# High suction pressure, low head pressure



## Italgrl (Mar 12, 2009)

A few months ago A/C repair company found high suction pressure & low head pressure. Replaced a valve in air handler. System is a 2 y/o, 5 ton Trane heat pump. 

This spring a/c doesn't seem to be cooling the house well. A different A/C company tells me my pressures are way off and shows me a bad valve that should be replaced. It's the SAME valve that was replaced at the end of last summer. 

What gives?


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## Doc Holliday (Mar 12, 2011)

What gives is known as a restriction in your refrigerant lines. When you have this done again, have new filter driers installed and make dang skippy they nitrogen pressure test and clean the lines. 

What you do is put about 200 pounds of nitrogen into the lineset (make sure it holds for about five minutes at 200 pounds to ensure no leaks) but do so with the shraeder valves removed. Then you simply disconnect your hoses from the shraeder ports and if there is any junk in the lines (apparently there is in yours) it'll fly out the shraeder ports. It makes a heckuva racket for a few seconds. Then you install the shraeder cores, pull a vacuum on the lineset and if by chance there is any residue left in the lines, the new filter drier will catch it. 

Most likely is when your system was installed they didn't do that. The flakes from brazing the copper line set are getting into your txv and clogging it up.


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## carmon (May 8, 2010)

high suction due to a restriction ..... mmmmm dont think so


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

There's a chance its a problem with the reversing valve.

Were your heating bills a bit high this winter? For as warm of a winter as most areas had.


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## COLDIRON (Mar 15, 2009)

Sounds like internal valve problems with the compressor. Or Bad valves.


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## carmon (May 8, 2010)

missed the heat pump part sorry...possible reversing valve .....


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## Italgrl (Mar 12, 2009)

beenthere said:


> There's a chance its a problem with the reversing valve.
> 
> Were your heating bills a bit high this winter? For as warm of a winter as most areas had.


I think the reversing valve is the one that has been replaced and needs to be replaced again. 

This is Florida and we had a warm winter and I did not use it at all. My bills in summer are astronomical in this house compared to any other I've ever lived in - similar size, same floor plan, same tonnage except the others were only 12 seer compared to the 16 or 18 seer I have now.


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## hvac5646 (May 1, 2011)

ooohhhhh...._ just love the title of this thread:laughing::laughing::laughing::thumbsup:_


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

Italgrl said:


> I think the reversing valve is the one that has been replaced and needs to be replaced again.
> 
> This is Florida and we had a warm winter and I did not use it at all. My bills in summer are astronomical in this house compared to any other I've ever lived in - similar size, same floor plan, same tonnage except the others were only 12 seer compared to the 16 or 18 seer I have now.


So is it a heat pump, or just an A/C. post the model number so we know.


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## hvac5646 (May 1, 2011)

carmon said:


> high suction due to a restriction ..... mmmmm dont think so


Damn Skippy.


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## Italgrl (Mar 12, 2009)

Trane Heat Pump (2 y/o) MODEL 2TEC3F18B1000AA


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

thats the model number of he air handler. need the outdoor unit to know if its a heat pump.


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## thermal-medics (Feb 11, 2012)

Italgrl said:


> A few months ago A/C repair company found high suction pressure & low head pressure. Replaced a valve in air handler. System is a 2 y/o, 5 ton Trane heat pump. quote]
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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