Help with Central Air !!!!

dobejazz · 06-02-2006, 06:15 PM

Please bear with me here I have no clue about Air conditioning other than you flip the switch to cool and set the temp

oh yeah and close the windows.

Today the ac unit froze both the part that is outside and it seemed like inside the house it was frozen as well since no air was moving through the vents.

The AC people we called recommended changing the furnace Air filter and allowing the unit to thaw. Then restart the AC and if it happens again to call them. (they can't get anyone out until mid july though). The filter is changed and we are letting it thaw now.

Any one know what may have caused this and if there is anything we can do to prevent or correct this problem?

Thanks in Advance

VWD · 06-02-2006, 07:00 PM

I agree on the filter change Kelli, When it gets plugged that will happen. Was the filter dirty, Low freon can also cuase it.

Junkzoo · 06-02-2006, 07:48 PM

Paging RickO ,,,,paging RickO,,,,,,
He's one of our resident HVAC guys, that might be able to help,,,,,,mebbe if you PM him , and point him to this thread,,,,he might chime in,,,,

Junkzoo · 06-02-2006, 07:54 PM

Kelli, i just PM'ed Rick for ya,,,,,but if/when he shows up here, i would quess the filter,,,mebbe air flow across the coils,,,,,(obstruction,dirty filter,slow/dead blower fan?)
are you letting the unit "cycle" ,,meaning the compressor turns off once inne while,,,sometimes leaving it run all the time can lead to a freeze up condition,,,at least the cranes and such at work will do that,,,,

dobejazz · 06-02-2006, 08:08 PM

Thanks Jeff

We changed the filter it needed to be changed but didn't seem to bad. It's actually been cooler here the last few days But we just turned it on for the season last Friday I think I'm not sure if the compressor turns off (I'm bad I know) I assume it does at night

Rick O · 06-02-2006, 08:31 PM

Wow. Mid July? And I thought I was busy.

Several things can cause an AC to freeze up. The two most common are low on freon and restricted airflow (the examples Jeff gave you). Unless your filter was stopped up then changing the filter isn't really going to solve your problem. Assuming it worked well last Summer something has gone wrong. As a homeowner about the only things you can address is restricted airflow. The ice you see is only the tip of the iceburg so to speak. The freezing up started at the evaporator coil which is (or should be

) enclosed in a plenum above or beside the furnace or air handler.

The first thing to do is thaw out the coil. I would turn the heat on and turbo melt it but I only do that when I know I'm going to be able to provide the homeowner with cooling that very same day. That will add a lot of heat to the house. A safer way is the set the fan switch on the thermostat to "on" and set the "heat/cool" switch to off. Walk outside and make sure the condenser doesn't continue to run even after it's been turned off. Stuck contactors although rare does happen occasionally. That will make the condenser run even when it's turned off. If there is ice on the coil you won't feel any air coming out of the vents but check to see if you can hear the blower running at the furnace. Be prepared for a lot of water on the floor. I mean gallons. All that ice has to go somewhere and chances are the coil drain will be blocked by the ice. A shop vac or lots of towels and a bucket are handy to have close by.

After you know the ice is melted, prolly 12+ hours, we're ready to diagnose the problem. Turn the AC on and set the temp to a low enough temp so that it will stay on for a while. Check to see that the blower is operating and feel for a good air flow coming out of the vents. Make sure that all of the registers are open and that none of them are blocked by furniture. Some will be returns and will be sucking air but they need to be unobstructed too. If everything is ok at this point we're going to feel the refrigeration lines and check for cooling. You will see two refrigeration lines coming out of the evaporator coil. One will be a small (about 3/8") liquid line with no insulation on it, the other will be larger (about 7/8") suction line that should have foam insulation on it. The suction line is the one we're interested in for now. After the system has been running for 10 minutes or so pull back the foam insulation and feel the copper line. We're looking for cold and sweaty, somewhere in the neighborhood of 45-60 degrees. If you have that then good, if not then most likely it's low on freon.

This is kinda tough to do by typing so if you PM me I can give you me cell # and you can call me tomorrow and I'll walk you through it.

Good luck.

dobejazz · 06-02-2006, 08:36 PM

Thanks Rick ! We do have the fan on now with the Air/Heat off I printing this now to give my husband

Junkzoo · 06-03-2006, 12:25 AM

Hope Rick gave you some good info , toward fixing your A/C up Kelli,,,,,
As one who can't seem to live w/out A/C,,,,i can feel for someone that has a problem with theirs
,,,,,i had a problem with my heat/air system last summer,,,,and i took care of it,,,,,i got a new one! LOL

Bring on the heat!

gwen_o_lyn · 06-03-2006, 01:39 AM

Rick- I may just have to call u out to my house. You give discounts to people with reef tanks, right??

The last guy out here about a month ago said our unit has a leak and recommended getting a new one. The warrenty just expired too. I know they put the cheapest crap in these new houses. The guy did something and said it would last for a little while... so I don't know.

So far everything is ok, I'm crossing my fingers though.

Kelli- hope yours is working soon!!

Loverotties · 06-03-2006, 03:17 AM

Hopefully just a bad filter one other problem people do is they turn the thermostat down real low thinking it will cool quicker (which it won't) and leave it there and specially over night they freeze up the coil.But Rick is the man,He typed it perfect!Hope it's OK!Kelli.

Minnreefer · 06-03-2006, 08:09 AM

Rick or anyone else, do you have recomendations on a good ac unit, the previous owners replaced my furnace before I moved in but my ac unit is probably 25 years old, it is currently working fine, but.....

Thanks

Jon

dobejazz · 06-03-2006, 08:14 AM

Well we left it off overnight I just turned it on I had to turn it down some it's set to cool to 75 and currently the house is 73. I'll keep ya posted

Rick O · 06-03-2006, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minnreefer

Rick or anyone else, do you have recomendations on a good ac unit, the previous owners replaced my furnace before I moved in but my ac unit is probably 25 years old, it is currently working fine, but.....

Thanks

Jon

I've never seen so many problems with new AC's as I have in the last year. I used to like Trane but I've had a rash of bad compressors on less than one year old Tranes lately.

Unless you can find one that was manufactured before January '06 you're going to have to get a 13 SEER or higher. Not that that's a bad thing but it will be more expensive.