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How do I add freon to a portable air conditioner?

replying to Edwin Pawlowski, boaby wrote: Job protection. How difficult can it be?

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boaby
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About the same as in 2007 when this was first posted. Have the tools yet?

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

replying to Marc, kcwayne3 wrote: You wont find one its a sealed circuit

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kcwayne3

replying to micky, Unceasingly Amazed wrote: That's good 'ol American customer service right there. And they wonder why we want to outsource everything to India and China.

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Unceasingly Amazed

replying to Marc, Ante Seput wrote: Hmmmmm: All portable Units (AC) are Hermeticaly seal, adding gas is not seple as it may sound.One way is to open system add line tap and add the gas= not so good, one must know howmuch to add. Two remove all refrigerant and add OEM recommended amount not so good either, Best way buy new unit!!!!

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Ante Seput

replying to Self sufficent, tony944 wrote: Yes it is harder Portable AC are Hermetically seal Cars are not, all cars trucks have built in service port.

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tony944

replying to Ante Seput, jay m wrote: Up to $50,000.00 Federal fine for releasing/purging Freon to atmosphere.

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jay m

replying to Marc, Pat wrote: Where is the freon recharge port for lg 0813wnr

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Pat

replying to Edwin Pawlowski, Spunckmaster wrote: I have my license for all systems but do you know where to find the diagram

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Spunckmaster

Curious, did this pro give a reason that it can't be replaced? I thought it could be, it's just that it's not worth it because of the cost. And the cost is driven by the fact that if the refrigerant is gone, then it's leaking so it's likely that something, eg the evaporator is shot, so more than just recharging it is needed.

Reply to
trader_4

Sure, it can be, but the cost would be more than the price of a new AC. There is a lot of time involved in doing so.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

There is NOT a lot of time involved in replacing the refrigerant. What may make it impractical is finding and repairing whatever leak released the refrigerant in the first place. On a system like this, the actual installation of service valves, vacuuming and refilling is maybe an hour's work, Tops. (yes, I am licensed and yes I have the equipment).

Reply to
rangerssuck

It may be just an hour, but what do you charge for an hour of time? That plus the cost for the fittings, refrigerant? That alone makes it impractical when you can buy a 5K to 8K BTU new one for $120 to $150.

Reply to
trader_4

I have the equipment).

While not a lot is involved, it is impractical price wise.

First you have to install the valves to recharge it . That requires breking the line. Not sure how you would recover the refrigerent left in the system,but that is required by law. Put a vacuum on the system and recharge it. Find the leak which may or may not be easy to get to and repair. After finding the leak, recover the refrigerent and repair the leak. If the line is aluminum, it may be difficult. Pull the vacuum and recharge the system and retest.

I doubt that could be done in an hour. I have no idea what a standard repair charge is per hour for labor. If it is anywhere like what I was charged when the man came out and just spent 10 minuits replacing a motor capacitior on my heat pump ( about $ 300), you could buy 3 or 4 new units.

I doubt the repair man would even repair his own dehumidifier if he had any work at all to do.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

If you make up your mind this is a throw away anyhow you could just buy a piercing valve and shoot in some R134 (walmart car area). It might not be the right refrigerant and it might not last long but if it blows cold air until you get around to buying a new one it might work for you. Squirt in a little, wait a few minutes, try it, repeat until it is blowing cold air. Too much is as bad as not enough. A whole can is probably too much unless it is totally empty. I did that with an old fridge and it lasted until I moved to Florida (a few years). For all I know it may still be working but I really doubt it.

Reply to
gfretwell

A new AC can be $129 and up. Do you have the fittings needed on hand? You are going to nitrogen braze them right? If you are doing this in an hour you are not doing a very good job on vacuum.

Do do it right, what is a fair price?

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

And at your retail rate that would save the customer what? about $15? Repeat next year because the leak was not found and fixed??

Reply to
Clare Snyder

With 134 it's likely only about 4 ounces - or a quarter can. I did an old fridge years ago with the pierce valve and R22 - topped it up about 4 times from one can of refrigerant over a period of mabee 2 years - then scrapped it.

Reply to
Clare Snyder

WTF? Nobody here can read? Let me help you with the second sentence of what I wrote: "What may make it impractical is finding and repairing whatever leak released the refrigerant in the first place."

There is also the matter of not sending more crap to a landfill...

Reply to
rangerssuck

IDK what your disposal costs are, but here I just put her out on the curb on the once a month bulk pick up day and the town takes her away, no charge. Are you suggesting people should spend $300 to try to fix a busted window AC when you can buy a new one for $120, to avoid sending the old one to the landfill? IDK if they even send them to the landfill, isn't there enough metal in there that they go to recycling anyway?

Reply to
trader_4

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