Say you are sitting in your home in Houston, Texas with your air conditioning system running. You know you have your thermostat set at a particular temperature but have heard your unit running the entire day and noticed on your thermostat that it states that the temperature inside is several degrees higher than what you have it set for. You then go and check a few of your vents or registers and the air does not feel cool.
Your next step is to give your HVAC contractor a call and schedule an appointment for them to come out. He runs through his troubleshooting and even hooks up the gages to your system to check everything. Finally, he sits down with you and tells you that your air conditioner is low on refrigerant, or Freon.
One thing that you need to realize is that your AC unit does not burn off or “eat” your refrigerant or Freon. The entire unit is supposed to be sealed tight, which if it is low on Freon this is due to a leak somewhere in the system. If this is not addressed right away, this can cause further damage and even cause your entire unit to freeze up.
The best way to get an AC line fixed is by contacting a trusted HVAC contractor. There are benefits behind why getting a professional is best. This is mainly because of their knowledge on working on air conditioning systems as well as if they run into any snags know the best way to conquer them.
Now hiring a HVAC contractor can be expensive as they need to come out and troubleshoot to find out where the leak is coming from. From there the pricing can vary depending on where the leak is, if there are multiple ones, and if the part where the leak is, is an expensive part or not. A leak can be as simple as a fitting needing to be tightened all the way up to the most expensive part, which is a leak on the condenser coils.
Fixing a leak is a must as just refilling the refrigerant is just a temporary fix. It will eventually leak again, which leads to another service call. Also, it is a hazardous chemical that can be very harmful to you and your family.
The way that most contractors fix a leak is by applying oxyacetylene and silver soldering, also known as brazing, to the place where its leaking. There will be times that the part that is leaking will need to be replaced, but other times a simple solder job will do the trick.
From there the refrigerant system needs to be evacuated completely and then re-pressurized with nitrogen. After that, gauges are used to make sure that there are no more other leaks. The AC needs to evacuated and purged with the nitrogen at least three times, this is to ensure that there are no other leaks and that there is no moisture or non-condensable left.
After that, the refrigerant is combined to the refrigerant system and is properly charged. The entire process can be tedious and take time, but done correctly can end up saving you more money down the road.
If your air conditioning system is not operating correctly or is in need of its annual maintenance to prevent potential issues, please contact us today to schedule your appointment. Do not be strand in the blasting heat of Houston, Texas summer without a cool home.
Autumn Mechanical
18812 Tomato St.
Spring, TX 77379
(713) 864-8368
Google Business Listing
