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Message
AC Frozen in a Block of Ice UPDATE
Posted on 9/28/21 at 3:37 pm
Posted on 9/28/21 at 3:37 pm
So in july we had AC issues. Had Keefe’s come out and they blew out a clogged drain line. Also recommended that we replace the capacitor and contactor which we went ahead and did. The unit is around 10 years old.
Fast forward to this week and the AC quits again. Turns out the freon leaked and froze the entire unit in a block of ice. Now looking at a full replacement of my unit. I also noticed that as soon as they came out in july, it felt like my unit was “over-cooling” by a degree or two.
I have very little knowledge past basics on AC units. It is getting up there in age. Am I wrong in thinking that they screwed me somehow here? How do we go from replacing some small parts to this?
1. Is it possible that they screwed up the repair and caused this to leak/damage?
Or
2. Is this something that they should’ve caught in july before they charged me hundreds of dollars to replace parts on a unit that was 2 months away from failing.
Or
3. Is this just a case of bad luck and bad timing?
Between this and roofers its been a FUN week
Fast forward to this week and the AC quits again. Turns out the freon leaked and froze the entire unit in a block of ice. Now looking at a full replacement of my unit. I also noticed that as soon as they came out in july, it felt like my unit was “over-cooling” by a degree or two.
I have very little knowledge past basics on AC units. It is getting up there in age. Am I wrong in thinking that they screwed me somehow here? How do we go from replacing some small parts to this?
1. Is it possible that they screwed up the repair and caused this to leak/damage?
Or
2. Is this something that they should’ve caught in july before they charged me hundreds of dollars to replace parts on a unit that was 2 months away from failing.
Or
3. Is this just a case of bad luck and bad timing?
Between this and roofers its been a FUN week
This post was edited on 10/1/21 at 9:21 pm
7
Posted on 9/28/21 at 3:42 pm to LR2RedStick
What do you mean by "over cooling?"
The air out of the vent was cooler than before? Or was it cooling a few degrees below the set point before kicking off?
The air out of the vent was cooler than before? Or was it cooling a few degrees below the set point before kicking off?
Posted on 9/28/21 at 3:49 pm to LR2RedStick
Was there a leak in the freon in July? Meaning, did they have to charge it up any? I had an older unit using R22 and it seemed to lose a pound or two every other year or so. I'd end up getting a normal service, and add a little, usually around July/August, and it would work great that year and through the next summer, then the heat would hit again and I would do the same. When it got too pricey for that, we replaced the unit last summer. I want to say it was a 2004 or 2006 unit, so to make it 14-16 years is pretty good. If yours is 10 years old, you'll see a greater efficiency and it will do a much better job cooling your home.
As far as them doing something that would mess it up, I wouldn't put it past them. Find a reputable company or contractor that you can trust and it will go a long way. That unit I mentioned I have now replaced was causing me issues, and the guys in their fancy wrapped van showed up and it went from not cooling to somehow not coming on, and he couldn't figure out why. A salesman shows up about 20 minutes later and starts quoting us $14k-22k on new systems. He hadn't even looked at the unit, just assumed it was dead. I thanked them and sent them on their way.
Asked my neighbor for a recommendation since he works for a construction company and always knows a few good subs, and the guy he recommended had my unit working again that night. It was a blown capacitor, and that is when I learned to always have one on hand and how to change them out. I got this guy to do my annual service from then on, and when the time came last year to replace it, I spent about $7k on a new Rheem.
As far as them doing something that would mess it up, I wouldn't put it past them. Find a reputable company or contractor that you can trust and it will go a long way. That unit I mentioned I have now replaced was causing me issues, and the guys in their fancy wrapped van showed up and it went from not cooling to somehow not coming on, and he couldn't figure out why. A salesman shows up about 20 minutes later and starts quoting us $14k-22k on new systems. He hadn't even looked at the unit, just assumed it was dead. I thanked them and sent them on their way.
Asked my neighbor for a recommendation since he works for a construction company and always knows a few good subs, and the guy he recommended had my unit working again that night. It was a blown capacitor, and that is when I learned to always have one on hand and how to change them out. I got this guy to do my annual service from then on, and when the time came last year to replace it, I spent about $7k on a new Rheem.
Posted on 9/28/21 at 4:12 pm to LR2RedStick
By what you said they did in july, none of that would cause a leak since the drain line, capacitor, and contactor are not hooked up to the freon lines.
As some one else said did they add any freon or mention that your unit was low in July? Small freon leaks on older units are common especially in the coils. Have you had the leak diagnosed? did they say where the leak was coming from?
Edit: Im assuming your filter is good and recently replaced, as that can cause your unit to freeze.
As some one else said did they add any freon or mention that your unit was low in July? Small freon leaks on older units are common especially in the coils. Have you had the leak diagnosed? did they say where the leak was coming from?
Edit: Im assuming your filter is good and recently replaced, as that can cause your unit to freeze.
This post was edited on 9/28/21 at 4:20 pm
Posted on 9/28/21 at 7:40 pm to LR2RedStick
There’s no reason to replace it given that info. Get a quote to repair it. Then consider a second quote.
Go from there. HVAC units get leaks sometimes, they are often are fairly easy to repair or replace a part. One HVAC leak certainly isn’t anything to go starting replacing a unit about.
Go from there. HVAC units get leaks sometimes, they are often are fairly easy to repair or replace a part. One HVAC leak certainly isn’t anything to go starting replacing a unit about.
Posted on 9/30/21 at 6:31 am to LR2RedStick
quote:
it felt like my unit was “over-cooling” by a degree or two.
I can tell you that just happened to me like last week. Felt like the AC was crazy cold. My fan stopped working on the outside unit, shich in turn made the compressor overheat and it blew the freon line out. Was a rather violent exlosion of freon, all of it was gone. Had to refill the freon ($50 a lb!!!), replace the drier and fan. I am back up and running.
Posted on 9/30/21 at 2:18 pm to LR2RedStick
If the unit is frozen then everything is working. The problem is you have a freon leak. Freon has a pressure temperature relationship. IF you are a little low and the pressure on the downstream side of the expansion valve is below 32 then it is cold enough that water condensation will freeze and form ice. This starts to block the air flow and you will feel like the blower is not blowing as hard.
Never heard of over-cooling. What you described isn't over cooling, you are freezing from low freon. Best way to deal with this is turn AC off and run the AC fan only. Eventually it will melt that ice and you will notice air coming out of the registers normally. Kick the AC back on and it should blow cold but will probably re-freeze again in a day or two.
At some point the accumulation of leaking freon causes too much pressure drop before expansion valve, and then the unit won't cool.
It sounds like you have a small leak and just need to get it fixed.
Never heard of over-cooling. What you described isn't over cooling, you are freezing from low freon. Best way to deal with this is turn AC off and run the AC fan only. Eventually it will melt that ice and you will notice air coming out of the registers normally. Kick the AC back on and it should blow cold but will probably re-freeze again in a day or two.
At some point the accumulation of leaking freon causes too much pressure drop before expansion valve, and then the unit won't cool.
It sounds like you have a small leak and just need to get it fixed.
Posted on 9/30/21 at 5:41 pm to LR2RedStick
Usually when an A/C freezes it is caused by low Freon or poor airflow across the coils or a combination of both
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