HOW TO SELECT A SERVICE COMPANY:
An actual licensee holder guarantees that you will get someone that actually holds a license, has been doing this for at least 4 years and is taking continuing education. You can always ask for a licensed technician at no additional charge.
Frequently Ask Questions
The chances are are about 3% that you actually need a new evaporator. It is very rare for an evaporator coil to go out. They can form a leak in a very difficult place to repair and that could necessitate the need to replace it.
This is almost impossible and in 34 years have never seen it happen. The normal symptoms are a low suction pressure. This is almost always a bad metering device and is easily replaced.
There are two main ways compressors go out. They lose their windings and won't run or the valves go out and they do not compress. The most common problem is the compressor won't start. This is usually a capacitor or start relay. There are what they call "hard start kits". These may solve the starting issue, if not you will need a compressor.
This is common and probably the biggest scam of them all. Compressors can be easily changed and it is best to change the compressor if the condensing unit is not over 10 years old, looks and ran fine before the compressor failed. No one out there really replaces compressors because it is a lot of work and does not have the margin as replacing the whole condenser. Some of the units make it very difficult to change the compressor so in some cases replacing the condenser is sometimes the best decision.
Here are the facts. R-22 refrigerant is going to be phased out and no longer available after 2020. If you change out the Condenser you also have to change out the evaporator coil. If the whole system is old and shoddy go ahead and upgrade to 401A and get a new system. If your system is still less than 10 years old keep using the system you have and repair what is broken.
This is symptomatic of a worn out compressor or possibly a contaminated charge. This can also be a bad expansion valve. Normally it is a bad compressor that has worn out over time or flooded with liquid refrigerant from a person who did not know what they were doing.
That all depends on where you are located in the good old USA. In Houston the prices range from $15-$100 per pound. R22, used in most air conditioners, is scheduled to be phased out in 2020 but is still sold as a refrigerant and also as new air conditioners. The cost for R22 ranges from about $35-$100 per pound with an average of $50 per pound. R410A "Puron" and R134A range from $15-$50 per pound.
The most common issue is a bad condenser fan motor and second is a leak.
Trip charges have been around for a long time and used to help pay the technician for the drive time, however it can be abusive. Ask before you allow a trip charge. The Coolerman does not charge a trip charge, but does have a one hour minimum.
Always ask for a second opinion for any compressor change, evaporator change, or a condenser change!!
Leaks can be anywhere but are caused by a few specific things. Service companies not clearing hoses or evacuating system after a repair. This caused the water in the air to react with the refrigerant to turn into an acid. This eats the compressor windings and copper coils. Vibration will also cause leaks as the pipes will form fractures or a pipe can get a hole from rubbing.
EPA requires service personnel to repair any leak that is more that 15% of the charge per annum for comfort cooling. So on a second visit, if they added more then 15% of the charge the first time are required to fix the leak.
There are several ways to find leaks, bubbles, leak detector and dye. Normally the first two will work but if the leak is hard to find you may have to go to a dye. This dye is put into your system and then hit with a black light about two weeks later. Any leaks should show up if they are in the evaporator or condenser. Since I have been doing air conditioning I make sure that I use a single run of copper from the compressor to the evaporator to eliminate leak possibilities that would be out of sight. Sometimes this is not possible due to long runs. The problem with welds in walls or out of view is that they are basically impossible to find. The only way to check is to isolate the lines and pressure test them. The worst leaks ever are the ones hidden in walls. We use all methods and can find almost any leak, unfortunately it gets expensive to find these elusive leaks. Sometimes it is cheaper to just replace an evaporator then keep looking for the leaks.