A/C unit coil

[Stormin Mormon]

The supplier with the cheapest junk wins? Sounds like Made in China rules the game.

[Stormin Mormon]

You think Milligan has been doing double shots of nitrogen? With a carbon dioxide chaser?

[websurf1]

OK, I'll have to trust you on that one. But if it's leaking refrigerant, how can it be working well enough to ice up? Maybe the leak is real new and most refrigerant is still in there? My admittedly limited knowledge would indicate that if the system is leaking refrigerant it will burn up compressors, not ice up coils.

Also, the OP said the ice was in a ball on one of the pipe connections. That makes sense--I see it a lot in systems at work. The moisture condenses there where it is very cold, not much air blows across to melt the ice, and the ball forms. I expect that this would be independent of any leakage. It would also indicate that some insulation might be in order.

[Richard J Kinch]

Oddly, a low charge makes it run colder and ice up:

Don't confuse temperature with heat. The fact that part of your evaporator is below freezing temperature doesn't mean that it is moving much heat.

[gofish]

bad news dood...you just munched on my shit filled twinkie :-)

your wish is my command

until you've tried it yourself, you dont have a leg to stand on. so dont even try.

coil changeouts can be problematic, and not huge profit centers way too much labor

drop this stuff in at 1/3-1/2 the cost of a new coil and viola! problem solved, happy campers, and you with serious coin.

you'd crap your pants if i told you how much i charge for this stuff, installed.

[Al Moran]

So what do you charge after you drop a can of this stuff in a system and it clogs up a txv, or flowrater, or cap tube?

[Bubba]

So you're pumping "smoke and mirror" crap into a system and charging $600 for a can that cost you $40. You've just proved yourself the worst of all theives. I'll stick with replacing the coils. You can stick with looking over your shoulder for that one customer that catches on to what you're doing and chases you down with a gun. Have a nice life, fish. Bubba

[Bubba]

and further more fish, I just gotta ask................... What does your customer say when you show them that little can and tell them you are going to charge them $400 - $600 to install it in 5 mins? What? You dont show them the can? What? You make up some story about what you are going to do that will cost half the price of a new coil and work just as well? Shame on you fish. I'll bet you have those old folks lined up waiting for you to come over and f*ck em hard! Nothing wrong with it if you are explaining that it is new/newer and there isnt any long term studies on it yet and you are charging a reasonable price but I dont think you are doing any of that. Okay, Im done. I could go on forever but you live in your little world and I'll stay in mine. I like to sleep well at night. Bubba

[gofish]

If ya did your homework, you would have discovered the fact that this product solidifies ONLY as it leaks thru an opening and is exposed to AIR. It mixes with refrigerant OIL, and goes wherever that oil goes.

Hell yes, I've seen evap coils with oil-vapor locked feeder tubes, but the addition of a suction P-trap eliminated those situations....

[Dottie]

I would play it safe and get another opinion. My a/c is still running after 15 years and it was not top of the line.....nothing has been replaced. It's checked yearly...

[Bubba]

Actually I did do the homework. Took the test. Read all the info (actually a couple weeks ago) and then even found my local supplier has it. They have a box of them there at the counter. Dont believe one can has been sold in a couple weeks yet. To me, it seems as though it acts as a glue when it finds a leak. Something like epoxy or maybe? To me, that isnt a fix for a leak. Copper leaks need to be brazed and Im not brazing a bunch of microscopic formicary corrosion leaks. Im just going to leave it as.......... Im not sold yet. Maybe its a good product but I'll wait till the verdict comes in. I guess I might add one thing further. You say its great. You also imply that anyone installing a new coil knows its going to leak well before its time (I believe that too) BUT, does that mean since you think this stuff works so well that when you do install a new system with a new coil, do you automatically add this stuff to your new installs? Remember, you asked me what I am doing to correct the coil problems so Im now asking you the same thing. Bubba

[websurf1]

That was interesting. I never knew that. Dang, learned something today, and the week isn't even over yet.

Thanks.

[gofish]

Bubba, first & foremost, I have the highest respect for you, your trade knowledge and your business ethics & integrity. We both know formicary corrosion is like shit, it happens. It wasnt my intent to attack your business practices, more at being able to offer your coil replacement customers a choice.

Two yrs ago I too was as skeptic as all hell about the product. The local j-stones guy said he couldnt keep the product in stock. I broke down & purchased one can. Awhile later on a svc call 40 miles out in the boonies I had to re-charge a unit I gassed up exactly one yr before, 20 yr old 3 ton pkg hp. carrier aluminum condenser coil. I thought what the hell, I'll give it a try. I've used it 7-8 times now. splits & packages, 2.5 tons to 30+. No callbacks. Cows died.

As for choices, Mrs Smith would you like to try a new coil for $1900 that may or may not leak in the next 2-7 years, or would you like to try this new stop leak product that the manufacturer claims will stop current & future leaks, installed for $799.95? That includes any refrigerant to bring your system up to a factory recommended charge, new pleated filter at the air handler, condenser coil cleaning, and how many more bells & whistles can you list?

Mrs Smith says, well wait a minute Fish, I know you paid $79.95 for that product, and now you want to sell it to me for $799.95???

No Mrs Smith, I am not selling it to you for $799.95. For $799.95 you're getting a permanant solution to your leaky coil, a system recharged to factory specs,all the bells & whistles, plus I'm saving you $1100.05 in the process.

For me Bubba, Mrs Smith doesnt exist. Rarely if ever do I interface with the person paying the bill on svc work. I do the work, send off the invoice for any amount I want, and within net 15 or net 30, the check arrives. if they squawk over pricing, they get billed even more the next time.

You see Bubba, I have ulterior motives in using this product, especially on older systems. My market niche is primarily prop mgmt on commercial bldgs, & we both know how cheap some mgmt can be. Instead of replacing those old dogs with 10 seer units, hahaha, guess what? Now they have to buy 13 seer. Moooooo

would I install the product on a new install? probably not. a new install that leaked and I could trace the leak to the evap? you bet, in a heartbeat.

[Bubba]

And as for you Fish........"Im good". No problems with you at all. Steam that got vented and water under the bridge. As you know, my twinkie gets overfilled with shit and its gotta come out somewhere. You were the lucky catcher. :-) Yes the price you charge seems very high but then on the other hand it doesnt. AFter all, Ballplayers getting paid millions of dollars, BP making 76 Billion in profits and our Federal goverment spending Trillions that they dont have. All the while we are all sitting around paying $3 a gallon for gas. Whats right and whats wrong? The can of stop leak is interesting to say the least. Like anything else, it just has to be marketed and sold properly. Id certainly be interested in a longer (5-7yr) study on how well it holds up. It'll keep me thinking.............. Bubba

[aka-SBM]

Nothing odd about an evap freezing on low charge. For every pressure, there is a temp...how do you think we measure superheat?

[aka-SBM]

LOL..suggest you try it again..maybe 3 years ago it did.

[Richard J Kinch]

And what's happened in the last three years?

[gofish]

with a super thermometer?