sure to check the belts from time to time, make sure to inspect under the shield for the clutch and flywheel from time to time as they have rubber centers on the disc that can tend to wear out, inspect and repack wheelbearings at intervals replacing if necessary, flushing tranny at the right intervals with GOOD fluid. And most importantly using GOOD OIL on the changes as the 944 has hydraulic lifters in the engine that will go out over time if they are starved and lose the seals in them and seep oil which is costly to replace. As others have recommended, it is extremely important to have the car personally inspected. Make sure if you do have it inspected that you take it to someone who specializes in these unique cars, as said before there are not a lot of dealers or shops that specialize in them and it's harder to find knowledgeable people on them on the things to look for. If you are by any means new to these cars do not buy one without having it looked at FIRST. Here are some major things you can look for as a buyer that you should be able to tell: - Hydraulic lifter noise - will sound like a very aggressive TICKING coming from the car. Will sound worse when the engine is revved. If the lifters are going bad, or having a hard time, or have crap oil in the car, the sound will sound slightly better as the car warms up but WILL NOT go away. Normal lifters will be noisy for a minute or two, and the sound will almost entirely dissipate once the car is warmed up. Sort of a "clackityclackityclackity" almost like a slight "diesel motor" type clicking at startup. Again, normal operation this will go away within a minute or two of the car warming up. - Wheel bearings - if the user/seller of the car is willing to let you inspect it in the garage, have the car jacked up, wiggle the wheels by grabbing the top and bottom of the tire and trying to wiggle it. If there is play and it can be wiggled the bearings are loose, need repacked, or could be bad. There also should be no audible "clunk clunk clunk" when you spin the wheel freely. - Wiring - Look at the fuse box. It should look CLEAN. If there is any white corrosion, you're going to face some serious wiring issues in the near future. Stay away. Also check the engine bay and wires for any similar issues. - Tail lights - as the seals wear out in the 924/944 tail lights they can attract water, and corrosion. Pull carpet back, check wiring for corrosion, and lights for corrosion. - Clutch pedal - Common for some years to have the master cylinder seep if it sits too long due to bad seals. The clutch should feel STRONG, and be STRONG when let out. If you feel it STRONG in, and then PARTIAL out and then snap back, or slowly retract, you may be facing seal issues, this can be inspected by laying on your back, looking up PAST the fuse box, at the top of the pedal where it attaches to a rubber boot, if it looks WET or dirty from fluid, it is is leaking. This is a big PITA to fix. Again, inspect this. - Timing belts - can't really check them without pulling the covers off. So your best bet is to ask for CLEAR records. Again, interference engines, if they are not changed at the interval, and snap, you get to buy new valves and guides, yeehaw. Make sure the car has good records. These are all things you can check if you look for them, and all of which are fairly common on the 944 to need replacing. More so on used cars being sold as many people find out they need fixed, get a quite, and don't feel like dealing with it. Get it inspected, check these things out yourself, and make a good decision. The last time I got a quote on a timing belt replacement at a Porsche dealership it was $2000, i've heard others at $800, and $1500. Either way you cut it, when the materials cost $100, that says something about how much fun these cars are to work on. If you're mechanically savvy and aren't afraid to tackle it, they're a ton of fun, but can be draining sometimes to work on. Again, I'm in no way deterring you from buying one, simply being realistic. They are a deceivingly maintenance involved car. A lot of people will say "Poor man's Porsche." but while some would say it's because they are entry level, others would say it's because they'll nickel and dime you till you get tired of paying for it. Do the maintenance yourself if you want to keep the cost down. It'll cost you mostly just your time, rather than the cost of the parts. Otherwise if you take it to a dealer, you'll end up paying the cost of the car in labor easily in a short period of time. Great cars though. They're fun, handle well, quite reliable when running strong (long as you keep them that way), and have decent power. I'm actually driving a 944 as my daily, and the 924 is my play car, and project track car. The 944 is getting around 30-33mpg on the highway for me so I won't complain, that's impressive coming from a 2.5L engine, given the displacement. If you do get it, do a tuneup on it right away, people leave the cap and rotor and wires to rot on them all the time. A good tuneup and they run like a champ. Make sure to check the do it yourself check items above, inspect the car, and if they give you green light, enjoy it. Wonderful cars. If you're looking for an easy entry level porsche with LESS maintenance and similar design, the 924 has superb handling, a smaller engine, a different injection system, and is far easier to work on. They don't have all the power features like power steering, nor are they as "Civilized" and "Grown up" as the 944, but for a driver's experience I actually have MORE fun in my 924 than my 944. But the 944 just feels more comfortable for daily driving, that and you just don't see them a lot.

