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Replacing Freon in AC
Hi Home Repair Gurus..
Is it normal for an brand new AC unit (installed in a newly built home) to require replacing about half the freeon (say about 2 pounds worth) after about 6 years.. My AC recently stopped blowing cool air (even though the fan is on), even after replacing the filter, and the AC tech said that there was some freezing that had occurred due to a lack of freeon, and that it had to be replaced.. Thanks |
#2
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user wrote: Hi Home Repair Gurus.. Is it normal for an brand new AC unit (installed in a newly built home) to require replacing about half the freeon (say about 2 pounds worth) after about 6 years.. My AC recently stopped blowing cool air (even though the fan is on), even after replacing the filter, and the AC tech said that there was some freezing that had occurred due to a lack of freeon, and that it had to be replaced.. Thanks No, it isn't normal. It has a leak. If a leak search wasn't suggested by the tech, then call someone else out to run one, obviously the guy that juiced it simply didn't want to do a leak search, and would probably not do it right even if you called back and insisted. hvacrmedic |
#3
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Thanks..
Well, he did suggest that it might be a leak, but he first suggested that we should wait for it to blow cool air, and then if it doesn't, then call him out again for a leak search.. Is there any way to tell that the leak is coming from the machinery in the attic above, or from the actual unit outside, (where the fan is) Thanks RP wrote: user wrote: Hi Home Repair Gurus.. Is it normal for an brand new AC unit (installed in a newly built home) to require replacing about half the freeon (say about 2 pounds worth) after about 6 years.. My AC recently stopped blowing cool air (even though the fan is on), even after replacing the filter, and the AC tech said that there was some freezing that had occurred due to a lack of freeon, and that it had to be replaced.. Thanks No, it isn't normal. It has a leak. If a leak search wasn't suggested by the tech, then call someone else out to run one, obviously the guy that juiced it simply didn't want to do a leak search, and would probably not do it right even if you called back and insisted. hvacrmedic |
#4
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user wrote:
Thanks.. Well, he did suggest that it might be a leak, but he first suggested that we should wait for it to blow cool air, and then if it doesn't, then call him out again for a leak search.. Is there any way to tell that the leak is coming from the machinery in the attic above, or from the actual unit outside, (where the fan is) They have ways of detecting leaks and there are different ways of doing it. For what it is worth, my house has 2 A/Cs (upstairs and downstairs). They both developed leaks in the evaportator coils after about 10 years. I noticed the problem when the evaporators started iceing up. The A/C guys found the problem almost instantly so I guess it is a common thing. It cost about $1200 for each coil replacement. Ouch. |
#5
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"user" wrote in message ... Thanks.. Well, he did suggest that it might be a leak, but he first suggested that we should wait for it to blow cool air, and then if it doesn't, then call him out again for a leak search.. Is there any way to tell that the leak is coming from the machinery in the attic above, or from the actual unit outside, (where the fan is) Thanks Yes, the tech should use a leak detector. Anything mechanical will wear out and break. Leaks happen from seals drying out, mechanical loosening from vibration, joints getting bumped into, etc. While it can take some time to find the leak, he should have at least made a quick check of the obvious easy to reach places as a start. |
#6
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It is much cheaper to just have the freon 'topped off' every 6 years. Forget the leak until it requires rejuicing every year. Sherman. On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:05:05 -0400, user wrote: Thanks.. Well, he did suggest that it might be a leak, but he first suggested that we should wait for it to blow cool air, and then if it doesn't, then call him out again for a leak search.. Is there any way to tell that the leak is coming from the machinery in the attic above, or from the actual unit outside, (where the fan is) Thanks RP wrote: user wrote: Hi Home Repair Gurus.. Is it normal for an brand new AC unit (installed in a newly built home) to require replacing about half the freeon (say about 2 pounds worth) after about 6 years.. My AC recently stopped blowing cool air (even though the fan is on), even after replacing the filter, and the AC tech said that there was some freezing that had occurred due to a lack of freeon, and that it had to be replaced.. Thanks No, it isn't normal. It has a leak. If a leak search wasn't suggested by the tech, then call someone else out to run one, obviously the guy that juiced it simply didn't want to do a leak search, and would probably not do it right even if you called back and insisted. hvacrmedic |
