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AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS
AIR CONDITIONER COMPONENT PARTS
CONTROLS & SWITCHES
A/C TYPES, ENERGY SOURCES
RATED COOLING CAPACITY
AIR CONDITIONER BTU CHART
SEER RATINGS & OTHER DEFINITIONS
OPERATING COST
SYSTEM OPERATION
OPERATING TEMPERATURES
OPERATING DEFECTS
LOST COOLING CAPACITY
COMPRESSOR & CONDENSING COIL
AIR HANDLER UNIT
AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS
CONDENSATE HANDLING
CLEANING & Legionella BACTERIA
DUCT SYSTEM DEFECTS
  SUPPLY REGISTERS, & ZONES
  RETURN AIR REGISTERS & DUCTS
  BALANCING AIR DUCT FLOW
  UNDERSIZED RETURN DUCTS
  INCREASING RETURN AIR
  LOCATION OF REGISTERS & DUCTS
  DUCT ROUTING & SUPPORT
  WET CORRODED DUCT WORK
  LEAKY DUCT CONNECTIONS
  VIBRATION DAMPERS
  GOODMAN GRAY FLEXDUCT
  OWENS ORNING FLEXDUCT
  UNSAFE DUCT OPENINGS
  ASBESTOS HVAC DUCTS
  Transite Pipe HVAC Ducts
  FIBERGLASS HVAC DUCTS
FAN AUTO ON CONTROLS
A/C REFRIGERANTS
A/C DIAGNOSTIC FAQs
INSPECTION LIMITATIONS
CRITICAL DEFECTS
Air Conditioning "How To" Books
FURNACES WARM AIR HEATING SYSTEMS

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Photograph of heat damaged Owens Corning gray fiberglass-insulated air conditioning duct work in a Florida attic - thanks to Mark Cramer

Owens Corning Flex Duct Deterioration & Failures
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  • Deterioration of Owens Corning Flex Duct in Air Conditioning or Heating Systems
  • Defective duct products and materials
Our site offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest. We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices, false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at inspect-ny.com/appointment.htm.

This chapter of "How to Inspect the Central Air Conditioning or Cooling System" describes the Owens Corning flex duct disintegration as an example of defective heating or cooling ductwork materials such as Goodman gray flex-duct, and some (not all) Owens Corning Flex-duct products. © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

This chapter discusses Owens Corning Flex Duct failures with references to product failures by two manufacturers of flexible duct work, Owens Corning(TM) and Goodman(TM). Neither of these products is currently sold (2006) but both may be found in older homes. Not all Owens Corning ducts share this defect and disintegration problem.

Air conditioning duct system defects include a remarkably wide range of errors, from failure to supply cool air or failure to even circulate air in the building, to health hazards such as use of asbestos material in or on duct work, to very dangerous conditions such as drawing heating equipment combustion gases into the building cooling (or heating) air.

The master document, of which this is a chapter, describes the inspection of residential air conditioning systems (A/C systems) to inform home buyers, owners, and home inspectors of common cooling system defects. Asbestos in or on HVAC ducts is a possible hazard for which we provide links to a separate document - see "Asbestos HVAC Ducts" at below left.

OWENS CORNING FLEX DUCT - Deterioration

Photograph of heat damaged Owens Corning gray fiberglass-insulated air conditioning duct work in a Florida attic - thanks to Mark Cramer This generation of Owens Corning™ gray plastic-covered, fiberglass insulated duct material is a defective duct product.

As with the Goodman flex-duct problem described at GOODMAN GRAY FLEXDUCT, in hot attic spaces or where exposed to UV light, the plastic of this Owens Corning flexible air conditioning duct material disintegrates leaving its fiberglass insulation exposed to also disintegrate, leak, or possibly blow into the building living space.

When a flex-duct product has lost its exterior plastic covering the effects are these:

 

 

  1. The cost of heating or cooling the building is increased due to lost insulation: because the ducts are no longer insulated from the ambient temperature in the attic or crawl space where they are located. For example, an air conditioning duct passing through a hot attic and missing its insulation will be heated by the ambient attic air, delivering warmer air to the living space than is desired.

  2. The cost of heating or cooling the building is increased due to leaks: because damaged ducts are more likely to leak, cooled or warmed air intended for the occupied space may be lost in the attic or crawl space where the damaged HVAC ducts are located.

    In addition we might see these two indirect problems developing:

  3. Increased circulation of fiberglass particles from the duct insulation or from building insulation which may be picked up and blown into the building air supply

  4. Mold growth in the HVAC ducts due to loss of insulation and increased in-duct condensation in some circumstances.

Replacement of the heating or air conditioning flexible sections of duct work is required - a significant expense which will be greater if flex-duct needs to be replaced where it passes through inaccessible areas such as finished walls or ceilings. - Thanks to Mark Cramer for this photo. of Owens Corning gray flex duct disintegrating in a Florida attic.

Notice that not all Owens Corning flex-duct products will fail in this manner and unless you specifically find evidence of this deterioration, replacement of the flex-duct in a building may not be warranted. Where this duct is found in a building it should be replaced.







AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS
AIR CONDITIONER COMPONENT PARTS
CONTROLS & SWITCHES
A/C TYPES, ENERGY SOURCES
RATED COOLING CAPACITY
AIR CONDITIONER BTU CHART
SEER RATINGS & OTHER DEFINITIONS
OPERATING COST
SYSTEM OPERATION
OPERATING TEMPERATURES
OPERATING DEFECTS
LOST COOLING CAPACITY
COMPRESSOR & CONDENSING COIL
AIR HANDLER UNIT
AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS
CONDENSATE HANDLING
CLEANING & Legionella BACTERIA
DUCT SYSTEM DEFECTS
  SUPPLY REGISTERS, & ZONES
  RETURN AIR REGISTERS & DUCTS
  BALANCING AIR DUCT FLOW
  UNDERSIZED RETURN DUCTS
  INCREASING RETURN AIR
  LOCATION OF REGISTERS & DUCTS
  DUCT ROUTING & SUPPORT
  WET CORRODED DUCT WORK
  LEAKY DUCT CONNECTIONS
  VIBRATION DAMPERS
  GOODMAN GRAY FLEXDUCT
  OWENS ORNING FLEXDUCT
  UNSAFE DUCT OPENINGS
  ASBESTOS HVAC DUCTS
  Transite Pipe HVAC Ducts
  FIBERGLASS HVAC DUCTS
FAN AUTO ON CONTROLS
A/C REFRIGERANTS
A/C DIAGNOSTIC FAQs
INSPECTION LIMITATIONS
CRITICAL DEFECTS
Air Conditioning "How To" Books
FURNACES WARM AIR HEATING SYSTEMS

More Information

InspectAPedia TM Home & Site Map
Air Conditioning
Contact Us

 

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

  1. AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS
  2. A/C COMPONENTS
  3. CONTROLS & SWITCHES
  4. A/C DATA TAGS
  5. A/C TYPES, ENERGY SOURCES
  6. RATED COOLING CAPACITY
  7. SEER RATINGS & OTHER DEFINITIONS
  8. A/C OPERATING COST
  9. SYSTEM OPERATION
  10. OPERATING TEMPERATURES
  11. OPERATING DEFECTS
  12. LOST COOLING CAPACITY
  13. COMPRESSOR CONDENSER
  14. AIR HANDLER UNIT
  15. AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS
  16. CONDENSATE HANDLING
  17. CLEANING A/C EQUIPMENT
  18. DUCT SYSTEM DEFECTS
      SUPPLY REGISTERS, & ZONES
      RETURN AIR REGISTERS & DUCTS
      BALANCING AIR DUCT FLOW
      UNDERSIZED RETURN DUCTS
      INCREASING RETURN AIR
      LOCATION OF REGISTERS & DUCTS
      DUCT ROUTING & SUPPORT
      WET CORRODED DUCT WORK
      LEAKY DUCT CONNECTIONS
      VIBRATION DAMPERS
      GOODMAN GRAY FLEXDUCT
      OWENS ORNING FLEXDUCT
      UNSAFE DUCT OPENINGS
      ASBESTOS HVAC DUCTS
      Transite Pipe HVAC Ducts
      FIBERGLASS HVAC DUCTS
  19. A/C REFRIGERANTS
  20. A/C REFRIGERANT LEAK DETECTION
  21. INSPECTION LIMITATIONS
  22. CRITICAL DEFECTS

Technical Reviewers

  • Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia TM Website
  • Thanks to Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, for assistance in technical review of the "Critical Defects" section and for the photograph of the deteriorating gray Owens Corning flex duct in a hot attic. Mr. Cramer is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator.
  • Thanks to Jon Bolton, an ASHI, FABI, and otherwise certified Florida home inspector who provided photos of failing Goodman gray flex duct in a hot attic.
  • Thanks to Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for technical critique and for providing a copy of Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates Technical Reference Guide to manufacturer's model and serial number information for heating and cooling equipment ($69.00 U.S.).

Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.


AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS
AIR CONDITIONER BTU CHART
AIR CONDITIONER COMPONENT PARTS
AIR CONDITIONER TYPES, ENERGY SOURCES
AIR CONDITIONER NOT WORKING
AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS
AIR HANDLER UNIT
CLEANING & Legionella BACTERIA
COMPRESSOR CONDENSER
CONDENSATE HANDLING
CONTROLS & SWITCHES
COOL OFF HEAT Thermostat Switch
COOLING CAPACITY, RATED
COOLING COIL or EVAPORATOR COIL
DATA TAGS on AIR CONDITIONERS
DUCT SYSTEMS
DUCTS - Asbestos
DUCT SYSTEM DEFECTS
DUCT INSULATION, Asbestos Paper
DUCTS, Asbestos Transite Pipe
DUST FROM HVAC?
FAN AUTO ON Thermostat Switch
INSPECTION LIMITATIONS
LOST COOLING CAPACITY
MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH
OPERATING COST
OPERATING DEFECTS
OPERATING TEMPERATURES
REPAIR GUIDE for AIR CONDITIONERS
REPAIR & DIAGNOSTIC FAQs for A/C
REFRIGERANTS
SEER RATINGS & OTHER DEFINITIONS
SYSTEM OPERATION
THERMOSTATS
THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVES
CRITICAL DEFECTS
Air Conditioning "How To" Books
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More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

For more information about fiberglass as an indoor air quality concern see:

For more information about asbestos as an indoor air quality concern with focus on easy ways to identify asbestos materials in buildings, see:

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