Q. Hi. Yesterday our AC stopped working on the first floor. We called our AC company and they said that our compressor is "grounded" (I assume fancy word for "dead"). We have a Carrier Model# 38CMC060300 Serial# 0399E02028 year - 1999 This is what the technician diagnosed: "The downstairs air conditioner is not working due to a grounded compressor. As a result the breaker trips right away when power is applied to the condenser. Recommend new AC and a new disconnect" Then they sent out an air conditioning specialist that said we need the following: "new condenser, furnace, coil, disconnect t-stat, whip filter grill, filter, hanger, flu pipe, iso-pads, ez float, crane for lifting" Should we get all this or just try and replace the compressor? The unit is about 10 years old but from what I've read they should last longer. Then I've been told that in the AZ heat that they don't last very long at all. (FYI, we are contracted with a company for regular maintenance twice a year) We have a split gas attic with 2 ac units (1 for each floor). Our house is 3000 sf and we like to keep the temp between 68/night and 78/day. With AZ living what would be the best unit to buy? Which is the "best" brand to go with? Does anyone know of a good installer in the Phoenix area? Any other information that you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Where would I read to find out about the do's - dont's, can - cant's.... basically what can I read that will help me to understand the issues while talking with the professionals.

A. 3 more hvac companies are gonna charge you an expensive service call each so that would be like resolving this issue in the wrong direction. You're trying to save as much as possible through this ordeal and since its tripping the breaker everytime right off the bat, then they're right. So, here's your choice, to replace the compressor costs about $1100.00 dollars. To replace the entire system will cost about 5 to $6000.00. Yes the new system will save quite a bit on your utilities. Also keep in mind that there is still a lot more components left on your system now that can go out as well. So its like a game of risk sometimes. ENI MEANI MINI MO.

Q. My aunt has not cleaned their air ducts in 5 years(ever since they moved into the house) and they have not been using an air filter since. She lives in northern cali and uses the heater during the winter and the a/c not so much during the summer. I saw the part where the air goes into the duct and it was covered with so much grey dust that i just HAD to vaccum it for her. There were 2 of these. They were both downstairs up close to the ceiling. Their house is 2 story. one was next to the stairs I told them they should buy an air filter because her whole family has asthma including her, but they're scared that the filter might catch on fire! Their youngest son (4) also just recently got asthma after winter. But they dont really get allergies in the house in the summer because they have windows open but its only in the winter when they have the heater on Dont you think they need this or is it just me? Do you suggest air duct cleaning? since its been so long without a filter

A. To give you an idea of how much dirt is in the duct work you can look inside the ducts or supply air runs by removing the diffusers. What you should be more concerned about is the dust that may be attached to the blower wheel and the evaporator coil and if the furnace is High efficiency it may have a secondary heat exchanger that may also plug up. If any of these actually plug right up with dust It may cause the air conditioning to freeze up. What is required is a full heating and cooling planned service maintenance check and cleaning. Many heating and cooling companies have a program in place and will go as called or will sign you up for an annual maintenance. The annual maintenance might be a good idea for them as they will also change the filter regularly. The usual cost of a maintenance program is what they would charge for 1 1/2 -2 hrs labour and any parts that you would need like a filter.

Q. I have had so many problems in this building. I have a very classy spa and a middle to upper class clientele. Every time it rains the sealing plaster falls and I have water in the shop. 5 times this has happened. The business next door jack hammers the floor during business hours and the sound is so loud that I have lost customers. There drain pipe backed up and flooded my shop and they don't have insurance! In August our Air conditioning unit was stolen so we lost customers because they could not take the heat in the shop. After that the landlord had some guys cut a hole in the rest room to run a line to the A/C unit but they left a hole in the wall for 3 weeks! There is a market in my strip that puts animal parts in the trash can so there were flies and maggots every where. I pay 150 per month for CAM cleaning and maintenance but there is trash everywhere. I try to meet with the property manager but he goes to India for months at a time. So when issues arise I have to wait for his return... Is there any way that I can get out of this lease? Do I have rights? Please Help!

A. You own this business and you should be successful, this property is slowing you down, it keeps your customers away. this should not happen. i would get a lawyer and break the lease at the same time try to get my money back. you have a property manager who does not care about you, so why should you care about him??? you keep spending money and you are not getting it back. find another place and before signing a new lease please have a specialist look into the building making sure everything works, sometimes it's best to leap before you sow.

Q. Just looking for ideas to check for when a service technician comes out to look at my air conditioning. I know these guys are very busy this time of year and just want to be careful that I am not being taken for a ride as they tell me a whole lot of this that may not even be the problem so they could just charge more. Basically, my problem is if you feel the skinny high pressure line from my condenser unit outside it is colder than the insulated line and I don't think that is the way it should be. My neighbors high pressure line is hot, why is mine not? The cooling inside is doing okay but it feels as if it should be cooler. Also any advise on what else I could check for myself before I call the service tech would be greatly appreciated.

A. Its hard to say what your system is doing unless we had system pressures, superheat and subcooling readings. Does the air off the top of the condensor feel warm? it should be at least warm. Now your liquid line( skinny line) shouldnt be hot but it shouldnt be cold either, the heat is pulled from the refrigerant at the condensor and is cooled down back to a liquid state from a gas state, the temperature of the liquid will drop as it makes its way back to the indoor coil. You can check your temps in the house, you should have about an 18-22 degree split between the air returning to your unit and the supply air coming from the air registers.

