Central Air Units

[thekillins]

My husband and I just recently replaced the thermostat in our house. the first day that we turned on the cool because it was a Very warm day the central air unit worked wonderfully. We have owned our house for 4 years. Not sure of how old the unit is. The next couple of days i noticed that the air through the vent is not as cool and it takes forever to get the temp back to the setting that i have it at. Also when it gets warmer through the day i notice that the central air doesnt keep up with keeping it cool enough in the house..

Do i need to have it recharged with freon? Or do i have a small leak? Or could it be the thermostat? My husband thinks it might be the new thermostat because it is an energy star and he thinks that maybe it isnt kicking out the cold air like it did with the old thermostat because in the long run it saves money?.. I need help because i dont know what to do. I am worried about bringing someone into the house because i have heard the horror stories of being ripped off and not getting it done correctly.

[Meat Plow]

If the outdoor unit is running and you're not getting cold air inside you need to get someone qualified to diagnose your problem.

[trader4]

Good advice. If the outside unit is running, the problem is not the new thermostat.

[Meat Plow]

The owner can also look at the larger of the two suction line attached to the outdoor unit and see if it is iced. This would indicate a possible undercharge. The owner can also feel the air being blown from the outdoor unit. It should be warmer than the ambient air. If not it could be undercharged of the compressor is not running. I've seen suction lines iced up clear back to the A coil on severely undercharged units.

[thekillins via HomeKB.com]

Thank you all for your advice and help. We paid someone to come and tell us what was wrong and the answer was:

1. The pressure valve was blow out
2. There was a 1/4inch hole in the line which lead to No freon whatsoever
3. The compressor had been contaminated and therefore no good.

So I was told that i need to have a funeral and say good bye to it and get brand new. Since i have only had it for 4 years because it was here when i bought my house i found out that it indeed had lasted for 30 years.. I couldnt believe it was that old.

So thank you very much for your help. I have a guy that will be installing a new unit within in the next 2days depending on how long it takes for him to get the system i want.

By the way i had an Amana and i am going with another Amana because i figure it couldnt hurt to go with the same company since this one lasted so long.