All AC units leak?

[TOM KAN PA]

I was told that all AC units (home and vehicle) leak. That brand new $50K Lexus sitting in the showroom has a leak in the AC system. It can't be prevented.

[SN]

Yes, at the molecular level, an A/C system leaks a little. Although it may take 20 years to leak enough to affect correct operation. Vehicles tend to leak more than stationary systems because of vibration and the compressor shaft seals being exposed to the atmosphere.

[Curmudgeon]

May be...but I've got a 9 yr old Chevvy Blazer in the driveway that has yet to need an ounce of Freon and will freeze your balls off.

[Tom]

I wonder if he means the condensate? Tom Someday, it'll all be over....

[Richard J Kinch]

Nonsense. But they all seem to leak eventually (3 to 7 years down the road), due to the harsh environment and mechanical challenges.

[Greg O]

Never added any R22 to my 10 year old home AC, and my wife's '93 Caprice has never needed any R12 either. Greg

[*CBHVAC*]

All do to a degree...what degree depends on several factors. Your home system, leak free, will leak, but if its truely what we call in the trade leak free, the unit will die, you will be be long gone, as will your kids, your grandkids grandkids, before a pound leaks out.

Automotive...leaks more...and brand new vehicles can, and do leak, but not due to poor design, but due to the fact that no one is perfect, and O-rings are the more common seal on the 134A units and they tend to leak, due to inconsistansies due to human error in manufacturing, and assembly.

[Stormin Mormon]

I've found that all vehicles leak enough to need adding refrigerant every year or two.

Building AC do leak, but much more slowly, if they are well made and well installed.

Window units do leak, but seldom.

[Stormin Mormon]

Anecdotal evidence doesn't disprove the rule.

[American Mechanical]

Not true.

- Robert

[Yadda Yadda Yadda]

When the "rule" is "all x is y" a _single_ example of x that is not y is sufficient to disprove it.

[*CBHVAC*]

aint that the truth....there are hacks out there that are better at AC than you...and there are some locksmiths out there that claim to not know you, even though you post in the group...

Think about it......

[Mason121]

I own a home I bought in 1982. It had central air when I bought it. I don`t know when the central air was installed but here it is 22 years later and it still cools the house like when I first bought it. Have never had to have it re-charged. I don`t know if this makes any difference, but I don`t turn off the outside condenser in the winter or ever. Dan.

[Don]

Boy does that tick me off. Only 20 years. That means the A/C system in my 88 Nissan Maxima only has about 4 more years. Well it's worked flawlessly for 16 years so I guess I shouldn't be too unhappy.

Don

[Don]

My home was built in 1965. As far as I can tell the A/C works as good today as it ever did and, other than lubricating the compressor fan yearly, it has never been touched.

Don in Tracy, Calif.

[TURTLE]

this is Turtle.

The ideal of a Brand new Lexus [ per say ] Leaking enough to effect it in a normal life of the auto [ say 10 years ] is not true at all. All Autos of every kind do leak but not how you would think it would. For Autos : There is no such thing as a perfect No Leak Freon hose, No seal ever made for the compressors that does not leak, No O-Ring made that does not leak, and Last of all there is no Compressor made that does not leak. When I say leak , I'm saing that you can not stop freon from leaking from any system but the leak rate is so small that it will be about 100 years before the system can leak through a perfectly system to effect it. If it would leak down in 10 or 15 years you have a defect in the system to let it out. If it would leak out in about 100 years you have a good leakless system.

TURTLE

[Matt]

We have a 40-year-old Coldspot dehumidifier that still works.

[default]

Since the claimed rule was that "all ac units leak", a single counter-example is sufficient.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Last summer I gave a way a Philco window shaker, 5,000 Btu. It was still working after 38 years that I know of. It was my in-laws before they were my in-laws. Damn, that thing was heavy. Ed

[Steve B.]

If a home system leaks enough to need gas added then it has a problem. The units don't have to move so they can use all copper lines that are sweated together and the motor is inside the compressor so the compressor shouldn't leak either.

On a car the compressor is belt driven so you have a shaft going through a seal with high pressure gas on one side. Eventually this seal is going to fail. Also the vehicle system uses rubber hoses and o-rings so the engine can move around and to make service easier. Automotive systems are advanced enough now that they can go upwards of ten years without loosing enough coolant to make a difference.

Steve B.