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How low can R-22 be before the unit stops cooling?

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#21 ·
White016 said:
I plan on looking it over when the weather is a bit better (100 plus) this time of year and usually 120 plus in the attic. Am I just looking for an oil stain? If I find a leak say in the evap or condenser can it even be fixed?
The guy that willy nilly filled it said something about a sealer. He said it was like $100, What is that? In the automotive world we have stop leaks but all they are are seal conditioners and I really don't know if they work.
I bought a 30 lbs bottle of r-22 and gauges since, and if that sealer is good should I use it?
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Sure, go ahead and put it in, and when it plugs capillary tubes and your gauges, you can use the next can to fix a flat tire!
 
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Discussion starter · #22 ·
pecmsg said:
A system that requires 18#'s will begin tearing itself up with 1 or 2 #'s short. You should see a noticeable difference in performance at 2 - 3#'s loss

Your tech guessed at the amount!
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Yes I know he did, I watched him fill it and there was no scale involved. I'm sure it was a quick under the table job that his boss knew nothing about.
That's what I wanted to know, how low it needed to be to stop cooling like that. Say 3#s in 25 years I can feed that thing every summer for the rest of my life....that's my hope anyway.
I'm a retired auto tech and I've seen older cars that you just can't find a leak, so you just charge it. I'm wondering if this is a similar thing? Training tells us refrigerant very slowly leaks from the compressor seal and hoses and it normal. But I know a home AC is different, no hoses and no compressor seal correct? So it seams it must have some corrosion or maybe oring leak?
 
#23 ·
Again, a bad assumption. It's well past its life expectancy and you don't know that it took all those years for the refrigerant to leak out. It may have just started very recently and leaks only get worse, not better.
 
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Discussion starter · #24 ·
pecmsg said:
Put the Sealer in and replace the unit !

What are you doing with gauges? Do you have any idea what the readings mean? Forget the fact if your not licensed its illegal to use them, no freon police anyway.

Thatsystem is 25 years old. REPLACE IT before it fails in a heat wave!
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Do you mean if you use sealer it will ruin the unit? like plug stuff up?
I'm really not scared of the freon police. lol
I'll figure it out, my son just got out of school for AC but it was a crash course and he is a beginner. He did get a license, he's training on the job right now with other beginners.... He can help me with the pressures, the super heat, ect. how to figure it.

Did I mention, will that sealer ruin the system???!!!
 
Discussion starter · #26 ·
bobboan said:
Sure, go ahead and put it in, and when it plugs capillary tubes and your gauges, you can use the next can to fix a flat tire!
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ahahha ok thanks! I guess that answers my question. I'm glad I didn't fall for that sales pitch. That jackass just wanted to sell me a new unit after raping me for freon.
 
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