Uh oh! What happened with the HVAC?
Probably nothing as, you know technicians/salesmen can sometimes overplay an issue but I've got some deciding to do.
Yesterday we had our annual AC inspection.
Backstory:
Year before last the technician said we were down to 73% R22 in our Lenox AC. He did offer the R22 was still available but insanely expensive and sent us estimates for replacement units (5 ton). We blew it off.
Last year, different technician, said AC was great and one of the 'good ones' much better than most of the affordable new units. We celebrated.
Current:
This year yet another technician. Unit is now leaking and needs to be replaced. Something about two readings should be at about the same level but one is really high and one is really low. Paid to have them leak check the system. He said there is a micro-leak in the condenser coil and maybe another one somewhere. I asked what percentage we were at (figuring I could gauge how fast it was leaking) he didn't know.
I can get R22 for about $175 per gallon and he thinks we may be three or four gallons low but that we could burst the coil recharging it. To me three or four gallons loss in eighteen years is no big whoop. Got a new, much higher, set of replacement estimates for much lesser systems.
Have to decide whether to blow them off again. Buy a gallon or two to bring it back up closer to full and see what happens or buy into the newer, less well-built, systems. If we go that route I need to stick around an extra ten years or so, not that I'm in a hurry to go away.
In the meantime the AC is working great but then it's only been 100 degrees a few days so far this year.
I do see green patina around some of the areas so I'm not disputing there may be a leak just how long we can go before replacement. In eighteen years we've replaced the fan motor once and the blower capacitor twice. Other than that zero issues. I can't say the same for a lot of our neighbors on newer units.
