for the house, not the car......
We've started having temps in the mid to high 80's here, along with commensurate high humidity, so I decided to kick on the A/C. I'm not a novice at how A/C works so the first thing I do is clean the outside coil and check the A coil for obstructions, rust or evidence of leaks. I had just changed the filter recently so all systems were "go".
I hit the switch and it immediately came on, ran for 5 minutes and shut off again. In about 5 minutes it kicked on again, ran fine - made nice cool air and shut off again after 5 minutes. The third time it came on and ran fine from then on. The house cooled down nicely and after a while it shut off. It continued to cycle normally for the next couple of days.
My neighbor across the street's son has his HVAC license and he stopped by to see his dad today so I asked him to pop over and tell me what he thinks.....we both decided the short cycling is probably due to being a little low on freon. Last time I had to add any was more than 10 years ago so I wasn't surprised....what did surprise me was he said R22 now costs $250 lb, his cost!!!!
I did a little looking online and saw prices from low $20's to mid $30's per pound.
I don't know where he got his number, but I think I'll call someone else just to see.
I got charged $150/lb in November last year. Which was up significant on the previous year of $90/lb.
If I had to add Freon every year I'd be seriously looking to find the leak - that's a spendy service call when you add in labor and trip costs - to have to do it every year. Like I said, I haven't added any in 10 years or so, so it's not unexpected that I might need a top off.
Agree, it was due to the work that I needed this time that it needed topping up - not a leak.
r22 is in the process of being phased out, which might be the reason for the higher prices but $250 per lb is a little over the top. Grab your own 30 lb container of it probably last you 300 years. https://www.thebyron.shop/product/r-22-refrigerant-30lbs-new-in-box-sealed-r22-30-lb?m_currency=USD&skuid=1096836&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlZixBhCoARIsAIC745AbJF1IaesVhUIO-CxLkZoq1yCs6IIZdVwBOAr_Qc7s1FUm5kzprk0aAqlOEALw_wcB
Not the same thing, but R12 refrigerant used in the a/c systems of 30+ year old cars is just a little bit pricey these days.
Yes, but there is a temporary respite via converting to 134A, however your A/C system will work about 25% less efficiently, and it will take a while to get the car cooled off.
I have some r12 on the shelf in the shop for the rx7. One day I'll get around to recharging it lol
I see 1 lb bottles of R12 for $40 online.....
Dan do you have a vacuum pump to evacuate and dry the system?
Quote from: MiniDave on May 08, 2024, 08:44:45 AMI see 1 lb bottles of R12 for $40 online.....
Dan do you have a vacuum pump to evacuate and dry the system?
I do and 2 bottles of r12. I have the replacement line to fix the one that cracked. I just have never gotten around to it and don't drive it enough to be motivated. One day!
I know the feeling - just put it on my list! :rolleyes:
Probably need to replace the receiver/dryer now if it's been open a while?
My household A/C has been working just fine, so I'm going to put off doing anything to it for now. I made sure the outside coil and the A-coil were both clean and the condenser fan comes on instantly - I replaced the start/run cap a couple years ago with what the technician said was a much better quality cap, although the original lasted about 8-10 years.
I think I put this A/C unit in around 2008, so it's held up pretty well - Lenox unit. It was a lot of work to get it to fit the newer furnace I installed a couple years before as the more efficient furnaces have much smaller plenums. It's terrible where I had to put the condenser - the dryer vent is right there so I have to clean the damn coil a lot!
Yeah the dryer is on the list and I have a can of compressor oil. Someday...