Air Conditioning - Low Freon- how to find leak?
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asi
08-21-07, 02:05 PM
I have old electric heating/AC unit (about 30 years old) and it works fine and monthly bill is not high like $90 per month. I try to set the temprature not very cold or hot either. It is a 2 ton unit and I live in condo in sunny south.
Any way more or less every year I had to call call AC service guy to add more Freon. He tells me that he can't tell from where Freon is leaking. He never bothered to even look as well. He tells me that in my building AC (Freon) pipe go below the building and build has concrete floors so it might be possible that Freon line has been cracked and Freon is leaking some where underground and there is no way to fix it. Or unless I want to install new pipes which will go outside of building to my unit but this is impossible as it will hurt the building image and condo board will never allow it.
How do I overcome that? I hate to spend $75 ($40 for Freon and $35 for maintainence check up like cleaning the coils, oil the motor, check wiring) every year on that.
Even If i replace this unit with a new unit I will not save much on electricity as new unit will only save me $300 - $400 per year and it will take like 15 -20 years to recover the cost + problem of leaking will be still there. Any suggestions what to do?
Any way more or less every year I had to call call AC service guy to add more Freon. He tells me that he can't tell from where Freon is leaking. He never bothered to even look as well. He tells me that in my building AC (Freon) pipe go below the building and build has concrete floors so it might be possible that Freon line has been cracked and Freon is leaking some where underground and there is no way to fix it. Or unless I want to install new pipes which will go outside of building to my unit but this is impossible as it will hurt the building image and condo board will never allow it.
How do I overcome that? I hate to spend $75 ($40 for Freon and $35 for maintainence check up like cleaning the coils, oil the motor, check wiring) every year on that.
Even If i replace this unit with a new unit I will not save much on electricity as new unit will only save me $300 - $400 per year and it will take like 15 -20 years to recover the cost + problem of leaking will be still there. Any suggestions what to do?
jim-connor
08-21-07, 02:30 PM
In my experience, a lineset leak is rare. The most likely place is the evaporator coil and I would check this first. Leaks are fairly easy to find. Electronic leak detectors do well and uv dye is almost too easy.
If no leaks are found, the lineset can be isolated from the rest of the system and pressurized with nitrogen. A decrease in pressure will confirm a leak, but it may take many hours or even a day or more to get results.
In some situations it could take many years to recover the cost of the new equipment. But old leaking equipment will just be more trouble in the future. Leaks usually get worse and other parts will wear out too. Plan on more dollars for future maintenance. Only you can decide which way to go.
Your condo association needs to face reality. Linesets will likely have to be replaced at some point in the future. With equipment manufacturers requiring larger diameter tubing to meet energy efficiency standards, new refrigerants (410a) and the occasional burnout, it may be difficult or nearly impossible to avoid lineset replacement.
If no leaks are found, the lineset can be isolated from the rest of the system and pressurized with nitrogen. A decrease in pressure will confirm a leak, but it may take many hours or even a day or more to get results.
In some situations it could take many years to recover the cost of the new equipment. But old leaking equipment will just be more trouble in the future. Leaks usually get worse and other parts will wear out too. Plan on more dollars for future maintenance. Only you can decide which way to go.
Your condo association needs to face reality. Linesets will likely have to be replaced at some point in the future. With equipment manufacturers requiring larger diameter tubing to meet energy efficiency standards, new refrigerants (410a) and the occasional burnout, it may be difficult or nearly impossible to avoid lineset replacement.
asi
08-21-07, 03:26 PM
Thanks for the tip.
Where is evaporator coil loacted? Is it part of out side unit, in front of fan?
Where is evaporator coil loacted? Is it part of out side unit, in front of fan?
jim-connor
08-21-07, 05:30 PM
Evaporator coil is located inside. It's the coil that gets cold. The outdoor coil is called the condenser coil.
gremlin
08-21-07, 05:33 PM
Evap is the coil on the indoor unit. A leak that requires refilling every year can usually be found by looking for an oily spot. I like to use a cleaner to clean any oil I find and then just use one of the various soap solutions to confirm that I've found the leak.
A new line set doesn't have to be that ugly, you can make it look like a rain gutter down spout by simply cutting up the back side of a downspout and wrapping it around the pipes, fasten to wall just like a gutter.
A new line set doesn't have to be that ugly, you can make it look like a rain gutter down spout by simply cutting up the back side of a downspout and wrapping it around the pipes, fasten to wall just like a gutter.