how to check & refill refrigerant?

I have the Trane XE1200 Air Conditioner, 4 tons, 12 SEER, model number
TTP048D100A0 since 1999 in Northern California for a 2 level 2100 sq ft
home.
According to its label, it shows refrigerant to be HCFC-22 is 8lbs 10oz?
http://www.angelfire.com/pro/young707/post.html
Can you please tell me where to get a meter to check the refrigerant level?
(any used one for occasional use, like once a year). And where to buy
refrigerant to fill it?
I was told that as long as my AC is giving cool air, its refrigerant level
is fine?

1)You need EPA certification to service the unit.

2) If it's releasing more than fifteen percent of its charge over the
course of a year, the EPA requires the system to be repaired rather
than repeatedly recharged.

http://epa.gov/ozone/title6/608/608fact.html#techcert

Michael Thomas
Paragon Home Inspection, LLC
mdt@paragoninspectsDOTcom
847-475-5668

"2006Summer" wrote in message

Can you please tell me where to get a meter to check the refrigerant
level?
(any used one for occasional use, like once a year). And where to buy
refrigerant to fill it?

Any HVAC/R supply housw with have what yo want. Just show them yoru licence
(for refrigeration, not driving) and they will sell them to you.

I was told that as long as my AC is giving cool air, its refrigerant level
is fine?

Maybe, not always. How cold?

Not much a homeowner can do on an AC unit. You can't do anything with the
refrigerant.

Don't know how cold it gets.

We set the home temp to 78F and it often takes around 20 minutes to cold
down 1F (rough estimate).

Is there common sense to check if the AC unit needs services.
Services calls are too expensive here in Silicon Valley. I just want to know
if there is any kind of basic maintanence I can do myself.


"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
news:9cuxg.3720$S_1.1597@trndny05...

"2006Summer" wrote in message

Can you please tell me where to get a meter to check the refrigerant
level?
(any used one for occasional use, like once a year). And where to buy
refrigerant to fill it?

Any HVAC/R supply housw with have what yo want. Just show them yoru
licence (for refrigeration, not driving) and they will sell them to you.

I was told that as long as my AC is giving cool air, its refrigerant
level
is fine?

Maybe, not always. How cold?

Not much a homeowner can do on an AC unit. You can't do anything with
the refrigerant.

Summer,

There's not much routine maintenance for the home owner. Change the
filter every few months. Have a routine service call every few years. That's
about it. You are not qualified to work on this system yourself.
If the cooling seems poorer than in years past it may be time for that
routine service call.

Dave M.

"2006Summer" wrote in message
. com...
Don't know how cold it gets.

We set the home temp to 78F and it often takes around 20 minutes to cold
down 1F (rough estimate).

Is there common sense to check if the AC unit needs services.
Services calls are too expensive here in Silicon Valley. I just want to
know
if there is any kind of basic maintanence I can do myself.

You check the air temperature going into the coil, then coming out of the
coil.

If you can't afford Silicone Valley, move to North Dakota. Or Iowa, or
Mississippi.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

If you can't afford Silicone Valley

Let's see, that would be Valley of the Dolls, right?

MDT at Paragon Home Inspections, LLC wrote:
1)You need EPA certification to service the unit.

2) If it's releasing more than fifteen percent of its charge over the
course of a year, the EPA requires the system to be repaired rather
than repeatedly recharged.

http://epa.gov/ozone/title6/608/608fact.html#techcert

Michael Thomas
Paragon Home Inspection, LLC
mdt@paragoninspectsDOTcom
847-475-5668

Michael - Do you have a link / citation for your 'fifteen percent loss
per year requires repair' statement? It is my understanding that there
is no such EPA requirement for appliances containing less than 50lbs of
CFC/HCFCs.

Try your local rental place. Look in the yellow pages under "tool
rental". You can get the refrigerant at any True Value Hardware. It's
in the garden section with the Scotts fertilizer. Just ask em, they
will know what you're talking about.

OTOH, if all this fails, you should call a HVAC company. But try at
least three or four tool rental places in case they have a right
handed freon optimizer in stock. Can't hardly keep em on the shelf now
days at the rental places. Get the 24 hour rental, the new ones will
need the extra time. Four hours isn't enough.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"2006Summer" wrote in message
. com...
how to check & refill refrigerant?

I have the Trane XE1200 Air Conditioner, 4 tons, 12 SEER, model number
TTP048D100A0 since 1999 in Northern California for a 2 level 2100 sq
ft
home.
According to its label, it shows refrigerant to be HCFC-22 is 8lbs
10oz?
http://www.angelfire.com/pro/young707/post.html
Can you please tell me where to get a meter to check the refrigerant
level?
(any used one for occasional use, like once a year). And where to buy
refrigerant to fill it?
I was told that as long as my AC is giving cool air, its refrigerant
level
is fine?

2006Summer wrote:

Don't know how cold it gets.

We set the home temp to 78F and it often takes around 20 minutes to cold
down 1F (rough estimate).

Is there common sense to check if the AC unit needs services.
Services calls are too expensive here in Silicon Valley. I just want to know
if there is any kind of basic maintanence I can do myself.



That's why you turn the central AC on in the spring and leave it on
until fall - it doesn't initially cool the house down very fast.

Michael - Do you have a link / citation for your 'fifteen percent loss
per year requires repair' statement? It is my understanding that there
is no such EPA requirement for appliances containing less than 50lbs of
CFC/HCFCs.

Travis,

OK, I have what I think is the final answer to these questions, via a
phone conversation with the EPA's head office in Washington: the
information I provided was incorrect, as was its source, an
informational bulletin from one of the major manufactures of
residential central AC systems.

Based on this mornings conversation:

1) As far as the EPA is concerned it's legal for a homeowner to do
any sort of diagnostic or service work on their own AC system, up to an
including instalation of a complete system, provided that they can find
a source willing to sell them the required tools and materials without
their providing proof of holding an EPA 608 certification.

2) There is no limit to the number or frequency of recharges to
comfort cooling system containing less than 50 pounds of refrigerant;
if the homeowner is willing to do so they can recharge as often as they
wish, nor is their any limit to the number or frequency of such
recharges, performed at a homeowner's request by a commercial HVAC
service's EPA 608 certified technician.

According to the EPA these is considerable confusion regarding these
provisions, and these are questions the EPA is frequently asked by HVAC
wholesalers ad other resellers of refrigerant and the equipment
required to charge and service residential AC systems, including large
organizations such as Granger Supply and Home Depot.

I apologize for an inconvenience caused by my incorrect response above,
and can only note that I wasn't making it up "off the top of my
head", I was depending on information from what appeared to be a
reliable source, and according to the EPA representative there is no
EPA document which directly address the issue of homeowner service of
central AC systems

MDT at Paragon Home Inspections, LLC wrote:
I apologize for an inconvenience caused by my incorrect response
above, and can only note that I wasn't making it up "off the top of my
head", I was depending on information from what appeared to be a
reliable source, and according to the EPA representative there is no
EPA document which directly address the issue of homeowner service of
central AC systems.

No problem, Michael. Your report of the EPA's position squares with
what I understand of the situation.

Thanks for reporting back.

Travis