Austin Air Companie Blog : Posts Tagged ‘Freon leak repair’

Does Freon Leak Stop or Freon Leak Sealer Work?

Wednesday, June 1st, 2016

Air Conditioning Refrigerant Leak Sealer

The HVAC industry continues to change and develop new technology. As refrigerants become more and more costly this trend will only continue.

With that said, caution should be heeded. The risk is that whatever you place in your HVAC system will remain there in some form up to and including the line set. (Line sets are typically not replaced when equipment is replaced as many times it is not feasible to do so… in some cases you may have no choice.)

This is why it is important for the professional to visit you in person to go over options you are considering to possibly repair this problem you are having with your HVAC system.

The problem with refrigerant leaks is the volume of refrigerant that the system is leaking. The more the refrigerant leaks, the less likely a leak sealer will work. Due to the nature of this, it’s in your best interest to consider all your options and choose with caution any option that includes the use of leak sealers.

Air Conditioning Refrigerant Leak Experience Required

Not all refrigerant leaks are created equal. Refrigerant leaks in certain areas of the equipment will have to be repaired the regular way. This takes experience to know what will work as opposed to just throwing money away… because if it doesn’t work, all the Freon that was put in is all going to leak out again and you just spent all that money on Freon and a proposed leak sealer for nothing. To make matters worse you never, ever want to add two different leak sealers this will likely contaminate the entire system. It’s not uncommon for people to jump from one HVAC contractor to another… this is dangerous for what should be obvious reasons.

You see my job isn’t just to give you a cheap solution. Many cases leak sealers are just nothing more than a temporary repair. In this realm temporary means 1 year, best case scenario. It could last more than 1 year… but could, should and will are entirely different terms.

I am here to work with you… it may not be in your interest to add a leak sealer to your system. I can only give those options in person for me to be able to see in person what I am dealing with.

R22 Freon Production Ban Coming Soon

Due to the phase out and banning of R22 Freon effective January 1, 2020 these things will only continue and likely get worse. R22 Freon will become so expensive that these schemes and scams will likely proliferate.

There is no drop in for R22 Freon, in the realm of being exactly as good as Freon R22. They can come close, but efficiency is lost as well as rated capacity of the machine the drop in refrigerant is being put into.

If it sounds “TOO GOOD” to be true… it probably is. Avoid hype or promises that are unrealistic, nothing on this planet is perfect. An air conditioning system is a 15 year appliance (national average). Nothing will stop that clock.

Realize I repair and fix air conditioners more than any job in the summer time. But just because you want a repair to avoid cost doesn’t always make it feasible. Any good HVAC contractor would help you make wise financial decisions because that contractor is depending on you for repeat business— in most cases “years” down the road. If your finances are blown due to improper repair the HVAC contractor is in jeopardy as well. A “GOOD” HVAC contracting business is built on doing it right. Fifteen years is a long time to live with a mistake.

My tag line “Done Right” isn’t there on accident.

Make air conditioning repairs carefully. If you’re not sure ask questions. The answers to those questions should help you make the wiser choice. Avoid decisions that are based on cost alone. If the HVAC repair doesn’t fix it, what difference does it make how little or how much you spent?

Thank you for visiting with me today. I hope you’ve learned something from your visit and as always I hope your day is comfortable.

About the author of this blog:

My name is Ray Austin. I am the owner and operator of Austin Air Companie, a professional HVAC Service Company serving Katy, Texas | Cypress, Texas and some surrounding areas. I am a Texas Licensed HVAC Contractor with over 20 years experience in Air Conditioning and Heating Systems. I hold an AOS degree in HVAC/R, EPA universally certified to handle any refrigerant and NATE certified in HVAC installations and repairs.

Austin Air Companie

832.475.6895

“Your home comfort from A to Z”

Air Conditioning | Controls | Heating | Zoning

A Ray Austin HVAC Service Company

For more information you can always visit me on my main website @

www.austinairco.com 

Better Service. Done Right. On Time. Guaranteed.

Air Conditioning Freon Leaks

Monday, May 18th, 2015

Air Conditioning Freon Leaks
(video included below “My AC Evaporator Is Leaking Freon? WHERE?”)

Freon in this case more or less means refrigerant, because you could in fact have a system that uses R410a that is also known as Puron. Puron is a trademark name commonly used to describe this new air conditioning refrigerant.

R22 Freon and R410a Puron are the only two EPA & Manufacturer approved refrigerants for use in a High Temp air conditioning application like residential air conditioning or commercial air conditioning. Notice I said High Temp… This application design temperature is to maintain temperature of a structure between 70 to 80 degrees. There are other applications and many different refrigerants. So you need to realize before reading any further this subject is on High Temperature Central Air Conditioning application ONLY.

When a home air conditioner is low on refrigerant, it will perform inadequately not putting out enough cooling in all areas of the structure. However, a low refrigerant suspicion doesn’t mean something else could be at play with your system. Guessing will not fix your air conditioning system. I’m not paid to guess just as much as I am not paid to “play around” with your system. I can only get to the root of your problem by diagnosing it and that requires a visit to your home in person. This is what I do for a living.

Many people to this day, believe their air conditioning system uses refrigerant and this liquid needs to be replaced or refilled at some point. Wrong. The only time you need refrigerant is when you have developed a leak or the refrigerant circuit needs repair. However, if you simply refill the system and there is a refrigerant leak then it will leak back out again a short time later depending of course how large or bad the leak is.

Refrigerant leaks can be caused by:
Formicary Corrosion
Defective part in refrigerant circuit
Poor servicing methods
unit vibration
improper or neglected maintenance
equipment age (worn out)
poor equipment design or installation
Dog urine
Freezing of the Evaporator Coil

Refrigerants CAN NOT be:
Mixed
Installed in wrong equipment
USED

Doing such things listed above will void ANY manufacturer warranty, not to mention add serious costs to repair up to and including the replacement of your AC System.

When you look at your AC equipment you don’t see anything leaking from it, so it must be OK? Condensation or moisture isn’t refrigerant. Water leaks are an entirely different subject.

Just because you don’t see anything when looking at your AC system doesn’t mean much…. Refrigerants turn to vapor under our atmosphere many times you will not be able to visually see the leak without the help of a refrigerant detector.
(Watch the embedded video below for better understanding.)

Trying to guess where a refrigerant leak is without testing for it is NOT RECOMMENDED under any circumstance, UNLESS you are replacing the whole Air Conditioning System or you enjoy the possibility of wasting money.

National average life of an Air Conditioning System is 15 Years. If yours didn’t last that long you may want to consider making a change some where.

I hope this information saves you from making a costly mistake.
Have a GREAT Summer! Thank you for visiting.

About the Author of this blog:
My name is Ray Austin. I am the owner and operator of Austin Air Companie, a HVAC Service Company serving Katy, Texas | Cypress, Texas and some surrounding areas. I am a Texas Licensed HVAC Contractor with over 20 years experience in Air Conditioning and Heating Systems. I hold an AOS degree in HVAC/R, EPA universally certified to handle any refrigerant and NATE certified in HVAC installations and repairs.

Austin Air Companie
832~475~6895
“Your home comfort from A to Z”
Air Conditioning | Controls | Heating | Zoning

For more information you can always visit me on my main website @
www.austinairco.com

Better Stuff. Done Right. On Time. Guaranteed.