Lightening Strikes Twice

[half fast]

In 1986 I had a Carrier heat pump put in my new home. From the very beginning, it leaked freon. I had the HVAC people there once a month to repair the problem but despite replacing all the lines between the inside and outside units, the leak was never repaired. In 1996, I replaced the entire unit, inside and out and all of the lines, with a new Carrier system and a new HVAC contractor. It leaked too and still does. Are Carrier units proned to leaks or am I just lucky enough to buy two different units that leaked?

[bbk]

Are you sure kids aren't putting it into trashbags outside to sniff?!!!?

[RoBoTeq]

I thought you were being literal with the lightning thing. Lightning never strikes the same place twice because that place isn't there any longer.

[Dad]

Have you been using the same HVAC company to find the leak for all of these years or have you tried your hand at several different companies?

May sound like a dumb question, but you would be suprised what we hear on this site.

[acg]

I would call a new a/c company just to do a good electronic leak test of your system, and believe it or not
I had a customer that had a R#22 leak problem & come to find out the neighbors kid was filling a garbage bag up and sniffing it.What I did after leak test and charging system I put a small streak of slicone on the caps and found the seal broke on the next trip out.

[half fast]

I have used a half dozen different contractors and repair services to find the leak and nobody has found it in either system. I even sold the old system to another guy who hired yet another contractor to check it and it has not been found either.
I don't have any kids and my house is in the middle of my farm so unless the cattle are huffing it, it is just leaking.
Needless to say, I don't think I will buy another Carrier.

[pecmsg]

The Dye systems that are on the market today are excellent. Another way to find which component is leaking is to isolate the 3 sections (Condensing Unit / Line Set / Evaporator) Pressurize all 3 and check the pressure in a few days.

You didn’t say how often this system needs to be recharged or how much refrigerant is added!

[Dad]

With all things being equal the most logical reason is the correct one.

There are no refrigerant eating monsters or bugs.

Refrigerant doesn't just go away from a sealed system.

Refrigerant has no legs to walk away on its own.

There must be a leak somewhere. <<<<<< Most logical reason

[mightycpa]

I've got a question, being an owner of a very leaky AC unit... my leaks leave freon smudge all over the place... you don't need a detector to see where the units leak.

If this unit leaks as badly as it sounds, shouldn't there be some visible evidence somewhere? Why is it not evident?

Tx,

George

[pecmsg]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mightycpa
[B]I've got a question, being an owner of a very leaky AC unit... my leaks leave freon smudge all over the place... you don't need a detector to see where the units leak.

Freon is an odorless-colorless gas. What I think your seeing is the oil that migrates throughout the system.

If you see Oil than you have a leak.

[Dad]

Originally posted by mightycpa
I've got a question, being an owner of a very leaky AC unit... my leaks leave freon smudge all over the place... you don't need a detector to see where the units leak.

If this unit leaks as badly as it sounds, shouldn't there be some visible evidence somewhere? Why is it not evident?

Tx,

George

Not only oil, as pec said, but there may be dye in the system too from where companies have added to help find the leaks.

Refrigerant exists in two states in your ac, gas and liquid. Where there is liquid, there is oil that will blow with it, where there is gas it is doubtful oil will be found where there is a leak. Doubtful but not impossible.

[mightycpa]

OK, so far so good, so if I see the oil residue, which leak am I seeing? The freon coming back in to the compressor, or the freon leaving the compressor?

I guess seeing the liquid leak doesn't mean I'm not leaking the gas too.

Tx,

George

[hvac r us 2]

I guess it is a sore subject with me...

But I just can't believe in todays world that it is impossible to find a refrigerant leak on a residential unit.

[pecmsg]

Originally posted by mightycpa
OK, so far so good, so if I see the oil residue, which leak am I seeing? The freon coming back in to the compressor, or the freon leaving the compressor?

I guess seeing the liquid leak doesn't mean I'm not leaking the gas too.

Tx,

George


It doesn’t matter to or from. If there is oil on any joints then there is a 99.9% chance that it’s leaking freon.

Any good mechanic will clean up oil stains when repairs are made. As a HO you can do this yourself. Fantastic / Windex / 409 etc.

[Dad]

Originally posted by mightycpa
OK, so far so good, so if I see the oil residue, which leak am I seeing? The freon coming back in to the compressor, or the freon leaving the compressor?

I guess seeing the liquid leak doesn't mean I'm not leaking the gas too.

Tx,

George


George, Again, with all things being equal, if you see oil at a joint or exposed tubing somewhere there could be a leak and it is on the high side where the liquid is. The liquid is the high pressure side that comes out of the compressor. The low side is the large line that returns refrigerant to the compressor. The compressor takes low pressure gas and pressurizes it, the metering device at the evap coil reduces it to low pressure and the compressor sucks it back again. Never ending circle..

Of course you realize that was a very simple-simple description.
:D

I hope this helped

[mightycpa]

Ding! Too bad there's not an icon for a hammer hitting my head.

You mean the "liquid line", of course.

And I take the point that if there's a leak, then there's a leak, and it don't much matter where it comes from, unless I guess, you're the guy fixing it.

Thanks.

[Dad]

Originally posted by mightycpa
Ding! Too bad there's not an icon for a hammer hitting my head.

You mean the "liquid line", of course.

And I take the point that if there's a leak, then there's a leak, and it don't much matter where it comes from, unless I guess, you're the guy fixing it.

Thanks.

http://www.my-smileys.de/smileys2/49_4.gif

>>>>>>http://www.my-smileys.de/smileys2/49_4.gif<<<<<


just use the [img]what ever [/url] tags and you are good to knock yourself out

[cem-bsee]

go back to the basics --

how do you know that there is a leak?

Is anyone using the superheat method of charging?
Have the coils been cleaned?

[control_noob]

Originally posted by cem-bsee
go back to the basics --

how do you know that there is a leak?

Is anyone using the superheat method of charging?
Have the coils been cleaned?



Ding, ding! I'm surprised nobody else read that page in the hacker detection handbook... Typical answer from a hack when a unit isn't working right: "It was low on freezone, I added some".