I have a relatively new house (built January 2005). We have a forced hot
air heating system with central AC. There are 2 air units, one located in
the basement, and one located in the attic. We also have 2 outdoor AC
units.

When we are using the AC unit located in the attic (which handles our 2nd
floor and great room zones), especially when it's very warm out, we will
intermittently hear a repeating whooshing noise in certain walls/rooms.
Based on where I hear the noise, it seems to be the piping coming from the
attic unit and heading towards the outdoor AC units. It happens every few
minutes when the central AC is running.

I assumed this was normal (I've never owned a house with central AC before).
But, I called our heating/AC company last summer and mentioned it, and they
indicated that it sounded normal to them based on my description (though
they never came down to listen).

This summer our neighbor (who owns basically an identical house to us, it's
a new development) commented on the sound, saying he never hears it at his
house. I called the heaitng/AC company again, and they came to listen, but
of course it was a cool day and the noise never happened. Based on my
description, the guy said it sounded like the pipe rubbing against the
drywall instead of behind the insulation, vibrating and causing the noise.

The only solutions he offered were tearing up the wall to fix the pipe, or
running new pipe through the attic and down the house, at a cost of $500 or
less. Neither option sounded overly appealing to me.

I accepted the explanation, but now I'm starting to have my doubts because I
can hear the noise in other parts of the house I didn't notice before.

The sound almost sounds like pressure being built up, then released (the
whooshing noise), but it is hard to describe.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does the repair guy's answer make any
sense, or is there possibly a simpler solution to the noise??

It's starting to drive me nuts....

Thanks in advance!!

On Sat, 17 Jun 2006 21:56:40 -0400, "Kremlar"
wrote:

I have a relatively new house (built January 2005). We have a forced hot
air heating system with central AC. There are 2 air units, one located in
the basement, and one located in the attic. We also have 2 outdoor AC
units.

When we are using the AC unit located in the attic (which handles our 2nd
floor and great room zones), especially when it's very warm out, we will
intermittently hear a repeating whooshing noise in certain walls/rooms.
Based on where I hear the noise, it seems to be the piping coming from the
attic unit and heading towards the outdoor AC units. It happens every few
minutes when the central AC is running.

I assumed this was normal (I've never owned a house with central AC before).
But, I called our heating/AC company last summer and mentioned it, and they
indicated that it sounded normal to them based on my description (though
they never came down to listen).

This summer our neighbor (who owns basically an identical house to us, it's
a new development) commented on the sound, saying he never hears it at his
house. I called the heaitng/AC company again, and they came to listen, but
of course it was a cool day and the noise never happened. Based on my
description, the guy said it sounded like the pipe rubbing against the
drywall instead of behind the insulation, vibrating and causing the noise.

The only solutions he offered were tearing up the wall to fix the pipe, or
running new pipe through the attic and down the house, at a cost of $500 or
less. Neither option sounded overly appealing to me.

I accepted the explanation, but now I'm starting to have my doubts because I
can hear the noise in other parts of the house I didn't notice before.

The sound almost sounds like pressure being built up, then released (the
whooshing noise), but it is hard to describe.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does the repair guy's answer make any
sense, or is there possibly a simpler solution to the noise??

It's starting to drive me nuts....

Thanks in advance!!



What you are describing can be caused by a lot of things. The two most
common things that I see a lot that cause this a 1. the freon pipes
not secured correctly and when the system comes on they move and
vibrate, since all of the beams in the house ultimately connect to one
another you will be able to hear the noise in other parts of the
house. 2. Air in the system, which means air in the freon pipes. Doubt
it is this though unless the system in question does not cool the
space correctly. Most likely your problem is vibrating freon pipes
caused by a poor install.

I heard a noise that pulsed for a day once when my unit was run for
the first time in summer , it was not normal it was the freon pulsing,
it sounded like a liquid or gas pulsing or shooting through evey minute
or two. I thought maybe my tvx valve or something was bad. Your unit
is under warranty call the manufacturer, see if the sound is at the unit
in the attic.

Thanks for the reply.

Are there any easy solutions?

Even though I am out of my 1 year home warranty, in your opinion, do I have
any recourse?


"Al Moran" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Jun 2006 21:56:40 -0400, "Kremlar"
wrote:

I have a relatively new house (built January 2005). We have a forced hot
air heating system with central AC. There are 2 air units, one located in
the basement, and one located in the attic. We also have 2 outdoor AC
units.

