I have a 3 ton central heat/air unit. It has a part outside the house and a part inside the house that looks like an A. For 3 days now the heater hasn't blown. It gets warm at the inside part and the blower works on AC and when I switch it to ON. The blower doesn't work on HEAT and automatic setting. My dad was going to try installing a new thermostat today but it suddenly started working again. What could be going on? It's been really cold. Could the outside part (box the blows air out when it's running) freeze or something? I'm glad it's working now but I want it to keep working. What could be the trouble and how could I fix it? I'm on a fixed income so calling a repairman should be my last option.
There okorder or im me through yahoo messenger and I will try to assist you in resolving the problem.
Yep, the problem is most commonly at the valves. First try to bleed the system of any trapped air by openning the valves. If this doesn't work, then flush the radiators and see if that helps. However, if these things fail, the pipes are probably clogged at the valves. It may be that you can re-plumb the and clear the stopped valve to get the down-line radiators operational. However, due to the age of the system, it is likely that they all have some significant degree of blockage. If it were me, and if the lower level is working, I'd re-pipe the whole upstairs to start. When you say 'conventional pipe', is it galvanized steel pipe or copper? Galvi, which was commonly used, rusts from the inside out and over a period of years, slowly strangles the pipes flow. Galvi is now considered an inferior material for plumbing, except for venting purposes. Consider, if you are dealing with Galvi and disconnect the pipe in question, it could be so badly rusted that it may crumble. You may not find enough good pipe to couple a quick fix repair. At minimum, be prepared to re-pipe the length between that good bathroom to the next radiator. Replace Galvi with copper. If it's more than you are comfortable with, then hire a licensed plumbing contractor for that bath to bedroom part of the job. Watch the plumber do the work, then maybe you can by the materials and do the rest yourself, especially if you have wrenches and can solder. The materials won't be too expensive, but the plumbers labor and profit margin on a complete re-pipe will not be cheap.
