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daninthedirt

some wisdom about a/c coolant leaks

OK, a/c season has arrived here in Central Texas. Fired it up, and got no cold air out. Indoor and outdoor fans working, as is the compressor. Just no cold. 5-year old Lennox XC14-042 . The answer was ..

the 410A coolant was gone. Completely gone.

The big coolant leak was in the 3/8" copper tubing immediately below the air handler (on it's way outside to the compressor). That tubing was HEAVILY corroded -- blue/green, all that. That coolant tubing was strapped under the drain line, which was also headed outside. That drain line cracked a year or two ago, making a big puddle in our hallway. I cut out the cracked tube, and spliced it back together. Well ...

We had been using bleach for monthly drain cleanout. That used to be the rule. NO NO NO! That's old advice. Not recommended anymore. They now tell everyone to use vinegar.

I believe that leak, which started small, dripped on the copper coolant tube underneath, as did the bleach when we did the cleanout. Bleach + copper = BAD! But even deionized water, such as condenses out of the a/c, isn't that good for copper either. That's where the hole was. Right under where the drain line leak was.

Several lessons.

(1) Use vinegar for cleanout, not bleach. Yes, the bleach should stay in the drain, but if any of it ends up in the heat exchanger, it's BAD. Vinegar is not so hostile to the equipment.

(2) Make sure your copper coolant line is strapped ABOVE the drain line, so if the drain line breaks, it won't drip on the copper tube.

Also, I am told that the 410A includes lubricant for the compressor, so DO NOT RUN THE COMPRESSOR if the coolant is gone. We didn't fry our seals, but we may have been lucky. Some systems have no-coolant interlocks. Our doesn't.
Of course, you have to run it to realize the coolant is gone, but don't keep running it if it doesn't cool!!

Oh, a 410A leak is expensive. Including the damned obligatory markup, 10 lbs (9lbs + flush) of it cost $250, just for the coolant.

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