Q. I went to school for hvac got out and started at a company but they started me out as an installer and im not sure if thats the start i wanted to this career i mean if i need it ill do it but what else can i do apartment maintanence or look for a helper position or should i just stay and try to become a lead install and how long would it take to become a service tech from an install?

A. School can teach you the fundamentals, but you NEED hands on experience to learn the things they don't teach you, the tricks of the trade if you will. Besides, isn't installing an AC part of being a tech? There are very few occupations where you can just take what you learned in school and jump into the real world. Most occupations have some form of apprenticeship. Did they teach you how to deal with customers that overlook your shoulder? Code violations you find? Dealing with building inspectors? Getting paid? Dealing with suppliers? Writing up estimates? Did they teach you EVERY cause of every problem in an AC? Have you been taught on every make and model there is, old and new? (I had to read and interpret the wiring diagram on my air handler to the ac tech working on my system that couldn't figure it out). If you're as independent as you think you are, the company will soon recognize your talents, and let you go on to other responsibilities. And just remember, with the economy the way it is, there are plenty of unemployed craftsmen that would be willing to start at the bottom again. Be humbled.

Q. This is kinda long so bear with me. Firstly, I have to confess I know absolutely nothing about the workings of my A/C. I am utterly challenged in the area of HVAC technology. I also grew up in countries that did not have AC so until I moved into my home, I never knew anything about maintenance or changing the filters (which I do religiously every 2-3 months). I moved into my condo two years ago and have been successfully using the heating and AC unit ever since until this Summer when weird things started happening. Back in March I had a technician come by and do a service. Then in April/May, when things normally start getting warm around here, the weather was cool and yucky so altho the thermostat was turned to cool it really wasn't needed. Oh, and ever since I moved in the FAN setting has been on Auto (the other option is On). Back in May one evening it turned really warm and when I got home the condo was a balmy 82º! Everything was turned on as usual, but there was no cold air coming from anywhere and the AC was totally silent. I tried adjusting the temperature settings, switching the thermostat off/on, going thro the entire program settings . . . the only thing that worked was switching the Fan from Auto to On. Switching it back only turned the AC off. After about 4 hours the temp finally fell below 80º at home and I was able to switch the Fan to Auto without it turning the AC off. Since then it has worked fine BUT this past week we again had very cool unseasonal weather and so it hasn't been working. Except for today when the temp outside rose and it's very humid too. Sure enough, the AC is only working right now in the On setting. So . . . all you HVAC experts, what is going on?! Is there a real problem I should have checked out ASAP or is it just doing this because the AC isn't being used several days at a time? Should I be concerned and calling the service technician out again?

A. Many people think they know what is going on with an AC unit but are totally wrong so don't slit your wrists. From the sounds of it, you need some straight up advice so here it is. Bear with me as I tend to run off at the mouth. Since the AC worked well the past 2 years I would tend to think something changed when the technician did the service on it. It may be that he did something or it may be that something has failed since. Be that as it may, let me explain a couple things for you. Your AC unit is made up of 2 seperate parts, the outdoor condensing unit and the indoor air handler. The thermostat receives its power (24 volts) from a control board in the indoor unit. The power is provided from the transformer near the control board. The control board may have an led light on it. Built into the control board are some chips and resistors and capacitors and most important some relays. One of the relays is the indoor fan motor relay. That relay controls which speed winding is energized in the fan motor. Indoor blowers usually have 2 speeds they need to operate at. For the cooling cycle, the high speed winding is needed. For the heating cycle, the low speed winding is needed. Most AC units come from the factory with indoor blower motors with up to 4 speed windings. They should already be set up so your proper windings are connected and since you have a couple years of good operation its reasonable to assume that they are still connected correctly. Let's talk about the thermostat for a minute. The thermostat has 2 switches on it. One switch is used to choose either HEAT or COOL. That switch often has a setting for AUTO to let the thermostat choose the needed cycle. It should also have an OFF setting. The FAN switch has ON and AUTO settings. When the ON setting is used the indoor blower motor is energized by the board on its high speed winding. In the AUTO position the correct speed is selected for cool or heat automatically. When the control board "sees" a call for cooling, the indoor blower is energized on its high speed winding from the board. When the control board "sees" a call for heating, the blower is energized on its low speed winding. The control board also sends power to the outdoor condensing unit to run for cooling or to the furnace to run for heat. Usually, all of this is taken care of for you by the thermostat set points. It sounds like you may have a problem with either your thermostat or with the control board. I would recommend that you have a qualified service technician come and check it out. It should take no more than about 30 to 45 minutes to have a good handle on it. The technician should be able to tell you just what is going on and what if any repairs might be needed. Most service companies now have fixed prices for whatever you may need and they should be able to tell you the total cost of that work including labor before they do any work. There will likely be a service charge for the diagnostics but that will usually be included in the actual repair if you elect to have it done by them. I hope this helps.