An air conditioner emitting a chemical-like smell, something reminiscent of paint thinner or chloroform, can signify that your system is leaking essential fluids. Refrigerant gas is present in reverse cycle air conditioning and is relied upon to treat the air before it's dispersed throughout your home

 

Would you even know what those "essential fluids" even are? That sounds like a copy and paste bot.

 

You need to figure out the source of the smell. Was the AC still cooling the house well?

 

Yes it was cooling fine. Not sure where else to look.

 

Probably not the ac then. Let it keep running after you close the windows. Make sure the fan comes on when you set the thermostat to fan = on.

 

I'm on the other side of the fence. I'd say your gut may be on point. refrigerant does have a "chemical" smell similar to a dilute paint thinner smell. A leak in the the A coil can distribute that odor in the house, and may not yet have lost enough to cause drama, but if that is the culprit, it will VERY soon. Like within hours most likely.

 

I'm on the other side of the fence. I'd say your gut may be on point. refrigerant does have a "chemical" smell similar to a dilute paint thinner smell. A leak in the the A coil can distribute that odor in the house, and may not yet have lost enough to cause drama, but if that is the culprit, it will VERY soon. Like within hours most likely.

They would have had to lost the entire charge almost all at once before smelling it in the very diluted house. R410 doesn't have much smell, it's more the oil that you'll smell. R22 is a bit sweet. In either case, the ac wouldn't be making much cold air at all at this point.

 

It’s something else not refrigerant. Turn ac back on and see if it’s cooling. If cooling then not leaking. I once had entire refrigerant got leaked in few minutes in the house. Didn’t smell much. Explosive gas sensor alarm vent off in the beginning. After 16 minutes all gas evaporated and like nothing happened except Ac was not working

 

Figured it out, it's not the AC. That was the only thing google search came up with that smelled like paint thinner. It's actually coming from the drain vent near the dishwasher. I'm gonna try to clean out the main vent on the roof. I'm not sure if the vent line by the dishwasher was even installed right.

 

The vent line by the dishwasher terminates in the cabinet next to dishwasher with an auto vent. Under the house it comes off of the main drain line at a 45 degree angle upwards then there's a tee and vent goes vertical through floor to cabinet. On the other side of tee the vent continues for about another foot at a 45 degree angle and is capped off.

 

No idea if the auto vent is legal in your area. The plumbers will sound in on the installation correctness. Sounds like you might need another one though.