When we are using the AC unit located in the attic (which handles our 2nd
floor and great room zones), especially when it's very warm out, we will
intermittently hear a repeating whooshing noise in certain walls/rooms.
Based on where I hear the noise, it seems to be the piping coming from the
attic unit and heading towards the outdoor AC units. It happens every few
minutes when the central AC is running.

I assumed this was normal (I've never owned a house with central AC
before).
But, I called our heating/AC company last summer and mentioned it, and
they
indicated that it sounded normal to them based on my description (though
they never came down to listen).

This summer our neighbor (who owns basically an identical house to us,
it's
a new development) commented on the sound, saying he never hears it at his
house. I called the heaitng/AC company again, and they came to listen,
but
of course it was a cool day and the noise never happened. Based on my
description, the guy said it sounded like the pipe rubbing against the
drywall instead of behind the insulation, vibrating and causing the noise.

The only solutions he offered were tearing up the wall to fix the pipe, or
running new pipe through the attic and down the house, at a cost of $500
or
less. Neither option sounded overly appealing to me.

I accepted the explanation, but now I'm starting to have my doubts because
I
can hear the noise in other parts of the house I didn't notice before.

The sound almost sounds like pressure being built up, then released (the
whooshing noise), but it is hard to describe.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does the repair guy's answer make any
sense, or is there possibly a simpler solution to the noise??

It's starting to drive me nuts....

Thanks in advance!!



What you are describing can be caused by a lot of things. The two most
common things that I see a lot that cause this a 1. the freon pipes
not secured correctly and when the system comes on they move and
vibrate, since all of the beams in the house ultimately connect to one
another you will be able to hear the noise in other parts of the
house. 2. Air in the system, which means air in the freon pipes. Doubt
it is this though unless the system in question does not cool the
space correctly. Most likely your problem is vibrating freon pipes
caused by a poor install.

Did you notify them before the waranty was up

I've been tracking it down a bit, and basically I can hear it in the house
pretty much anywhere the pipe goes through, but it's loudest in the wall
where the line first goes down from the attic.

I can also hear it in the attic, at the unit, it sounds like a swooshing
going through the line (swoosh, swoosh, swoosh). I also hear gurgling.

I just ran to my neighbors, and his unit has been running for a while, and I
can't hear anything other than the fan in his attic.

At this point, I'm thinking my problem isn't with the pipe in the wall, but
maybe as you mentioned air in the system?

I'm going to give them a call tomorrow and push the issue further with this
new information.

I appreciate any comments/tips you can give.

Thanks guys!


"Al Moran" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Jun 2006 21:56:40 -0400, "Kremlar"
wrote:

I have a relatively new house (built January 2005). We have a forced hot
air heating system with central AC. There are 2 air units, one located in
the basement, and one located in the attic. We also have 2 outdoor AC
units.

When we are using the AC unit located in the attic (which handles our 2nd
floor and great room zones), especially when it's very warm out, we will
intermittently hear a repeating whooshing noise in certain walls/rooms.
Based on where I hear the noise, it seems to be the piping coming from the
attic unit and heading towards the outdoor AC units. It happens every few
minutes when the central AC is running.

I assumed this was normal (I've never owned a house with central AC
before).
But, I called our heating/AC company last summer and mentioned it, and
they
indicated that it sounded normal to them based on my description (though
they never came down to listen).

This summer our neighbor (who owns basically an identical house to us,
it's
a new development) commented on the sound, saying he never hears it at his
house. I called the heaitng/AC company again, and they came to listen,
but
of course it was a cool day and the noise never happened. Based on my
description, the guy said it sounded like the pipe rubbing against the
drywall instead of behind the insulation, vibrating and causing the noise.

The only solutions he offered were tearing up the wall to fix the pipe, or
running new pipe through the attic and down the house, at a cost of $500
or
less. Neither option sounded overly appealing to me.

I accepted the explanation, but now I'm starting to have my doubts because
I
can hear the noise in other parts of the house I didn't notice before.

The sound almost sounds like pressure being built up, then released (the
whooshing noise), but it is hard to describe.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does the repair guy's answer make any
sense, or is there possibly a simpler solution to the noise??

It's starting to drive me nuts....

Thanks in advance!!



