An easy fix! The Customer’s Roleīut you know your system’s history better than us. Sometimes, with a quick look into the p-trap, I’ll see the oily water right there in the PVC. If I pop the cover off and look low on the two slabs of the A-coil, I’ll always find oil staining the coils, or an oily feel to the bottom of the primary drain pan, under the evaporator coil. If it’s an Aspen or ADP coil, I know exactly where to go every time to find that leak: in the evaporator coil near the furnace. It has copper coils which we know did NOT mix well during that time of production. Other times, we come upon an R-410 system made between 20 that’s leaking. These people will later want us to come back out and replace the leaked-out refrigerant for free. If we don’t and they leak out again, we might be criticized for not recommending a leak search at our earlier call. If we say you need a leak search the first time out, people may think we’re being pushy sales-techs. Striking a BalanceĪs an HVAC company, we’re damned if we do, and damned if we don’t. I tightened the core and the system hasn’t leaked out since, or at least they haven’t called me back yet. The system was way low on charge, and when I took the cap off the service valve, it was slowly shooting liquid refrigerant into the air. What if it’s just a loose Schrader core at the service valve where the technicians hook their gauges up? I’ve seen this before. But if it’s our first time out, it would be unfair to you for us to recommend you start a leak search immediately. If we’ve been to your home before, then we have a baseline from which to draw our information. If you’ve got to keep refilling your refrigerant, who knows how often, it can really add up quickly.
That’s why it’s called “gas and go.” Refrigerant Leak Searchingīut refrigerant is expensive. It’s easy labor for us, and not very time consuming either. HVAC companies make pretty good money by selling you refrigerant. If you don’t want to fix it, your love for the planet may not be in line with ours. So, do we “gas and go” year after year? Two to three times at your house is perhaps our limit. I get it! But at some point, a Fox Family technician is going to have a conversation with you about finding that leak and coming up with a plan to repair the leak or change out your system. Some HVAC companies can and do continue to come out and refill your refrigerant for as long as you need it, because face it, you need to be comfortable. Having a Conversationīut back to your refrigerant leak. Those chlorine particles stay in the stratosphere for several years, where it eats away at the ozone layer. As those chemicals rise even further through updrafts and pressure differences in the air, high energy solar radiation breaks down those chemicals, releasing the damaging chlorine. Unfortunately, rain doesn’t bring them down. No matter what people say about chlorine being heavier than air, it’s been proven several times over that these chemicals are amply mixed with our lower and upper atmosphere where they linger. Regardless, leaking refrigerants mix with wind currents, air pressure and updrafts, bringing those chemicals into the lower atmosphere.
Industrial and commercial buildings are the main culprit, but far more homes than commercial buildings exist. Large amounts of CFC’s, HFC’s and HCFC’s (which is what refrigerant is) are spewing into the atmosphere every day. Here’s what happens when your system leaks. We also want future generations of plants, animals, and humans to have a chance to enjoy their lives, breathe clean air, and thrive!
We at Fox Family have strong feelings about continuing to allow the release of harsh chemicals that contribute to the degradation of our planet, namely the ozone layer, as well as other contributors to global warming. This means that if you wanted to gas it up and repeatedly let that refrigerant leak out, you’re apparently not forbidden to do that.
We’re not and you’re not required to find or fix your leaking HVAC system. So, how do we handle a refrigerant leak at your home? After some recent schooling online and some back and forth, I found that we can’t REQUIRE you to fix the leak in residential applications that have less than 50 lbs. The Environmental Protection Agency has updated the requirements related to ozone-depleting and global warming substances like R-22 and R-410, a refrigerant that’s very likely in the HVAC system at your house. If your HVAC technician tells you your A/C has a refrigerant leak, I want to tell you how we handle that here at Fox Family Heating and Air Conditioning.
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