We had new AC & furnace units put in 4 years ago. Last summer, we weren't getting any cooling. The tech (from the installing company) who came out said our refrigerant was low because it had leaked, and refilled it. Cost ~$300.

Last week, we had the same symptom. Tech (different guy, same company) came today, and said the same thing: refrigerant low, cost ~$300. He told me that he'd re-capped and sealed the Schrader valves for the refrigerant system, which sometimes get leaky during cold months due to moisture. He said there wasn't any way for us to prevent it, or catch it early before noticing warm air coming from the vents. We paid for the fix, since the family was getting miserable.

I'm a little peeved at having to pay each of these summers to fix the same problem, and I'm not looking forward to this happening next summer. It seems like for a new unit, this shouldn't be happening. I understand from some web searching that a full leak-test procedure can be rather complicated and expensive. I'd like to talk to the company about preventing a recurrence, and since they installed it and did the previous temporary leak-fix, I'm inclined to ask them to cover the cost. Our sales docs say we have a 5-year parts & labor warranty, although I can't find the actual warranty pages now.

Any advice on how to approach this? Is refrigerant leakage something that's an expected chrominc problem? Anybody dealt with HVAC companies about this before? Thanks.

Any

FWIW, in a closed loop system, a leak is never 'normal' or 'acceptable'. Something has failed. An actually competent tech should be tracking leaks with the UV light thingamajig, not just saying 'fill 'er up every year'.

Find another HVAC company to work with. Your guy is a moron.

Why did you pay either time if you have a 5 year parts and labor warranty and it is only 4 years old?

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C(-)ris

Take a breath, find the warranty and verify what it says.

I'd interpret "a 5-year parts & labor warranty" as zero problems, zero out of pocket expenses during that time.

The warranty will naturally not include some common-sense issues such as damage, acts of God etc.

I'm not aware of any reason a modern A/C should be expected to leak, which is what they're saying. They could be right about the valves or whatever else having a problem occasionally, but that's not the same thing as an expectation. IMO.

BobC, you might let them know that if costs money to fix the A/C they won't be getting said money and what they'll get instead is bad word of mouth. Many business aren't bothered by that however.

Mention whatever social organizations you may belong to and your influence there. Church group, neighbors looking for A/C recommendation, work colleagues. You're not just some isolated guy. Let 'em know people come looking to you for recs.

"He told me that he'd re-capped and sealed the Schrader valves for the refrigerant system, which sometimes
get leaky during cold months due to moisture. He said there wasn't any way for us to prevent it, or catch
it early before noticing warm air coming from the vents. We paid for the fix, since the family was getting
miserable."

He's as full of it as they come. My late Father owned an HVAC Co. for over 30 years. There's no excuse for
what this Tech just said. Dad once fixed a leak for a guy and got a call from another Co. and got chewed
out for fixing it, the other guy said, "that's how he made money off the guy". Dad was shocked, that's no
way to run a business. The guy he fixed the leak for only called Dad because he couldn't get a hold of
his normal guy.

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Grateful11

Our 8 yr old AC system and furnace is still working fine as installed. No leaks, and this is normal.

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Mr. Curmudgeon, on Mountain Lion.

and your previously open system now needs a new dryer.

The moisture in the system and the freon become acidic, and can eat through the fine alum tubing
without much trouble the same way old auto coolant eats through head gaskets and creates pinhole
leaks, under pressure, between iron blocks and alum cylinder heads.

Between UV additive and a freon detector, he could find and braze the exact location of the leak.

My guess is that you have a R410A system based upon it being relatively new. IIRC, a HVAC technician told me that the recharge procedure on these units is a little different than the older systems. If not followed properly, the system's performance degrades over time, requiring a recharge. Not sure if he was full of BS or not.

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macphanatic
My guess is that you have a R410A system based upon it being relatively new. IIRC, a HVAC technician told me that the recharge procedure on these units is a little different than the older systems. If not followed properly, the system's performance degrades over time, requiring a recharge. Not sure if he was full of BS or not.

I've been told the pressure of a R410A system is about twice as high as a R22 system.

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Grateful11