Since I have nothing better to do:

progress

A selection of one of my favorite muses 🦖💕

I mean, if I'm replacing the capillary metering with a TXV and a reversing valve I probably COULD actually just use the 134a calibrated hardware to convert it too, it'd be a fair bit of work but since I'm only worth 18 bucks an hour and I've never actually paid for a window unit, that's a steal...

Hell, if they were 134a units I'd just get some piercing valves and an empty cylinder and retrofit reverser valves onto my window/wall ACs, it'd save me SOME money anyway, but nope, they're R410a and R22 respectively and I can't get new freon for those without a license. Damn shame.

I mean, really I think my problem's just wanting something centralized, low-temp, with backup heat that won't blow the main breaker, for the price of a cheap 2-ton minisplit cause even one of those costs a month's mortgage payment...

They really gotta mandate ALL ACs be reversible

Like, the reason the through-the-wall unit is only a 1.5T when they also offer a 2T in the same form factor is cause of power, after a 30A dryer, 30A water heater, 20A each kitchen and bathroom GFCI, plus a buncha ancient 10A outlets and lights, we're already technically overloading the panel

Also, heat pumps are still crazy expensive if you get a central air retrofit one. Mini splits are dirt cheap, but work like crap below freezing. Hell, even just regular central air is pretty expensive compared to sleeve or window units of the same size rating. My AC IS undersized as hell tho.

Like, the furnace closet is narrow and the ceiling's pretty low, the ducts are mounted BELOW the ceiling instead of in the attic which worsens the problem, so sticking the evap coil on top would be cutting it REAL close. I'd have to do demo to embiggen the furnace closet, or re-duct everything.

See, my biggest problem right now is that I'm in a weird scenario where the central HEAT does not already come with central AIR because of power and space constraints, the furnace closet barely holds JUST the furnace, there's a 1.5T through-the-wall package AC and a 5000btu window unit.

IDK, just seems like a lotta situations especially in older, pre-insulation-era homes, it'd make a lot of sense to have a gas backup instead of electric heat strips since gas isn't going away any time soon and will prolly just go to biogas since that can be done from sewage methane or gasified trash

Wall space is at a premium in this place and I'd love if I didn't need to get a Dyna-Glo wall heater installed if I ever convert to heat pump just because that makes a large chunk of my living room essentially unusable space, plus a fire hazard.

If I only need backup heat a handful of times a year, wouldn't it make sense to have something 100% efficient without all the extra expense and complexity of a condensing furnace? Resistive electric heat is crazy expensive and would probably blow the main breaker if someone ran the clothes dryer.

Like, I'm sure I could get a heatpump retrofit that sits on top of my existing gas furnace so I can have a backup, or just throw a MiniSplit in the living room and leave the furnace blower on, but that seems like a kludge.

It seems like if your electrical service has a tight margin (like my 100 amp service with electric dryer and water heater, and all outlets being 10A except the two GFCIs) my options with a 2 ton heatpump are either installing a wall-mount unvented heater, or leaving the gas stove on.

One thing I've been wondering, how come nobody makes a direct-fired gas makeup heat source for heat pumps? Like, they're 100% efficient, have a singular moving part (2 if you wanna use outdoor air for the burner) and take up almost no space, and they're cheap to implement.