Air Conditioning - Exposed refridgerant pipes

Today i went to check what was makign an obnoxiously loud rattling noise coming from my central air unit's outside compressor. Upon silencing the loose, noisy gate that protects the fins by sticking a piece of wood in it, i noticed that the pipe that runs from the unit to the wall of my appartment was half exposed.

I live in south florida and it is very hot (in the 90s) now, and expected to get in the 100's by mid summer. Lately i have noticed that inside my house on the second floor, the indoor unit does not cool the house very fast. It takes about 2 hours for the thermostat to go from 78 to 77, and so on. Inside the rooms (our venting system is designed to cool the rooms more than the living room and hallway), it is cooler, but never gets really cool.

I was wondering if the exposed pipe outside was the reason why the air unit is not cooling the house quickly. Cold air (the thermometer measures 52 degrees F) is coming out of the vents at a good amount, but the house just doesn't seem to get cool. It's like there's a small heater running that slows the cooling down.

I did an experiment where i turned the tstat down to 74 whlie i was at school and when i came home 7 hours later it was at 75. The unit was still running, and i think it only got to 74 after 8 hours of running. Somethign tells me this is too long.

I will upload pictures for you to see.

the pipe
http://i3.************/xonlgx.jpg

the HEIL compressor
http://i2.************/xonkt0.jpg

super,

do you have a heatpump or a straight a/c?
do you live in an a apartment? let us know,
we are here to help.

barry

You are talking to a noob here, what is the difference between a heat pump/straight AC? All i know is that there is an air handler unit in the hall cabinet, and a compressor with a fan outside. I think this is straight AC since i never use the heat.

Also i live in an appartment (said it in OP). 2nd floor. No one lives above me.

I noticed that in the cabinet, on the side of the air handler, there is cold air coming out. Is this a freon leak? I'm taking that cold air shouldn't be coming out from behind the unit!

I noticed some things in the first picture:

(1) The lines should not be touching.
(2) It appears the large line is smaller than was intended for use with that equipment.
(3) The insulation is missing from part of the large line, but that in itself would not cause your problem.
(4) The equipment looks fairly old. You would be ahead of the game if you upgraded. Of course this presumes you own the place & intend to be there more than a couple of years.

I noticed some things in the first picture:

(1) The lines should not be touching.
(2) It appears the large line is smaller than was intended for use with that equipment.
(3) The insulation is missing from part of the large line, but that in itself would not cause your problem.
(4) The equipment looks fairly old. You would be ahead of the game if you upgraded. Of course this presumes you own the place & intend to be there more than a couple of years.

1) I can separate them with a piece of wood or something. One is warm, and the larger one is very cold.

2) I can't tell how large the refrigerant pipe is supposed to be, because i have never looked at one from another house. All the appartment buildings have the same line.

3) The insulation got ripped off from hurricane wilma last year. I didn't think this was the problem either. But should i get more insulation if it would help?

4) I live in an apartment but we don't own the house. If i am correct, the air handler is 17 years old and the Heil compressor is 14. I guess they are old... Some of the buildings in our complex have different compressors but most have the small heil ones.

Would an upgrade save our electrical bill? I hate running it so much when it doesn't cool the house. Would it be worth the time to suggest getting a new one?

A new compressor would save on electricity because of technology advances alone.. but, I think you have a larger problem that can be easily remidied. I would look at all of the duct work inside the unit. You may be air conditioning your attic and crawl space. A small amount of cool air leaking around the joints at the air handler is normal, but not large amounts...

A person at another forum told me that the evaporator coils need to be cleaned. It is VERY old and i don't think they have been cleaned in a few years.

BTW, i have no attic or crawl space.

I suggest you get the building super to have a look at the system. In most rentals, no one without prior authorization from the building owner or manager, is allowed to work on anything which is part of the building. The management may allow you to call your own contractor at your own expense, but check first.

Here are more pictures that might help.

air handler
http://i1.************/zl92s4.jpg

Red T Coil label
http://i3.************/zl94ps.jpg

Condenser coils
http://i3.************/zl95r5.jpg

Buildup on the coils
http://i3.************/zl9m5i.jpg

I think they are dirty... how should i clean them?

The coils need to be cleaned with a coil cleaner solution but you should not do it. If you mess up the condensor in attempting to clean it, the landlord will likely hold you resposible. This is a job for the building maintenance person or a contractor.