Too much freon?

[Physoft]

I have a Goodman 3.5 ton heat pump model A42-00 about 10 years old which had stopped blowing heat. The tech said the unit was "bone dry" and said he added 12 pounds of freon. Unit is working now but I am doubtful that he added that much freon. How could I have verified this? Should he have documented this? I have no invoice and paid cash. Should he have showed me the gauges? What is the procedure (if any) for documenting how much freon is required and then added?

[BobbyBJr]

You can look at the nameplate and get an approximation of how much freon the unit holds, but the most important thing is did he find the leak?? If it was bone dry, then it got out somewhere.

Bobby

[dhvac]

well to start with there is a tag on the unit that says how much of a charge it holds

lots more to this but if it was bone dry i hope he pulled a vacuum and looked for a leak

[Physoft]

Thanks Bobby, he had a sniffer and looked around but did not find the leak. I can't locate the plate you mentioned but in doing other research I am told the the unit holds 10-12 pounds of freon.

[coolguysfl]

Freon is weighed in, with a scale.

But as stated earlier ---- if he didn't find the leak, you will have a repeat event.

[Physoft]

I did not see any scale at any time. Does this mean that without a scale the tech had no idea how freon he was adding? He just hooked up the lines and turned the R22 tank upside down and turned the valve(s) on the guages. While I was on the roof, I saw the dials move but don't know what they were reading except when he started the dial on the left was at 10. He had me return to the air handler in the apartment and had me switch the heat and cool cycle while he stayed on the roof adding the freon.

I know I will repeat the problem sooner of later depending on how bad the leak is.

[beenthere]

He figured the the unit was low enough that it took abouot what the name plate charge said.

If your worried about being charged for gas he didn't put in.
Be prepared for another bill just as big, since the leak was not fixed.
Along with high electric bills.

[BaldLoonie]

If it were bone dry, it probably had some air or moisture in the system. If all he did is add juice, it could be contaminated. But as all the other posts said, its' only gonna leak out soon

[Airmechanical]

i know it has already been posted, but anytime a system
is (out) of refrigerant, the freon should (NOT) be added
until leak is found, and then system is evacuated, and a liquid
line dryer installed. (then add freon)

with the system being empty of refrigerant (fast leak), a charge
of nitrogen (should) be able to locate a leak.

in general each ton of cooling capacity requires (approx.)
3 lbs of freon (not including extra lineset length)

example 3 ton split sysytem=(approx.) 9 lbs.of refrigerant

package systems use less refrigerant due to no lineset

your system WILL leak out of the freon soon due to
the fact that it was (out) of freon and the leak was not found
and fixxed, yes you just paid for freon that will leak right back out!


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[Physoft]

I considered doing a leak test but was told that it would cost twice as much as adding freon with no guarantee they would find the leak. The original charge lasted 10 years so it might be a very very slow leak. The plan is to test the system in about a month and if a little low put stop leak and see how long that holds. These measures seem prudent now since they might work and delay the cost of a new system. I realize that I am on borrowed time.

Certainly I would like to find the leak but if finding the leak cost $XXX.XX I would rather put that money toward a new system. It it leaks out sooner rather than later then a new system will be in order. Time will tell.

[davo]

I considered doing a leak test but was told that it would cost twice as much as adding freon with no guarantee they would find the leak. The original charge lasted 10 years so it might be a very very slow leak. The plan is to test the system in about a month and if a little low put stop leak and see how long that holds. These measures seem prudent now since they might work and delay the cost of a new system. I realize that I am on borrowed time.

Certainly I would like to find the leak but if finding the leak cost $XXX.XX I would rather put that money toward a new system. It it leaks out sooner rather than later then a new system will be in order. Time will tell.

Sounds like you need a second opinion from a reputable contractor.

Just because what this guy is telling you seems to be what you want to hear, it is not in your best interest.

A small leak would leak a little and would not be "Bone Dry".

The protocall he described is good for a system found slightly low on refrigerant.

As far as putting the money towards a new system, what if the leaks are in the lineset, and you put in new equipment? You will be mad when your new system is "bone dry" and not under warranty.

I handle it this way:
Leak check the system and charge the customer. Customer pays me. Price of service call is deducted from new equipment contract if one is purchased.

FYI: For billing puposes, if not "weighing in" the charge, I weigh my jug after every use at the truck, and write the weight on the cylinder. This makes it quick for me to know how much was used.

[Physoft]

Thanks Davo, this goes back to my original point and reason for starting this thread. It's possible that the system was not "bone dry" and therefore I got overcharged for freon. I have no way of knowing since I did not see any scale to weigh the tank. At least now I know what to look for and will ask more questions next time.

Now the focus is on the leak. How much money, time and effort to spend finding the leak vs a new system is the next question. True, if there is a pinhole leak in the lineset buried in the wall I better find it before installing anything new.

[Airmechanical]

The plan is to test the system in about a month and if a little low, put stop leak and see how long that holds.

would you order me a pallet of that stop leak





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