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-   -   How do I add freon to a portable air conditioner? (https://www.diybanter.com/home-repair/678305-re-how-do-i-add-freon-portable-air-conditioner.html)

[email protected] August 2nd 20 11:56 AM

How do I add freon to a portable air conditioner?
 
Is this a dumb question:
(Asking for a friend lol)
1. You should know the weight of the new machine when fully charged from the specs.

If you suspect a leak can you weigh it and attribute the difference to the weight of the freon?

If it's the same weight then likely that's not the problem

Ralph Mowery August 2nd 20 04:53 PM

How do I add freon to a portable air conditioner?
 
In article ,
says...
Is this a dumb question:
(Asking for a friend lol)
1. You should know the weight of the new machine when fully charged from the specs.

If you suspect a leak can you weigh it and attribute the difference to the weight of the freon?

If it's the same weight then likely that's not the problem



With only a pound or two of refrigerant in the machine, it might be hard
to tell if you loose a few ounces or not.

If you had accurate scales and knew the weight of the machine and how
much dirt and dust that accomilated on it, the method would work, but
not really practical as it only takes a few ounces difference in weight
to make a big difference in cooling.

About like having a truck with a load of bricks and weighing it and then
doing it again after one brick falls off to see how many bricks you have
on the truck.


trader_4 August 2nd 20 04:59 PM

How do I add freon to a portable air conditioner?
 
On Sunday, August 2, 2020 at 5:56:05 AM UTC-4, wrote:
Is this a dumb question:
(Asking for a friend lol)
1. You should know the weight of the new machine when fully charged from the specs.

If you suspect a leak can you weigh it and attribute the difference to the weight of the freon?

If it's the same weight then likely that's not the problem


I would expect the weight spec on a portable AC or similar is far from
accurate. And it's probably the shipping weight, including the packaging.
Even if it's supposed to be the actual item weight, I would not expect it to
be accurate, could easily be off by more than the small weight of the
refrigerant.

I'm no expert on these, but every AC I've been involved with has a low
pressure cutoff switch. Finding that and seeing if it's open is probably
one way to tell that it's likely a refrigerant leak. And if it is, then
what? If it's very small, like Fretwell suggested, you could recharge it
and get some period of time again, without repairing it. If it's a larger
leak, then it has to be fixed and if that leak is in say the coils, then
it's junk anyway. All things considered, the chance of success is not high
and a new one is typically $125. Also if it's a decade or more old, the
new one will save on electric cost.


[email protected] August 4th 20 03:38 AM

How do I add freon to a portable air conditioner?
 
People keep saying a new one costs $125

In Canada, you'd do well to find new one for $350 USD after tax. The 12000 BtU I have made by LG is closer to $450 USD

Everything on it is perfect but it only gets cool, not cold.

Should it cost more than $150 to repair and recharge?

[email protected] August 4th 20 06:40 AM

How do I add freon to a portable air conditioner?
 
On Mon, 3 Aug 2020 18:38:41 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

People keep saying a new one costs $125

In Canada, you'd do well to find new one for $350 USD after tax. The 12000 BtU I have made by LG is closer to $450 USD

Everything on it is perfect but it only gets cool, not cold.

Should it cost more than $150 to repair and recharge?


$139 Walmart 5kbtu window shaker. I expect in a month or two they will
be 30% off.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Arctic-Ki...M01N/524423603

trader_4 August 4th 20 02:09 PM

How do I add freon to a portable air conditioner?
 
On Monday, August 3, 2020 at 9:38:44 PM UTC-4, wrote:
People keep saying a new one costs $125

In Canada, you'd do well to find new one for $350 USD after tax. The 12000 BtU I have made by LG is closer to $450 USD

Everything on it is perfect but it only gets cool, not cold.

Should it cost more than $150 to repair and recharge?


Probably. Again, it depends on what's wrong. They never need to be recharged
unless they have a leak. If it's a leak, then you have two cases:

very small leak, so you can recharge it every year or two. But unless you
DIY, what's that going to cost?

bigger leak, so where is it leaking? If it's a coil, it's going to cost
so much it winds up junked.

How do you know it's a leak? Is the compressor shot?

How much are you prepared to spend to figure it out? If you fix this,
what about the rest of it compared to a new unit?

Surprised they are so much more expensive in Canada. I;ve seen them here
for as low as $99 for a 5K unit, though I haven't looked recently.
I would think for $125 - $150 there would be many choices here for sure.
Unless you can DIY, are willing to spend the time to try to diagnose it,
have or acquire the necessary tools, it's not a very attractive proposition
to repair them.

Ralph Mowery August 4th 20 04:25 PM

How do I add freon to a portable air conditioner?
 
In article ,
says...

Probably. Again, it depends on what's wrong. They never need to be recharged
unless they have a leak. If it's a leak, then you have two cases:

very small leak, so you can recharge it every year or two. But unless you
DIY, what's that going to cost?



If it is the very small leak and has to be recharged every year, unless
it is a do it yourself, the cost will pay for a new one in 2or 3 years.

I doubt anyone would even look at it for less than $ 50 to $ 100. That
is taking it out of the window and taking it to the shop.

For the home do it your self person, you could get one of the pearcing
valves. Then hope you do not get caught as it used to be a very large
(around $ 10,000) fine, you blead off all the refrigerent to the
atmosphere. Then put in the number of ounces that the name plate calls
for. Just stop the blead when it gets very low so as not to add any air
to the system.

If there is no pressure left in the system to bleed out, you are
probably screwed and need a new unit.


[email protected] August 5th 20 05:23 AM

How do I add freon to a portable air conditioner?
 
On Tue, 4 Aug 2020 05:09:54 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Monday, August 3, 2020 at 9:38:44 PM UTC-4, wrote:
People keep saying a new one costs $125

In Canada, you'd do well to find new one for $350 USD after tax. The 12000 BtU I have made by LG is closer to $450 USD

Everything on it is perfect but it only gets cool, not cold.

Should it cost more than $150 to repair and recharge?


Probably. Again, it depends on what's wrong. They never need to be recharged
unless they have a leak. If it's a leak, then you have two cases:

very small leak, so you can recharge it every year or two. But unless you
DIY, what's that going to cost?

bigger leak, so where is it leaking? If it's a coil, it's going to cost
so much it winds up junked.

How do you know it's a leak? Is the compressor shot?

How much are you prepared to spend to figure it out? If you fix this,
what about the rest of it compared to a new unit?

Surprised they are so much more expensive in Canada. I;ve seen them here
for as low as $99 for a 5K unit, though I haven't looked recently.
I would think for $125 - $150 there would be many choices here for sure.
Unless you can DIY, are willing to spend the time to try to diagnose it,
have or acquire the necessary tools, it's not a very attractive proposition
to repair them.


I agree I see $99 units but that $139 one was the top hit on google.


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