HOT IN TEXAS

[dpflugha]

Every Texan’s worst nightmare – AC problems in the summer!

We moved into this place back in February (25 year old 2-story house), and the AC has been cooling decently this summer, if not outstandingly. It was draining a lot of water out the pipe on the side of the house, enough to have a puddle of water on the ground, so I called someone out to fix that a couple of days ago. Here is what they wrote on the invoice:

"Found summary drain line restricted. Flushed out summary drain line and added Algae tab. Water flowing at this time. No warranty on drain cleaning. If drain becomes restricted again, recommend replace drains."

Well by the next morning (yesterday) it’s barely cooling at all. I call the A/C company back out again because I had the thermostat set at 72 but the temperature was reading 83. They now say the freon is overcharged and that may be causing the problem. Supposedly it should be between 65-75, and ours is reading 110. They want $300 to evacuate and re-charge the system to see if this fixes the problem.

Well, that sounds pretty fishy to me. Seems like if it that was the problem we would have started having problems as soon as we turned it on back in the Spring, not here at the tail end of the summer. I also checked the air flow from our vents and now the air is barely blowing whereas a few weeks ago it was blasting out cool air.

I know it’s hard to diagnose a cooling problem “long distance,” as it were, but does this sound plausible, the system not cooling because it has too much freon? Any advice would be greatly appreciated before I call this A/C company back out here again.

[millerman]

As far as the drain issue is concerned, they may have found the primary drain plugged and the water or condensation you saw came from the secondary drain. It is difficult to diagnose blindly however, if your not happy with their service get a second opinion. When is the last time you replaced your air filters? May sound trivial but that will cause problems with indoor coil icing and severe condensation when it thaws along with faulty pressure readings. Good luck. Michael

[dash]

Since it worked well all summer,it doesn't make sense that it's now overcharged,how would it get overcharged now?

Check your filters,dirty filters cause low air flow and contribite to clogging the drain.

Other than that,I call and discuss ,with management ,you recent call and second call,how did it get overcharged??


What company and how did you choose them??

[dpflugha]

The A/C company that was sent out was selected by my Home Warranty company. The guys were friendly and appeared to be knowledgeable. The filters are recent (we stay on top of this every 30-60 days).

Thanks for the comments. The temperature is now 87 degrees inside and I'm sweltering.

[Shophound]

Is your air handler (indoor blower section) located in the attic? I'm wondering if when these guys were up there (if it's in the attic) that maybe a return duct was knocked loose. That would possibly explain a high suction pressure (110 psi...right?) if the air handler is now sucking in superheated attic air vs. house air. The fly in the ointment with this theory is that you also said airflow from the supply registers is diminished from what you've seen before. Only thing that might hold my theory together is if knocking the return loose somehow caused the system static pressure to change in a way that CFM's aren't the same through the ductwork as before. Could be with a return knocked loose, the house is being pressurized big time from attic air being drawn in, which places a back pressure on the air entering from the supply registers.

Like others said, hard to make the call remote control, but I do agree a sudden overcharge when the thing worked okay all summer seems fishy. Also a bit coincidental.

[hvac hero]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dpflugha
[B]Every Texan’s worst nightmare – AC problems in the summer!

They want $300 to evacuate and re-charge the system to see if this fixes the problem.


I dont see why they cant hook up the recovery drum & pull some freon out of it, to lower the pressures, if it is actually overcharged (which they woulda had to put some in for this to happen, if it worked all summer already). I would never evacuate ALL of the freon & start from scratch.

[dpflugha]

I turned off the system yesterday afternoon and we had a second company come out yesterday evening. When we turned it back on, there was definitely good air flow (hot air, that is!).

The technician said the compressor is out. I don’t know what the deal was with the lack of airflow earlier in the day, but maybe the system froze up because the compressor wasn’t working right. I dunno, but at least now they know what the problem is.

Thanks for the help everyone. We may be asking for more opinions later as to which compressor to buy. :D

[travisfl]

Originally posted by dpflugha
I turned off the system yesterday afternoon and we had a second company come out yesterday evening. When we turned it back on, there was definitely good air flow (hot air, that is!).

The technician said the compressor is out. Sorry, I don't like the sound of this story at all. Compressor's don't usually just "go out" - they get murdered. Something is fishy.

How old is the syatem?

I would get a third opinion from a known-to-be reputable contractor.

[millerman]

Oh, My, God!
Travis in Florida has it right, Jeez!

[dpflugha]

How old is the syatem?
The part in the attic is about three years old. We have no idea how old the outside unit is since we just moved in, but it looks pretty old – kinda rusty, really weather beaten, etc.

Sorry, I don't like the sound of this story at all. Compressor's don't usually just "go out" - they get murdered. Something is fishy. In this part of Texas, compressors are typically only good for 10-12 years, or so I’ve been told by AC techs in the past. We essentially have a six-month summer, with temperatures between 90-100 for June through September. Even the lows are mid-to-high 70s. Not to mention our extremely high humidity to go with the high temperatures. Needless to say, our AC systems down here work overtime. It’s not at all unusual to have to turn it on in December.

[travisfl]

I've seen properly installed heat pump systems here in central Florida last 20 years or more...running 12 months of the year.

Please get another opinion and then report back. Thanks.