5 WAYS to FIND a Refrigerant LEAK!

In this video, Joshua Griffin shares five ways to find a refrigerant leak in a heating and air conditioning system. Some people call it Freon, but regardless of what you call it, refrigerant is getting more and more expensive. Years ago customers would continuously have their system recharged despite knowing there is a leak in the HVAC coils. However, now you better find a leak and have it repaired. These are 5 ways how.
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0:00 Intro: 5 ways to find an HVAC refrigerant leak
0:57 Find the oil in the HVAC system
1:54 HVAC sniffers to find a refrigerant leak
2:33 Using bubbles to find a refrigerant leak
2:58 Pressure test with nitrogen
3:48 Adding dye to an HVAC system to find a leak
#hvacproblems #refrigerantleak #freonleak #hvactips #hvacproducts #airconditioner

[@jmead6121]

got one tomorrow recharge unit a month ago leaked down in less than 30 days but only took 2 lbs on an 10 lbs system but 30 days its totally flat ... now an isolated nitrogen leak test on both coil line set & HP isolated leaked down to 0 over nite on both gauges so leak should be pretty easy to pinpoint but both coil & or line set & outdoor unit both or all 3 leaking ..wish me luck going back in the morning thanks ..for the video

[@realestateinfonet9041]

Very Informative! Thanks!

[@NewHVACGuide]

You’re welcome!

[@bobboscarato1313]

JG: Don't forget the Shrader valve cores where we attach the hoses; they are obviously ignored!

[@tj8210]

Thise leak all the time

[@joshmartin7558]

That's where mine is leaking. Should I just get a new O ring or put a valve in

[@seanfitzpatrick3583]

@@joshmartin7558new valve core replace both of them it’s good practice

[@reviaspo]

Yeah the vehicles I work on have one on the accumulator drier that I often forget about. Or check the entire system come out empty handed and find out the lack was in the service ports all along. Should be the first place to check always! Lol

[@bobboscarato1313]

I've seen copper tubing rubbing against the compressor in some Carrier packaged units! Hope they corrected this annoying problem!

[@urbanbshvac]

Cheers bro 👍

[@spiderstone]

Nice Video Josh.....!

[@NewHVACGuide]

Thanks pal!

[@batron101]

Check for copper tubes rubbing on top of each other. Typically around the evaporator coil. Check the metering device and associated tubes that might be rubbing against each other.

[@Mntinxtreme]

Hey brother love the channel. I have a 2 year old Carrier unit one for upstairs and bigger unit for down. My AC will climb in temperature every night starting about midnight. I keep unit on 70 the upstairs no issues holding temps, the downstairs has for 2 summers with no issues till now. I have no programs on thermostats just keep at 70 all the time. The temp by 1pm is around 76 degrees and about 3 pm it starts getting cool again and reaches 70 by 8 pm and by midnight its starting to get warm again. Have any thoughts? Filters are changed every 60 days? Units are clean out side. I live in Texas. Thanks for any thoughts.

[@markpaxton3591]

Ask about using r22b with the old r22 system

[@josiahmantz2657]

Looking into what I'm assuming is a refrigerant leak. My ductless mini split system isn't pushing out heat on heat mode and has some ice forming on the outdoor condenser. If I try the bubble solution to check for leaks should I have the unit turned on during the check or off? I'm going to check the most likely culprits (flared connection points). Thanks!

[@user-gq4uu7wj3h]

I have a 407C condenser unit and I need to replace the evaporator coil due to a leak, so can I use an R22 coil as a replacement, and if so, do I need to use the orifice from the existing coil or do I need to install a new one.

[@williammarrero4184]

Can the copper lines at the connection be inside a wall cavity ?

[@Byepolarchaos]

Here’s a quick question I don’t have a lot of knowledge about Air conditioning gas and pressure but I am a 40 year veteran of electronic wiring electronic automation. If you can dream it I can build it why is it impossible or is it impossible to use 140 proof alcohol as a substitute for our 22. I’ve seen it used in a old Russian military plane. Any thoughts would be very very helpful.

[@frankmontez6853]

Hey how could a refrigerant leak affect the heating during winter? He said with our system is used for heating pump there are 2 kind of system our it uses both uses Freon

[@lamontmccune6780]

So both of my units are leaking freon happen about 1 week apart how can that be?

[@rich4244]

at the point of the dye, dont know on the oil and copper part though. Is the oil tripping the system and causing a leak? yes know need to do a manual reset... All i can say is its not holding pressure.

