Air Conditioning Plumbing Question
 

Hello,

Have a forced hot air heating system, where the duct work is also used
for the house air conditioning.
Pretty typical setup: Condenser is outside the house, of course, and
has two pipes running to the furnace where the Evaporator section of the
A/C is.
Furnace blower then bolws air thru the evap. section into the ductwork.

"Plumbing" from the outside Condenser to the Evaporator is run thru the
ceiling and walls.

Might be a leak somewhere.

It's not a very long run, but I really don't want to rip away part of
the ceiling and wall to try and find.

Thinking of having the A/C guy, or a Plumber just run new tubing on the
bottom of the existing ceiling. Tubing would be exposed, but would paint.

Question: good idea or approach ?

Would this new tubing have to be insulated ? How ?

BTW: are leaks in the connecting tubing fairly common after 20 years or
so, or is nearly "always" a leak in the compressor or elsewhere in the
actual A/C unit ?

Thanks,
Bob

Air Conditioning Plumbing Question
 

On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:36:40 -0400, Bob wrote:

Hello,

Have a forced hot air heating system, where the duct work is also used
for the house air conditioning.
Pretty typical setup: Condenser is outside the house, of course, and
has two pipes running to the furnace where the Evaporator section of the
A/C is.
Furnace blower then bolws air thru the evap. section into the ductwork.

"Plumbing" from the outside Condenser to the Evaporator is run thru the
ceiling and walls.

Might be a leak somewhere.

It's not a very long run, but I really don't want to rip away part of
the ceiling and wall to try and find.

Thinking of having the A/C guy, or a Plumber just run new tubing on the
bottom of the existing ceiling. Tubing would be exposed, but would
paint.

Question: good idea or approach ?

Would this new tubing have to be insulated ? How ?

BTW: are leaks in the connecting tubing fairly common after 20 years or
so, or is nearly "always" a leak in the compressor or elsewhere in the
actual A/C unit ?

Thanks,
Bob

The tubing leak is not common. More likely a leak in the A coil, the
connections, or the condensing unit. Any competent tech can find a leak
with today's tools of the trade.

Air Conditioning Plumbing Question
 

"Bob" wrote
It's not a very long run, but I really don't want to rip away part of the
ceiling and wall to try and find.

Thinking of having the A/C guy, or a Plumber just run new tubing on the
bottom of the existing ceiling. Tubing would be exposed, but would paint.

Question: good idea or approach ?

Would this new tubing have to be insulated ? How ?

BTW: are leaks in the connecting tubing fairly common after 20 years or
so, or is nearly "always" a leak in the compressor or elsewhere in the
actual A/C unit ?

Not a good idea. Have an AC tech come out and find the leak, if that is the
problem. It is not a simple matter of a plumber running new tubing as you
would for water. He will have a leak detector and can probably pin-point
the leak in a short time. Lines have to be evacuated and charged and must
be done by a licensed operator.

It may be something simple like a loose compression fitting and it is
repaired and the system re-charged. Figure any house call is going to be
$100 minimum though.

Some jobs are best left to a pro. This is one of them.

Air Conditioning Plumbing Question
 

On Jul 18, 10:36*am, Bob wrote:
Hello,

Have a forced hot air heating system, where the duct work is also used
for the house air conditioning.
Pretty typical setup: *Condenser is outside the house, of course, and
has two pipes running to the furnace where the Evaporator section of the
A/C is.
Furnace blower then bolws air thru the evap. section into the ductwork.

"Plumbing" from the outside Condenser to the Evaporator is run thru the
ceiling and walls.

Might be a leak somewhere.

It's not a very long run, but I really don't want to rip away part of
the ceiling and wall to try and find.

Thinking of having the A/C guy, or a Plumber just run new tubing on the
bottom of the existing ceiling. *Tubing would be exposed, but would paint.

Air Conditioning Plumbing Question
 

Bob wrote:
Hello,

Have a forced hot air heating system, where the duct work is also used
for the house air conditioning.
Pretty typical setup: Condenser is outside the house, of course, and has
two pipes running to the furnace where the Evaporator section of the A/C
is.
Furnace blower then bolws air thru the evap. section into the ductwork.

