

Why is my air conditioner not cooling enough?.Why does it take so long to cool a house when an air conditioner has been off for a while?.Why has the thermostat screen gone blank?.What is wrong with an air conditioner when the air flow out of the vents is low?.How did homes stay cool in Florida before air conditioning?.Does an old air conditioner use more electricity as it ages?.Where is the air filter for my central air conditioner and furnace? I can’t find it?.How can I tell whether the condenser (outdoor unit) is an air conditioner or heat pump?.How can I find out the age of my air conditioner or furnace?.How can I find out the size of my air conditioner?.How can I find out the SEER of my air conditioner?.To learn more about heating and air conditioning systems, see these other blog posts: To determine the age of a Rheem system, go to our blog post How can I tell the age of a Rheem heat pump or air conditioner from the serial number?For the age of another brand or manufacturer, go to our blog post How do I determine the age of my air conditioner? Make sure you use RLA and not LRA, Locked Rotor Amperage, which is the surge of amps necessary to overcome inertia and start the system. If you divide the RLA by 6 for older units and 5 or 6 for newer units, you should get a number that approximates (not exactly) the tonnage of the system.

RLA is an acronym for Rated Load Amperage, and is what the maximum amperage should be when the condenser up and running. If you are unsure whether you have found the right two numbers, you can double-check it by looking for the “RLA” rating on the data plate.

The data plate below is from a package heat pump that is nominally 3 tons, but rated at 37,000 BTU. Unfortunately, Rheem sometimes varies from the standard that the BTU rating exactly divisible by 6 or 12. Here’s a rundown of the range you will encounter: 18 = 1.5 tons, 24 = 2 tons, 30 - 2.5 tons, 36 = 3 tons, 42 = 3.5 tons, 48 = 4 tons, and 60 = 5 tons. A ton of air conditioning equals 12,000 BTU, and 60 divided by 12 equals 5, so the data plate below indicates the system is 5 tons. It will have a number divisible by 6 or 12, and represents the nominal BTU of the system in thousands. Look for the second cluster of digits of the model number. You can determine the size in tons of your Rheem HVAC system by examining the model number on the data sti at the side of the a/c condenser (outdoor unit).
