Air conditioners use refrigerants to move heat from inside your home to the outdoors. The old refrigerants were bad for the ozone layer in the stratosphere. The first replacement, R-22, is better but was meant to be used only as a transition until a new type of refrigerant could be developed to take its place. Since the end of 2009, the US EPA has banned manufacturers from shipping out new air conditioners with R-22. Their rules contained a loophole, however. If they 'dry-shipped' the new ACs, the ban didn't apply, a loophole I wrote about last year. One manufacturer saw the loophole and jumped through. In the past three years, a lot of new R-22 air conditioners have been installed, despite the EPA's intention to accelerate the transition to R-410A. Sadly, the installers focused only on the first cost of these systems, ignoring the inevitable high prices of servicing air conditioners with a banned refrigerant. R-22 prices begin their ascent Last week I saw an article on Angie's List about the price of R-22 in which they stated that contractors are charging $35 to $175 per pound for R-22 now.

I've asked around and found that the price of R-22 is running 3 to 5 times the cost of R-410A. How does the first cost of that dry-ship unit look after you fill it with such expensive refrigerant? Not so good, and that's what is finally going to close the loophole that allows dry-ship units to be sold. And if you think it costs a lot now, just wait. In two years, production of R-22 is set to drop 90%. HVAC Secret: An Air Conditioner Loophole the Size of the Ozone Hole The Science Behind the Phase-Out of R-22 Air Conditioner Refrigerant The Science of Global Warming Is Older Than Quantum MechanicsWhat is the AC Condenser all about? The AC system has many key components: compressor, condenser, receiver dryer, evaporator, and hoses. For an AC system to work, it needs a gas or liquid substance called refrigerant, (R-12 Freon in older cars, R-134a in 1995 and newer cars).The job of an AC condenser is to convert the AC gas into a liquid form by cooling it. There are two common causes of condenser failure.

The first scenario occurs when the condenser starts leaking. The condenser has tubes and seals, both of which can leak with normal wear and tear. 5 ton ac unit seerSince there is no way to replace these tubes and seals, you will need a new condenser. ac unit leaking in the atticKeep in mind this can also be caused by physical damage as the condenser is mounted near the front of the car and as such is susceptible to rocks or other road debris.window ac unit scrap value In the second scenario, the condenser is unable to circulate the refrigerant due to metallic debris blockage. This debris is often the result of a failing or defective AC compressor where internal parts of the compressor come apart and disperse metallic debris throughout the system.

If this is the case, you will not only need a new condenser, but also a new AC compressor, orifice tubes, and receiver dryer. When the AC condenser is replaced, the compressor, orifice tubes, and receiver dryer often have to be replaced as well. Any refrigerant that has not leaked out will need to be vacuumed out. Install an AC gauge set to measure the pressure. Inspect the condenser for leaks. If condenser is bad, remove all of the refrigerant. Remove and replace condenser. Evac and recharge the AC system. Check for proper operation of the AC system. The AC system is a sealed unit. It is not something you will inspect or service unless you notice a change. If you notice a change in the temperature of the air through the AC vents (not as cold as it should be), schedule an inspection. What common symptoms indicate you may need to replace the AC Condenser? Air conditioning is not as cold as it should be. Air conditioning does not work at all.

In these cases, when the AC system fails, you will not only not get any cold air, but the entire temperature regulation is thrown off.Your aging air conditioner has frozen up, and your HVAC technician just diagnosed a refrigerant leak in the system. When this situation arises for our Homesense clients, we don’t recommend that more expensive refrigerant be dumped into a system with known leaks, even though they do often ask us to add one pound of freon to help situation. Instead, we highly encourage a leak test be conducted to potentially fix the leak before adding any more refrigerant to the system. Most HVAC service technicians keep an electronic leak detector or sniffer in their toolkits. As the name suggests, the HVAC tech runs this tool along the refrigeration components to detect any R22 or R410a outside of the system. Most HVAC technicians will start a leak test by using this device, as it can be more cost effective in finding a leak. The limitation to an electronic leak detector test is that it can only scan the components it can touch.

With an evaporator coil leak, for example, it can be quite difficult to position the electronic leak detector in all places a potential leak might be. So while this can be the most cost effective leak test, it is also the most prone to inaccuracy. A nitrogen leak detector test—the preferred test by Homesense technicians—adds a greater degree of clarity to leak detection, though for slightly more cost. With this test, the HVAC technician first removes any remaining freon or Puron and pumps compressed nitrogen into the refrigeration system. The leaks become audible because the nitrogen is held at a higher pressure than the refrigerant can operate under normal conditions. Imagine when you pump air into your bicycle tire, and you can hear the air coming out. It’s the same concept here. In addition to listening for audible signs of a leak, HVAC technicians will also be watching the gauges to see if pressure changes. In a system without leaks, pressure will remain constant.