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Started By
Message
A/C Question
Posted on 6/22/22 at 11:10 am
Posted on 6/22/22 at 11:10 am
I have an A/C guy coming in a bit, but I'm having a minor crisis and wanted board's opinion. I have 2 units - upstairs and downstairs. Yesterday, upstairs unit wasn't running (although blower worked). A/C guy came out and said freon was low and that it didn't have enough pressure to spin. Filled with freon and it was working. He also filled my downstairs unit which was also low.
Woke up this morning, and upstairs unit is again not spinning. AC guy told me pressure is lower when it's cooler, so i surmise it's the exact same situation as yesterday. The kicker is now my downstairs unit is blowing hot air (about 84 deg from vents). I just filled with freon yesterday. Before that, it was working OK (not amazing in afternoon, but kept house cool enough that i didn't realize it was low). Now the house is unbearably hot and humid as hell.
This seems to indicate i have a significant freon leak for both units. I'm not an A/C expert at all. Do they share a coil? Would extra pressure from being refilled make a slight leak worse? WTF is going on in my house
eta upstairs unit is a ~11yo Trane. Downstairs is a 3yo Goodman (Amana).
Woke up this morning, and upstairs unit is again not spinning. AC guy told me pressure is lower when it's cooler, so i surmise it's the exact same situation as yesterday. The kicker is now my downstairs unit is blowing hot air (about 84 deg from vents). I just filled with freon yesterday. Before that, it was working OK (not amazing in afternoon, but kept house cool enough that i didn't realize it was low). Now the house is unbearably hot and humid as hell.
This seems to indicate i have a significant freon leak for both units. I'm not an A/C expert at all. Do they share a coil? Would extra pressure from being refilled make a slight leak worse? WTF is going on in my house
eta upstairs unit is a ~11yo Trane. Downstairs is a 3yo Goodman (Amana).
This post was edited on 6/22/22 at 11:11 am
11
Posted on 6/22/22 at 11:41 am to lsujro
First the downstairs:
If it was working before, I wonder if he didn't overcharge it with freon.
Upstairs: Wasn't spinning? That has nothing to do with freon. You referring to outside unit? If so, bad fan and/or capacitor.
Where did you find this tech/company?
If it was working before, I wonder if he didn't overcharge it with freon.
Upstairs: Wasn't spinning? That has nothing to do with freon. You referring to outside unit? If so, bad fan and/or capacitor.
Where did you find this tech/company?
This post was edited on 6/22/22 at 2:42 pm
Posted on 6/22/22 at 11:47 am to lsujro
blowing hot air usually means the capacitor on the outside unit has went bad. Change that first and find a different tech.
Posted on 6/22/22 at 1:01 pm to lsujro
quote:
I have an A/C guy coming in a bit, but I'm having a minor crisis and wanted board's opinion. I have 2 units - upstairs and downstairs. Yesterday, upstairs unit wasn't running (although blower worked). A/C guy came out and said freon was low and that it didn't have enough pressure to spin. Filled with freon and it was working. He also filled my downstairs unit which was also low.
Woke up this morning, and upstairs unit is again not spinning. AC guy told me pressure is lower when it's cooler, so i surmise it's the exact same situation as yesterday. The kicker is now my downstairs unit is blowing hot air (about 84 deg from vents). I just filled with freon yesterday. Before that, it was working OK (not amazing in afternoon, but kept house cool enough that i didn't realize it was low). Now the house is unbearably hot and humid as hell.
ding ding ding ding, major red flags that guy is an idiot
DO NOT CALL HIM BACK AND DEFINITELY DONT PAY HIM MORE MONEY
get a guy that knows what the hell he is doing. most likely the downstairs outdoor unit just needed cleaning and him adding freon make it overheat and shut down.
the upstairs may have a major leak, or the service valve didnt seal after he messed with it, or maybe the upstairs outdoor unit just needed cleaning and him adding freon make it overheat and shut down.
either way, it sounds like that guy doesnt know enough and most likely just learned how to add freon by watching a trained tech and knows nothing else about what to do to diagnose your problems.
im not joking, if you want it to work, then get someone who is trained and knows what they are doing because that guy isnt
This post was edited on 6/22/22 at 1:03 pm
Posted on 6/22/22 at 2:05 pm to lsujro
I don't trust any of these people. I wonder how many units really don't need freon. Where did it go? Is it leaking? Usually just the $20 capacitor.
Posted on 6/22/22 at 2:10 pm to lsujro
quote:
I'm not an A/C expert at all.
