Any HVAC Techs Here?

[Teky0101 6]

Hello,

I was hoping someone could help me out by providing some advice regarding a problem with our air conditioner. We have a pipe on the outside of the house which is connected to the air conditioner and freezes up blocking airflow throughout the house. When this happens we have to cutoff the AC and allow the pipe to dethaw. This process takes hours and it will quickly refreeze after being restarted!!  We had the unit checked out last year and the tech said we have pinhole leaks in both the pipe and AC coil. We had them put Freon into the unit the past two years and it cost about $200 dollars each time since it takes the old Freon and not the new style. Is it possible to replace just the coil and possibly the pipe instead of buying an entire AC unit? If we do replace the coil can we use the new style of Freon? The brand of the unit is Rheem. We are on a very limited budget so any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

[Zerosignal 1]

No expert but I'm gonna say no. Compressor will only run on type of gas it's made for I think. I would say pump her up and save up for next season.

[brocglock23 4]

No. You would have to replace the entire outdoor unit and you could possibly get away with keeping the indoor coil. The differences between 22 and 410 are the pressures. Here's where the problems are. If your line set is leaking you would need to either repair it or replace it. I would be impossible to get a good enough vacuum on the system to ensure it would run properly and you would just leak at a faster rate. Now here is the other problem and people do it all the time to save money and it normally cost them in the long run. The old indoor coil is rated for 22 with a max rated pressure of 150 psig. Now you swap it out to 410a and now you are running a coil at almost max psi at around 125-130. If your coil didn't have leaks I'm gonna say its not too far away.

 

So pretty much you would be spending money to spend more money down the road. Save your pennies and do it right.

 

P.S That pipe that is freezing is called your suction line. It connects your evaporator to your compressor suction inlet.

P.P.S While I really don't recommend it they do make this stuff that is like a stop leak that I've heard good and bad things about. Depends on how desperate you are. Just food for thought.

[tony357 386]

sucks chasing slow leaks, save up and buy a new unit replace the whole system..

[UNDERSCORE 0]

Was the tech able to find the leaks? If so, he could have just brazed them up. Done it hundreds of times over the years.