We have a 15 year old Bryant Model 569E036 A/C unit that would not provide much cooling last year. We had a company come out to service it and they found the freon was very low but could not find a leak. The guy recharged it and said he suspected a bad fitting (I think) that could not be repaired and recommended replacing the whole unit if it stopped cooling again. Well, it has stopped cooling again now so I need to decide if its worth it to find someone who can repair it or just replace it. If it is recommended to replace it, should I just replace just the compressor or the whole outside unit?
Good question! A capable HVAC tech can find the leak, period. M
Okay, suppose I get another tech to look at the unit and he finds a leak. My question is still should I get it repaired, install a new compressor or install a whole new unit?
Apparently all of my reply didn"t get thru. Any tech worth his salt can find the leak unless its underground . If its 15 yrs old, at best you"re hoping for 3 to 5 years more service out of it. If you can, go ahead and replace both indoor and outdoor units with a 12-13 SEER Bryant. I just frown on guy"s that guess where a leak is or don"t want to spend the time to find it, but want to sell you a new one. Maybe I"m old fashioned, huh?
ahasben is correct!!!! anyone who is doing their job Will find that leak!!! let"s say he sells you new equipment, keeping in mind your compressor is "NOT" burned up, but there is still a leak, the leak my lie in the Lineset. or indoor coil, for him to rid the problem completely he would have to cover his butt by selling you new of everything that could leak (Outside unit, lineset, and indoor coil)
It is entirely up to you if you want a leak repair done to this old system as it could be costly (and no offense to anyone out there who has a good work ethic) and some techs will search and never find it, but still charge you for the labor.If the system is leaking that fast, the leak should be easy to find. I have a friend who"s system I used to charge every other summer. that was a small leak, In a 15 year old unit. I told him run it till the compressor goes out, but if your leak is a big one, the more times it runs out of refrigerant, the more oil the system is also losing, when they charge the system they are not putting the lost oil back in it, pretty soon the compressor is fried. so depending on how lucky you are, but I do know this: if you buy a new condenser (outdoor unit) and there is still a leak in the system that is bad news for the new unit (more oil loss), I"n my opinion, if you buy a new outdoor unit, it"s best to get a new lineset and evaporator too ( if it"s the same age), it"s just good sense.
Good luck!
HVAC MAN:
Thanks for your input. I talked to the original company that installed the system 15 years ago and they said pretty much the same as you.
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Tags: bryant, cooling again, find leak, just replace, stopped cooling, stopped cooling again
