I've had refrigerators all my life and never heard of cleaning their vent. How do I do this?
this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2024
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It's more the fan in the compressor/condenser in the back, hah. I just said vent because it was simpler for a title.
Understandable.
First, get some headlight fluid from Home Depot.
Damn, they only had blinker fluid.
Damn, that reminds me I need to change the HVAC filter!
Is there a good way to see if the current filter is running less efficiently, or do you just change it every 6 - 12 months regardless?
I get the extra thicc accordion style and I replace them at the manufacturer-suggested 6 months. The duct cleaners told me it should be done every 4 months, but he also said our duct weren't too bad and I hadn't had it done in like 6 years, so...
Duct cleaning is a scam fyi
Oh really? What makes you say that? I can see some buildup of lint past the returns and vents, but of course I can't see very far.
It’s a scam because as you just pointed out they can only clear the registers and can’t get very far into the ducts.
In most houses ducts have a lot of twists and turns. Some times your ducts will split off from the heavy sheet metal ducts and go down correlated tubes, etc.
It’s damned near impossible to clean the entire ducts and even trying could mean damaging a part of the duct you can’t even access.
The duct cleaners will try to convince you that they can clean every nook and cranny of your hvac system.
They clean like 20% of your ducts and call it good. It’s pointless.
Save the money and clean your own registers with some soap and water. The ducts won’t get cleaned anyway.
Thank you, I'll read up on it more.
The only duct I regularly clean thoroughly is the one for the dryer.
I don't want a lint fire.
The rest, as long as they don't have any obvious build up, they're probably fine. If they do, clean the vent cover, register and whatever I can reasonably reach. 👍
Every 6 months. But I slacked this year and didn't change them out before summer. So I'm going to start fresh now, and then change at the beginning of summer, and then again next year around Thanksgiving.
You should really be changing them once a month
Nice try, filter manufacturer!
Uh oh, me too. I hate doing it! Plus, filters are expensive if you get the good ones.
You dont need the good ones. In fact, sometimes the good ones can damage your HVAC system. If you use 3M filters, use the red label, not the purple label.
Don't I want a HEPA filter for better air quality, especially if I have a dog?
What i was told by an HVAC guy who was at my house to fix an issue was those more expensive filters make the system work harder as the filters limit airflow and that additional workload can cause issues.
physics wise that makes sense but modern systems should* be designed taking into account the air resistance of their specified filters
older or for any other reason more weak airflow systems probably do benefit from a less dense filter
*lol "should" means so little these days
Can you define older, or modern? Like how old is too old to have been designed for HEPA filters?
I cannot because I'm just a goofball with a mild interest in home improvement
Wikipedia says HEPA filters became commercially available in the 1950s though so anything older than that I'd bet some beer money would benefit from a less dense filter
I wouldn't think forced air heating systems that old are too common though tbh
Nice. Thanks for the information. I'll just keep using HEPA filters then. Speaking of which, it's time to buy a new one. QQ
it feels like it's ALWAYS time to replace the dsng filter
and i rent so i have to email a management company repeatedly to get it replaced 😭
We just didn't use a filter at all in our last rental. I know it's bad for the ducts, but the landlord was an asshole, and I wasn't about to spend my money to protect their investment.
good. fuck 'em. if i ever got desperate enough to replace one in my unit i'd keep the old one and put it back when i moved out lmao
Why can’t you just replace it yourself?
There's potentially a rule against it depending on who you rent from (idk w/ my current landlord corporation, would have to ask) and if they're feeling particularly vindictive they could try to use evidence of your "unauthorized repairs" to withhold security deposit.
ymmv depending on how sneakily you can replace an air filter
Nope. HVAC systems are not designed around filters. It’s the other way around. After market filters are designed around marketing and grabbing at your wallet, not caring about your hvac system.
High density filters are going to reduce air flow and your blow motor will be working over time.
Eventually you’ll wear your blower motor out and it will need to be replaced.
The world is full of shitty products. The onus is on you to sort through it.
this also makes sense, hmm.
is the best bet to examine the blower specs and find a corresponding filter grade?
where's that Alec guy when you need him...
Filters go by MERV rating. The higher the number the better the filter is at capturing small particles.
Your hvac system isn’t going to be rated for a specific MERV rating. Instead they are rated by air flow. Air flow is going to be affected by your duct work and other factors.
The best is advice is to stick around the 8 MERV rating or lower. Any higher and you may risk damage to the blower motor.
If you want to be sure and know for certain what the best filter size is then you’re best dealing with an hvac company. They can do a static air pressure test. They’ll know based off that figure how much you can reduce air flow (by virtue of the air filter) before the blower starts struggling and therefore select a MERV rating that’s aligned with your current air flow restrictions.
wait, no one told me about the schedule!
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
Installing a soft starter to smooth out the huge momentary rush in power the compressor motor experiences as it starts up. Thats by far the most impactful thing you can do to increase fridge lifespan to the point fridge manufacturers factor it in rush current in planned obsolescence calculations.
The problem is that soft starter kits are expensive and you need to be competent enough with electricity to wire it in.
You have my attention, do you know where I can find more information about it ?
Sure im happy to point you in the right direction. The most popular place they get discussed about and practically implemented is over on the DIY solar fourm website.
The offgrid renewables crowd with smaller battery supply who can just barely afford to put out enough wattage to run a fridge or AC are the ones who benefit most from soft starting. Then there are the nerds who like watching graphs that get off on maximizing system efficency and lifespan of their appliances.
The users of that fourm often go into technicals that I myself am unfamiliar with. Differences between motors and compressors of different phase and voltages. Its interesting to see how some people think about things.
I recommend just going through some different fourm post there related and read through what people say and what their situation and reasonings are if you want to learn more.
Here's a post I thought a had good info.
Theres plenty of YouTube videos on the topic too.
Its one of those really niche electrically technical things that not many people have the schooling to to fully understand the theory of. The few people that have a genuine good reason to go out of their way to do it have different understanding and implementations.
I don't mind answering questions if you wanted clarification as to how it works on a conceptual level.