What Is Refrigerant Recharge?

Have you ever thought that how the air conditioner in your house does cools your rom air? Well, if no, then you should know that there is a fluid called a refrigerant that circulates through the tubes and pipes of the A/c. It can be compared with the lifeblood of your air conditioner. It is this element that changes from gas into liquid and vice versa to enable the cooling process. It becomes a cool liquid at the evaporator coil and absorbs heat from the room a air to make it cool. After the transfer of heat, it is ready to go into the compressor. However, if the refrigerant is low or non-existent, there is no transfer of heat. In such a case the unit needs to be recharged with refrigerant and also repair of the leak that is causing the refrigerant to deplete.

Signs You Need a Recharge

How would you know that you system needs a recharge? Well, here are some tips-

Vents are blowing room temperature air – This is one of the signs of low refrigerant in the system. But you should remember that there could be other reasons that would cause the A/c to blow warm air, such a not working thermostat. Bit in case of low refrigerant you will feel an instant blast cool air coming rom the vents initially. Then it will slowly rise towards the room temperature. This change will not happen instantaneously but gradually.

Frozen units –This is one of the conspicuous symptoms of low refrigerant. The coils of the A/c are the conduits through which the refrigerant travels. The refrigerant has the chemical combination that can freeze almost anything that comes in contact with it. But these pipes are designed to withstand the refrigerant and circulate throughout the air conditioner. But in the event of a leak, the refrigerant would ooze out and the part around the coil will start freezing. There will be an ice build-up around the copper refrigerant line.

High power bills- You will get fat power bills at the end of each month. This is because the A/c runs much longer than needed to cool the home.

Another sign of refrigerant leak is that you will hear a hissing or bubbling sound coming from the unit. This is because of the refrigerant coming out of tine holes.

The leaks in the refrigerant line are mostly caused by any damage to the unit. It can also be due to a manufacturing defect. In that case your manufacturer should replace the unit. If you encounter the problem soon after buying, call up the company and tell them about the problem. Also let them know that you will prefer replacement. Leaks are also caused by gradual wear and tear. If the unit is 10-20 years old, then leakages are quite usual due to gradual wear and tear.