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11-18 of 18 messages
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RE: Variable Speed HVAC- Any Problems?
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by K3AN on December 29, 2006
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Our Trane heat pump system is installed and working. I gave a careful listen on the various bands yesterday and heard no interference except on 15. On 15 Meters, I have 10kHz of wideband noise every 100 kHz across the band. It's prominent, but low enough that it doesn't move the S meter. I thought it might be from the Trane, but the noise was still there when I shut off the breakers to the indoor and outdoor units, so that's not the cause. Overall I give the new Trane system a clean bill of RFI health.
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RE: Variable Speed HVAC- Any Problems?
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by KE2SI on January 2, 2007
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My success was with ferrites. At first I suspected common mode noise and did a quick fix by wrapping the neutral and line around a torroid. I have an outside air exchange system that connects to the furnace, so I wrapped this line as well with another torroid. The result was dramatic. I have some noise at certain frequencies in the hf spectrum. Luckily, only one peak appears in any ham band (18Mhz). I tried wrapping the core so that it was actually a common mode filter - this is done so that the common mode currents cancel in the core. This resulted in the original broad band noise returning, so I went back to the original configuration. I am now of the opinion that the majority of the noise is differential mode.
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RE: Variable Speed HVAC- Any Problems?
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by WA2LJW on April 6, 2007
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The XV90 installed at my home in November clobbered everything from the top half of the AM broadcast band up through 15m. As mentioned in an earlier post, Trane now has a fix for this: KIT09682. It comprises a small wiring harness that connects the control board to the draft inducer motor. There are no ferrite beads, but the wires are shielded and the instructions are firm on making sure the grounds are well bonded to the frame. It works; I can no longer hear ANY interference from the unit.
I can email a copy of the installation sheet if anyone's interested.
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RE: Variable Speed HVAC- Any Problems?
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by KE2SI on April 9, 2007
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Please email the instructions that you spoke of. I have shielded the blower motor and used some ferrite on the power lines to the furnace with some success in noise reduction. However, I can still pick up some interference. I would enjoy seeing those instructions for the shielded harness.
Best Regards,
Paul
KE2SI
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RE: Variable Speed HVAC- Any Problems?
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by K7CF on December 2, 2007
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Please email the instructions also.
k7cf at arrl.org.
thanks
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RE: Variable Speed HVAC- Any Problems?
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by N0GBR on December 2, 2007
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Do not purchase Trane XV90. it is the inducer fan in this unit that makes incredible hash on RF. John N0GBR
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RE: Variable Speed HVAC- Any Problems?
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by K8AC on December 6, 2007
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I went through this last year about this time. After considerable research, I ended up with a Trane XR90 furnace with a dual-fuel arrangement (heat pump/propane). The XR90 does not have the variable speed. I live in one of the highest humidity areas in the country and was quite comfortable in the summer so I don't think that the current crop of variable speed (and RFI producing) furnaces are necessary. It may well be that the manufacturer has solved the problem PROVIDED THAT THE INSTALLER DOES THINGS ACCORDING TO THE MANUFACTURER'S SPECIFICATION. Unfortunately, this doesn't always happen. While I had one of the more competent companys in our area do the installation, there were still a couple of serious installation errors that I was able to catch, simply by reading the manuals and information readily available on the Web. If you have the time and patience to battle with the installer and the manufacturer to get the RFI problems resolved, by all means try the variable speed unit. If not, stay away from those models. You might be one of the unfortunate few who NEVER gets the problem resolved. If you're looking to optimize your heating costs, you might be better off investigating the fuel costs in your immediate area to see if a dual-fuel system makes more sense. With the escalating cost of natural gas and propane in many areas, a dual fuel system might save you some money. Don't expect the furnace salesman or local utility companies to be of any assistance at all in figuring that out.
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RE: Variable Speed HVAC- Any Problems?
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by KE2SI on December 6, 2007
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I was able to reduce the emissions even more by adding clamp-on ferrites to the shielded harness from Trane. I was unimpressed with the termination of the shield on the harness, so the additional ferrites clean it up nicely. Don't have the specs on those, but you could experiment with various types. Place them as close as possible to the PCB. Keep wires on board side of the harness dressed away from other wires to prevent cross coupling. Also, depending on the ferrite size, you may be able to wrap more loops through the bead to multiply the attentuation. After, I did this I was able to almost totally reduce the noise - just a little now in the 18Mhz band.
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