Air conditioner question

[Disneylover79]

OK so I know that most of you are covered in snow, but here in SW Fla some of us have the air on... so I come home today and the AC is frozen.. it has done this to us a year or so ago, and I can't remember why. So why would this happen and what can I do to prevent it from happening again...

BTW I used a blow dryer to defrost it and now it is running... thanks

 

[Simba's Mom]

Here in Deep South Texas, we're running the air conditioner also, and just last week we had the same problem. In our case, it was due to being low on freon. And since we recently had the freon filled, there was a leak. Hope it's not major for you. Imagine if it were summer!

 

[Gina]

It is most likely a leak. Your A/C is a sealed system -- it should never, ever need refrigerant after installation, if it was put in properly. If it ever needs refrigerant after that, there's a problem. And don't let an incompetent HVAC tech just add freon -- not only is he an idiot, because it's against the law to charge a leaking system, but you're going to be throwing good money after bad. Adding freon just puts more pressure on the leak site, and it will leak out even faster.

Generally the only other reason you might see a freeze-up is due to a very, very dirty coil.

Hope you're able to get it taken care of easily!

 

[Parkers_girl]

We had the same issue and living in an apartment we had maintence come look at it. They added some freon and it seemed to do the trick for a little bit. We just turned the a/c back on this week and it has been freezing and leaking, so the maint. man came today and there was leak. Wouldn't hurt to have someone come look at it.

 

[kgle]

It is most likely a leak. Your A/C is a sealed system -- it should never, ever need refrigerant after installation, if it was put in properly. If it ever needs refrigerant after that, there's a problem. And don't let an incompetent HVAC tech just add freon -- not only is he an idiot, because it's against the law to charge a leaking system, but you're going to be throwing good money after bad. Adding freon just puts more pressure on the leak site, and it will leak out even faster.

Generally the only other reason you might see a freeze-up is due to a very, very dirty coil.

Hope you're able to get it taken care of easily!

No, it is not against the law. What happens is that usually the technician diagnoses the unit with a leak and offers to run a leak search on the unit. Its expensive so the homeowner says no and they just charge the system. I worked for a HUGE hvac company for 2 years and this was a very common occurrence. I told customers many a time that it was pointless to turn down the offer for a leak search, because they would need to recharge the system at least once every cooling season. Its not due to an incompetent tech, its due to a homeowner that just doesn't want to spend the money.


If an AC system ever freezes up, yes more than likely its a freon leak, but remember to turn the system OFF. It needs to thaw before a technician can diagnose anything.

Is it a heat pump system?

 

[Gina]

No, it is not against the law. What happens is that usually the technician diagnoses the unit with a leak and offers to run a leak search on the unit. Its expensive so the homeowner says no and they just charge the system. I worked for a HUGE hvac company for 2 years and this was a very common occurrence. I told customers many a time that it was pointless to turn down the offer for a leak search, because they would need to recharge the system at least once every cooling season. Its not due to an incompetent tech, its due to a homeowner that just doesn't want to spend the money.

Actually, it is. In the eyes of the EPA, it's called "willful venting," and they see it as the same as if you just cut the refrigerant lines. A contractor can be fined up to $10,000 per incident. You can reference the Clean Air Act, I believe it's section 608, 609, somewhere around that. But it's definitely the law.

 

[Golf4food]

Start with the cheapest and easiest fix first:

Make sure your filter is clean!

 

[kgle]

Actually, it is. In the eyes of the EPA, it's called "willful venting," and they see it as the same as if you just cut the refrigerant lines. A contractor can be fined up to $10,000 per incident. You can reference the Clean Air Act, I believe it's section 608, 609, somewhere around that. But it's definitely the law.

As far as I know it doesn't apply to residential units, only units containing 50 lbs or more of R-22. Either way, legal or not, its not enforced. However, the homeowner should absolutely have a leak detection performed to seal the leak. Otherwise they will only end up paying more in the long run. Freon is expensive.

 

[tmarquez]

This happened to us last year. No leak, had the coils cleaned...and it turned out to just be a problem with the switch. Good luck!

 

[joviroxx]

Most of the time its a freon leak. If you have techs coming in and ADDING freon, it means its leaking. Like others have said, do a leak check and get it fixed or it will keep happening.