#7
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1 On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:05:05 -0400, user wrote: but he first suggested that we should wait for it to blow cool air, I suggest he is blowing hot air. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP 7.1 iQA/AwUBQwzf6wIk7T39FC4ZEQLCUACdEcdkK+G7+4Q6GguYOU40+Y HCufEAnjvb aTm1XjcOoON+h7hGNYEfLidc =4gg3 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- -john wide-open at throttle dot info |
#8
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It sounds like you had a techie out, and he added some freon. No, it's not
normal to lose a couple pounds in six years. If the leak is slow, the system might work for a couple more years. On the other hand, it might be an easy to repair leak. In addition, after a couple years, your system likely needs cleaning, which is essential. Dust clogged coils don't work very well. May be costing you electricity wasted, and system not running very well. -- Christopher A. Young Do good work. It's longer in the short run but shorter in the long run. .. .. "user" wrote in message ... Hi Home Repair Gurus.. Is it normal for an brand new AC unit (installed in a newly built home) to require replacing about half the freeon (say about 2 pounds worth) after about 6 years.. My AC recently stopped blowing cool air (even though the fan is on), even after replacing the filter, and the AC tech said that there was some freezing that had occurred due to a lack of freeon, and that it had to be replaced.. Thanks |
#9
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Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
Anything mechanical will wear out and break. Leaks happen from seals drying out, mechanical loosening from vibration, joints getting bumped into, etc. "seals drying out"? "mechanical loosening from vibration"? Not in residential split systems. They are hermetically sealed and have brazed linesets. |
#10
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"Travis Jordan" wrote in message Not in residential split systems. They are hermetically sealed and have brazed linesets. Not every brazed joint is a perfect joint. |
#11
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HACR refrigerant circuits are hermetically sealed and, in theory should
never need to have refrigerant added. However, in practical applications components fail, vibration adds stress to mechanically sealed linesets, the installer may have practiced less than ideal brazing standards, manufacturer seals fail....a host of variables can determine whether the system will suffer refrigerant loss or not. Given that preface, and I may have misunderstood your post, but I interpreted it to say you were told that simply because the system had iced you were told by some hack that it needed replaced? If I interpreted that wrong...my apologies.....interpreted correctly though I wouldn't let whom ever told you that anywhere around the equipment again. Systems ice up all over the world everyday, for a variety of reasons. Contact a competent service provider. They will locate and correct the source of loss, evacuate the system and recharge it. If the person meant that the refrigerant would have to be replaced he is correct. Following correction of leak source and evacuation. "user" wrote in message ... Hi Home Repair Gurus.. Is it normal for an brand new AC unit (installed in a newly built home) to require replacing about half the freeon (say about 2 pounds worth) after about 6 years.. My AC recently stopped blowing cool air (even though the fan is on), even after replacing the filter, and the AC tech said that there was some freezing that had occurred due to a lack of freeon, and that it had to be replaced.. Thanks |
#12
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I was just waitin' for some **** up to say that...another name in the kill
file. "Me" wrote in message ... It is much cheaper to just have the freon 'topped off' every 6 years. Forget the leak until it requires rejuicing every year. Sherman. On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:05:05 -0400, user wrote: Thanks.. Well, he did suggest that it might be a leak, but he first suggested that we should wait for it to blow cool air, and then if it doesn't, then call him out again for a leak search.. Is there any way to tell that the leak is coming from the machinery in the attic above, or from the actual unit outside, (where the fan is) Thanks RP wrote: user wrote: Hi Home Repair Gurus.. Is it normal for an brand new AC unit (installed in a newly built home) to require replacing about half the freeon (say about 2 pounds worth) after about 6 years.. My AC recently stopped blowing cool air (even though the fan is on), even after replacing the filter, and the AC tech said that there was some freezing that had occurred due to a lack of freeon, and that it had to be replaced.. Thanks No, it isn't normal. It has a leak. If a leak search wasn't suggested by the tech, then call someone else out to run one, obviously the guy that juiced it simply didn't want to do a leak search, and would probably not do it right even if you called back and insisted. hvacrmedic |
