What kind of device do I need to check the refrigerant level in my home AC?
Can I buy something like Mountain MTN8205 R134a Brass Manifold Gauge Set With Couplers?
Please suggest if I am on the wrong path.
How to check the refrigerant level in the air conditioner
air-conditioninghvac
Related Solutions
You may be looking at the problem backwards, the freezing lines could be a symptom of the problem not the cause. Start by looking for blockages in the system that would cause lower air flow / heat exchange.
- Dirty filters.
- Clogged ducts.
- Closed dampers.
- Closed/Blocked vent covers.
- Dirty coils.
Basically if the system cannot exchange the heat/cold, it will not function properly and could lead to over heating/cooling.
Frozen lines could also be caused by high or low levels of refrigerant, so you'll want to get a service person out to check the refrigerant levels.
Here is a really good image to visualize how it works.
According to this, the Frigidaire FAS182H2A1 is an 18000 BTU device.
http://www.appliancepartsnationwide.com/FAS182H2A1/53279.htm
That's pretty powerful if working properly. The government suggests 8000 BTU for 325 SF.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=roomac.pr_properly_sized
Check your outside coils too and clean if needed. If that is not a problem it could be something internal. Some examples:
- partial clog in your expansion valve.
- low freon level
If cleaning the outside coils doesn't work, I do not expect repair to be practical. You can buy a new 10,000 BTU unit from Home Depot for $300. It would be reasonable to ask the owner to pay for it.
Related Topic
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Best Answer
Yes you can buy gauges, but do you know what you are doing? Do you have a 608 small appliance licence?(systems under 5 lb most homes have larger ones and require the high pressure license). Next just having gauges will only give you a ball park, a dual temp gauge (at minimum a good single temp gauge) is needed to understand what the pressures really are. If you do crack your system with that huge hose set now you have just lost some of the charge by checking it. How do you know if it is sealed? the cheap-o freon detectors sound like they do a good job. Last year we fixed a leak that the 25$ detector barely could sense, my D-tek showed me the area but it was so bad the compartment was flooded. A spray bottle with bubble solution pinpointed the leak. The owner put the cap on tight but it still leaked out most of his R22 chilled water system, at 50-100$ a pound + a service call he was lucky it was only a 15 lb system. The last point is there are up to $10,000 rewards for turning someone in for the release of Freon (The EPA collects a fine for the up to $25,000 fine if you get reported releasing Freon). So I will say again yes you can buy gauges and look at the gauges. Using only pressure gauges will not tell you the charge level. (I don't do home service calls but I have friends that do not cheap).