Being told I need to replace entire system because coil in air handler is bad

[kls-ccc]

As I understand TAM4, TAM7, and TAM8

[teddy bear]

Hello, my family just moved into a new house a few months ago. We were told that the A.C. was new-ish when we purchased the home. Well, we noticed that the central A.C. would freeze up every 2-3 weeks. We'd clean the filter, thaw it out and it would run again for another 3 week period and freeze up again.

So we called a repairman out to take a look. He told us that the previous owners had only replaced the big outside unit which contains the compressor and that the outside unit looks to be installed a few years ago and was manufactured in 2003.

But he said they didn't replace the inside unit which was built in 1996 and has rusted coils and is totally filthy/gunked up. Repairman suggested that we buy a new inside unit since outside unit is relatively new and skip replacing coils.

But he couldn't give us an estimate as what anything would cost.

His boss called me today to give me a quote and said that the coil in my air handler is bad. He said that I could either replace the air handler and modify it to work with the old kind of refrigerant my unit takes - or - replace both the inside and outside units. He said that replacing the air handler is a bad idea because it has to be modified to fit old refrigerant and if either the outside or inside unit breaks the costs to repair would be astronomical due to this refrigerant issue.

Seems like it shouldn't be such a big deal to just replace the rusted coils and clean the Unit but he definitely did not agree with that plan of action. He also insisted that I replace the outside component as well, not just the inside, which dismayed me because I was under impression it was relatively new.

Am I crazy for thinking that there's a simpler solution other than replacing everything inside AND outside?

Hope that made sense, thanks!

There are other reasons that freeze coils. Not enough air flow can be caused by a dirty blower, a low fan setting, and restricted ducts. Check the blower for dirt. Open all of the supply grills in the home. Check the blower for a high speed setting.
The last cause is the setting of the t-stat. Raise your setting of the t-stat a couple degrees during cool outside temps to avoid below freezing coil temps. Fan "on" mode also will quickly defrost a coil that is partially frozen.
Wide dead band t-Stat will freeze up sooner than narrow band stats.
Regards TB

[mgs9988]

Thank you for all the great input.

Based upon what I read here, I asked another company to come out and take a look to get a fresh perspective.

They more or less concurred that both units need to be replaced. The coolant in the outside unit WAS low, apparently about 3/4 of the way gone. Although they didn't say that the outside unit had any problems re: coil, they concurred that the coil in the Inside unit was rusted and needed to be replaced.

They said they wouldn't recommend cleaning the coil because of the age of the Unit (1996) because cleaning it could damage it.

So it's looking like I need to replace the whole system and will look for the most affordable option. I think calling out a third company is overkill.

[wahoo]

Are you using pleated 1" wide air filters? The reason I ask is because these highly restrictive air filters will CAUSE the indoor unit to freeze up within just a couple of weeks!! Go to the less restrictive throw away filters and quit using the pleated (zig zag type) filters!!

[catmanacman]

If it can be budgeted i would replace it all ,i also beleive that the evaporator is still made for the unit and could be replaced .

[kls-ccc]

Thank you for all the great input.

Based upon what I read here, I asked another company to come out and take a look to get a fresh perspective.

They more or less concurred that both units need to be replaced. The coolant in the outside unit WAS low, apparently about 3/4 of the way gone. Although they didn't say that the outside unit had any problems re: coil, they concurred that the coil in the Inside unit was rusted and needed to be replaced.

They said they wouldn't recommend cleaning the coil because of the age of the Unit (1996) because cleaning it could damage it.

So it's looking like I need to replace the whole system and will look for the most affordable option. I think calling out a third company is overkill.

For some reason my BS flag started waving. If the unit was low on Refrigerant it would cause freeze ups, but if it was 3/4 low it would not cool. Also if it was that low the first guy should have caught it, most guys love to throw refrigerant at stuff and proclaim it fixed.

Don't misunderstand I am not saying that you shouldn't replace the inside unit but I don't think you are getting the complete story on the condition of your equipment or what the actual problem is. AS I and others have said you need to have the airflow checked first, then once that is correct start to look further into the problem if it is not fixed.

It is hard to make a good decision with bad info.