Packaged Heat Pump System York PH3 3 Ton | Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, South Shore and North Shore

Replacing an old packaged unit without redoing your ducts

In many bungalows and single-storey houses, cooling and heating have relied for years on a packaged unit sitting on a pad along the wall or installed on the roof. When that unit reaches the end of its life, the simplest solution is often to replace it with a unit of the same type. The 3 ton YORK PH3 heat pump, with a nominal capacity of 36,000 BTU/h, lends itself very well to a replacement of this kind: it works on the all-in-one principle you already know, connects to your existing ducts and adapts to the configuration in place. Our crews carry out these replacements throughout the region, from Montreal to Laval and Longueuil, out to the North Shore and the South Shore.

The same all-in-one principle, with up-to-date components

If you already have a packaged unit, you know the principle: the compressor, the two coils and the blower are housed in a single outdoor cabinet, and the house receives only conditioned air, through the supply and return ducts. Nothing changes on that side. What changes is what sits inside the cabinet: a new-generation R-454B refrigerant, a high-efficiency ECM motor for the indoor blower, a factory-mounted refrigerant detection system (RDS) and a demand defrost board whose defrost curves are preloaded according to the unit's capacities. The PH3 is a heat pump, which means the same circuit provides cooling in summer and heating through the cold season, thanks to its reversing valve.

The data for the 3 ton single-phase PH3

Side or bottom connection, with no cutting

The trickiest point in a replacement is where the ducts come in. In some houses, the ducts come in from the side, through the foundation wall; in others, from underneath, through a roof curb. The PH3 takes both, thanks to its convertible airflow design. It leaves the factory with the bottom openings closed off, ready for side supply and return. To move to a bottom configuration, the two bottom panels are removed and put back in the side openings. No panel to cut, no extra part to order.

On the side, the supply and return connections are the same size, which makes it possible to reach the ducts of a low crawl space without transition pieces. If your existing ducts are round, YORK offers preformed rectangular-to-round adapters: 12 or 14 in. for horizontal connections, 16 or 18 in. for vertical connections in the roof curb.

Reusing the existing pad or roof curb

On the ground, the unit rests on its perimeter base rails, which keep it above the pad to limit corrosion. A closure kit for the rail openings keeps small animals from nesting in them, and an anchoring kit certified for wind load holds the unit firmly to its pad. At 45.75 in. wide and 51.25 in. deep, its footprint is compact; we check on site whether the existing pad can be reused.

On the roof, you have two options. YORK offers NRCA-approved roof curbs 8 or 14 in. high, hinged at each corner and shipped with a sealing strip. If a curb is already there, transition kits make it possible to keep it by adapting the unit's footprint to YORK Affinity curbs or to Carrier, Trane and Goodman curbs. The vertical supply and return openings are designed to fit between standard joists spaced 24 in. o.c., without altering the structure.

A cabinet built to stay outside for a long time

Old packaged units often end up rusted at the corners and at the bottom of the panels. The PH3 is built from pretreated G90 galvanized steel, coated with a powder paint tested 1,000 hours in salt spray, which bonds better to the steel and resists the spread of rust. The one-piece top cover, with seamless corners and drip edges, seals better against water, while the outdoor coil grille, in slotted stamped metal, protects the fins from small objects.

What we check before removing the old unit

1. The electrical supply. Without backup heat, the 3 ton PH3 calls for a minimum circuit ampacity (MCA) of 27.3 A and a maximum overcurrent protection (MOP) of 40 A, through an HACR-type breaker or a time-delay fuse. A field-supplied electrical disconnect must also be installed, and the supply voltage must sit between 187 and 252 V.
2. The ducts. We inspect the system and assess its resistance: YORK does not recommend applications above 0.8 in. of water column of external static pressure.
3. The support. A cracked or settled pad, a roof curb in poor condition: we report every defect and correct it before the unit goes in.
4. Drainage. The 3/4 in. female NPT condensate connection, rigidly fixed, must reach a proper drain point.
5. The thermostat. The PH3 works with a conventional 24 V thermostat, electronic or electromechanical.

Electric backup heat

If your old unit had electric heat strips, the PH3 takes a field-installed 6HK kit. Four sizes are available for the 3 ton: 5, 8, 10 and 15 kW. The largest runs in two stages and delivers 13.2 kW at 230 V. With the single-point wiring kit offered as an accessory, the unit and its heat strips share a single supply.

A turnkey replacement with AirGreen

A successful replacement is won in the preparation. During the free on-site estimate, we take down the dimensions of the old unit, the position of the connections, the condition of the pad or the roof curb and the capacity of your electrical service. We then confirm by calculation that 3 tons suits your house. On installation day, our crews remove the old unit, convert the PH3 openings if needed, connect it to the ducts and to the power, then carry out the full start-up. We then stay available for seasonal maintenance.

You live in Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, on the North Shore or on the South Shore and your packaged unit is showing its age: call 514 316-2973 or use the form on airgreen.ca to book the visit. We work quickly and efficiently to limit the time your house goes without cooling or heating.