Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine November 2019

added off a trunk. It is located in the middle of the duct run rather than near the end. I could not determine if a return was added. Either way, there was precious little air available to allow for attic dehumidification. 3. The State and City Inspector pulled back insulation and found the duct had not been sealed or assembled according to code. Notice the following picture. “A” shows that the required tape or mastic was not used. “B” shows the elbow barely inserted into the pipe. The required screws were not used.

Maumelle Firestation # 2 Closed due to

Aspergillus Penicillium

OK, you live in Jonesboro, Texarkana, Bentonville, Camden, or Little Rock. Why should you care. Because it has to do with our industry—the HVACR industry. Maumelle fire house #2 is only three years old and suffers from the affects of poor design and installation of the HVAC system. Let’s look at the most obvious issues. 1. The building has an unventilated attic. It isn’t encapsulated in the same way we thing of foam sprayed on the roof deck. As with many commercial buildings, there is a layer of insulation on top of the rafters and beneath the metal roofing material. There is no soffit, rather the attic perimeter is sealed and insulated with fiberglass. The original design had no attic ventilation nor was there a provision for a supply and return.

“A” Required tape or mastic not used

“B” Pipe barely inserted and screws not used

4. When the inspectors examined the installation, there was condensation on the duct. 5. It appears that the condensate on a mini-split was stopped up or there was blow off moisture from the

2. In the original design there was no supply and return in the attic to provide dehumidification; however, about a 2 inch supply was

fan. This picture shows contamination on the cabinet of the unit and streak stains on the wall.

Contamination on unit cabinet

Streaks on the wall