vent airflow problem

[Kevin]

Last spring I purchased this home. This summer we noticed that the airflow from the vents was not even, as a mater of fact, one half of the house has no air flow. I was told that the crossover duct has probablty become disconnected. I was informed that the way to fix this is to remove the shingles and go through the roof. The problem that I have is how do I locate where the crossover is located, as I don't want to tear up the whole roof looking for it. It was built in 1997 by Saturn Housing LLC in Gainesville Tx. and the model is Saturn. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Mark Bower]

I assume all your air vents are in the ceiling and you have an upflow furnace? In most mobile homes, the vents are in the floor and the cross-over duct is underneath the home -- much easier to access.

In your case what I would do is try to take a look in your attic to see exactly where that cross-over duct is and if it looks disconnected or not. Maybe you have a vent in the peak of your home you can look through. Or if you have a closet near the center of the home, cut in an access door and look up into the attic that way.

Mark
You gotta see my repair manual!

[Mark Bower]

Also, cross-over ducts are generally located as close to the furnace as possible unless theirs multiple smaller cross-over ducts. That's not always the case, but generally it is.

Mark
You gotta see my repair manual!

[Kevin]

Yes, all the ducts are in the celing. Unfortunatly the is no attic to get into. That's why I was told entry would have to be through the roof.

[trmimo]

Even if you don't have a vent in the endwalll, I would try that first. It is much easier to remove some siding and wall sheathing than it is to cut a hole in the roof. You may not be able to get to the crossover from the end of the house, but you should be able to look in with a flashlight and find it.
If you have to cut a hole, cut in the ceiling, not the roof. Like Mark says you can probably do it in a closet or some other inconspicuos place. Then put a moulding around where you cut the ceiling so you can get up there again if you have to.
Cutting a hole in your roof would create more problems than it would solve.
You might not be able to match your shingles now.
You might cut through a truss with your sawblade.
And it might leak when you get done.

[Bill Fry]

If you have about 10 to 12 inches between your roof and ceilings then none of the above is going to help you.You couldn't see it unless you were right on it.Pull some of the of the ceiling vents out, put a flashlight in with a mirror and look down the duct.With any luck you might be able to see where the cross over is.Then run a tape measure down to that spot and figure out where it is.Either go thru the ceiling (which doesnt always work as something may be blocking you)or go thru the roof and reconnect it.It may never have been connected as set up crews seem to mess that step frequently.

[Kevin]

Thanks for the information and ideas. I'll try some of them tomorrow and let you know haw is goes.

[Mark]

If you have no attic access, it's probably because you have no attic.

By that I mean this, even if you gain access to the attic space, there likely isn't enough room for anyone but a 2 yr old to crawl around in. This is probably why it was suggested that you locate the crossover and go through the roof.

I've got a 30 wide with a 4/12 pitch, and at 6' and 180lbs, I could *barely* crawl down the center line of the attic, there just isn't room, and it was a real workout/contourtionist activity just to do that.

I agree with the other post, the crossover is probably close to the air handler. If there is a closet near it, open up an access point there between the trusses and poke your head in, maybe you'll get lucky.

[kevin]

All,
Found the crossovers (2 of them) by going through the living room closet. Got so close I cut right down the middle of one crossover. Problem fixed. thanks for all your help.
Kevin