I noticed some condensation on the insulated line between outside and inside HVAC units. Checked drain on inside unit, seems clear, but I noticed drippage from where I’m pointing:
Expecting an airflow issue on the outside unit, I went out to check it out and I see ice on the outside of the line from (probably to, not from) the basement:
and ice all over the vertical canister looking thing in the middle of the exterior unit:
So, WTF and how do I fix it?
Check for an airflow problem, dirty filter, inside fan not coming on. That's also a sign of low refrigerant. That rodent look like a heat pump from the picture, the cylinder is the compressor and motor, also make sure the outside fan is coming on when the compressor starts.
It's low on refrigerant.
Interior filter was dirty AF. Waiting For the system to thaw out before I try anything else. We had the exterior fan replaced a couple years ago, the first replacement was noisy, the second replacement was from the same source so perhaps it’s just a POS. Thanks for the feedback, I will keep you posted.
Hopefully that's the problem but a dirty air filter also means its doing a good job. Try to clean both coils before calling anybody for a shot.
AngryCorvair said:Interior filter was dirty AF. Waiting For the system to thaw out before I try anything else. We had the exterior fan replaced a couple years ago, the first replacement was noisy, the second replacement was from the same source so perhaps it’s just a POS. Thanks for the feedback, I will keep you posted.
Every 3 months, more often if you have pets.
With the amount of dust in the air getting blown around here in OKC (the wind is so strong and dust so fine, it blows itself through the seals on the windows) and 3 dogs and 1 cat. We change both filters monthly.
Toyman01 said:It's low on refrigerant.
This is your problem. Let it thaw out and get someone in to charge it up. Dont call them until there is no ice on it.
But... where did the refrigerant go? Disneyland? Is it coming back?
If it is low on refrigerant, you clearly have some kind of leak. If it's small, there is an option to inject stop leak. Not sure if that will complicate future repairs though (e.g. like tire slime for tire changers)
Can't believe nobody has asked yet.
How old is the system? In my experience, 15 years is old for this kind of equipment. Stuff corrodes, etc. I had a Carrier unit that gave up the ghost just over 10 years in.
The speed of the leak is the big question.
With vehicle A/C, it's cheap enough to just recharge and see how long it lasts. It's possible that there is the tiniest leak and it has been slowly leaking for 5 years and just now icing up. A recharge might last another 5 years in that case. The downside is, if the leak is more recent and significant, it might last one month.
I would have someone come out and use a freon sniffer to see where it's leaking. If it's at one of the brazed joints, easy fix. If it's a condenser, more expensive. Get the info first, then proceed.
Our A/C stopped blowing cold Monday night because of a condenser issue so we took ours apart to service it yesterday. In addition to replacing the failed capacitors, we took off the whole exterior cover to vacuum debris off all the coils, wash them with a cleaner, then spray them down to clean them. There was a ton of crap in there!
Used to have this issue all the time when my filter would get too much animal hair in it. I know low refrigerant can cause it as well. Sounds like you swapped the filter out. I always hosed the ice off with no issues (obviously not heated water). If it persists, a clean and check usually runs under $100 so you can be sure there is no leak and you have enough in it. I don't usually mess with that E36 M3, but if you want to, more power to ya.
Could be a dirty air filter but I doubt it. For Ice to form on the compressor and condenser unit piping, the refrigerant has to be expanding back to a gas in the compressor itself. About the only time that happens is when the unit is low on refrigerant.
There will be a leak in the system somewhere. As mentioned above, if it's in the lines between the units it's a pretty inexpensive fix. If it's a condenser or evaporator coil, that's going to cost. I had a evap coil replaced a couple of years ago. It was $900.
If it's a R22 system, the refrigerant is going to be hella expensive. It is discontinued so what is available is pricey.
There are some drop in refrigerants for R22 systems but that's outside the realm of normal. I don't know if I would be willing to use them in my home system. Most of them are hydrocarbons. Propane is one, R290. I'm running it in my shop A/C but I'd be nervous to run it in the house. It is used a fair amount in commercial systems and overseas. It's actually more efficient than R22 because of the lower operating pressures.
Edit to say, I'm not a A/C professional.
Slippery said:Toyman01 said:It's low on refrigerant.
This is your problem. Let it thaw out and get someone in to charge it up. Dont call them until there is no ice on it.
We’ve had this happen a few times. Wasn’t a problem until the price of R-22 went through the roof.
fortunately for me, cleaning the filter and the fins on the exterior heat exchanger seem to have fixed the issue 100%. house was nice and cool all night and no more condensation / dripping / ice on the outdoor components.
Good for you! It's amazing how much neglect hvac takes untill there's not enough heat being exchanged and it goes on strike. The only way to tell if it's low on refrigerant is to slap gauges on it or maybe look at the sight glass, so you probably just saved your self a bunch of money.
It's probably still low on refrigerant but cleaning the coils would help lower the pressures enough. I'd still get it checked if I were you.
In reply to Toyman01 :
We use m099 as a replacement for 22.https://www.chemours.com/ISCEON/en_US/products/Freon-MO99.html
In reply to Grizz :
Interesting. How long has it been around. I don't remember reading anything about it when I was studying A/C systems 8-10 years ago.
You clean that inside coil too, Bob Costas? I’d bet it’s caked in hair.
In reply to Toyman01 :
I wanna say like fiveish years?
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