how often does the freon in an air conditioner need to be recharged?

Answer 1

I teach heating and air conditioning for Vatterott College in Saint Louis, MO. I am frequently asked this question and after reading the answers below I could not help but giggle.

There are a lot of people on here that try and be helpful, and I am sure God loves them for it, but my friend an Air Conditioner is a piece of equipment that needs more than good intentions to work properly.

A lot of people read these answers so allow me to dispell a couple of myths. First and foremost, Freon is nothing more than a brand name just like Reebocks are shoes and Tide is soap powder. The proper term is refrigerant. R-22 is a chemical compound known as diclorodifloromethane. R-22 refigerant "Freon" never ever goes bad, "Freon" never ever goes away.

Any time a system is low on charge one of two things has happened. Either the proper amount was not put in by whomever worked on the system before, or you have a leak. If the proper amount was not put in in the first place, then obviously more refigerant is needed. It is very easy however to put in to much and that is just as bad if not worse than not enough.

A heating and cooling professional uses several methods to check and verify the correct charge. Specifically Superheat and SubCooling. If you have a leak a professional can find it. We have very special equipment to do that with.

Unfortunately hiring just anyone out of the phone book or newspaper does not mean you actually are getting a qualified technician.

I suggest you do your homework. Ask the contractor if his staff is HVAC EXCELLANCE certified. NATE and ASHRAE also certify. It may cost you a little more to hire the best but since in most homes the heating and cooling system is the biggest single user of electricity, and the most expensive system to replace, it only makes since to hire the best.

You would not hire a Doctor or a Lawyer that were not competent would you ? I know most of us are not made of money, but the old saying "you get what you pay for" a lot of times is true.

Answer 2

It should never need to be recharged, if the system is leak-free and properly charged to the required amount in the specifications. IF it is undercharged, it will need an additional amount added to operated properly and efficiently. IF the system has a leak, the leak will need to be located and repaired, and then, after filter/driers are installed (if warranted),and the system is evacuated with a proper vacuum pump, the system can be "recharged" with the proper amount.

But a normally running system does not need to be routinely recharged. If this is what you are doing, there are other problems that need to be looked at and corrected.

Answer 3

All hermetically sealed systems leak, however the timing of rechargeing is arbitrary. It's true that many will add refrigerent when they can't find anything else to be the actual problem. Make sure that whoever does the job, looks for leaks, and they can be hard to find, even for pro's. Weigh in the charge if manufacture data is printed. when unknown spec. then seek other tried and proved methods, outlined in any published A/C manual.

Answer 4

There are no rules as to regular freon maintenance that I am aware of. Usually it is recharged when the unit is either failing to cool properly, or the lines are freezing up.

Answer 5

freon is permenent .if you have to recharge any unit then there is a leak

Answer 6

Unless a leak, never had to. I would ask for a second opinion before I spent my money

Answer 7

It's a closed system, it should never "have to" be.

Sometimes a leak develops.

Answer 8

I wouldn't change it unless cold air is not blowing.