Goodman gray flex duct HVAC ductwork deterioration:

This article discusses Goodman™ brand gray flex duct disintegration failures with references to product failures by manufacturers of similar flexible duct work products.

We include photographs illustrating heat-damaged flex-duct covering materials and we explain the implications on home energy costs when this material is installed in buildings.

We include, for comparison, other gray plastic covered flex-duct materials that do not appear to disintegrate in hot attics, using Certainteed's Certaflex-G25 as an example.

GOODMAN Gray Flexduct Deterioration in Hot Locations

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.

This article describes Owens Corning Valueflex™ brand gray flex duct failures that appear as loss of the gray plastic duct covering due to brittleness that appears to be caused by exposure to heat (such as in a hot attic), with references to product failures by several manufacturers of flexible duct work, , including ATCO™ Ruber Products, Alloy Systems™, Goodman™ flex duct, Owens Corning™ flex duct, Owl™ flex duct.

We believe that none of these defective flex duct products is currently sold (2010) but both may be found in older homes. Note: not all Owens Corning flex duct products share this defect and disintegration problem.

The loss of the protective plastic covering on flex duct poses several concerns including loss of the duct insulation, increased air conditioning system operating costs, and possibly air leaks out (if supply ducts are damaged) or un-wanted attic debris leaks in (if return ducts are damaged), and in-duct condensation in the HVAC system leading to mold and indoor air quality concerns.

This Goodman gray flex duct or "flex duct" air conditioning duct work material is a defective product.

In hot attic spaces or where exposed to UV light, the plastic of this flexible air conditioning duct material disintegrates leaving its fiberglass insulation exposed to also disintegrate, leak, or possibly blow into the building living space.

Replacement of the duct work is required - a significant expense. - Thanks to Jon Bolton for these photos. of Goodman gray flex duct disintegrating in an attic.

Where this duct is found in a building it should be replaced. When a heating or air conditioning 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. See Flexduct Lawsuit at our references below.

Below at Technical Reviewers & References we include Flexible Air Duct Installation Manuals, standards, guidelines, and contact information for several flexible air duct manufacturers as well as access to Flexible Duct Performance & Installation Standards provided by the Air Diffusion Council.

List of plastic-covered flexible HVAC duct products that appear to deteriorate in hot spaces like attics

Readers concerned with deteriorating plastic and fiberglass-covered flex duct in buildings should see the several HVAC duct failure reports listed just below.

Was there a Goodman Quiet Flex product recall?

Reader Question:

Was in my mother's attic and saw her a/c ductwork shredding. Saw the name Goodman Quiet Flex on the plastic. Researched on the Internet and found information about ductwork failure on your website.

What I haven't been able to determine is if this ductwork is recalled.

Would you have such information? Or is this going to be an expensive replacement?

Thanks. - R.G. 10 Jan 2015

Reply:

Your images (above and at below-left) give a helpful dose of "real world" to the topic as one can see that in at least some attics crawling or I should perhaps say writhing through trusses and other obstructions are where the real work comes in when replacing deteriorated ductwork. Watch your back and also watch for slicing your head on nails protruding through the roof sheathing.

Your third photo of Goodman QuietFlex ductwork in your mom's attic is shown at below left, while at below right is another brand with its own installation SNAFUs.

Thank you for the flex-duct question - it helps us realize where we need to work on making our text more clear or more complete.

I'm unaware of any recall, class action, or financial relief for this product failure.

However the cost of replacement for flex duct that is routed through accessible areas such as an attic should not be major.

Simply measure the lengths and diameters of flex-duct needed, keeping in mind that you want to avoid unnecessary bends, turns, kinks and that you also want to avoid using greater lengths than necessary between any two points of flex duct connection.

By that I mean that flex duct that is stretched fully open offers less resistance to air-flow and is thus more efficient in heating or cooling than flexible ductwork that has extra length left compressed.

More "do's and don'ts" for flexible HVAC duct installation are

at DUCT ROUTING & SUPPORT.

To buy replacement flex duct for your system see

FLEX DUCT SOURCES

...

Continue reading at GRAY FLEXDUCT FAILURES or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• DUCT ROUTING & SUPPORT
• FLEX DUCT SOURCES & HISTORY
• GRAY FLEXDUCT FAILURES - home
  • ATCO Rubber Products FLEXDUCT
  • ALLOY SYSTEMS FLEXDUCT
  • DURA-FLEX FLEXDUCT
  • GOODMAN GRAY FLEXDUCT
  • OWENS CORNING FLEXDUCT
  • OWL FLEXDUCT

Suggested citation for this web page

GOODMAN GRAY FLEXDUCT at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to HVAC DUCT SYSTEMS

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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

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