Leak in outdoor CONDENSER

Dsisson

My tenant contacted me that the AC isn't working. Hired a company and they came and pressure tested the condenser, lineset and indoor coil, revealing that the leak is in the condenser. They quoted $3700 to replace the coil in the condenser or $7700 to replace the whole thing.

I'd prefer to repair it. Is there anything else I can look at regarding the leak? They didn't pinpoint the leak, they obviously just want to sell me a new system. The old system is R-410A, and they want to install a R-454B system.

The old system is about 11 years old at this point. I'd prefer to find the leak and repair it rather than buying a new system.

ChrisJ

They could repair it and it may go another 10 years.

Or, it might develop a leak in the evaporator in a week or some other problem that'll have you kicking your self.

It's always a gamble and there's really no way to know. If a condenser fan fails a few days later it would suck but is tolerable. The evaporator developing a leak or compressor dying for some unknown reason would really stink tho.

Obviously the older the system gets the more likely it is for other things to fail but if it was my own system I'd be fixing or replacing the condenser.

R410 vs R454 vs R32 doesn't really matter, just as long as the system is being used with the refrigerant it was designed for and the indoor coil matches the outdoor unit.

You're going to want to delete those prices though because they aren't allowed here.

EdTheHeaterMan

Please remove pricing this is not allowed on the site. it is in the rules. https://heatinghelp.com/forum-user-manual/

You can say new equipment is more than several thousand dollars, and repairing it with a new coil only is much less than that.

But to get to your problem, refrigerant leaks are somewhat elusive in some systems. If the exact point of the pinhole leak can be found, and it is on a piece of copper tubing, then someone with a little skill and a dab of brazing rod can make that leak go away for less than half the price of a replacement coil.

Regardless of the repair selected, once there is no leak anymore, the system needs to be evacuated so all the moisture from the atmosphere is removed from the hermetically sealed system. This sometimes involves dry nitrogen and evacuating with a vacuum pump down to 500 microns to be sure all the contaminants are gone.

I personally used a triple-evacuation process that took over two hours on systems less than 4 tons. That is why I would fix the leak first and pressure-test it to make sure the leak was gone. Then I would start the evacuation process while other items were addressed, like putting the covers back on, attaching wires properly, adding clamps or clips to the wiring, and doing general cleanup while the vacuum pump did its job.

I said all that because the parts are only a small part of the job. A dab of brazing rod, a complete new coil, or a brand-new condensing unit all require the same evacuation process when the job is completed.

So choose wisely. If the condensing coil has multiple pinhole leaks, then you want a complete new coil. At 11 years old, your compressor warranty is over, so you may get a new coil and then find that the repairs contributed to a compressor failure as a result of opening up the system for repairs. Then the money you spent on the lower-priced repair was all for nothing.

In your case, I personally would find the exact leak location and see if it can be repaired. If it cannot be repaired, then I would go with the new system.

EBEBRATT-Ed

One leak in the condenser coil of a tube and fin condenser I would take a stab at fixing it. if it is a microchannel coil, you need a new coil.

Multiple leaks in a coper fin coil you need a new coil.

If you in the northeast a condensing coil and compressor can go 30-40 years so If the rest of the unit looks ok a new coil would work for me.

Ironman

15 years is the average life expectancy for a heat pump. As mentioned, yours could go sooner or last longer.

Do you really wanna sink that much $$ into something that has an average life of 4 years left?