A/C Question

[zadisrad]

I recently bought a 76x32 Palm Harbor(2,432 ft). I replaced the A/C this past weekend with a 4 ton unit and in the middle of the day (95 degrees) the A/C only gets it to 80 degrees. I am sweating with a new A/C. My thought was that maybe some of the overhead duct work is bad. I called Palm Harbor to see how I could get in to the attic. They said the only way was to take the roof off the home. I am at a lost for what to do. Taking off the roof does not seem necessary. Any ideas would be helpful.


Thanks,
Zadisrad

[David Oxhandler]

If the problem started with the AC replacement I would look at the installation and the new unit. If the old unit was working there is no reason to suspect the interior duct work... hardly anything ever goes wrong in the duct work unless something is "injected" and gets stuck. Ina double wide if there is something blocking the duct work on one side of the home the other is in most cases unaffected. So if the problem is a blockage in an overhead duct you should be getting air on one side of the home. Start by looking closely at the flex duct work under the home. It is possible that the flex is not clamped tight on one end or the other or that it may have holes in it from being moved around under the home

[dragonfur]

I have a smaller Palm Harbor than you have (approx 1500 sf), but when I bought it new, I upgraded to a 5 ton A/C unit. (We're in Texas, and last summer we had 71 days of 100º+ days, including 2 of 112º--officially--the thermometer in the barn read 118º and the one on the front porch said 122º!)
When we had the old one replaced in May 2011 (thank goodness!), we got a heat-pump w/ the a/c unit, and it's also a 5 ton. Keeps our house comfortable, except for the bedroom on the southwest corner of the house. (We added a small window unit to that one, since my grown daughter/SIL live in it!)
I've not regretted the upgrade, and the new efficient unit has kept our electricity at about half of what it was with the old unit--and that's with the added window unit.
I firmly recommend a larger unit than the minimum sold with most mobile homes! Especially in a warmer area of the country!