My brother, with a house that is less then 10-years old, is getting less then normal cool air output from his heatpump.
He has a service company coming by tomorrow morning to check.
My guess is his fin/coil in the duct is clogged up and freezing, which is what happened at my parent’s house, which used to have pets before they bought it. (We were able to clean it up ourselves and seal it back up.)
I’m also under the impression freon should not be leaking if the equipment was properly installed.
My question is….is it not unusual to expect freon level to drop after so many years of service ?
It seems to me a sealed system should be able to function trouble-free for more then 10 years.
I am asking this under the assumption that there was no harm done to any of the components to cause a leak. Just normal use.
Thanks,
Alan
Replies
Well you are right on most counts. If it has a A-coil in the duct it could very easily be clogged with animal hair, dirt, dust, etc. If the system has no leaks-tight install, then you should need no refrigerant, it doesn't wear out. over time you can have some leakage. I fit is a small leak you might not notice any change over a cooling season but in between seasons it is possible to lose a small amount and it not make a difference for a few years. Most likely it is one of these 2 things. or some dust clogging the condenser can drop unit efficiency. This should be cleaned out after every spring due to cottonwood fibers clogging everthing, more often if neccessary. A-coils should be cleaned annually as well or more frequently if needed.
Good luck,
Yanert
Thanks for the reply -
I'm guessing his problem may be due to lack of regular maintenance.
Regular cleaning of the A/C fins/coils (condenser ?) should be simple task which can be performed by the homeowner.
I've done this once and also saw a tech do the work.
He diligantly picked away and vaccuumed the built up layer of dust that resembled a felt pad. It was a soggy mess because of the melting ice.
One thing I noticed was he didn't seem to have any special tools that gave him better access to hard to reach places.
Would something like Filtrete help alleviate dust that gets past the filter ?
Alan