AC heating the house????

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DaveO

New User
DaveO
I know it's hot, but after I came up from the shop today I noticed that my house wasn't as cool as it should be. I have the thermostat set at 76° and it flashes when the system is running. It has been running all day, and tonight it seems to be putting out warm air. The thermostat reading of temperature in the house keeps rising despite the AC running. I checked and it hasn't froze up, and everything seems to be working normally as far as I can tell.
Any thoughts on what might be going on????? I have shut it off and opened the doors, it is now cooler outside than inside.
Finding a AC repair-person during this heat-wave is going to be fun and painful...anybody got a spare arm or leg that I could borrow.

Dave:)
 

b4man

New User
Barbara
Dave, I just had the same problem last weekend. It was low on free on(sp)?
Turns out the coil has a small leak. The only good news is that the coil is guaranteed for 5 years and the coil is only 2 yrs.

Good luck....gotta stay cool.
 

Shamrock

New User
Michael
Dave-
Same thing happened to us last year and it was the freon also-should just need a charge! Good luck



:BangHead::BangHead::BangHead:clamps-clamps-why do I never have enough clamps
 

DaveO

New User
DaveO
Well I haven't had it charged since we bought the place 5 years ago, but it was newly installed at that time. I have always heard that if you have a freon (or Puron in my case) leak that you would see a freeze-up at the point of leaking. But that does make sense, becauae it ain't cooling, and the coolant does that role. Should a 6 year old Carrier unit need recharging???? Is that something I can do myself???

Thanks for every one's tips on this...it's hot in here :swoon:


Dave:)
 

PChristy

New User
Phillip
Dave, make sure that it is the Freon - You might want to get the conpressor checked out also - And see if the warrant is still in affect
 

JimmyC

New User
Jimmy
Dave,

I had a coolant leak for the last couple of years, this time my A/C guy installed a can of some new kind of leak fix, he said it would find the holes and plug. If that's the problem, you may want to look into it.

Good Luck,

Jimmy:mrgreen:
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
Dave, do you have a CCF license. It not, get on the phone and prepare to wait. I saw several service trucks running today (Sunday). A properly sized system, on a day like today would run continuously. We use a 95 degree design temperature here. As days go over, units shouldn't shut down. Later this year, I will be replacing my 28 year old Carrier heat pump. When I do, I will downsize from 2.5 tons to 2.0 tons. When we put the addition on several years back, the unit in there took away part of the load. Primary unit doesn't have to cool east wall area.
 

newtonc

New User
jak
Good luck with that.Most units can't keep up in this kinda weather.But it is still cooler than outside.
We were away last week,came home on Friday to find the upstairs AC unit was not working.Just in time for this heat wave.Called the repair guy that minute and they are coming out on tuesday morning.Earliest I could get.It has been 96 degrees upstairs in the day and the carpet is starting to ripple everywhere now!GREAT!
We have been sleeping downstairs ever since.And I can't close off the 2nd floor,so even the first floor is up to 82 in the day.Right now it's down to 77.Better than nothing.And we have guests,so this is really a pain.
Why is it it always goes when it's 100??And not when it's 85??
When I get it fixed I'll let you now if it's some other problem not mentioned already.My unit's 2 years old, so I'm pretty p*ssed to say the least.
 
M

McRabbet

Dave, two years ago we had the same symptoms, but there was no frost buildup on the exterior compressor coil. I opened the inside heat exchanger unit and discovered that the two evaporator coils there were solid ice. Turned out there was a micro-pinhole leak in the interior coil and the refrigerent level was down. It happened in July (of course) and we decided that a full system replacement was a better option than spending 1/2 that amount on repairing a 10 years old unit with no guarantee. We upgraded to a 13 SEER Carrier unit (not Puron) which has a multi-speed furnace fan and a programmable thermostat. Our monthly bills dropped 25% and our latest power bill was $73 for an all-electric 2,500 SF house with a well. It will probably be $125 after this heat wave (today was a record 93 in Asheville and 100 in Greenville/Spartanburg, SC).
 
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scsmith42

New User
Scott Smith
Dave, a year or so back (also on Fathers Day weekend) I had a similar problem. Like McRabbit, I opened up the access door on the air handler and the evaporator coil was frozen solid. I attributed it back to a clogged condensate drain, and the frozen coils in turn had caused the blower motor to fry (or maybe it fried first thus contributing to the problem...).

Graingers was kind enough to open up for me early on Fathers Day Sunday so I could buy a new motor for the blower, and by late morning I had it back together and was back in business.

A few years prior to that I had to clean out the condensor coils on the outdoor unit. Seems that a lot of dirt and lawn debris had gotten compacted between the outer case and the coils, and you couldn't see the clog w/o taking it apart. Newer units have more visibility in this area though.

I know a good HVAC fellow if you need one - he's based in Knightdale and travels all over. I purchased the heat pump and components for my farmhouse project from him. Good rates, and honest work. I don't know how busy he is, but feel free to call me for his number.

Scott
 

Sandy Rose

New User
Sandy
Dave,

I've had the same problem...out ac unit is almost 20 years old - needless to say I have had it worked on a few times since we bought the house a couple of years ago. I have had both problems, the line froze up and got it recharged - I also had the same symptom you are describing. Our problem was the actual compressor - had to replace it. I really hope that is not the problem - it's not cheap.
 

Joe Scharle

New User
Joe
I know this wil be of little help now but may be food for thought. I have a service contract with my HVAC man. Twice yearly checkups and if I have a problem, I go to the top of the call list.
 

