Heat pumps and package units
Winters here are mild enough that heat pumps make sense, so most Duncanville homes heat and cool with the same machine. On a package unit, the compressor, coils, blower and controls are all in that one cabinet, which makes the unit easy to reach but means everything is exposed to sun, rain, pollen and the occasional mower throwing grass clippings into the coil.
Package units on manufactured homes usually connect to the home through a short duct run to the belly or crossover duct. If that connection tears or sags, a big share of the cooling never reaches the house, and the system runs nonstop trying to catch up. We check that connection as a matter of course, along with the unit itself. For a deeper look at how we track down a heat pump problem, that page walks through the steps.
The calls we get from Duncanville
Most summer calls are the familiar ones. The unit hums but the fan does not spin. The air is blowing but it is not cold. The breaker keeps tripping. Behind those symptoms are usually a failed capacitor, a burned contactor, a seized fan motor or a refrigerant leak. On package units, we also find control wires chewed by rodents and coils caked with dirt, because the unit sits low and close to the ground.
Humidity is the other half of the story. Moisture builds up fast in a house that sits in the woods, and the system has to remove it. When a drain line clogs, the safety switch shuts the unit down, or water collects where it should not. A house that feels cold but clammy usually means the system is short-cycling or moving too much air across the coil to dry it out.
We cover the rural stretch south and east of Tuscaloosa, so the same kind of calls come from our customers over toward Moundville and the homes in between.
Repair or replace in Duncanville
An older package unit or heat pump can usually take a new capacitor, contactor or fan motor and keep running for years. It gets harder to justify a repair when the compressor fails, the coil leaks again after one fix, or the cabinet has rusted through at the base. Every repair is quoted in writing after the diagnosis and before any part is ordered, and if a repair costs close to what a new system would, we say so. You see both numbers and decide what makes sense for your house.
If replacement is the answer, we size the new system to the home, not just to the old unit, and we look at the duct connection so the new equipment is not fighting the same leak. On manufactured homes we also check the pad or stand the unit sits on, since a unit that has settled and tilted can hold water in its base pan and rust out early.
Services we bring out here
- Heat Pump RepairDiagnosed first, priced in writing before work begins.
- AC RepairWritten price before any part is ordered.
- AC Tune-Ups and MaintenanceTune-ups for heat pumps, furnaces and rentals too.
- AC Repair in MoundvilleOlder systems, long summers and humid river air, with a written quote before parts.
- AC Repair in CottondaleDiagnosis first, then a written quote before work.
- AC Repair in FostersRiver humidity, clogged drains and tired ductwork, quoted in writing.
- Where We WorkFind yours and send the form for a free quote.
- Get a Free QuoteTell us what the system is doing, how old it is and the type, and we reply the same day.
- Home base: TuscaloosaEvery service we offer.
Questions we get
Is a package unit harder to repair than a split system?
Usually not. Everything is in one cabinet, so it is easy to reach. The parts are similar to a split system. The main difference is that the whole unit sits outside, so dirt, rust and rodents are more common.
Why is my manufactured home hot at one end?
Often the duct connection under the home has torn or sagged, or a crossover duct has come loose. Air leaks out before it reaches the far rooms. We check that along with the unit.
Do you come out to rural addresses around Duncanville?
Yes. Send the address and a landmark on the form, and we will put you on the schedule.