Air Conditioning - Relocating outdoor AC unit

I'm putting in a brick patio in my backyard. I'd like to move the AC unit about two feet farther to the side of my house than it already is. There is enough room on the large black tubing that connects it to the house to do this.

What is the best method to do this? Can I temporarily move it off of the concrete paver it sits on (in the opposite direction than I want it to end up), move the paver to the desired location, then move the AC unit back onto it?

What precautions should I take when doing this?

Thanks.

ghost

While this may not be what you want to hear, I would recommend having your ac condensor moved by pros. Unit's charge should be properly evacuated before move. Length of lineset should be checked, and insulated properly at the condensor. You may want to consider adding a filter dryer before reconnection and recharging.

:)

Well lets see here, what is the worst than can happen? Perhaps the lines could be kinked or of course the connection at the condensor will break off but if a man were to uninsulate the lines so he could watch them closely and use a tubing bender he might slowly relocate a unit with the lines intact MAYBE! I quess the worst case you end up spending 5 or 600 bucks for a Pro to repair the lineset and recharge the unit plus spending a day messing with something that went bad, plus you are blinded for life and have huge hospital bills your wife divorces you and kids will not speak to you etc. I quess if a man had a few extra dollars it would be a lot less exposure to potential problems letting a Pro deal with this project. If you decide to attempt this project anyway, make sure to wear your PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) so you don't end up permanently blinded or severly freeze burned from a ruptured line blasting out refrigerant oh and double check that your disability/life and home insurance policies are paid up and current. The average residential unit holds about 6 pounds of refrigerant. What about the electrical feed? is it going to have to be reworked also? Lots of potential hazards associated with that also. Don't mean to discourage a man from doing his own thing, it is just good to know the hazards perhaps you would want to do a PreTask Plan for this project sometimes when you write stuff down and then have it reveiwed by the safety committee you can better spot flaws in the plan and take preventative actions. Be sure that all your employees have received minimal training for this work and don't forget to turn in your MARS (material assessemnet) forms for any chemicals brought to the jobsite. Post your Pretask Plan including a work schedule and the DIY community safety committee will surely critique it. Ok now just go ahead and slide the silly thing over and stand back if the line set breaks LOL

Wow, I sure am glad I asked!

I didn't realize there would be so many things that could go wrong. The two feet I'm losing from not moving it really aren't critical (and plus I kind of enjoy my eyesight).

How much do you think it would cost to have someone (i.e. professional) move it?

Thanks guys!


P.S. I'm a little afraid to even get near that thing now!

Price would really depend on what they had to do. If they can move it without disconnecting it then probably and hour labor. If they have to do more then you could get into a few hundred. The best advice is to call your service tech and get an estimate.

Get 3 bids to do the job for you.

ED