Watkins Heating & Cooling Blog The Cause of Freon Leaks What causes a/c evaporator coils to leak? We have found this to be the most common problem plaguing air conditioners. To explain this, we first need to bust a common air conditioner myth. A Common A/C Myth Many homeowners believe that, over time, an air conditioner uses freon. Maybe a long, hot summer leaves a perfectly good air conditioner "winded" and low on freon. We just need to tune-up the a/c and top-up the freon, right? In reality, an air conditioner or heat pump has a sealed refrigerant system that should never "use up" or run out of freon. The freon or refrigerant is only the medium used to transfer heat from the inside of the home to the outside. The only resource that is expended is electricity. If the freon is not consumed in the process of cooling your home, then it must be lost only by a leak in the copper tubing. For many years, the air conditioning industry has used copper tubing to harness the pressure of refrigerant and bring comfort to the masses.

Copper is soft and abundant, and easy to seal in the field with solder or brazing alloy. how much for 2 ton ac unitIf copper is such a good material, why do we see so many freon leaks? wall unit ac unitsIs this due to poor field connections, poor manufacturing, or is there a third possibility?how many amps does a ac unit use Trane Looks for the Root Cause A number of years ago, Trane began a study to determine the true cause of this constant threat to our comfort. As service technicians, we have noticed that leaks from field or factory connections cause problems in the first year and are fairly rare. The problem leaks that develop in a 4 - 7 year old air conditioner occur in the copper tubing wall not the connection points or braze joints.

The source of these pre-teen leaks is what the Trane engineers set out to find in their study. Our technicians have noticed that certain brands of air conditioners develop leaks faster than others and that the newer, more efficient air conditioners are more prone to leaking than the old energy hogs. The reason for this seems fairly obvious to HVAC contractors. A/C manufacturers can raise the efficiency of their equipment by using thinner copper in their evaporator coils. Heat transfers faster through the thinner copper, but this efficient tubing also leaks sooner. One could argue that the legislation that raised the minimum efficiency of air conditioners and heat pumps to 13 SEER resulted in thinner tubing walls, more evaporator coils leaks, and, as a result, more ozone-damaging freon released into the atmosphere. The Real Cause of Freon Leaks So we know that thinner tubing develops leaks sooner, but what is causing the freon leak in the first place? The leaky a/c coils that the Trane engineers studied had microscopic pin holes seemingly drilled throughout the coil tubing.

Trane's in-home studies revealed that the culprit was formic acid. Formic acid was corroding the copper and drilling these tiny pin holes. The acid penetrates the thinner, high-efficiency tubing faster and is making some air conditioner brands look very bad. But where is the formic acid coming from? Isn't that what gives fire ants their sting? What is formic acid doing in our homes and on our air conditioner coils? Is Formaldehyde the Culprit? Formaldehyde in the home can convert into Formic acid on the a/c coil. It is extremely mild, but over a period of 5 years, it will produce pinholes in copper tubing. We call this process formicary corrosion, and it is the main reason that we still buy R-22 by the skid. If you have researched indoor air quality, you'll know that formaldehyde is a major pollutant in our homes. An infamous case of severe formaldehyde in the living space was the FEMA trailer provided to Katrina victims. While less severe than a FEMA trailer, most homes have a measurable amount of formaldehyde in the indoor air, and this will always cause formicary corrosion and freon leaks.

The Cure for A/C Freon Leaks Stop using copper to manufacture cooling coils. The photos above show copper and aluminum coil tube walls subjected to a formic acid corrosion test. Trane has found that aluminum is not susceptible to formicary corrosion. Through great feats of science and manufacturing genius, Trane began production of an all-aluminum air conditioning coil in 2005. Since then, we have installed many Trane all-aluminum coils, and we have yet to see a single leak in the tubing walls. This truly is an amazing track record. We believe this makes Trane the only reasonable choice for your next air conditioner. Comparison of Trane coil and typical copper coil after a 500 hour salt spray test.The requested URL /discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x9741480 was not found on this server.Home & GardenInteriorsVentilationTroubleshooting Your Central Air Troubleshooting Your Central Air Split-system central air conditioners, used with forced air furnaces, take hot air from the house and blow it through an evaporator coil located in the top of the furnace to cool the air.

The cooled air circulates throughout the house via the heat ducts then returns to the furnace as warm air to be cooled again. Central air conditioners can work for years without problems if properly maintained and serviced annually. If they aren’t working properly, call a trained technician. But before you phone, see if the problem is caused by something else. The unit stops working If you have your system inspected and cleaned annually, it should run without any trouble. However, if it stops working completely and you aren’t sure why, troubleshoot before calling a pro: Check the circuit breaker or fuse box to find out whether the unit has power. Check the fuses in the disconnect box located outside, near the condenser, to make sure there’s power. Replace or clean the furnace filter. If the condenser coils are coated with dust or debris, use a garden hose to wash them off. If the air conditioner still won’t work, make the call. A technician may have to recharge the refrigerant.

The unit won’t quit running If the air conditioner runs constantly, here’s what to do: Turn up the thermostat. If you set the thermostat a few degrees higher, you will save energy and a lot of money when it comes time to pay your electric bill. And your significant other won’t have to complain about wearing a sweater indoors. Take the cover off the condenser and find out whether anything is blocking the air flow. Vacuum the interior of the condenser, and then flush it with a garden hose. If the fan blades are bent or dirty, straighten them out and/or clean them. While the cover is off, oil the motor on older air conditioners. (Newer units are sealed and cannot be oiled.) Take off the plastic covers — there should be two — and put a couple drops of lightweight oil, such as 3-in-1, into each. Check the furnace filter and blower to see whether they’re blocked. Use a vacuum cleaner to clean dust and dirt on or around the blower. Replace the filter if necessary.

The unit freezes up If the high pressure lines from the condenser to the furnace or the evaporator coil in the top of the furnace are iced up, then shut the system down: Either turn off the breaker in the panel or pull the disconnect switch outside at the condenser.Your system is probably low on Freon and needs to be recharged. Water pools under the evaporator When there’s water under the evaporator at the base of your furnace, the drain is probably clogged. You can clear it, but it’s probably easier just to replace the whole thing. If you want to try clearing it, however, here’s what to do. Take off the trap, and if it’s PVC (plastic) you can cut the pipe to remove it. Pour a vinegar-water or bleach-water solution (1 to 10 parts) into the drain. That will help remove debris and algae. If you have flexible tubes, take them off and clean them by pouring the solution through them. You can also run a wire through the tube to scrape the walls.