R22 home AC unit?

[C3C7NIC]

So our AC was failing to keep up with 95+ heat.


AC guy came and said R-22 was about 5-6 lbs low.


Options:

1) put in "obsolete" no longer made $100/lb R-22

2) change out coil and do other upgrades to make system compatible with new refrigerant (whatever it's called)


3) replace unit 5 ton that was $8.4K lasy year, now $10


What say the brilliant minds of the BARN?

[RMVette]

Originally Posted by C3C7NIC

So our AC was failing to keep up with 95+ heat.


AC guy came and said R-22 was about 5-6 lbs low.


Options:

1) put in "obsolete" no longer made $100/lb R-22

2) change out coil and do other upgrades to make system compatible with new refrigerant (whatever it's called)


3) replace unit 5 ton that was $8.4K lasy year, now $10


What say the brilliant minds of the BARN?

How old is the unit? IMO replace if you have the $$ to a higher SEER unit which will cut down on your electric bill. And get multiple quotes, these home contractors will take as much as they can from you.

[C3C7NIC]

Originally Posted by RMVette

How old is the unit? IMO replace if you have the $$ to a higher SEER unit which will cut down on your electric bill. And get multiple quotes, these home contractors will take as much as they can from you.

20 yrs old, second time in last 4 yrs they have had to add R-22 so sure there is a leak.

I guess the 5 ton is the largest residential unit. Just hoping to patch it along till prices come down.

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

Mine was just repaired last week, it's 34 years old. A wire on the condenser shorted out on the frame and knocked out a low voltage transformer in the furnace.

One common issue is the capacitor. I've replaced mine once.

Way back when I was working for a service contractor we had a client who had switched from company A to company B. Company A had told them refrigerant, AKA Gas, needed to be refilled periodically because, you know, gas.

Central Air units need to be sized properly. Putting in the biggest one you can purchase isn't necessarily correct. It'll cool the house down but you're left with a damp clammy feeling in the space.

[bill_daniels]

Fix leak and refill.

/thread

[dwjz06]

Kinda on the old side for your unit right? Run dye they can find the leak. Fix and add fluid=up and running quicker.

New unit big bucks, but if you are staying or keeping your place. You get x amount of years on the new stuff. Been there done that I decided to replace at that time. I did not know a couple years later I would have to give up my house.

[Aerovette]

$600.00 in freon every 4 years is better than a new $10k unit that will also need freon in a few years.

I'll add that the newer units don't cool as well as R22.

[ZipZap]

Find leak and refill at the moment.

Greed is rampant in any of the building industry at the moment. Some prices are justified due to short supply, but a lot of folks are just taking advantage of the CV-19 to line their pockets.

Problem is, I have no idea when this will be "over". .gov is continuing to flood the money supply and this makes it ripe for the picking.

The ONLY thing I have not seen a significant price increase on is liquor. Go figure...

Best of luck

[04 commemorative]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

Fix leak and refill.

/thread

Bingo ! Find the leak and fix it

[04 commemorative]

Originally Posted by aerovette

$600.00 in freon every 4 years is better than a new $10k unit that will also need freon in a few years.

I'll add that the newer units don't cool as well as R22.

I was told opposite but I myself have no idea. After Super Storm Sandy took ours I had a new compressor,air handler ,furnace and duct work installed and I don't see it being any less cool....yes it's the new stuff not freon.

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by 04 commemorative

I was told opposite but I myself have no idea. After Super Storm Sandy took ours I had a new compressor,air handler ,furnace and duct work installed and I don't see it being any less cool....yes it's the new stuff not freon.

I had two good friends have to buy new units. Their repair guys both went with slightly larger units and told them that because of the efficiency of the motors, there would still be less electricity used and because R22 is better, it would take the slightly larger unit to get the same cooling. Yes, there was a price difference, but not enough of one to let price be the deciding factor. One of them is very happy, the other says her house still isn't cool. I would say that is more related to poor insulation, but in either case, they went slightly larger.

I think about how awesome my car's R12 system was vs R134.

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

Originally Posted by aerovette

$600.00 in freon every 4 years is better than a new $10k unit that will also need freon in a few years.

I'll add that the newer units don't cool as well as R22.

You should never need to recharge your AC unit. If you do, you've got a leak that needs to be repaired.

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by Giraffe

You should never need to recharge your AC unit. If you do, you've got a leak that needs to be repaired.

Agree, but even with a leak, the economics are in favor of recharging vs replacing.

I have reached a point where I don't even have to call an AC guy. I have saved THOUSANDS of dollars by owning the tools and learning. Repair guys are just human. If they can know how, I can know how.

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

Originally Posted by aerovette

Agree, but even with a leak, the economics are in favor of recharging vs replacing.

I have reached a point where I don't even have to call an AC guy. I have saved THOUSANDS of dollars by owning the tools and learning. Repair guys are just human. If they can know how, I can know how.

R22 is gonna get so expensive the economic value may vanish.

Years ago we demo'd a huge grocery store with a dozen compressors in an equipment room. Removing the refrigerant want like this; Put blade in sawzall, start hacking away until the oil mist drive you out of the room.

[C3C7NIC]

I could misunderstand, but they said since in OK our duct work is in the concrete foundation, finding a leak can be nearly impossible?


The guy made it sound like R22 is no longer made and basically when the current supple is gone, it's gone, they do not manufacture it anymore.

Also said that the new stuff does not cool as well as the R22 but since they can't get it......

[Steve_R]

Originally Posted by C3C7NIC

I could misunderstand, but they said since in OK our duct work is in the concrete foundation, finding a leak can be nearly impossible?

I doubt the ductwork is in the concrete foundation, and even if they are the refrigerant lines aren't in the ductwork anyway. Find a new guy that knows what he's talking about.

[bill_daniels]

Originally Posted by aerovette

Agree, but even with a leak, the economics are in favor of recharging vs replacing.

I have reached a point where I don't even have to call an AC guy. I have saved THOUSANDS of dollars by owning the tools and learning. Repair guys are just human. If they can know how, I can know how.

How do you buy the r-22 without a license? I remember trying to buy the r-12 for an old truck I used to have, and.....can't buy it without a license, even from the shadier shops in Denver Harbor.

[bill_daniels]

Originally Posted by Giraffe

R22 is gonna get so expensive the economic value may vanish.

Years ago we demo'd a huge grocery store with a dozen compressors in an equipment room. Removing the refrigerant want like this; Put blade in sawzall, start hacking away until the oil mist drive you out of the room.

Seems like a missed opportunity there, to pull the freon out of those units to reuse somewhere else. At $ 100/lb, seems like it would be worth trying to capture and reuse.

[C3C7NIC]

Originally Posted by aerovette

Agree, but even with a leak, the economics are in favor of recharging vs replacing.

I have reached a point where I don't even have to call an AC guy. I have saved THOUSANDS of dollars by owning the tools and learning. Repair guys are just human. If they can know how, I can know how.

Hubs has replaced capacitor (sp?), easy peasy, but only AC guys can purchase the R22, so alas, we had to call the "guy".

[C3C7NIC]

Originally Posted by Steve_R

I doubt the ductwork is in the concrete foundation, and even if they are the refrigerant lines aren't in the ductwork anyway. Find a new guy that knows what he's talking about.

Like I said, I may have misunderstood, but we did have to reroute the hoses under a concrete patio when we had the inground pool put in. Maybe that is what he was referencing.