What you are describing can be caused by a lot of things. The two most
common things that I see a lot that cause this a 1. the freon pipes
not secured correctly and when the system comes on they move and
vibrate, since all of the beams in the house ultimately connect to one
another you will be able to hear the noise in other parts of the
house. 2. Air in the system, which means air in the freon pipes. Doubt
it is this though unless the system in question does not cool the
space correctly. Most likely your problem is vibrating freon pipes
caused by a poor install.

Kremlar wrote:
I've been tracking it down a bit, and basically I can hear it in the house
pretty much anywhere the pipe goes through, but it's loudest in the wall
where the line first goes down from the attic.

It could be your thermal expansion valve releasing gas/liquid.

Nonnymus

What would that mean to me?

"Nonnymus" wrote in message
news:Y3llg.19$Gv.15@fed1read09...
Kremlar wrote:
I've been tracking it down a bit, and basically I can hear it in the
house pretty much anywhere the pipe goes through, but it's loudest in the
wall where the line first goes down from the attic.

It could be your thermal expansion valve releasing gas/liquid.

Nonnymus

On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 10:44:39 -0400, "Kremlar"
wrote:

I described the noise to them over the phone, but they said it sounded
normal. Since I never had central AC before, I believed them.

I don't know if this symptom is bad or not or how bad it is, but are
you saying that new ac is only guaranteed for one year?

Installation, or the mechanism too?

You talked to YOUR heating and ac company, but how long does the maker
guarantee it for?

They never came down, so I have no record of it...

Nonetheless you called and complained before the year was out. Who
knows who the court will believe? Your story is a reasonable one
There are lots of things believed in court without a record of it**.
Tell the AC company it broke before th eyear was up, you called before
the year was up, and you want them to fix it***. And don't mention
suing until round 3. But keep detailed notes, now. For that matter,
you can write down what you remember of the first call. Writing it
down 5 months later is not as good as one hour later, but it's better
than 10 months later.

***Assuming this is really a problem and I have no idea.

**Even more true if the company has been sued in the past or has
complaints with the BBB. But even if they haven't.

"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
Did you notify them before the waranty was up

On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 09:29:29 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm,
"Kremlar" quickly quoth:

Thanks for the reply.

Are there any easy solutions?

You might solve/reduce it by pouring insulation in to the opening the
liens run.


Even though I am out of my 1 year home warranty, in your opinion, do I have
any recourse?

Find out what company put in the a/c and ask them (nicely) to repair
it. It definitely sounds like a a/c-line-related noise problem.

Alternatively, have an a/c guy come out and check the freon level. If
it's OK, you need to realize it's not a real physical problem and
start to get used to it.

For the first 2 years I had this new system, I didn't hear the fire
light in the furnace. Now I do. Once I got used to the whirr of the
motor and the rumble of the flame, I no longer give it my attention.
I know precisely what it is and am comfortable that it's _not_ a
problem.

Learn to ignore it, like mothers do with screaming children and pet
owners do with their yapping little (and loud barking big) dogs.


--
Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools,
and those who dare not, are slaves. --Lord Byron (1788-1824)

replying to Kremlar, PaigeC wrote:
Its been 10 years since this thread was last updated but in case OP sees
this: did you ever diagnose your problem? Im having a similar whooshing
issue with one of my ac units.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...ll-120459-.htm

On 10/28/2017 3:14 PM, PaigeC wrote:
replying to Kremlar, PaigeC wrote:
Its been 10 years since this thread was last updated but in case OP sees
this: did you ever diagnose your problem? Im having a similar whooshing
issue with one of my ac units.



Something to do with Halloween?

On 10/28/2017 6:14 PM, PaigeC wrote:
replying to Kremlar, PaigeC wrote:
Its been 10 years since this thread was last updated but in case OP sees
this: did you ever diagnose your problem? Im having a similar whooshing
issue with one of my ac units.



I had a whooshing issue when I hit puberty. Found a cure though.

Taxed and Spent posted for all of us...



On 10/28/2017 3:14 PM, PaigeC wrote:
replying to Kremlar, PaigeC wrote:
It?s been 10 years since this thread was last updated but in case OP sees
this: did you ever diagnose your problem? I?m having a similar whooshing
issue with one of my ac units.



Something to do with Halloween?

Gerbil mania!


--
Tekkie