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antheo
06-08-2011, 08:49 PM
I asked an HVAC specialist a quote for a whole house dehumidifier. When he came he said "your AC is not working properly I guess the refrigerant level is low". He checked with a gauge (red and blue) and one level showed 50 and he told me it should be at 80. He said that once he will add freon this will make the AC work properly and will dehumidify and i will not need a dehumidifier.
Is there a recommended Freon level? Is it 80?
jpsmith1cm
06-08-2011, 08:53 PM
I asked an HVAC specialist a quote for a whole house dehumidifier. When he came he said "your AC is not working properly I guess the refrigerant level is low". He checked with a gauge (red and blue) and one level showed 50 and he told me it should be at 80. He said that once he will add freon this will make the AC work properly and will dehumidify and i will not need a dehumidifier.
Is there a recommended Freon level? Is it 80?

Those "levels" you mention are actually pressures as read on his gauges.

Pressure alone isn't enough to accurately charge most AC units.
Pascone10
06-08-2011, 08:56 PM
A bit of advice from me would be to look for another contractor if that is how he plans to work on your a/c...
Timmy414B
06-08-2011, 09:03 PM
n
Pascone10
06-08-2011, 09:06 PM
recently had a nightmare dealing with LG tech support and one of their ductless splits. so i know what you mean about dealing with them. however, fourth time dealing with them (on same issue) i finally got a guy who was willing to actually give me the anwsers i was looking for... whatever that says for LG. however, not being trained in LG ductless splits myself, i cant think of anytime the condenser fans would need to run without the compressor... sounds like a board problem. shot relay on it? id make sure the comp WILL start before ordering a new board though. and def give tech support another try. good luck

I think you were trying to post this in another thread.. Maybe a mod will be along to move it for you...
tinner73
06-08-2011, 09:12 PM
yes... 80 is the magic number.
garyed
06-08-2011, 09:38 PM
A bit of advice from me would be to look for another contractor if that is how he plans to work on your a/c...


That's not fair to assume the contractor is a hack by that statement.
He may be but he also may be a good knowledgeable tech too.
Do you explain subcooling & superheat to all your customers?
I estimate what pressures will be when the unit is properly charged all the time. That doesn't mean I'm not using SC or SH it just means I'm giving a ballpark estimate of what I expect to see on my gauges.
jpsmith1cm
06-08-2011, 09:55 PM
That's not fair to assume the contractor is a hack by that statement.
He may be but he also may be a good knowledgeable tech too.
Do you explain subcooling & superheat to all your customers?
I estimate what pressures will be when the unit is properly charged all the time. That doesn't mean I'm not using SC or SH it just means I'm giving a ballpark estimate of what I expect to see on my gauges.

Also consider that they guy recognized an AC problem while there to sell a dehumidifier.....
Pascone10
06-08-2011, 10:00 PM
That's not fair to assume the contractor is a hack by that statement.
He may be but he also may be a good knowledgeable tech too.
Do you explain subcooling & superheat to all your customers?
I estimate what pressures will be when the unit is properly charged all the time. That doesn't mean I'm not using SC or SH it just means I'm giving a ballpark estimate of what I expect to see on my gauges.

I never said he was a hack! My opinion was given for one reason... simply why take a chance? If the OP had trusted the contractor why would they be here asking us?
To answer your question, I have never told the customer that I will charge there system to 80 psi to make it cold..
Twilly
06-08-2011, 10:02 PM
Twilly says the real pro's all know it should be 83.
Timmy414B
06-08-2011, 10:07 PM
yes... 80 is the magic number.

hahahahaha.
D-Allen
06-08-2011, 10:19 PM
I would check the humidity after some run time. (24 hrs.) In the 50's not bad.
antheo
06-08-2011, 10:42 PM
I have seen so many fraud recently in the Windows and HVAC business that i am a little suspicious.
I am trying to determine if the contractor was the best of all specialist by checking my AC and trying to find a solution rather than sell me a dehumidifier or if he just BS me and charged me too much for nothing ($89 visit + $150 freon)

He said that this will make the AC work better and this i believe but he said that this will solve my humidity problem in the basement and it did not (I have 64% in the basement and 54% on the main floor)
NCHeat
06-08-2011, 11:19 PM
Air conditioning typically will not dehumidify a basement (depending on your climate) because there is very little heat load in the basement. I would say that 54% upstairs is pretty good. What part of the country are you in?
chillerout1
06-08-2011, 11:52 PM
suction line should be beer can cold, hand on suction line and beer can from cooler in other for comparison lol.
lynn comstock
06-09-2011, 03:18 AM
suction line should be beer can cold, hand on suction line and beer can from cooler in other for comparison lol.And when you reach your goal, your reward is to consume the beer. Coca Cola doesn't work as well.
:cheers:
Moparmyway
06-09-2011, 05:45 AM
A bit of advice from me would be to look for another contractor if that is how he plans to work on your a/c...

I think the tech did the correct thing. He noticed the system wasnt fully charged, and told the truth. He could have gone a step further by quickly trying to find the leak so he could point it out, but he did not do anything wrong.