We've been having problem with our A/C for some time now, the blower/ fan/ heating unit is old, but the outside A/C unit is only 1-year old. I think the inside/ evap coils were also placed new at the time.
We've had problems with charge, which the tech has been out twice to balance, but it could still be mis-balanced charge I guess. In any case, we can't run the A/C for more than 2 hours and the coils freeze up solid, completely iced over. I've taken the cover off to make sure that is the problem, and it surely is. Of course this means we get no air flow and have to turn the system off for many hours to let it thaw out, just to re-freeze when we turn it back on.
I've been reading in this and other groups about possible causes, and read that it could be the charge is wrong, could be dirty/ clogged coils, could be bad airflow. To be sure, I've cleaned the outside A/C unit and coils, but as the unit is still pretty new, there wasn't much to clean, they are good. I got inside the evap coils and there is no visible dirt/ clogging, but still sprayed it out with compressed air, again, no visible sign of it being dirty.
As the fan is old, I suppose it could be going, and it just isn't providing enough air flow, but it is running, and at least doesn't sound like it's having any problems.
Even when the coils are thawed out, and the air is running, it still doesn't feel to me like it should, like I remember it. Furthermore, it doesn't cool the house down, at best it can keep the temperature the same, say around 78-80 while running, but in the 2 hours until it freezes up, I think the air flow is less than it was in the past and it certainly doesn't cool the house. The air is cold, but the flow is weak.
This made me suspect the evap coils were clogged and preventing airflow, but would I see any visible signs if that was the case? Can the fan be going out or somehow working at a lesser capacity when it also isn't giving any signs, at least not audibly? I suppose there could be problems in the vents as well, but I've no idea how to check that.
Any suggestions or advice is most welcome. I'm willing to replace the fan unit, or get other work done, I just don't know what needs to happen. As the A/C unit is still under warranty, I can get the tech out to balance the charge, but he's already done that twice, and quite honestly, that company has turned out to be a huge pain to work with, very unresponsive, very reluctant to do anything and I just want to get the A/C working for my wife and kid who are home all day.
I hope I described the situation correctly, and used the right terms, I have very limited knowledge obviously. Thanks much,
Rock