Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Dec 29, 2009 9:16 pm Hi All, I am currently in the process of painting and modernising my house and would like to change my square A/C vents for the more modern round type. Can this be done as a straite swap or do i need to modify anything? Has anyone done this before thanks in advance Darren Re: Ducted A/C Vents 3Dec 29, 2009 10:47 pm I don't know but it might be an idea to check with the manufacturer whether a different vent would be compatible with the airflow or if there might be some practical issues with replacing them? Also I could be wrong but I thought the round ones were more commonly used for gas heating and the square ones for r/c a/c, but that might have changed or I could simply be wrong about that. Nevertheless it comes back to whether there are any practical problems with changing the vents. Ours look a little yellow but the shape doesn't bother me, who knows, square might be back in again soon. Re: Ducted A/C Vents 4Dec 30, 2009 5:15 am variflex Hi All, I am currently in the process of painting and modernising my house and would like to change my square A/C vents for the more modern round type. Can this be done as a straite swap or do i need to modify anything? Has anyone done this before thanks in advance Darren Keep the square MDO's... they're better for air distribution... I reckon less than 3% of people we install for choose round grilles... Re: Ducted A/C Vents 5Dec 30, 2009 6:33 pm Thanks for the replay guy's I gues i am more concerned that my vents look a little old and dated, if changing the vent type will reduce the effectiveness of the a/c then i certainly wont change them however i would like them to look a little more modern, my a/c system is approximatly 15 years old so it does look a little old Cheers, Darren Re: Ducted A/C Vents 6Dec 31, 2009 6:48 am variflex Hi All, I am currently in the process of painting and modernising my house and would like to change my square A/C vents for the more modern round type. Can this be done as a straite swap or do i need to modify anything? Has anyone done this before thanks in advance Darren This reminds me of the head unit in our old house, a panasonic split system, over time it turned from white to cream, that made it look really old, when we painted the house it looked even worse. So maybe I can understand the need to freshen things up. In our new house we have Polyaire ducted outlets, round ones upstairs and square ones below. I think even the square ones have a round hole, it's only the face that's square? At any rate I asked the installer how to remove vents, you simply grab and pull the vent out with a quick motion, there are clips on the other side of the plasterboard that will release. Be careful not to rip the ducting so don't pull too far and careful not to break the paster board. The ducting and vent are simply joined by "duct tape". Most ducting has an inner layer, insulation and then and outer layer, first duct the inner layer, go all the way around about 3 times, then the outer layer, again 2 or 3 times. If these outlets turn cream and old looking like my Panasonic head did, they'll be tossed out reguardless of shape. I'd buy them from an installer rather than bunning$ and simply change them all myself. Re: Ducted A/C Vents 8Feb 22, 2010 9:32 pm rosewood I have the round vents that spin open & shut the installer suggested then as the matched the shape of my ceiling lights These are the ones that I would like. I know that the hole in my ceiling is round as i removed the square vents when painting the ceiling, I would like to know of the round ones will fit though Re: Ducted A/C Vents 9Feb 25, 2010 9:52 am variflex rosewood I have the round vents that spin open & shut the installer suggested then as the matched the shape of my ceiling lights These are the ones that I would like. I know that the hole in my ceiling is round as i removed the square vents when painting the ceiling, I would like to know of the round ones will fit though It's hard to give a definitive answer because I'll bet there are small but annoying variations between different manufacturers. In my case yes the round grills upstairs and square ones downstairs have the same diameter hole, which is about 300mm (EDIT: It's actually about 250mm). BTW if you need to remove the square grill from the duct just be careful because the ducting can tear pretty easily and there are two layers of it, each with its own duct tape. Re: Ducted A/C Vents 10Mar 05, 2010 2:45 am To swap the outlets over: 1. REMOVAL: To remove square grilles, the face is usually spring-loaded so move it sideways and it usually slots out of the the frame (especially true if its a powder-coated metal grille). Then turn the 4 screws to undo the clips, then pull it out of the ceiling. If its plastic with internal slide pins then its simmilar. If its plastic with spring-loaded clips then theres a trick where you edge one side at a time from within the room, or better, go upstairs into the roof, undo the clips and drop the duct and fittings down into the room, then undo the duct tape removing the fitting from the duct when go back into the room. If you're removing the grilles from the bottom floor of a 2 storey house then there are a few more tricks if this doesn't work for you. 2. INSTALLATION: Take the new round outlet and see if its base/spigot (upper part of the round outlet that slides onto the duct) just fits into the hole in the ceiling (note: buy an outlet that the base/spigot will slide onto the duct - ie 250mm diameter). If the current hole is too big then the clips on the outlet will have nothing to grab onto. If the current hole is too small then place the outlets base over the small hole in the ceiling and trace around it with a pencil. Then use a hole saw (Stanley FatMax is great for this!) and cut around the inside edge of your pencil circle. If you need a slightly larger hole then carefully scrape the edges of the hole with the holesaw. When the holes are the right size, tape the new outlets on with duct tape (lots of tape), open