AC repair

What type of Freon? R22?

Pretty sure its R22

I haven’t had to do a replacement but I know of people who have gotten quote from river city one hour air and they are very high

I just sold 10lbs of R22 on FB marketplace for $100.

Source your own refrigerant....

I'm pretty convinced that 90% of the contractors in Baton Rouge are price gougers. They all want you to buy memberships and then quote incredibly high prices, promising to credit you a portion of the cost back if they find that a more expensive solution is required.

I have a coil leak also and usually get freon added every year. This year I let the AC company talk me into doing a leak test to determine if it was my inside or outside coil leaking. I felt pretty dumb after seeing how little effort the leak test took versus what I paid for it. Incidentally, the leak never could be pinpointed. The guesstimate to replace only one of the coils was over $3K and a new 5 ton unit in the neighborhood of $12K to $20K. Not sure why the huge mark-up for a unit I can buy directly for $4K. I fully expected the repair person to offer for an extra fee to tell me "where I got my shoes" to add injury to insult after the visit.

I had no luck in calling other companies to get a ball park quote over the phone to replace my unit. Everyone wants to set up an appointment to do their dog and pony show presentation. I decided not to replace my coil or AC unit at this time for now. If I do decide to replace my unit, I will seriously consider trying to find an independent contractor to do the work and just buy the unit direct. I would also take a few days off work to make sure it is being installed correctly.

R-22 supply is low. Will be hard to find any probably end of next year. R-410A and 407C started their phase out because of their high global warming potential (GWP). The next gen of refrigerants is called A2L, slightly flammable but acceptable GWP for the Save the Earth crowd. US building codes don't allow for this refrigerant to be used yet in homes. Next year you will be able to buy equipment compatible with the next gen refrigerant. If you can keep an unit running until net year is the best long term move so you can get the new refrigerant. R410 and 407C will be in a similar situation as R-22 in 10 - 15 year if not sooner depending on presidential elections.

Also I don't trust residential AC companies. Find a commercial/Industrial tech who does side work.