Neither is the guy you had come out. Call someone else before he breaks something.
Posted on 6/22/22 at 2:12 pm to lsujro
If you can get the cover off and take a pic of the capacitor it might likely visibly be bad. Would be bulging from the top, maybe leaking oil.
Posted on 6/22/22 at 2:44 pm to lsujro
Just an FYI, anybody needing spare/good quality capacitors and hard start kits at a good price go to justcapacitors.com. They also do free shipping 
Posted on 6/22/22 at 3:27 pm to lsujro
So it turns out that both capacitors were bad. Upstairs blower capacitor was bad. Downstairs condenser capacitor. Replaced both and now up and running. Both were low on freon yesterday (I stood there and watched the reading) and were filled to proper pressure. Checked again today after replacing capacitors and still ideal.
With no systems running, downstairs got to 84 by noon. Upstairs was 95. It's hot as hell out there
With no systems running, downstairs got to 84 by noon. Upstairs was 95. It's hot as hell out there
Posted on 6/22/22 at 3:33 pm to lsujro
Glad you got it going.
Posted on 6/22/22 at 3:33 pm to lsujro
I always stand the and watch the guy measure pressure and get a look at his start and finish readings. Get a new guy out there.
Posted on 6/22/22 at 4:48 pm to LEASTBAY
quote:
I don't trust any of these people. I wonder how many units really don't need freon. Where did it go? Is it leaking? Usually just the $20 capacitor.
I had a unit that had a very small leak. Every spring I would call and they would come add a few pounds of Freon. Called a couple years ago and they could not come for a couple of days so I called another guy (who I actually went to high school with). He came and said unit was low. I mentioned the leak, and he rolled his eyes. Pulled a vacuum on the unit (saving the Freon. Loaded at pressure with nitrogen and started spraying coil with some spray looking for the leak. None found. My old guy had done the same. My high school friend smiled and said I know where the leak is. Took his gauge off the filler and sprayed it. BINGO. Bad Schrader valve. Stuck a new one in (like $3) and put Freon back in. No leak in 2-3 years.
He is my guy now...
But to the OP. Check your capacitor. If top is swollen at all replace it. Keep another one on hand because that is a common issue. Easy to do yourself. Take picture of it. Note wires are connected with HERM, FAN, and COMMON. Take capacitor to electrical supply house and they can sell you one. Reconnect colors of wires to the same HERM, FAN, and COMMON.
NOTE: capacitors hold a charge. Google how to discharge one so you dont get a shock.
Posted on 6/23/22 at 6:38 am to lsujro
SOunds to me like you need a new AC guy.
Posted on 6/23/22 at 6:41 am to keakar
quote:
ding ding ding ding, major red flags that guy is an idiot
Or an unscrupulous guy who vented freon from the downstairs unit and will now show up and tell you both units need to be replaced.
quote:
DO NOT CALL HIM BACK AND DEFINITELY DONT PAY HIM MORE MONEY
Yep
Posted on 6/23/22 at 1:36 pm to lsujro
Go out side see if the unit is running , if not it is most likely a capacitor
Which is a easy fix
Which is a easy fix
Posted on 6/28/22 at 10:04 pm to LEASTBAY
quote:
I don't trust any of these people. I wonder how many units really don't need freon. Where did it go? Is it leaking? Usually just the $20 capacitor.
Fractionation is what happens. Refrigerant blends are composed of a mix of refrigerants with different vapor and liquid PT characteristics. These refrigerants can be azeotropic, zeotropic, or in some cases, near-azeotropic. Those are all fancy words that refer to the behavior of a refrigerant. The more “zeotropic” refrigerant blends are prone to losing one of their refrigerants in the mix; they can lose refrigerants when there are leaks or during charging.
In some cases, the only viable option will be to recover completely and recharge with a virgin charge. That is not because refrigerant has “lost its mix” from sitting, but rather because some of the”mix” has left the tank or system at a different rate, leaving an improper mix behind.
However, before I mess with any refrigerant I check airflow first.
Posted on 6/28/22 at 10:07 pm to mdomingue
It’s hard to overcome the crooks in this field. I moved from residential to commercial and only pick and choose my side work. I hardly ever recommend a replacement. The only time I do so is when I come across a refrigerant issue with a R22 system. The HVAC industry is moving way past R22 I feel I’m doing a disservice to the customer by not recommending a replacement
Posted on 6/29/22 at 7:01 pm to GeneralLeeAwesome
Certainly. Not to mention, you have to be a real good friend of mine if I’m going to drop a few pounds of my precious 22 jug into your unit.
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