#13
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As little as 1/16th" of dust/dirt on an evaporator coil can increase operating costs associated with that equipment by as much as 10%. "Stormin Mormon" wrote in message ... It sounds like you had a techie out, and he added some freon. No, it's not normal to lose a couple pounds in six years. If the leak is slow, the system might work for a couple more years. On the other hand, it might be an easy to repair leak. In addition, after a couple years, your system likely needs cleaning, which is essential. Dust clogged coils don't work very well. May be costing you electricity wasted, and system not running very well. -- Christopher A. Young Do good work. It's longer in the short run but shorter in the long run. . . "user" wrote in message ... Hi Home Repair Gurus.. Is it normal for an brand new AC unit (installed in a newly built home) to require replacing about half the freeon (say about 2 pounds worth) after about 6 years.. My AC recently stopped blowing cool air (even though the fan is on), even after replacing the filter, and the AC tech said that there was some freezing that had occurred due to a lack of freeon, and that it had to be replaced.. Thanks |
#14
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Travis Jordan wrote: Edwin Pawlowski wrote: Anything mechanical will wear out and break. Leaks happen from seals drying out, mechanical loosening from vibration, joints getting bumped into, etc. "seals drying out"? "mechanical loosening from vibration"? Not in residential split systems. They are hermetically sealed and have brazed linesets. Not even wrong. All split systems have line taps or service valves (Except for the extremely rare exception). Most split systems also have compression or flare fittings as well. If you don't know HVAC then let the HVAC professionals here do the answering, because you apparently don't have a clue about HVAC. You could do more harm than good by posting wildly incorrect information. hvacrmedic |
#15
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"user" wrote in message ...
Hi Home Repair Gurus.. Is it normal for an brand new AC unit (installed in a newly built home) to require replacing about half the freeon (say about 2 pounds worth) after about 6 years.. My AC recently stopped blowing cool air (even though the fan is on), even after replacing the filter, and the AC tech said that there was some freezing that had occurred due to a lack of freon, and that it had to be replaced.. Thanks This is Turtle. if half the freon was missing from the system in 6 years of operation. well you have a leak that let it out over that 6 years and you need to have the leak found and repaired. If you go for just refilling it and let it go. well you just became what is called a cash cow in the HVAC business for you will always want the serviuce man back to refill it every years or two. Also if you think you should change your freon in your system every so often, well it is recommended to change the freon out in your hvac system every 164 years. TURTLE |
#16
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TURTLE wrote: "user" wrote in message ... Hi Home Repair Gurus.. Is it normal for an brand new AC unit (installed in a newly built home) to require replacing about half the freeon (say about 2 pounds worth) after about 6 years.. My AC recently stopped blowing cool air (even though the fan is on), even after replacing the filter, and the AC tech said that there was some freezing that had occurred due to a lack of freon, and that it had to be replaced.. Thanks This is Turtle. if half the freon was missing from the system in 6 years of operation. well you have a leak that let it out over that 6 years and you need to have the leak found and repaired. If you go for just refilling it and let it go. well you just became what is called a cash cow in the HVAC business for you will always want the serviuce man back to refill it every years or two. Also if you think you should change your freon in your system every so often, well it is recommended to change the freon out in your hvac system every 164 years. And not a day longer. BTW, it's possible that the refrigerant leaked out over a 2 day period, we don't know now do we? hvacrmedic |
#17
