Low AC refrigerant: ask about the leak

you know this is Danny with Yarborough and Sons heating and air uh I'm on a Saturday no cool call customer just had a roof put on yesterday noticed that the system was not cooling after they left so let's find out what happened okay as you see the line set runs along the roof line uh this one just happened to be too close and a roofing nail happened to penetrate blind set right here where I've made this repair if you notice that your unit is not cooling after having roof put on these are one of the things that you may look out for

All right, Ricky. What's worse for your AC? Ignoring a clogged filter for months or letting furniture block vents and airflow? >> While I don't recommend either of those, always check your filters. >> All right, so what's worse for your AC? Ignoring a clogged filter or ignoring regular AC maintenance? >> Ignoring maintenance. >> All right, what's worse for your AC? Ignoring maintenance or ignoring a small refrigerant leak? >> Ignoring a refrigerant leak is both bad for your system and bad for the environment. >> what's worse? Ignoring a small refrigerant leak or frequently cranking the thermostat up and down by big margins all day? >> Ignoring the leak is worse. >> All right, final one. What's worse? Ignoring a small refrigerant leak or neglecting to clear debris around the outdoor unit? >> You should always clear debris, but ignoring the leak is worse. >> All right, so what's the takeaway here? >> If you've got a system that is low on refrigerant, I would recommend getting a leak check and having it fixed before you just essentially turn it into a bottomless money pit adding refrigerant every year. >> And

I think it just needs a recharge. Here's the thing, refrigerant doesn't just disappear. If your system's low on refrigerant, you have a leak. Topping it off without finding the leak is like filling up a tire with a nail still in it. You're just going to be right back where you started. >> Your hose. >> [singing] [music]

got piece of sheet metal rubbing up against the the line voltage wires coming in as well as resting against that liquid liquid refrigerant line which could potentially cause a refrigerant leak if that line were to be it wouldn't take much vibration if you had a little bit of vibration for a lot of years resting up right against that piece of sheet metal that could definitely cause a refrigerant leak and that would be one of those fast leaks where you're Cooling and everything's working great one day and the next day you're completely without refrigerant looking at an expensive repair we've been in the Home Comfort game since 88 in OKC share this with a friend who's in need of some serious Home Service help

Red flags. What are some red flags? You make that phone call, technician comes out, they just want to top you off of refrigerant with no leak search. Your system should not leak. I'm going to say this again. Your system should not leak. If you have a refrigerant leak on your system, that means that you have a leak and it's going to run out. It and and you shouldn't have to keep filling it up. You know, you got to fix the hole, fix the leak, figure out why it's happening. If you got someone that's just saying, "Hey, we'll just top you off and you year over year and you nickel nickel and dimed yourself into, you know, gosh, a $3,000 repair when each time they came out it you know, it was only 200 and something bucks. But, you know, if they're not doing a full diagnostic and they're not figuring out a full solution to fix the leak, then that's a big red flag. HVAC systems should not have leaks. They are closed loop systems. If you have a leak, there's a problem and it should be fixed. >> Your pros. >> [singing] [music]

Refrigerant is a big deal. We want to make sure no refrigerant is being lost from that unit. It is the killer of efficiency. We do want to make sure we're looking for where that leak is. We don't really want to just add refrigerant and go on down the road. That's kind of the old practice, but that's not good for the environment. Our prices refrigerant is actually really really low compared to the national average. National average is about $200 a pound. We are at $100 a pound right now for 410A, which is amazing. So, definitely think about if you're going to use somebody for needing refrigerant, give us a call. Yaro's. >> [singing] [music]

Refrigerant leaks, these are real fun. $400 to $1,200 ish. Okay, all right. So, when a tech tells you your system's running low on refrigerant, there is one thing you need to understand immediately, not later, immediately. Refrigerant doesn't just disappear. Your system is a closed loop. If refrigerant's low, there's a leak. A technician who charges you to recharge the system without finding and fixing the leak has done you no favors. The refrigerant will leak out again, usually within the same season, and you'll pay for another recharge. The correct repair is find the leak, fix the leak, pressure test the system, and then recharge it. So, that total process runs around $400 to $1,200, depending on where the leak is and how much refrigerant was lost. It's not cheap, but it's a real repair. A recharge without a leak fix is not. If a tech quotes you for a refrigerant without mentioning a leak search, ask the question directly.

the customer said the system's been cool and fine um until it went down but it could always be cool and better cuz man we're low on refrigerant so I've got a really low subcooling and a very high superheat which indicates low refrigerant pressures and need to add some gas to it so we'll get this system up and cooling nicely and they should be good to go hopefully for the rest of the summer all of our refrigerant is stored in here and so I want to flip it upside down and I've got it on my scales right now and as I add refriger to the system my scales will weigh it and then I'll know how much takes cuz you know it could be one lb low it could be 8 lb low so I need to be able to accurately measure what I'm doing it's definitely not a cheap expense to gas up a system but um definitely one that needs to be done once I get the refrigerant pressures where they need to be the home is going to be cooling so much better and dehumidifying properly

All right, guys, let's talk about why when your AC system runs out of refrigerant, why recharging it's not the fix. Guys, so whenever your system runs out of refrigerant, just gassing it back up isn't gonna do you any good because the hole still exists. In a AC system, the refrigerant is a closed loop. It doesn't just run out. It's not like gas in a car. You shouldn't run low. So if your system is low on Freon or refrigerant, you've got a hole somewhere, and so just gassing it back up is a temporary solution. So what you need to do is give us a call. You need to have a leak search performed, and then we can give you just transparent pricing on what it would be to, to, one, find the leak, repair the leak, or replace the system, whatever you wanna do. We'll give you plenty of options so that you can decide what's best for you and your family so your coil or whole system doesn't end up like this behind me. Stay cool and have a good one. See ya.