Bent Refrigerant Line

[diyeraz]

AtticAce,

Seems like you are having a tough time believing it was the install crew.

Do you know something about my HVAC system that I don't?

[jigmister]

you can get away with a small kink.
what you have is PINCHED OFF!
WOW that thing ran for 11 years like that? are you positive?

get it fixed soon.

[jigmister]

AtticAce,

Seems like you are having a tough time believing it was the install crew.

Do you know something about my HVAC system that I don't?

I think AtticAce is wondering HOW it can run for any amount of time like that let alone 11 years.
Just as I am.

[acmech13]

i never once left a kink like that behind. that would have been cut out and scrapped. I really don't think that many would leave that there. i have left some barely kinked copper. I wish you were from jersey i wanna put my gauges on that system and see its running pressures. i am finding it hard to believe this system made it 2 summers with that. yet you say 11 years. i need a junk unit to do this too. see the outcome.

[diyeraz]

Yup. Units are behind a locked gate and no one has been near them without
me. I have uploaded a couple more images which show a better angle of the kink.

[jigmister]

All I can say is OK if you say so.

[diyeraz]

The next obvious question is how to repair this.

Go through the drywall from the inside, cut and braze new line?

[acmech13]

yes sir. cut open a bay space inside the house. braze a new piece to the outside unit. thats my specialty spot. i love brazing in spots that light up on fire easy. im not gonna share my secret thou on how i do it.

[energy star]

Whoever or whenever.......just get a set of pump pliers out and open it back up. Very easy to do. It will not look like new BUT it will work as it should.

[Shophound]

AtticAce,

Seems like you are having a tough time believing it was the install crew.

Do you know something about my HVAC system that I don't?

I'm having a hard time accepting that kink's been there for eleven years.

You mentioned it was behind a locked pool gate. Was the pool installed when the house was new, or some time afterward? Since the house was new, have you had any work done of any type around where the condensing unit sits? Pool deck, stucco work, painting, siding, sidewalk, landscaping, etc.?

Why did I just fire off a bunch of questions like that? Because should you elect to go after your builder, he's gonna do the same thing. More likely he'll see the word ELEVEN and reply "no deal".

How to fix it? Remove the DIY from your approach...this is best left to a pro. You could try the pump pliers but there's a risk you might make it worse. Been there, done that!

[coolmen]

I cant believe that system even worked at all with that kind of kink. If that was done on the day of install( no cooling)

[cep a/c]

I am wondering if this is a new kink. Something that happeded recently. Why is the line uninsulated?

[davefr]

Whoever or whenever.......just get a set of pump pliers out and open it back up. Very easy to do. It will not look like new BUT it will work as it should.

Yea, I bet if he squeezed the two ends it would open up. It doesn't have to look perfect. Any thing he can do would be an improvement. I'd pick a large pair of vise grips and adjust it so it locks and then a little bit more. Squeeze it back in multiple baby steps. Maybe 1/8" at a time. Bent metal tends to have memory and if you work it right it'll try to come back to it's original shape.

If his system is 11 years old it might be foolish to spend big bucks to replace the line.

The only problem is that old refrigeration copper tends to get brittle over the years from the constant heating and cooling cycles. I'd do it gradually or it might result in more then a "di minimus" release of refrigerant.