Freon Leaks Out?
It has been common practice, since the beginning of air conditioning, to add a little Freon each spring, and then cool for another season.
If your AC is low on Freon, it's because it leaked out—you don't burn the stuff. So where did it go? Here are some possible sites for leakage: valve cores, weld joints, shipping valves, rusted filter canisters, or the copper tubing. Often you will find the leakage in the evaporator coil.
Large Freon leaks can also lead to freeze-ups. (As the Freon pressure falls, so does the freezing temperature.) Technicians are often facing a challenging assignment in finding refrigerant leaks in your system.
Repairing a Freon leak can be as simple as replacing a valve core or tightening a fitting. It can be as expensive as replacing an evaporator coil, condenser coil, or copper line set. It is also an environmental issue that has increasing awareness being brought to it.
We realize your ultimate goal is to cool down your home with a minimum of repair expense and disruption to your routine.
A history, For 20 years, the Air Conditioning industry has been under pressure from both environmental and conservation groups. To improve efficiency, the industry started rifling the interior of the copper tubes that go into the cooling coil. They create spiral grooves, and that causes turbulence in the flow of Freon as it changes from a liquid to a gas. The result is a remarkable increase in cooling efficiency.
Unfortunately, rifling introduces stress concentrations that become points where cracks can form and propagate. The entire industry has found a dramatic increase in the failure rate of their coils. Some customers experience repeat failures, while others have zero problems.
Cooling takes place in the evaporator coil, and for this reason some very intense forces are in play. There are hurricane force erosive winds where the liquid is changing to a gas.
In the off cycle, the coil temperature might be as high as 140F. In the cooling mode, temperatures approach freezing. The result is a thermal cycling gradient of about 100°F.
Dissimilar metals are used in the construction of the coil—copper, steel, and solder alloy. The result is a slightly corrosive cell.
In summary, you have erosion and thermal cycling, along with an electrolytic cell. Added to these, you have stress concentrations introduced by the rifled tubing.
This combination ultimately leads to coil failure. That is why many of the Freon leaks can be corrected by replacing the evaporator coil.
Unfortunately, there is a hefty bill attached to a new coil installation.
We understand a leak can be frustrating. It's possible one leak is found and fixed, then another may spring up following.
The most revealing technique for locating Freon leaks is for the technician to install a liquid tracer into the system, and allow it to circulate about two weeks or more. The tracer will ooze out the leak openings. He will then use a special light to detect the leak(s) There are other methods that will get you close to a leak, however this method tends to show you even the tiniest of leaks without guess work, saving money, time and aggravation.
It is good for the homeowner to understand that a leak could be anywhere and there may be several. With a U.V. Dye pack, we most often have visual evidence to show you spots refrigerant is leaking.
If you suspect a leak in your machine, let us know and we will get it U.V. Dye tested.
If your AC is low on Freon, it's because it leaked out—you don't burn the stuff. So where did it go? Here are some possible sites for leakage: valve cores, weld joints, shipping valves, rusted filter canisters, or the copper tubing. Often you will find the leakage in the evaporator coil.
Large Freon leaks can also lead to freeze-ups. (As the Freon pressure falls, so does the freezing temperature.) Technicians are often facing a challenging assignment in finding refrigerant leaks in your system.
Repairing a Freon leak can be as simple as replacing a valve core or tightening a fitting. It can be as expensive as replacing an evaporator coil, condenser coil, or copper line set. It is also an environmental issue that has increasing awareness being brought to it.
We realize your ultimate goal is to cool down your home with a minimum of repair expense and disruption to your routine.
A history, For 20 years, the Air Conditioning industry has been under pressure from both environmental and conservation groups. To improve efficiency, the industry started rifling the interior of the copper tubes that go into the cooling coil. They create spiral grooves, and that causes turbulence in the flow of Freon as it changes from a liquid to a gas. The result is a remarkable increase in cooling efficiency.
Unfortunately, rifling introduces stress concentrations that become points where cracks can form and propagate. The entire industry has found a dramatic increase in the failure rate of their coils. Some customers experience repeat failures, while others have zero problems.
Cooling takes place in the evaporator coil, and for this reason some very intense forces are in play. There are hurricane force erosive winds where the liquid is changing to a gas.
In the off cycle, the coil temperature might be as high as 140F. In the cooling mode, temperatures approach freezing. The result is a thermal cycling gradient of about 100°F.
Dissimilar metals are used in the construction of the coil—copper, steel, and solder alloy. The result is a slightly corrosive cell.
In summary, you have erosion and thermal cycling, along with an electrolytic cell. Added to these, you have stress concentrations introduced by the rifled tubing.
This combination ultimately leads to coil failure. That is why many of the Freon leaks can be corrected by replacing the evaporator coil.
Unfortunately, there is a hefty bill attached to a new coil installation.
We understand a leak can be frustrating. It's possible one leak is found and fixed, then another may spring up following.
The most revealing technique for locating Freon leaks is for the technician to install a liquid tracer into the system, and allow it to circulate about two weeks or more. The tracer will ooze out the leak openings. He will then use a special light to detect the leak(s) There are other methods that will get you close to a leak, however this method tends to show you even the tiniest of leaks without guess work, saving money, time and aggravation.
It is good for the homeowner to understand that a leak could be anywhere and there may be several. With a U.V. Dye pack, we most often have visual evidence to show you spots refrigerant is leaking.
If you suspect a leak in your machine, let us know and we will get it U.V. Dye tested.
