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Need to replace central A/C
lid (Ignoramus28006) writes:
So if you have water dripping from your A/C onto your ceiling, that
means probably that the water removal/drain pipe somewhere is broke,
leaking etc. Try to find from where the leak comes. You may be able to
fix it yourself by just using silicone tape or regluing some PVC pipes
or something simple. It is worth checking it out.
The unit in his ceiling that is dripping is a heat exchanger. It may be
icing up, or the drain line may be plugged. If it is icing up, that may
be a sign of low coolant.
The leak in the outside unit that your contractor found is probably a
leak of the cooling agent that circulates between the outside and
inside unit. That may be a serious issue or perhaps can be repaired
quickly. But at any rate it should be done by the professional.
It's pretty obvious that this guy is clueless, but if the old system is
over a dozen years old, installing a whole new system may be a real good
idea. By the time they locate and patch a coolant leak, clean the coils
in the attic and flush or repair the drain, he is going to have a several
hundred dollar repair bill. He is going to pay his money for an old,
inefficient system that is near the end of its operating life. If it is
an old freon system, just recharging it can be pretty expensive.
"Yeah, $3200 for a new system, but for only $600 I can put you in old
system that just sprung a leak for some reason. It might run for several
years yet, or maybe not. No guarantees." Would you buy it?
The contractor that showed up sounds like he proposed a good long term
solution to the problem. This is not the time of year that you want your
AC to quit working entirely. It's time to get three bids and go for it.
--
http://home.teleport.com/~larryc
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