A/C problem?
Question:Hi, I have had my A/C on since last night, but realized that not enough cooling air was coming out. When I went to check on the unit, I found out that the whole space behind the filter was frozen, ice! I can't even get the filter out. One of the pipes seems to be frozen as well.
A very important note is that I had a humidifier installed back in Dec. I have a feeling that might be the source.
Thank you, your feedback is appreciated.
Answers:
You will have to let it thaw out. Then check and make sure the water has drained away. If it hasn't then you have a plugged drain line. this is a common problem The humidifier is probably not the problem here, but they may have disconnected the drain or kinked the line when they installed it and then then there is no where for the condensation to go and it will freeze. If you have warranty on the humidifier call them and get them to check it out.
You could be low on freon or check the outside unit to be sure its clean and not clogged up. if that don't work you will have to have someone come look at it. the humidifier would have anything to do with it but just so you know it should be off when runing AC because its putting humidity back in the air the the AC is taking out. it turn will make the ac runn harder. good luck
Sounds like you need a Air Condition man to check it out. Sounds like it is low on gas.
The unit might be short of gas. if you can check the gas pressure in the system using the pressure gauge and your clamp-on-ameter to confirm
Either improper or total lack of air flow maybe dirty/plugged filter, OR... low on refrigerant charge. I don't feel that the humidifier has any thing to do with it, unless it was installed totally improperly.
I would let the ice thaw, get the filter out of it and replace with a new one. Run just the fan for a while, then kick the A/C on. Hopefully the unit has a sight glass in the smaller of the copper lines. Let it run for abot 10-15 minutes and check the sight glass; if there are bubbles in it, you have a leak somewhere and you have lost some of the refrigerant. You will need to have it checked for leaks and recharged by a pro, and it could be somewhat costly, depending on how bad the leak is and how hard to fix/repair the leak.
The frozen pipe is symptom of low freon charge. This is very common as the units age. The reason that the pipe external pipe gets covered with ice is that the freon is having to "work harder" to cool your house. I know that sounds silly, but what happens is, a given amount of freon will expand and cool down as much as the system will allow. When there is too little freon, what is there can expand more and get to an even lower temperature. So low, that it causes ice to form on the outside of the expansion coils.
Have your system checked by an AC repairman. Getting the correct freon charge into the system will reduce your energy bill and also protect the compressor from premature failure.
It's possible you have a freon leak. Central units do not "run out" of freon unless there is a leak because it is a closed system. I would recommend cutting the unit off until it is thawed out. Keeping it running can damage your compressor. I recommend getting a service tech to look at it, especially the ones who installed your humidifier in December.
Poor air flow is by far the more common reason for the symptoms you describe. Dirt is usually the cause. Filter, blower wheel, evaporator coil.
More Related Questions & Answers...