Home AC problem

[PierCed_3]

I know that there is another forum out there on home improvement but I can't seem to find it.

Here's my problem...

There isn't a lot of air coming out of the vents so I changed the filter on my furnace/AC unit. I noticed that there was a significant amount of condensation and frost/ice on the pipes going into the furnace. I pulled the cover off of where the two lines come into the furnace and the traingle radiator looking thing was covered in frost. There was only a small gap at the top of it where it wasn't completely frozen through. Could this be because there is a bunch of dirt/grime up under there that it has blocked the passageway? How do I fix this? I can't see a visible place for me to get in and look at it from the bottom... unless I might be able to pull the blower out but I am not too familiar with the unit as a whole.

Any suggestions?

Oh yeah.. one thing to consider is I just got a new job and I am penniless! it's awesome!!!

Andrew

 

[Rusted]

That happens when their is a restrction in air flow. A dirty filter will cause that. Replace the filter, then turn off the AC over night to set it thaw out. DON'T get tempted to chisel it out, you will break something!!!

Just let it melt on its own or use a hair dryer. But I would just let it sit over night, and turn it on again in the morning. I will bet that your old filter was the only problem

 

[PierCed_3]

I changed the filter Mon and let it sit until this morning.. then I started it back up. Could those coils be covered in gunk from the opposite side? Maybe I should let it thaw for longer? We let it thaw from 6 PM Mon night until 6:30 AM this morning, does it need more than that?

Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it!

 

[Rusted]

12 hours should be long enough to melt a block of ice. All you need to do is melt the ice out of it so air can flow again. After 12 hours was it dry inside? When you say "coils" do you mean the little fins that look like a radiator? Is there anything else that is blocking air flow? On mine I have a humidifier that should be turned off for the summer; do you have anything adding water to the air? One more idea, did you bolt it all back together so air can flow properly?

 

[PierCed_3]

It is currently taken apart so I could check it out and see what it looked like inside. I don't plan on putting it together until I get home from work tomorrow.

yeah the fin things that looks exactly like a radiator... could they get clogged?

When I got up in the morning it looked like the floor was wet but it appeared that the ice had melted from the inside. I didn't have it apart at this time so I am not sure if it was actually dry.

 

[Spork]

I've heard of people either blowing out the coil with compressed air or sucking them out with a shop vac. (I've also heard of people turning on the furnace and blowing some heat to help melt the ice.)

 

[Greg]

I know that there is another forum out there on home improvement but I can't seem to find it....

http://homeimprovementforums.com/

But you'll probably get more help here...

 

[Brian P]

Just a thought,Try some air flow, Just run the furnace blower to help aide in the melting/drying of the condenser. ie. fan on not on auto, If you didnt mop what I was spillin.
When we had our AC installed they always said keep all the vents open for proper air flow, But I can see how a dirty filter can cause this issue.
Good luck

 

[BCGPER]

It's likely your cooling coils are plugged. I've found cleaning them with a shop vac with the small round brush attachment works best.

 

[Rusted]

I've heard of people either blowing out the coil with compressed air or sucking them out with a shop vac. (I've also heard of people turning on the furnace and blowing some heat to help melt the ice.)

I hit mine with compressed air as well, but I have been told that it could be bad if you bend the fins over, so use that with caution. Turning on the heat would work well.

 

[waynehartwig]

I believe if it's getting low on freon it could cause it to freeze up. Also in contrast if the compressor never shuts off it could freeze.

Also running it lower than ~70 can cause it to freeze up, too. ~70 inside or outside the house...

 

[PierCed_3]

I run it about 74 degrees in the house. Thanks for all the advice, I didn't even think of using compressed air ! I will give that a shot, I haven't checked on it today since I was running late for work but I will give it a shot when I get home.

I did think about running the fan just to see how much air flow actually gets through the condenser, I will try that too.

Thanks again!

 

[PierCed_3]

http://homeimprovementforums.com/

But you'll probably get more help here...

That's just too ironic

 

[PierCed_3]

Update: I blew it out with compressed air and it didn't help much, I then called my local AC guy and he said I could run the AC and when it ice's over I could just run the fan to blow the cold air through the house and thaw the lines. He came out the following day and said I was VERY low on Freon. He filled me up and it is working perfectly.

Beautiful thing is.. it cost 60 bucks!!! I thought it would have been more expensive to get a guy out here!

He did suggest that I replace the unit that is on the house and the condenser. He said it has a leak in it and you can't fix the condenser and the unit is too small for my size of house. He also said that the unit I have is a real POS and the cheapest you can buy on the market.

2500$ is what he quoted me for a better/more efficient unit and condenser. Not bad, he says I will make my money back in the long run if I stay in the house for a few years since it is a more economical unit.

Yeah... maybe next year .

 

[Brian P]

Sounds good, Glad you got it figured out.
$2500 dosnt sound too bad, IIRC I paid $3500 for a furnace and AC unit installed, But I may have a smaller house.
Good luck!

 

[waynehartwig]

Wow, I got one right finally! It was low on freon

I had AC installed in my house in PG and it was $5k and they used the existing heat box because it was a good one and still new enough not to mess with it. Oh, and I also had them install a HEPA filter thingy that was about $1200? I had mine done through Service Experts. They treat you right! Not like the others, where they say they will be there sometime tomorrow... They give you a small window and call with updates before the guy actually shows up. When I did my AC system, they had a 0% interest deal for 12? months (I think it was?) and $0 down. I bet they are still doing that promotion.... From the first call to installed was less than a week, and I had it done in May/June. They also come back out to check their installers work and then a follow up after 1 year to make sure everything is still top notch.

 

[Crinco]

Way to go Wayne! But if your so smart, why did you move away from here?
.....

CR

 

[waynehartwig]

Way to go Wayne! But if your so smart, why did you move away from here?
.....

CR

That wasn't my choice, believe me...:-\ It was either move or go through a divorce, because my wife was transfered. It's a toss up, but I think I like my wife more than Utah