stupid question..what does freon do?

[tidephan]

if the coils in my ac are freezing will and the freon level is low will that help?

thanks for any info

[jacob perkins]

what does freon do?

its does just like water does. it evaporates and condenses.
it does this about a million times a day over and over again.

"if the coils in my ac are freezing will and the freon level is low will that help?"

low freon might be why it is freezing. or it might be dirty filter or coil...or other things

[tlchvac]

What????\

[jacob perkins]

Originally posted by tlchvac
What????\


a million times a day. believe me on this , I have actually counted.

[Toolpusher]

Who uses freon anymore ?

[bahvaco]

We still use FREON,it's made by Dupont.

Maybe they meant some generic refrigerant?

[smokin68]

Originally posted by tidephan
if the coils in my ac are freezing will and the freon level is low will that help?

thanks for any info


If the coils are freezing you have a problem. Time for a service call.

[Steve Wiggins]

I think you guys missed a clue. He said "the coils in my a/c" Why didn't he say that he sees "ice on the pipes"?

No homowner knows what is going on inside that coil box unless they have already been schooled on it.

[Steve Wiggins]

To answer your question tidephan.....

Freon inside your coil box soaks up the heat in your house.

If we keep moving the heat in your house across the coil box (which has the freon inside) your coils will stay nice and warm (above freezing at least). But if we don't allow the heat to reach the coils (such as blocking air flow) then the coils get too cold and fall below freezing point.

It takes a small amount of heat to raise temperature (increase molecule speed) but it takes a HUGE amount of heat to change the chemical bonds in the freon molecules from liquid to vapor. So the goal of the freon is to soak up heat by changing state of matter.

Did you hear me twice? I said changing state of matter (from liquid freon to vapor freon).

[kbwk2mch]

yeah even a/c pumps heat.

[mark beiser]

Originally posted by Toolpusher
Who uses freon anymore ?

I have about 70# of Dupont Freon 22 in the back of my van right now.

Customers asking me stuff like "Wasn't freon was outlawed?", when they see "Freon" on ths side of the bottle, is a constant source of entertainment to me. ;)

Technically if you put on your invoice that you added "freon" to a system, and it is not Dupont brand "Freon", you are breaking the law. :p

[Edited by mark beiser on 08-20-2006 at 09:30 AM]

[star882]

Originally posted by Steve Wiggins
it takes a HUGE amount of heat to change the chemical bonds in the freon molecules from liquid to vapor. So the goal of the freon is to soak up heat by changing state of matter.

Did you hear me twice? I said changing state of matter (from liquid freon to vapor freon).
That's a physical change, not a chemical change. The chemical bonds do not change.

[rubberduck]

It does what it likes to do. Remove heat.

[man from trane]

If you are low on freon (refrigerant), it will cause the pressure in the evaporator to be low. Pressure has a direct relationship to temperature when there is refigerant in both a liquid and gaseous state together, which is what you normally have throughout most of the evap coil. Therefore if the pressure is low the temp will fall below freezing and the condensate on the coil will freeze and build up. Low refrigerant level causes the first part of the evap to be extremely cold but the rest of it is much warmer than normal since all the liquid refrigerant turns into a gas before it reaches the end of the coil and has soaked up sufficient heat from your house. Hence freezing up and inadequate cooling at the same time. Great question!

[aircooled53]

When your coil freezes then it means that it's saturation temperature has been lower by not enough,airflow,enough refrigerant or metering properly.
Coil mantains a temperture of 40* but when the above things happen then coil temperature drops and freon migrates to coldest place so if condenser is already pumping it into coil it tends to stay there; with little going back to compressor causes it to run hotter more amperage and more operating cost..

So if your coil is frozen, turn your thermostat off and call local hvac contractor to find solution to the problem.

[flowers]

How hot does it get in the coils when the freon is heated? There is a bleach smell and we have read that freon heated to high temps can emit strong smells (we have bleach smell). How hot would it have to get to do this without an open flame? And how would the smell develop if the freon is inside the coil? If there is a leak of freon, but the levels are ok and the unit is functioning. ?

[bahvaco]

It gets about 40* inside the evaporator coil when it's working and picking up heat from the house,when ya heat "freon" with an open flame it makes phosgene gas that will kill you if you breath it.

No bleach smell in any of this...you have another problem.

[man from trane]

What exactly is the problem you are having? I have never known freon under any circumstances to smell like bleach, although it does contain Chlorine.

[flowers]

There is a really, really strong bleach smell in the house foyer, first floor and in the hvac ducts under the house in the crawl space. It stays in the foyer/hall and part of the back of the home area but doesnt travel to other rooms or 2nd floor. We heard of this in a few other hvacs with freon heating up to real high levels in the system (not a flame... now about the stuff relative to that).

[cem-bsee]

Freon is a fluid which is used to transfer heat from one part of a heat pump ( in the broadest sense, including refrigerators) to another.

It is stable (does not decompose) in the absence of HIGH heat. One can check the actual fluid product being used via the unit's nameplate, then search online for its physical properties. the MSD should show the dangerous temp.

You may have a TINY leak -- one's nose is an excellent detector!

[Edited by cem-bsee on 08-21-2006 at 07:30 AM]

[mark beiser]

Originally posted by bahvaco
It gets about 40* inside the evaporator coil when it's working and picking up heat from the house,when ya heat "freon" with an open flame it makes phosgene gas that will kill you if you breath it.

You won't get phosgene from burning refrigerant unless the pressure, moisture and temperature conditions are just right for it.
The nasty smell you get from burning refrigerant is hydrochloric and hydrofloric acid.

[flowers]

Sounds good. We had an inspector check things and verified our assessments. We are having another HVAC person for another opinion. Heard of this in a very few other hvac systems with small freon vapors with very similar complaints but can't understand how it escapes if there aren't apparent leaks (freon level is ok and unit is functioning fine). Very odd situation. Air quality tests next.