What NOAA counts at Montgomery/Dannelly Field
NOAA's engineering weather data lists a station named Montgomery/Dannelly Field. In an average year there, NOAA counts about 1,477 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 3,183 hours above 67°F.
How this list is sorted
This checklist is grouped by how often a task comes around rather than by month: things to do every month the system runs, things to do when you switch between cooling and heating, the yearly visit from a technician, what to check after rough weather, and the questions to settle before replacing anything. Owner tasks need nothing more than a flashlight, a hose and a few minutes. Before opening any panel or reaching near the outdoor unit, set the thermostat to off and cut power at the furnace or air handler switch and at the outdoor disconnect.
Every month the system runs
- Pull the filter and look at it against a light. If little light gets through, replace it and write the date on the frame.
- Find where the condensate line ends outside or at a drain. If the outlet stays dry after the air conditioner has been running for a long stretch, ask a technician to check the line for a clog.
- Shine a flashlight into the pan under the indoor coil, if you can see it. Standing water there is worth a call.
- Walk the rooms and make sure supply registers are open and return grilles are not blocked by furniture or rugs.
- Keep a cheap hygrometer in a living area and note the indoor humidity reading now and then, along with the thermostat setting.
- Listen when the system starts. A new rattle, squeal or buzz is worth jotting down with the date.
At each changeover
Switching over to cooling
- Clear leaves, grass clippings and anything stored against the outdoor unit, and cut plants back so air can move freely around it.
- With power off at the disconnect, rinse the coil fins with a gentle stream from a garden hose. Never use a pressure washer on the fins.
- Check the foam insulation on the larger copper line running into the house. Cracked or missing sections can be noted for the technician.
- If a condensate pump is fitted, pour a little water into its reservoir and watch that it pumps out. If a float switch is fitted, ask your technician how to test it.
- Run cooling on a mild day, before you really need it, and feel the air at a few registers after a while.
- Change the thermostat schedule for the cooling months.
Switching over to heating
- Run the heat on a cool day ahead of real need. A faint dusty smell for a short while can be normal; a sharp electrical or scorched-plastic smell is a reason to switch off and call.
- Test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, and put fresh batteries in any that take them.
- Clear leaves away from a heat pump's outdoor coil, and from any plastic intake and exhaust pipes leaving a side wall.
- Replace the thermostat's batteries if it uses them, and set the heating schedule.
The yearly technician visit
Ask for the readings and findings to be written on the service ticket, not just spoken. Items worth asking for:
- refrigerant pressures and temperatures, and the temperature drop across the indoor coil;
- a look at the capacitor, contactor and electrical connections in the outdoor unit;
- cleaning or inspection of the indoor coil and the blower wheel;
- flushing or clearing the condensate line, and a check of any float switch;
- on a gas furnace, the burners, flame sensor and ignition parts, a look at the heat exchanger, and a combustion and carbon monoxide reading;
- on a heat pump, the defrost controls, the reversing valve and the backup heat strips.
Ask what, if anything, the technician would watch before the next visit, and keep the ticket.
After rough weather or an outage
- When power comes back after an outage, wait a little before restarting the system, then check that the thermostat kept its settings.
- Walk around the outdoor unit for fallen branches, flattened fins, debris inside the casing or a pad pushed out of level.
- If water reached the outdoor unit's base, the air handler or the furnace, leave the system off until a technician has looked it over.
- Photograph damage before moving or cleaning anything, and ask your insurer what it wants to see.
Signs that should not wait for the yearly visit
- A breaker that trips again after you reset it.
- Ice on the copper lines or the indoor coil. Switch the system to fan only and call for service.
- Water on the floor near the indoor unit, or a new stain on a ceiling below it.
- A system that turns on and off in short bursts.
- A burner flame that turns yellow or lazy, or soot around the furnace.
- A carbon monoxide alarm. Get everyone out of the house and call from outside.
Before you agree to a replacement
When a repair estimate runs high, ask the same company to price a replacement too, so you can weigh both. Questions for that quote:
- Is the proposed size backed by a room-by-room load calculation, and will the report come with the paperwork?
- What is the AHRI reference for the matched indoor and outdoor pair, and which ratings does it list?
- How does the proposed equipment handle indoor humidity, and which fan setting do you recommend?
- Are duct testing and sealing priced as their own line?
- What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?
- Which permits does the job need, and who arranges the inspection?
- Can you provide proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation before work begins?
A log kept at the equipment
Tape a sheet inside the closet door beside the air handler, or keep a note on your phone. Record the filter size and every change, each service visit with its date and readings, any refrigerant added, parts replaced, and the model and serial numbers of the indoor and outdoor equipment. When the next technician arrives, the history is already there, and a warranty claim has dates to stand on.