the clips, and evenly push the outlet into the center of the hole. The outlet should snap into place. Actually, when you get round outlets with a 250mm diameter spigot, they should slide right into your old holes with no cutting into your ceiling at all. That will make life simple Polyaire outlets are cheap, so thats one option. Also the more you spin the round outlets out, the more the airflow will be directed downwards. Some round outlets also creak when the airconditioning turns on, which has never been a problem for square outlets, but its rare. Square outlets with adjustable louvres on their face mean you can direct and split the airflow towards anywhere in the room (a great feature to have). Cheers Adam Mech Eng Re: Ducted A/C Vents 11Mar 05, 2010 4:45 am We opted for the square vents. Just my opinion, but i think they look more modern Dear J.K. Rowling, Your books are entirely unrealistic. I mean, a ginger kid with two friends? Sincerely, Anonymous Re: Ducted A/C Vents 13Aug 01, 2010 10:35 am Adam.R To swap the outlets over: Polyaire outlets are cheap, so thats one option. Also the more you spin the round outlets out, the more the airflow will be directed downwards. Some round outlets also creak when the airconditioning turns on, which has never been a problem for square outlets, but its rare. Square outlets with adjustable louvres on their face mean you can direct and split the airflow towards anywhere in the room (a great feature to have). Cheers Adam I think that's my problem I have been having with the noise coming from my round vents, it's a creaking sound. When I touch the round base on the vents I am getting the same creaking sound. The installer told me it was my steel frame contracting which I didn't beleive as the noise starts as soon as the unit goes on. I need to change the vents to the square type. Is there any way to stop them making the noise. Re: Ducted A/C Vents 14Aug 10, 2010 10:16 pm rosewood Adam.R To swap the outlets over: Polyaire outlets are cheap, so thats one option. Also the more you spin the round outlets out, the more the airflow will be directed downwards. Some round outlets also creak when the airconditioning turns on, which has never been a problem for square outlets, but its rare. Square outlets with adjustable louvres on their face mean you can direct and split the airflow towards anywhere in the room (a great feature to have). Cheers Adam I think that's my problem I have been having with the noise coming from my round vents, it's a creaking sound. When I touch the round base on the vents I am getting the same creaking sound. The installer told me it was my steel frame contracting which I didn't beleive as the noise starts as soon as the unit goes on. I need to change the vents to the square type. Is there any way to stop them making the noise. Not that I'm aware of - I have the same issue. Basic physics of contraction and expansion of the material due to the heat increasing and falling. I have 7 registers in my home, and all of them do it, and continue to do so when the unit cycles via the thermostat. Very annoying. Plans Done Feb 2010 Permit Done 23 April. Set out Done. Scrape and Excavations Done. Footings Done May 10th. Now, to find a brickie.Got one! Sub-floor bricks & Garage Done - 13th June Sub-floor installed 28 June (?) Re: Ducted A/C Vents 16Aug 12, 2010 3:10 pm We have done this a number of times. A round outlet (Paltech or Meton) to 250mm duct requires a 360mm hole in the ceiling If the duct size is 300mm you will need a 405mm hole in the ceiling. The trouble with replacing a 300mm square outlet that has a 250mm duct, is that the round equivalent will not cover the corners. You will need to go to the larger round outlet (405mm) but then the outlet will need a reducer to accommodate the 250mm duct. A bit of trouble but can be done. Abet with quite large outlets. Funny how different areas prefer different styles. Here in SE Qld 90% of outlets fitted are round. Hope this helps! Re: Ducted A/C Vents 17Aug 13, 2010 8:12 pm TDS rosewood Adam.R To swap the outlets over: Polyaire outlets are cheap, so thats one option. Also the more you spin the round outlets out, the more the airflow will be directed downwards. Some round outlets also creak when the airconditioning turns on, which has never been a problem for square outlets, but its rare. Square outlets with adjustable louvres on their face mean you can direct and split the airflow towards anywhere in the room (a great feature to have). Cheers Adam I think that's my problem I have been having with the noise coming from my round vents, it's a creaking sound. When I touch the round base on the vents I am getting the same creaking sound. The installer told me it was my steel frame contracting which I didn't beleive as the noise starts as soon as the unit goes on. I need to change the vents to the square type. Is there any way to stop them making the noise. Not that I'm aware of - I have the same issue. Basic physics of contraction and expansion of the material due to the heat increasing and falling. I have 7 registers in my home, and all of them do it, and continue to do so when the unit cycles via the thermostat. Very annoying. people with the metal vents don't seem to hear any noise so maybe that's the answer Re: Ducted A/C Vents 18Oct 29, 2010 3:38 pm well I finally got the installers to look into my creeking sound when my air con is running & they have agreed that the diffusers are making the noise from heat contracting. they are changing them over to the metal, another $250.00 down the drain retail its around double the price of a similar sized actron/dakin system from memory, They are excellent systems though. But with how builder gouge on AC/heating, you… 4 13693 Hi all, sorting out the ducted air con for a 350sqm double story house. Does this placement sound reasonable to you? Also, I plan to have 6 zones I think. Living room… 0 0 Hi all, sorting out the ducted air con for a 350sqm double story house. I think i plan to have 6 zones I think. Living room (mainly for entertainment so not used often),… 0 0 |