The heat pump that works a 92-degree Palatka July and a 30-degree January with the same four parts

The weather this equipment has to survive

Palatka’s weather asks more of a heat pump than the coastal towns do. July mean highs sit around 92, a degree or two above the beach, and the humidity that settles over the river basin by June does not lift until late September. Roughly 53 inches of rain a year keep the air heavy and the condensate drains busy. Then winter arrives with a dozen or so light freezes, a record low of 11, and mornings in the 30s that ask the same outdoor unit to pull heat out of cold, wet air.

Add the local hazards: summer lightning on rural lines, iron and sulfur in well water scaling anything the condensate touches, and, for houses along the St. Johns, Dunns Creek and Crescent Lake, the memory of Irma and Ian putting equipment under water for a week. A heat pump here works harder across more conditions than almost anywhere in the state. Cook’s services them with that in mind.

What a heat pump visit is not

Before describing the service, it helps to say what people sometimes expect that it is not:

• It is not an air conditioner check with a heating box ticked. A heat pump has a reversing valve, a defrost control, outdoor sensors and auxiliary strips that a straight-cool system does not. A visit that skips them is half a visit.
• It is not a refrigerant top-off. Adding refrigerant without finding the leak is a repeat call in six weeks.
• It is not a filter change and a sticker. The filter is yours to change monthly. Our visit is the parts you cannot reach or read.
• It is not a sales call. Most heat pumps we visit in Putnam County leave the visit as the same heat pump, running better.
• It is not a duct replacement. But it includes looking at the duct, because in this county the duct is the problem more often than the equipment.

What the service actually covers

Cook’s heat pump service covers the whole life of the machine: diagnosis and repair when it fails, seasonal maintenance to keep it from failing, and replacement when the numbers say so. We are a Lennox dealer and install the Lennox heat pump line, including the variable-capacity models that suit this climate well, and we service Carrier, Bryant, Trane and every other major brand already running in Palatka homes.

The equipment comes in the forms this county actually has: split systems with a condenser outside and an air handler in a closet, garage or attic; package units on pads beside manufactured homes in East Palatka and San Mateo; and ductless mini-splits for the historic-district homes that never had ducts. All three are heat pumps. All three get the same attention.

The visit, step by step

A heat pump service call in Palatka runs in this order, whether the complaint is no cooling in August or no heat in January:

1. The thermostat and wiring. Is it a heat pump thermostat? Houses that changed systems but kept the old control are common here, and a straight-cool thermostat cannot run a heat pump properly.
2. The outdoor unit. Coil condition, fan, capacitor and contactor, then the reversing valve and defrost board. We run a defrost cycle manually in any season to prove it works.
3. Refrigerant. Pressures and temperatures on both sides, and a leak search if the charge is off. On a heat pump, a low charge shows up as weak heating long before it shows up as weak cooling.
4. The air handler. Blower, indoor coil, the auxiliary heat strips and their sequencers, and the condensate drain, which on a well-water house is treated for iron and sulfur.
5. Airflow and duct. Static pressure, supply temperatures room by room, and a look at the duct in the attic or under the home.
6. Surge and flood history. A check of the disconnect and board for surge damage, and, near the river, for corrosion from past high water.
7. The verdict and the price. What it is, what it costs, and whether it is a repair or the start of a replacement conversation. Nothing is installed before you say yes.

Call 866-266-5709

How to get ready for the visit

A little preparation makes the visit faster and the diagnosis better:

• Clear the outdoor unit. Two feet on all sides. Palmetto, pine straw and the lawn mower’s clippings pile up against condensers here.
• Clear the air handler. If it is in a closet that has become storage, we need to open it fully.
• Note what you noticed. When it started, what the thermostat showed, any sounds, any smells, whether the bill jumped. Aux heat on the display at 55 degrees is a clue. Steam off the outdoor unit on a cold morning is not.
• Know your utility. FPL serves Palatka and East Palatka; Clay Electric serves most of the rest of the county. It matters for rebates if the visit turns into a replacement.
• Find the paperwork. The install date and any warranty registration, if you have them. Many systems in Palatka Heights and The Hammock have changed hands with the house and the records are gone; the nameplate will do.
• Have the dog inside. It helps.

When the heat pump is the wrong size for the house

A quick word on the most common thing we find that is not broken. Heat pumps in this county are frequently oversized, because someone once believed bigger cooled better. In a humid river basin, an oversized heat pump short-cycles, leaves the house damp, and in winter leans on its strips because it never runs long enough to warm the house steadily. When a replacement is in order, Cook’s sizes by a load calculation on the actual house, and the right size is often smaller than what came out.

For heat pump repair, maintenance or a new system anywhere in Putnam County, call 866-266-5709. A person answers around the clock, and the price does not change after dark.