Of all the equipment in your Anoka, MN home, your air conditioner may be the costliest. Quality cooling systems represent significant investments for homeowners. With diligent maintenance, rapid repairs, and ongoing efforts to maintain optimal operating conditions, you can extend the lifespan of your AC and avoid major problems. Often the result of steady refrigerant leaks, low refrigerant can cause inefficient cooling, permanent compressor damage, and premature AC failure. Read on to learn the most common causes of AC refrigerant leaks, how to spot them, and what to do about them.
The Most Common Causes of AC Refrigerant Leaks
Air conditioner refrigerant is an extremely important part of a cooling system. It travels to indoor air handlers as an ice-cold liquid, extracts heat and humidity from warm air, and rushes to outdoor condensers as a hot vapor gas. The heat transfer process that cools your home is entirely reliant upon refrigerant.
When installing new air conditioners, HVAC technicians add refrigerant and check for accurate pressurization. These steps are so critical for ensuring the safety and efficiency of cooling systems that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has strict regulations concerning them. As per the EPA, only licensed HVAC companies can provide refrigerant charge and recharge services.
Unfortunately, this requirement doesn’t mean that HVAC technicians don’t make mistakes. Human error and the nuances of different AC models can lead to overcharged or undercharged refrigerant, loose, leaky seals, or damaged connections. One of the most common causes of low refrigerant in air conditioners is incorrect AC recharge service. If you recently received AC recharge service and suspect a refrigerant leak, minor errors made during this service could be why.
Missing Service Caps
The Schrader valve on your air conditioner looks a lot like the refill valves on bicycles and automotive tires. When charging or recharging AC refrigerant, HVAC technicians uncap Schrader valves. If your technician failed to replace this valve cap or didn’t tighten it enough, you might have a slow refrigerant leak with an easy solution.
Faulty Schrader Valves
Schrader valves gradually break down. With time, the rubber O-rings inside Schrader valves toughen, dry out, and crack. This makes them less effective in sealing refrigerant in.
Schrader valves usually last throughout the lifespan of air conditioners. Severe, age-related wear on a Schrader valve could be an indication that your AC is ready for replacement. This is especially true if your air conditioner has already supplied more than a decade of service, has other wear-related problems, or has had its Schrader valve replaced more than once before.
Punctured Refrigerant Lines
AC refrigerant lines are slim copper pipes that travel from outdoor condensers to indoor air handlers. In newer AC models, these pipes might be high-quality aluminum instead.
Whether pure copper, copper alloy, or aluminum, refrigerant lines have vulnerable, exposed areas. Despite being metal, they aren’t impervious to punctures or crushing. If you have an active AC refrigerant leak, your AC refrigerant lines could have sustained damage during a recent building renovation, landscape installation, or other home improvement projects. When checking for refrigerant leaks, our HVAC technicians carefully test and inspect refrigerant lines from end to end.
Loose Assembly Joints
Loose assembly joints on outdoor condenser units could cause refrigerant leaks. When installing air conditioners, HVAC companies can choose from several assembly joint types:
- Brazed joints
- Crimped joints
- Welded joints
- Flared joints
Brazed joints provide the greatest resilience in high-pressure environments and constantly changing temperatures. Brazed joints are widely accepted as the industry standard. Many HVAC manufacturers require brazed joints for installation. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) also recommends brazing. AC condensers with other joint types are more prone to refrigerant leaks at these connections.
Even with brazing, AC installers must use proper torquing techniques at all assembly joints to avoid:
- Overtightening
- Under-tightening
- Seals that don’t match AC manufacturer specifications
- Accidental crimping or punctures
Problems like these are most likely to occur when homeowners install air conditioners on their own, perform DIY repairs, or hire general handymen to do the work.
Strong Vibrations
If your air conditioner rumbles, rattles, and vibrates all throughout its cooling cycle, it could develop a refrigerant leak over time. Small but repetitive movements gradually loosen seals and connections. Dirty or bent fan blades, loose fan bearings, and worn fan motor components can all cause loud, heavy vibrations.
If you or other residents regularly close one or more air vents throughout your home to customize air delivery, this can lead to refrigerant leaks, too. Closing air vents creates increased static pressure within air ducts. The resulting airflow problems cause air conditioners to vibrate.
Issues With Corrosion
Copper is highly resistant to corrosion. This is why it has long been the top choice for refrigerant lines in cooling systems. However, copper isn’t resistant to all corrosion types.
Formicary corrosion is a type of corrosion that affects pure copper and copper alloy tubing in HVAC systems. It occurs when oxygen and moisture encounter organic acids, such as acetic acid and formic acid. These acids are naturally present in your indoor air. Formicary corrosion causes pitting, subsurface tunnels, and pinhole leaks.
Why Correct Refrigerant Levels Are So Important
Your AC compressor routes refrigerant throughout your cooling system by alternately pressurizing and depressurizing it. If you have a refrigerant leak, each time internal pressure increases, more coolant will escape. Compressor activities exacerbate refrigerant leaks by further weakening loose joints, increasing wear on aging seals, and expanding pinhole leaks.
How AC Refrigerant Leaks Impact Your Compressor
AC refrigerant leaks cause tremendous compressor stress. Pressurizing rapidly decreasing amounts of refrigerant can cause compressors to overheat. If your air conditioner’s refrigerant levels grow too low before you schedule AC repairs, your compressor could fail or physically collapse.
AC compressors are the most expensive components in air conditioners. Scheduling timely repairs is the best way to preserve your compressor and avoid paying for premature AC replacement.
Signs Your AC Has a Refrigerant Leak
In some cases, leaking refrigerant creates a faint, sweet, exhaust-like odor. However, the most common signs of refrigerant leaks are related to performance. Refrigerant leaks can cause icing, short cycling, and all-around insufficient cooling. Rising humidity, higher-than-normal energy bills, and hissing or bubbling sounds coming from the condenser are all indications of a refrigerant leak.
Catch Refrigerant Leaks Early
You can prevent compressor damage, failure, and collapse by scheduling timely refrigerant leak testing. If your home energy bill is on the rise and your air conditioner can no longer cool your home completely or efficiently, progressive refrigerant loss is a likely reason why.
Our team at Liberty Comfort Systems offers expert refrigerant leak testing and recharge service in Anoka and the surrounding cities. We also provide comprehensive AC maintenance, replacement, and AC repair services. Our knowledgeable and helpful staff has allowed us to achieve an A+ Better Business Bureau rating, and we’re proud members of the Anoka Chamber of Commerce. For expert AC maintenance and repair service in Anoka, get in touch with Liberty Comfort Systems today!
