[munstie]

Called in repair man, he said my freon was low again, could refill or do leak check and refill.. blah blah blah, or install new unit. Unit is 15ish years old so thought probably better to get new one. Last year they refilled and put in some stop leak stuff.

Since replacing the thing is a kick in the shorts budget wise, I started looking to see if it really needed replacing. I found my run capacitor was too small, I changed it and still no joy ( there's a thread from last week on this). So got three estimates.. Today I went out to take the capacitor off since it was new.. and poked around a bit more and noticed a lot of oil around one of the lines (the bigger line- so my guess is low pressure line?). So I guess leak, and get some soapy water and slap it around.. well it's leaking ever so little from the schraeder valve. But I guess over a year that will add up. I'd say that any detectable leak is too big, is that correct?

Waiting on a call back from the company that came out to see if they will make it right.. seems like an OBVIOUS thing for an HVAC tech to notice.

 

[user_12345a]

all leaks are bad.

getting leak stop put in was a mistake -> if the system ever needs to be opened up for a proper repair it will be trashed.

the leak stop hardens when exposed to air/moisture.

15 years isn't that old at all, there are 20 to 30 year old machines still running.

 

[r0ckstarr]

If the only problem is a leaky schrader valve, fix it and see if you can get a few more trouble-free years out of it.

20 to 30 year old machines still running.

Inefficiently guilty.

 

[user_12345a]

Depends on where the op is and use.

Where I am, where the real cooling season is only 2 to 4 weeks (and many people don't have a/c), you'll never get your money back just replacing to save energy.

different in the southern us.

 

[ddawg16]

What is AC?

I just open the windows....and enjoy the ocean breeze

 

[user_12345a]

no ocean breeze here, just smog.

damn city life.

 

[munstie]

We live in the country.. need the AC to drown out the crickets and frogs, and make it not so damn quiet otherwise..

I'm going to ask the HVAC guy to try and tighten the valve, or replace it if that doesn't work. My google-fu learned me that there's a tool that lets you replace the valve with the system under pressure so you don't have to recover the freon. Then get him to add what is necessary to get it back to correct pressure.. and see what happens. We prob only have two real month of AC weather here, but I HATE summer so we run it for 4 to keep me from turning into the hulk...

 

[BayouRunner]

It drives me up a wall when a contractor says there is a leak and we need to replace an evaporator coil or whatever. I'm not saying that its not the right thing to do. What I am saying is if your contractor says there is a leak, get them to show it to you. There is way too high a percentage of techs that just say oh you have an evaporator coil leaking and you need to replace it. I have seen so many customers over the years get burned after the coil is changed out and turns out its a condenser leak. The fellas are not allowed in my company to do that. They have to find the leak, then give the customer the option of what he wants to do. If he can't show you where the leak is, he is not doing his job. And I agree with the above post. Don't use the leak stop.

 

[munstie]

I'm sure the bigger companies have a flow chart that tells them what to say that will give them the most profit per amount of time spent.. and I fell in the trap. It was an obvious leak..

 

[user_12345a]

if you're not knowledgeable you get ripped off.

 

[bfletcher7]

I am untrained just as yourself but at the valve you could be seeing oil from where the tech connected his manifold gauge. And this is just a guess but I'd say it's possible that just by the sheer nature of the schrader (i.e. cavity for lack of a better term) could give the appearance of a leak using a household soap. Techs probably use a soap designed for this purpose that has special additives. That is if they don't use an electronic leak detector. I'd rinse the line well with water and a rag to remove the residual soap, as it could cause corrosion over time.

You say refrigerant was added last year and if I read correctly it is low now but you did not have them recharge it again. If I were in your shoes I'd be interested in knowing how much was lost throughout the course of the year. And if you had that answer there are others on here whom may be fairly accurate in an assessment as to whether or not your schrader is the source of the leak (with a video showing bubbles).

Did they attempt to find a leak last year before adding stop leak?

 

[yuri]

I will be the devils advocate.

Last year tech tops up unit. Removes gauges slowly and a bunch of oil can blow out and get on the schraeder valve/service valve. I always wipe that oil off with a rag. He does not.

Mr. Customer comes out and says hey I found oil and the leak and gets mad. Meanwhile there is no leak there. Or the schraeder did not seat perfectly after he took his gauges off. He should soap test the schraeder and most of us just use the spit test if not carrying soap. Either way that may not be where the leak is.

The customer can ask where the leak is and most don't but that is just a lack of education. With cracked heat exchangers we always show the customer and I show the customer where the freon leak is.

I don't find many leaking schraeder valves. That tool that removes the core under pressure is large and does not fit into tight spaces or when the valve is very close to the unit etc so it is no magic bullet/fix all device.

 

[BayouRunner]

I didn't want to bust his bubble lol. I think you nailed it Yuri. He now has two leaks. Either way the contractor should find the leak, fix it or give you options. And if he had his gauges hooked up he would not be able to detect the leaking valve. Also I feel the unit should not be left without caps on. Technically you should never have to add refrigerant

 

[supers05]

I use that tool a good amount during the summer months. The valves are fairly cheap and we carry them along with fresh caps on our maintenances. However, yuri is right, it's not always possible to use the tool.

Cheers!

 

[yuri]

I always check the schraeder to make sure it has seated properly and if it has those useless plastic caps I put brass ones on with the rubber seat.

 

[munstie]

There was a substantial amount of oil on/under the block that the valve is on. After I washed it down with soapy water the bubbles were evident around the valve even before I took the cap off. It had the metal cap, but there was no rubber o-ring or anything in there.. I could dip my finger in the soapy water and cover the 'hole' and get bubbles around my finger. I had a bike tire valve tool though it's pretty small.. I was able to get about 1/8th turn on the valve. Slowed it down a bit, but still leaking.

 

[BayouRunner]

I use the brass caps that have a oring I there. I think Yuri is talking about the same. You are right if you see oil there is a good indication of a leak. You do get a little oil spray when you disconnect gauges. Sometimes when you depress the valve it will reseat. Sometimes it leaks worse. If it's in a bad spot and the tool won't fit it only takes a couple of minutes to pump the system down and the valve can be changed out then as well.

 

[bfletcher7]

If it does turn out to be the valve I agree the valve core tools are rather large, and on my Lennox XP heat pump the case impedes with removal of the liquid line valve. But by removing that line's nylon hold-down clamp inside the casing the line then flexes with ease and allows for quick access using the tool. But if his unit is so low that it's tripping pressure switches then perhaps it should be recovered and weighed. If not already known, that method could help someone establish if and to what extent there may be another leak down the road. Then again, I am clueless about the possible adverse effect of stop-leak additives.

 

[munstie]

Well, apparently my unit is teets up... he checked the valves and there were actually 3 leaking, as well as leaks around the blocks the valves were in. He got the valves changed and went to add freon and apparently there is a short in the compressor. So guess it's new unit time.

 

[yuri]

I figured something like that would happen. The weak/small capacitor can give it a heart attack/seriously overload it.

Low on freon will seriously overheat it.

Both conditions will wreck the windings in the compressor motor.