"Plumbing" from the outside Condenser to the Evaporator is run thru the
ceiling and walls.

Might be a leak somewhere.

It's not a very long run, but I really don't want to rip away part of
the ceiling and wall to try and find.

Thinking of having the A/C guy, or a Plumber just run new tubing on the
bottom of the existing ceiling. Tubing would be exposed, but would paint.

Question: good idea or approach ?

Would this new tubing have to be insulated ? How ?

BTW: are leaks in the connecting tubing fairly common after 20 years or
so, or is nearly "always" a leak in the compressor or elsewhere in the
actual A/C unit ?

Thanks,
Bob
Hmmm,
Why play with unqualified guess work. Call for service.
They have leak sniffer. Don't assume anything.

Air Conditioning Plumbing Question
 

Leaking freon, or water?

The suction tube (large one) needs to be insulated, as it gets cold.
It will condense water and drip.

We need more information.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Bob" wrote in message
...
Hello,

Have a forced hot air heating system, where the duct work is also used
for the house air conditioning.
Pretty typical setup: Condenser is outside the house, of course, and
has two pipes running to the furnace where the Evaporator section of
the
A/C is.
Furnace blower then bolws air thru the evap. section into the
ductwork.

"Plumbing" from the outside Condenser to the Evaporator is run thru
the
ceiling and walls.

Might be a leak somewhere.

It's not a very long run, but I really don't want to rip away part of
the ceiling and wall to try and find.

Thinking of having the A/C guy, or a Plumber just run new tubing on
the
bottom of the existing ceiling. Tubing would be exposed, but would
paint.

Question: good idea or approach ?

Would this new tubing have to be insulated ? How ?

BTW: are leaks in the connecting tubing fairly common after 20 years
or
so, or is nearly "always" a leak in the compressor or elsewhere in the
actual A/C unit ?

Thanks,
Bob

Air Conditioning Plumbing Question
 

AC refrigerant lines are some what different than water lines. For
example, refrigerant lines don't use compression fittings. You may
have been thinking "flare" fittings. Easy misteak to mayk.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in message
...

Not a good idea. Have an AC tech come out and find the leak, if that
is the
problem. It is not a simple matter of a plumber running new tubing as
you
would for water. He will have a leak detector and can probably
pin-point
the leak in a short time. Lines have to be evacuated and charged and
must
be done by a licensed operator.

It may be something simple like a loose compression fitting and it is
repaired and the system re-charged. Figure any house call is going to
be
$100 minimum though.

Some jobs are best left to a pro. This is one of them.

Air Conditioning Plumbing Question
 

On Jul 18, 6:00*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
Leaking freon, or water?

The suction tube (large one) needs to be insulated, as it gets cold.
It will condense water and drip.

We need more information.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

"Bob" wrote in message

...
Hello,

Have a forced hot air heating system, where the duct work is also used
for the house air conditioning.
Pretty typical setup: *Condenser is outside the house, of course, and
has two pipes running to the furnace where the Evaporator section of
the
A/C is.
Furnace blower then bolws air thru the evap. section into the
ductwork.

"Plumbing" from the outside Condenser to the Evaporator is run thru
the
ceiling and walls.

Might be a leak somewhere.

It's not a very long run, but I really don't want to rip away part of
the ceiling and wall to try and find.

Thinking of having the A/C guy, or a Plumber just run new tubing on
the
bottom of the existing ceiling. *Tubing would be exposed, but would
paint.

Question: *good idea or approach ?

Would this new tubing have to be insulated ? *How ?

BTW: *are leaks in the connecting tubing fairly common after 20 years
or
so, or is nearly "always" a leak in the compressor or elsewhere in the
actual A/C unit ?

Thanks,
Bob

If the tubing in question is part of a 20+ year old system that isn't
working right, I'd say it's time to evaluate getting a whole new
system. Between Fed tax credit of 30%, various state, utility and or
manufacturer rebates, plus savings on energy, it could be better than
putting money into an old inefficient unit who;s days are numbered.