[@markhoffmann5941]

I always like the the leaks that were caused by a electrical wire shorting out on a refrigerant line and arching a hole in the tubing :) lots of charred wire. Just sniff with your nose for smoke smell :)

[@MrJab1995]

Just got a leak for a 36 year old trane executive. Trying to finalize to just change it to a new system or try to find the leak and have it repair. Ac still works well after charging it again with r22. Need an honest opinion if its worth fixing or get a new system, I am already looking at the carrier performance 16 system. Thanks

[@somaday2595]

So what was you decision? For others considering a replacement-- Replacing an older system with perhaps an SEER of 10, (but there were some efficient system made in 1986), with an SEER of 15+ may or may not be worthwhile. If using it everyday, it is likely worthwhile money wise and reliability wise. Using it two weeks out of the summer, probably not. I est my old York a/c to be 46 years old and considered replacing it 26 years ago. It ran pretty much throughout summers, with avg daytime max temp of around 87°F. Years later, soaker water hoses were put on the roof with just enough water flow between 1000 and 1800 such that the runoff was about 80°F and directed to water flowers and the yard. Since then, the a/c was used about 3 weeks during the summer for about 2 hrs/ day and that is mostly to lower the humidity. NIPSCO utility company profile shows my house to be 42% of the average similar profiled houses in NW Indiana. So it still would not pay for me to replace the old a/c.

[@MrJab1995]

@@somaday2595 we ended up replacing it. We livebin Florida and we get a long summer which requires AC most of the time. Bill still high this summer due to the higher temp compared to last year.

[@maxapollo1]

what about ultrasonic leak detectors ?

[@NewHVACGuide]

Most homeowners won't even know what that is, but yes, they're great!

[@A3Kr0n]

Why would I click the subscribe button before I've seen the video?

[@NewHVACGuide]

Definitely not because of my looks :-)

[@SherrySmead-ck1tz]

He was obviously talking to the people that understand he met at the end of the video. If he waits till the end of the video to tell you that many of the people have already checked out

[@susanc4116]

I've been having freon added for the past 2 years. The HVAC guys finally said that I needed a new compressor (which was still under warranty - they didn't know this) and I would only be charged for labor. Well they told me that they had to add 5 lbs of freon to the new one and that was a huge charge! Do new compressors come with freon or does it need to be added by the HVAC guys? I always feel like they are trying to make $$ because I know nothing about any of this...

[@zachosborne6577]

When replacing a compressor all existing refrigerant must be recovered first. Then after repair is made fresh refrigerant must be added

[@cynthiapellusch6960]

What do they do with the Freon that was recovered?

[@zachosborne6577]

Turn it in to be reclaimed

[@somaday2595]

The compressor did not leak Freon, so the leak was from somewhere else. The compressor is cooled by the refrigerant that it pumps, so if really low on refrigerant and run too long, it failed. The mfg could plausibly deny responsibility if the leak were from a loose connection caused by a poor installation.

[@pall5114]

Hi, enjoy your videos and information, I had an annual service person come by and tell me needed to replace 2 capacitors for $370 each and need Freon R22 topped off on one unit. He did my neighbor's home and said similarly required a capacitor replaced. I didn't trust him and got a second opinion to inspect who said no need for the capacitor was working fine. He did state the R22 unit was down probably 1 lb of freon and would recommend refilling it otherwise can damage the unit. The cost of 1 Lb of R22 is $375 plus labor $150 which was the service charge to come out, does this sound fair or overpriced, I live in NE CT area. Can you or anyone give me an idea of what would be a fair charge for 1 lb R22 replacement?. The unit works fine and waiting until it is completely failed before replacement. Thank you,

[@snick06]

My ac is blowing warm air. Technician came out and told us all the refrigerant R22 had completely leaked out. He then told us that R22 was currently illegal in the US (I researched and found this is true), that while they could top up a system, it would not make sense in our case to have to replace all the refrigerant. We're currently looking at a whole new condenser particularly because out system is older than 10 years and no longer under warranty. Since made illegal, R22 prices have gone up significantly, so my guess is whatever they're charging you is probably reasonable.

[@thepitpatrol]

We have some great HVAC guys that service our restaurant. R22 is through the roof.

[@TheBradmd]

@@thepitpatrol MO99, drop in replacement for r-22 is 425 for 25 lbs.

[@thepitpatrol]

@@TheBradmd wow

[@TheBradmd]

@@thepitpatrol yes, royal refrigerants will sell to u, just get 608 license, not very difficult

[@ginolevino]

if you use dye and still can't find it?

[@NewHVACGuide]

Schroeder cores?

[@rocketman8068]

Dy