my central air conditioner "freezes up" near the unit outside my home. What is the cause and what is the cure?

Answer 1

Low refrigerant level most likely. Since its central air you'll probably have to call a service tech to check the refrigerant pressure. Also, check to make sure the coils are clean.

Answer 2

Several causes are possible but in any case a licensced tech is needed to resolve them.

It is interesting to note that your refrigerant goes thorugh several changes as it circulates through the system these changes in temp. and state[from a liquid to a gas and back again is how the a/c system cools your home] Useally a point that is freezeing is caused by a restriction in the pipe before the frozen point. the way that a refrigerant cools is by boiling in a "evaporator" a good refrigerant has a low boiling point and boils at room temp and is boiling becase this evaporator has fins to draw the heat from the air being blow throught the furnace blower. This in turn makes the air feel cool out of the vents in your home. now the amount of refrigant introduced into the evaporator is essential because too much and the condensation that builds on outside of the evaporator will freeze before it drains off causeing the evaporator to become a block of ice. and air does not circulate through a block of ice so the air out the vents will feel luke warm, assumeing air will come out of the vent in your home. but the interesting thing is that after the evaporator get done boiling this liduid refrigerant, it becomes a super heated gas and travels out a pipe to the condensor compressor unit outside the super heated gas in ran thorgh the compressor and pressurized and when you pressurise something you effectively raise its boilding point so this compressed and super heated gas travels into the condensor where it is cooled over a set of fins and the heat is pushed out of the air and fins to the outside air the gas then condenses to a liquid[hence the term condensor] and travels back into the house to be slowly boiled in the evaporator to cool the air and remove humidity in your home. now if you have a pipe that is freezeing guess what you have a block in that pipe before the frozen point and it is slowly trickling the refrigerant into the pipe lowering the pressure on the refrigeant and it starts to boil causing condensation to form on the pipe and freeze. An over charged system would not cause this because the whole system would be luke warm to scalding hot everywhere and the system would not cool you would not see a frosted pipe.[and unless you have been trying to charge it yourself how would a overcharge exist?]An severly undercharged system should shut it self down[unless your system is really old] because manufatures build in failsafes to keep you from ripping your compressor up. I think you have a mildly undercharged system and it is very likley that the system has some sort of blockage near the condensor unit[be-care-full!! And call a professional, one of those lines out to the condensor is useually scalding hot under normal operating conditions.

Answer 3

2 effortless products reason AC to freeze. Too little airflow and too little coolant. think about dirt previous only the dirty filters that desires to be bumped off. decreased airflow means that the chilly fringe of the coils keeps getting less warm and fewer warm until eventually it freezes. often, the nice and comfy temperature air might want to hit the coils, cooling the air and warming the coils. once the unit starts to ice, that makes airflow drop even more effective. once you've replaced the filters and wiped clean the unit as perfect you may without unfavorable the coils, then you really want professional help. Too little coolant can decrease the rigidity interior the evaporator center, which finally ends up in icing. This calls for pro help. both way, it truly is time to call in a professional earlier you harm the unit with ice.

Answer 4

Your system's refrigerant or freon is low--need to get it checked by an AC tech. Things that will help you avoid problems is keeping a closer eye on your air filters inside the home, I suggest the product made by 3M (they last three months, simply write on the filter when you replace them so that you know when it is time to change them in the future)--simple notes alway help! I know I need the help!

Answer 5

a couple things may cause this, a dirty air filter or dirty coil inside,,,check this first, if it is ok, than you are probly low on freon, you have a leak, the leak would need fixed and freon added to the proper amount,

Answer 6

Low on freon or blocked evaporator coil. Call an HVAC company.

Answer 7

Sounds like it's overcharged. Better call a good tech. to check it out

Answer 8

It's low on freon I.E. possible leak in the system

Answer 9

Is it in the sun? If it is, it may be overworking itself. Try building a shade over it.

Answer 10

Change the filter