What do you do when you can’t find duct leakage issue?
user-979926
| Posted in Energy Efficiency and Durability on
Conducted an audit today on a manufactured home with a rectangular duct board system in the belly. Duct leakage testing resulted in NO reading at 25 pascals. We crawled under the entire home following the trunk lines and found no visible signs of broken or disconnected ducts that could explain such high leakage. Has anyone out there ever ran into a situation like this? If so what did you do?
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Replies
Benjamin,
I'm not experienced at this type of work, and I look forward to comments from more experienced GBA readers. Here are my thoughts:
1. Do the ducts disappear into the insulation installed in the floor assembly? In other words, are there inaccessible and invisible seams -- for example, joints between the ducts and the register boots? If so, there could be disconnections that are invisible.
2. Are you sure that your equipment is properly calibrated and working properly? Equipment can break.
3. If you are using a Duct Blaster, I suggest that you contact the technical help line of the Energy Conservatory (the manufacturer of the Duct Blaster). The employees of that company are knowledgeable and helpful. Here is the contact information:
The Energy Conservatory
2801 21st Avenue South, Suite 160
Minneapolis, MN 55417
612-827-1117
Email: [email protected]
-- Martin Holladay
You could try putting a fog machine in the return duct and run the fan and then look for the leaks.
http://www.partycity.com/category/halloween+costumes/decorations+party+supplies/fog+machines.do
Walta