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"RP" wrote in message ... TURTLE wrote: "user" wrote in message ... Hi Home Repair Gurus.. Is it normal for an brand new AC unit (installed in a newly built home) to require replacing about half the freeon (say about 2 pounds worth) after about 6 years.. My AC recently stopped blowing cool air (even though the fan is on), even after replacing the filter, and the AC tech said that there was some freezing that had occurred due to a lack of freon, and that it had to be replaced.. Thanks This is Turtle. if half the freon was missing from the system in 6 years of operation. well you have a leak that let it out over that 6 years and you need to have the leak found and repaired. If you go for just refilling it and let it go. well you just became what is called a cash cow in the HVAC business for you will always want the serviuce man back to refill it every years or two. Also if you think you should change your freon in your system every so often, well it is recommended to change the freon out in your hvac system every 164 years. And not a day longer. BTW, it's possible that the refrigerant leaked out over a 2 day period, we don't know now do we? hvacrmedic This is Turtle. i have a Son in law that was working for Dupont at the time and he and I was talking to one of there chemical engineers at a social gathering and he was telling the R-22 did show some signs of some break down on or about 164 years. They have ways of projecting time of freon break down and r-22 does break down a little at 164 years. He did say that if it would be the case. You should change out the R-22 every 164 years in any equipment that you may have. So we should recommend changing the Freon 22 out every 164 years ! TURTLE |
#18
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1 On Thu, 25 Aug 2005 20:34:18 -0500, "TURTLE" wrote: if half the freon was missing from the system in 6 years of operation. well you have a leak that let it out over that 6 years Poppycock. There is no proof that the leak is six years old. A leak that slow would also cause a very gradual performance loss. It very well may have leaked a lot faster than that. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP 7.1 iQA/AwUBQw9n8wIk7T39FC4ZEQJUiQCgl6+dITGTxGFhxjW8vXgu3E Mq7yIAnA3h pxvngrLmj0uE67sFobkUHlKS =pyTQ -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- -john wide-open at throttle dot info |
#19
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"~^Johnny^~" wrote in message ... -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Thu, 25 Aug 2005 20:34:18 -0500, "TURTLE" wrote: if half the freon was missing from the system in 6 years of operation. well you have a leak that let it out over that 6 years Poppycock. There is no proof that the leak is six years old. A leak that slow would also cause a very gradual performance loss. It very well may have leaked a lot faster than that. This is Turtle. Look PoppyCock if you say i was wrong with the slow freon leak theory , well where is your theory of how it got out and PoppyCock is not a theory ? TURTLE |
#20
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1 On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 20:49:18 -0500, "TURTLE" wrote: "~^Johnny^~" wrote in message .. . -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Thu, 25 Aug 2005 20:34:18 -0500, "TURTLE" wrote: if half the freon was missing from the system in 6 years of operation. well you have a leak that let it out over that 6 years Poppycock. There is no proof that the leak is six years old. A leak that slow would also cause a very gradual performance loss. It very well may have leaked a lot faster than that. This is Turtle. Look PoppyCock if you say i was wrong with the slow freon leak theory , well where is your theory of how it got out and PoppyCock is not a theory ? TURTLE It leaked out in less than six months? No problem for you, you 've got a pinch off tool! :-) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP 7.1 iQA/AwUBQxAqnwIk7T39FC4ZEQIQCQCcCAOwbqdA9YinvDlsER7af4 K2z3AAnimt sR5Ywl5j5setRL66lG4RbeKh =/7WK -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- -john wide-open at throttle dot info |
#21
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"~^Johnny^~" wrote in message ... -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 20:49:18 -0500, "TURTLE" wrote: "~^Johnny^~" wrote in message . .. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Thu, 25 Aug 2005 20:34:18 -0500, "TURTLE" wrote: if half the freon was missing from the system in 6 years of operation. well you have a leak that let it out over that 6 years Poppycock. There is no proof that the leak is six years old. A leak that slow would also cause a very gradual performance loss. It very well may have leaked a lot faster than that. This is Turtle. Look PoppyCock if you say i was wrong with the slow freon leak theory , well where is your theory of how it got out and PoppyCock is not a theory ? TURTLE It leaked out in less than six months? No problem for you, you 've got a pinch off tool! :-) Ow...thats gonna leave a large mark. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP 7.1 iQA/AwUBQxAqnwIk7T39FC4ZEQIQCQCcCAOwbqdA9YinvDlsER7af4 K2z3AAnimt sR5Ywl5j5setRL66lG4RbeKh =/7WK -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- -john wide-open at throttle dot info |
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