Repair or Replace Colman A/C

[Grand Traveler]

Salon A/C stopped blowing cold air. HVAC buddy looked at it and told me low on refrigerant. The “fix” is adding a valve to add refrigerant, finding leak, repair and add new refrigerant. Obviously, there are procedures that are required with the R410.

My online search suggests that the entire unit is being replaced and repairs not done. Seems like a waste when everything works.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

Nels

[TucsonJim]

I'm curious how your HVAC contact was able to determine it's low on refrigerant. Did he actually test the unit to see if it's low? Was there low amperage indicating loss of refrigerant? Normally, most folks don't try to recharge them. They just replace them.

Jim

[Jlawles2]

I agree with Jim. How was it determined that the system is low? If system is low, did your buddy find the leak and repair it?

Not uncommon on RV AC systems is to use capillary tubes vs throttling or orifice to flash the liquid out of the condenser to a super cooled gas. The Capillary tubes are notorious for being unreliable and plugging up.

If I had to guess, the system is running at 100% amp load, and the condenser coils are only warm across one section, while the inside is either freezing up or not getting cold. Unless you ahve been through the plugged capillary tube issue, it appears the unit is low on refrigerant.

[howson]

Any thoughts?

My .02: replace it.

Rationale: The entire lesson block on recharging/ fixing leaking a/c units was dropped from RVSA's curriculum (an RV school I attended) as the labor and cost of maintaining EPA-approved refrigerant equipment (and storage containers) far exceeds the costs involved compared to replacing the unit.

Howard

[acoleman43]

A new AC will cost you between $800 and $1200. With a heat pump will add about $200. For the peace of mind (and possible upgrading to a heat pump) I would seriously consider a new one.

[Jlawles2]

I agree, replace. If possible up the size. To quote Billintexas, "hell has moved to Texas and taken up residence". Unfortunately hell is expanding his territory.