Charles Lent

Charley
Corporate Member
Dave,
With your air conditioner running check the following:
1. Make sure the thermostat is set on "Cool"
2. Outside fan running - hot air (hotter than ambient) coming out. If the fan is running, is the compressor running? If compressor is not running check that the outside coil is clear of debris and then try resetting the high pressure cutout (red button) on the outside unit (only try this once). If the compressor and fan are running but air coming from outside unit is not hot then you are likely out of freon. You will only need freon if there is a leak, otherwise you should never run out of it. This cutout will usually trip if there is insufficient air flow through the outside coil, but it can also trip if air has gotten into the freon lines due to a leak.
3. Inside fan running and coil cold (not frozen up). If the inside fan is running and the coil is frozen up it's likely that your filters are dirty preventing sufficient air flow or there is some other reason why the air flow is insufficient. If it's frozen up, correct the air flow problem and leave the system off until the ice thaws on the coil, then restart the system. If the inside coil is not cold and the outside system is running OK then you likely have a freon leak and there is no freon left in the system. Remember, freon doesn't need replacing unless it leaks out somewhere. Don't let them put freon in without first finding and fixing the leak or you will have to pay them to come back and do it again.

Charley
 

Terry

New User
Terrence P. Rielly
Dave,

I had the same problem Friday and called my AC Man and he told me if I got up higher to call him. Without delay I called him when it got to 80 Degrees. He came by and checked the head pressure on the compressor and it was 350. So he cut the unit off and got some pink spray and started spraying the coil. Although they had been cleaned bewfore I turned on the unit he showed me that deep inside the coil was the (FINE) stuff I could not get. That stuff boiled out the coil and he sprayed the coil out with the water hose. Checked the head pressure again and it was 225. Today is 96 Degrees and my AC has not gone aboue 72 Degrees. House is very cool. Your maybe something like I had but am very please on having a cool house. Terry
 

Keye

Keye
Corporate Member
Most of the major items have been covered but thought I would kind of list them and a couple of other things.

1. Make sure your filters are clean

2. If you have a drain pan on the evaporator make sure it is not plugged up.

3. Make sure you do not have any tripped breakers, inside the house and outside at the unit. If it has fuses instead of a breaker make sure they are not blown.

4. Listen to see if the compressor is running.

5. Check the discharge temp. at a supply register. If it is at least a little cooler than the room temp. your compressor is still working.

6. Run a sprinkler on the outside coils and see if the air temp. is lower at a supply register. This might help you a little if you are just low on freon.

7. Some leaks can be so small that they will take several years for you to notice a real difference. This weather would bring this kind of problem to the surface. I had a unit that had a really small leak in the evap. coil and I had it charged about once every 4 years. Replacing a unit with this kind of leak is a personal choice.

8. If the coils are plugged and really dirty and you can not get a service man out it is possible to buy coil cleaner. Maybe even at the BORG.

9. Check the internal reset button. If it is tripped try to reset it once.

10. If the outside unit fan is not running it could just be a motor replacement.

11. If the compressor is not running it could be just the start capacitor. This is easy to change.

12. If you use a service company that you have not used before and they say the compressor is burned out make them prove it. The odor from a burnt out compressor is strong.

13. Left this out, if the compressor is running and the condensor fan is running and the discharge air from the condensor is not hotter than ambient temp. you are probably just low on freon.

If you are just low on freon and they tell you the leak is small they might be able to add freon and come back for major work after the heat wave. The regs. probably say they can not do this but it may be the only solution if they do not have time to replace a compressor right now.

Most of the companies should be so busy right now they will probably be happy to find an easy problem to fix and just hit you with a large service call bill. They don't need to make up work right now.

As someone said, we are way above design temps right now so do not be surprised if units run all day long, upstair units in particular. If anyones unit is not able to catch up at night you might want to have a service call after the heat wave goes away, in OCT:rotflm:.
 

DaveO

New User
DaveO
Well I have only one unit as my house is a single story ranch (excluding the buried shop). I called a local AC service company and told them of the situation and I have someone coming to look at it Wed. It sounded to them like I only needed a good cleaning. The unit hasn't had any attention since we bought the place 5 years ago. The cleaning visit and diagnostic is about $80, and I can sign up for a twice a year service visit for $150. I think I will go for that, it's too hot here to go without AC for too long. I feel really good about Biggs AC service, and I will report the results of the service call. They gave me top priority as I only have one unit, and if it dies I have nothing....good folks :icon_thum
On another note, the system is working much better today, the house is comfortable cool, but not as cool as it should be....but that might be all I can get when it's so hot :kamahlitu

Dave:)
 
J

jeff...

I had the exact same problem last night "flashing cool on the thermostat" went outside and the AC unit was not running... turned of and back on the outside switch next to the unit. Grabbed two new AA batteries - been atleast 8 years since I changed them - installed the new batteries in the thermostat. Took a push pin and stuck in the little hole that says reset - 2 mins later we are throwing out cold air again :thumbs_up. I clean my unit at the start of heating and cooling seasons I backwash the drain, clean the coils, the fan and check the freon so I was pretty sure it wasn't nothing major.

Hope this helps...
 

Hook

New User
Gregory
I know it's hot, but after I came up from the shop today I noticed that my house wasn't as cool as it should be. I have the thermostat set at 76° and it flashes when the system is running. It has been running all day, and tonight it seems to be putting out warm air. The thermostat reading of temperature in the house keeps rising despite the AC running. I checked and it hasn't froze up, and everything seems to be working normally as far as I can tell.
Any thoughts on what might be going on????? I have shut it off and opened the doors, it is now cooler outside than inside.
Finding a AC repair-person during this heat-wave is going to be fun and painful...anybody got a spare arm or leg that I could borrow.

Dave:)

My downstairs Central unit also has a freon leak. The warranty company keeps sending someone out to "refill" the freon but they won't do a leak check. This will be the 4th time in 2 years they've come out to refill the freon.
 
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