Trane ton capacity HELP??

[Jerry Lozier]

Typically the capacity in tons of a Trane outdoor unit can be determined by dividing the 7th and 8th digit of the model number by 12.

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Is it ever for the 5th and 6th # which would be a 5 ton?????????

[Marc]

Yes, to my knowledge. Only Carrier is easily misread.

Marc

[Bill Kibbel]

Trane current/recent models use the 7th and 8th digit. The serial number would start with a 2 or 4 (indicating R-22 or R-410).

If it starts with three letters, it's an older model and is decoded as:

1st three digits TWX = heat pump

4th digit 0 = brazed

5th and 6th 60 = capacity - 5 tons.

[plummen]

Lennox always makes my head hurt trying to figure sizing of condensing units,tranes usually arent to bad just look for a number a combination of 12 or 6 will go into

[Jerry Lozier]

Thanks guys

[randynavarro]

I've always just looked at the model number and anything close to a number somewhere in the middle of that number that's dividable by 12 is the tonnage.

I'm sure there's a unit out there somewhere that doesn't follow that rule, but I haven't seen one in the 3 units I've seen this year. . . the 20 units I've seen in the last 14 years.

[Terence McCann]

Is the home big enough for a 5 ton unit?

[Phillip]

Hi Terry,

How many Sq. Footage per ton do you use when looking at the size of an unit?

[Jerry Lozier]

3300' 2 story, 1965 home 2x6 walls, vinyls, subfloor insulated, 8-10" blown in attic, dry moderate climate, extremes of 100+ in summer (avg 80's), near zero in winter (avg 30's).

Recommended they add attic insulation and baffle soffit vents. Has newer laminate roof with ridge venting.

[kurt]

1 ton per 750sf is the rough range commonly cited. That'd figure out to about 4.4 ton for this house. So, theoretically, 5 ton might be close.

There's a lot to consider in sizing equipment, and there really isn't any standard multiplier that's going to be 100% accurate for all cases.

[Terence McCann]

Hi Terry,

How many Sq. Footage per ton do you use when looking at the size of an unit?

On commercial 1 cfm per sq ft with 400 cfm per ton always worked. With older residential 650 cfm per ton is a good rule of thumb - 1600 sf / 650 = 2.5 ton (rounded up). Newer homes are a lot more energy efficient so lower tonnage is expected. I would think that this has been kicked around before here.

What I look for is something that seems really out of whack for the structure. A greenhorn in the HVAC field will always oversize thinking that a bigger unit will always be assured of keeping the structure cool.

Just my opinion.

[kurt]

A greenhorn in the HVAC field will always oversize thinking that a bigger unit will always be assured of keeping the structure cool.

Just my opinion.

It's a good opinion.

There was a national study out of the University of Minnesota several years ago that found over 97% of all HVAC equipment was either oversized or undersized.

Glazing orientation and type can wildly skew numbers; few take this stuff into account.