Hi Turtle-
New Orleans calling - Live in a 1200 sq ft old shotgun 12 ft ceilings. Last year converted a 27 x 24 room upstairs. I installed a 1.5 mr cool mini split with great results.
Problem is the downstairs is underserved with the 2.5 ton unit. It was probably too small to begin with, but now with the open spiral staircase open yo upstairs is no contest. The two bedrooms are fine summer and winter with the doors closed, but the front of the house ( under the open staircase) is sorely outmatched.
Since money matters, do you think I will see a noticeable improvement by installing a 3 or 3.5 air handler.

I read with interest your comment to the guy in Orlando that if it don’t work out , at least you only have to upgrade the condenser, but if this really isn’t gonna do much, I should probably not head down this road.

Thanks so much for taking time to counsel me.

Mike
Finally my question:

--
For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/maintenance/will-a-bigger-air-handler-make-any-difference-543122-.htm

On Monday, January 24, 2022 at 7:15:08 PM UTC-5, Mike wrote:
> Hi Turtle-
> New Orleans calling - Live in a 1200 sq ft old shotgun 12 ft ceilings. Last year converted a 27 x 24 room upstairs. I installed a 1.5 mr cool mini split with great results.
> Problem is the downstairs is underserved with the 2.5 ton unit. It was probably too small to begin with, but now with the open spiral staircase open yo upstairs is no contest. The two bedrooms are fine summer and winter with the doors closed, but the front of the house ( under the open staircase) is sorely outmatched.
> Since money matters, do you think I will see a noticeable improvement by installing a 3 or 3.5 air handler.
>
> I read with interest your comment to the guy in Orlando that if it don’t work out , at least you only have to upgrade the condenser, but if this really isn’t gonna do much, I should probably not head down this road.
>
> Thanks so much for taking time to counsel me.
>
> Mike
> Finally my question:
>
> --
> For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/maintenance/will-a-bigger-air-handler-make-any-difference-543122-.htm

2.5 tons sounds like enough for 1200 sq ft, especially when part of that is served by
a mini-split.. Not sure what you mean by installing a 3.5 ton air handler.. An air handler
is only the blower portion, so I think you mean installing a 3.5 ton system, which would
mean replacing the condenser unit, very likely the evaporator and possible the blower too,
ie it's like a whole new system. Best advice is get in a competent company or two to
evaluate the whole thing, figure out what can be done. Sometimes that could be something
like adding another return or two. I assume the AC is running full time, unable to maintain
the temperature? Has it been checked to make sure it's working correctly?

In article <16cd5b30825c8895$1$197710$4236dc63
@news.newsgroupdirect.com>, 6b28ea8090ab5106dc6f78bcb0b539ba@example.com
says...
>
> Hi Turtle-
> New Orleans calling - Live in a 1200 sq ft old shotgun 12 ft ceilings. Last year converted a 27 x 24 room upstairs. I installed a 1.5 mr cool mini split with great results.
> Problem is the downstairs is underserved with the 2.5 ton unit. It was probably too small to begin with, but now with the open spiral staircase open yo upstairs is no contest. The two bedrooms are fine summer and winter with the doors closed, but the front of the house ( under the open staircase) is sorely outmatched.
> Since money matters, do you think I will see a noticeable improvement by installing a 3 or 3.5 air handler.
>
>
>

The air handler needs to be matched to the compressor unit.

A 2.5 ton unit should be plenty for a 1200 sqft house. I would think
you must not have hardly any insulation in the walls and cealing area.

YOur unit needs to be sized to run enough to keep the humidity down.

I think there is a program called something like Magic J that tells what
size to use for the AC. A good AC company should do that .

On Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 10:12:27 AM UTC-5, Ralph Mowery wrote:

>
> A 2.5 ton unit should be plenty for a 1200 sqft house. I would think
> you must not have hardly any insulation in the walls and cealing area.
>
> YOur unit needs to be sized to run enough to keep the humidity down.
>
> I think there is a program called something like Magic J that tells what
> size to use for the AC. A good AC company should do that .

I think it's Manual J. Here's an explanation of the common 4 manuals. The point is that square foot sizing is the lazy way. Professionals do it right. https://www.bradleymechanicalva.com/learn/manual-j-s-d-t/

Turtle hasn't been around in a while, don't know where he went, he was pretty active 20 years ago. Hope he's okay. Stormy passed you know.

Too big in a place like New Orleans is much worse than too small. Too small will keep up most of the time. Too big will short cycle and your humidity goes way up. (unless you add reheat, and that isn't going to save money either on install or energy)

In article <727d651b-3adc-417b-92b7-f3a402ea3315n@googlegroups.com>,
timothy42bach@gmail.com says...
> I think there is a program called something like Magic J that tells what
> > size to use for the AC. A good AC company should do that .
>
> I think it's Manual J. Here's an explanation of the common 4 manuals. The point is that square foot sizing is the lazy way. Professionals do it right. https://www.bradleymechanicalva.com/learn/manual-j-s-d-t/
>
> Turtle hasn't been around in a while, don't know where he went, he was pretty active 20 years ago. Hope he's okay. Stormy passed you know.
>
> Too big in a place like New Orleans is much worse than too small. Too small will keep up most of the time. Too big will short cycle and your humidity goes way up. (unless you add reheat, and that isn't going to save money either on install or energy)
>
>

You are correct on the Manual J. I guess I was thinking of magic
Johnson the ball player.

It does take a correct size especially in very humid or dry climits to
feel comfortable even though the temperature is being held whever you
think it should be.

Ralph Mowery <rmowery42@charter.net> writes:
>In article <727d651b-3adc-417b-92b7-f3a402ea3315n@googlegroups.com>,
>timothy42bach@gmail.com says...
>> I think there is a program called something like Magic J that tells what
>> > size to use for the AC. A good AC company should do that .
>>
>> I think it's Manual J. Here's an explanation of the common 4 manuals. The point is that square foot sizing is the lazy way. Professionals do it right. https://www.bradleymechanicalva.com/learn/manual-j-s-d-t/
>>
>> Turtle hasn't been around in a while, don't know where he went, he was pretty active 20 years ago. Hope he's okay. Stormy passed you know.
>>
>> Too big in a place like New Orleans is much worse than too small. Too small will keep up most of the time. Too big will short cycle and your humidity goes way up. (unless you add reheat, and that isn't going to save money either on install or energy)
>>
>>
>
>You are correct on the Manual J. I guess I was thinking of magic
>Johnson the ball player.

Or perhaps you were conflating Dr. J. (Julius Erving II) and
Magic Johnson (Earvin Johnson Jr.).