How To Put Freon In A Window Unit

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Information technology's possible to add together Freon to your air conditioner unit yourself, but you'll need some full general noesis about ACs and a few specific tools to practice it correctly. The process can be dangerous, so hire a qualified professional if you feel unsure almost what to do. Start by diagnosing the problem to make certain low refrigerant is the issue. Once confirmed, so make sure the within of the air conditioner is clean before y'all brainstorm. You lot'll demand a refrigerant guess set with 3 valves and a canister of R-22 or R410A refrigerant to proceed.

1
Check for vents blowing warm or room temperature air. This is a tell-tale sign that your unit needs a refill of refrigerant. Still, a broken thermostat may crusade the aforementioned problem. If it's a refrigerant issue, the air temperature will steadily grow warmer over fourth dimension because your unit is slowly losing refrigerant.^[1]
- If a broken thermostat or other issue is causing the warm air, the temperature of the air will probably spike or fluctuate.
2
Expect for ice on the coils. Peek through the forepart window of the Air conditioning unit of measurement to inspect the pipes inside. If the pipes and coils look frosty or ice-covered, this means you're experiencing a leak and slowly losing refrigerant. The leak needs to exist repaired by a qualified HVAC technician or yous'll continue to experience the same problem.^[ii]
- Adding refrigerant without fixing the leak may farther harm your Air-conditioning unit of measurement.
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3
Wait for water accumulation on the floor near your furnace. Inspect the area around your furnace. If you see water pooling around it, this indicates condensation. Your coils were nearly likely icy, and now the water ice has melted effectually the furnace area.^[3]
- The water tin damage your furnace and chemical compound your problems, then information technology's all-time to have a qualified HVAC technician come up out to inspect the issue.^[4]
4
Accept a qualified HVAC technician repair any leaks. AC units are sealed tightly and the Freon should never leak. If you lot demand to refill refrigerant, you probably have a leak. You will continue to feel the same bug until the leak is addressed.^[5]
- Adding more refrigerant is a quick gear up, but eventually this volition damage your unit.
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1

Schedule or perform routine maintenance before adding more Freon. Your Air-conditioning'due south air filter, blower wheel, evaporator coil, and condenser coil demand to be cleaned before you "charge" your unit with more refrigerant. Adding more refrigerant to a unit with muddy parts can harm the Air conditioning.^[6]
ii
Cull the right refrigerant for your unit. Putting the wrong refrigerant in your unit can crusade combustion, injury, and property impairment. Cheque your AC manufacturer's operating guide to notice out which refrigerant your unit needs. If you don't have the operating guide, check the electrical control box or the unit'southward chiffonier for the information. The 2 nigh mutual refrigerants are R-22 and R410A.
- R-22 is more often than not used in older units and is slowly beingness phased out because it is an ozone depleting material.^[7]
- If your AC is leaking R-22, information technology's important that y'all go the trouble fixed as before long every bit possible. Since R-22 is in the process of being discontinued, the price for it has skyrocketed and will only continue to get higher.^[8]
three
Protect your optics, skin, and lungs when working with refrigerant. Wear safety goggles and thick gloves when handling Freon. Never directly inhale whatever refrigerant; doing so can lead to sudden decease. Some refrigerants are specially chancy and crave respiratory protection -- read the packaging for more information.
- If y'all become Freon on your skin, rinse the expanse with water and seek medical treatment immediately.
- R-717 and R-764 refrigerants are extremely irritating to the eyes and lungs. R-717 is flammable. Handle with caution.
4

Make sure the exterior temperature is above 55°F (12.7°C) before proceeding. Liquid Freon will automatically seek the coldest surface area of an enclosed AC unit between the furnace ringlet and the outside condensing unit. When outdoor temperatures are under 55°F, the coldest area of your system will most likely be the exterior unit. The Freon will non behave properly in these conditions.^[ix]

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1
Consider having a professional perform this procedure. Information technology is highly recommended that a qualified professional refill and recharge your AC unit. The procedure itself is unsafe, and if washed incorrectly, you can damage your unit. Homeowners are permitted to add refrigerant in the U.Southward., but the Environmental Protection Bureau (EPA) requires that anyone you rent to do the chore have a professional person certification.^[x]
- Keep with caution if y'all decide to do this yourself. Improper handling of refrigerant can cause injury, decease, explosions, and property damage.
2

Turn off your AC unit at the thermostat and breaker. Go to the thermostat that operates your air conditioner. Turn information technology to the "off" position. Your unit volition either have a fused disconnect or excursion breaker attached to it. If your unit has fuses, disconnect them. If your unit of measurement has a circuit breaker, turn the breaker off.
3
Hook up the refrigerant gauges to the valve connections. In that location are 3 valve connections attached to your unit of measurement'southward hardware, with a valve on each side (left and correct). Attach the guess with the blue hose to the low-pressure valve on the left side. Adhere the gauge with the ruby-red hose to the high-pressure valve on the right side.^[11]
- Go out the eye valve open for now; that is where y'all'll connect the yellowish hose to feed the refrigerant into the system.
4

Turn the AC unit back on and wait about fifteen minutes. Later you lot turn the AC dorsum on, the unit will need to run for several minutes so that it can stabilize itself. Y'all won't go an accurate reading on the refrigerant gauges until the AC has stabilised.
5
Open the canister of refrigerant by twisting the spout on the bottom. Adhere the xanthous hose to the refrigerant canister's valve and attach the other terminate to the centre valve connection on your judge. At that place will be a small knob on the bottom of the refrigerant canister. Twist it several times to open up the refrigerant.^[12]
- The center valve is the one between the blue and ruby-red valve connections.
6

Open the blue depression-pressure valve on the left side. Open information technology for a few seconds, and so close it. Open up it for a few more seconds, then shut it again. Continue doing this. You want to slowly let small amounts of the refrigerant into the unit at a time until yous accomplish your target subcooling temperature.
seven
Watch the guess until you achieve the target subcooling temperature. The target subcooling temperature is stated on the outdoor unit rating plate. Use the guess to monitor the temperature so you know when to close the valve.^[13]
- For example, the rating plate might say something similar "10 caste TXV sub-cooling."
eight
Turn off the valve and disconnect the gauge prepare. One time the target subcooling temperature is reached, turn the valve all the way off. Twist the knob on the refrigerant canister to finish refrigerant from going into the hose. Disconnect all of the hoses and the gauge gear up from the Air-conditioning unit.^[14]
- Since the unit is running during this process, there'southward no need to restart your unit of measurement after calculation refrigerant.
9
Perform an electronic leak examination to ensure safe operation. You can buy an electronic leak detector at virtually domicile comeback stores and online. Each detector is slightly dissimilar, but in general you just need to run the tool forth the refrigeration components to scan for a leak.^[15]
- If you don't experience qualified to do this yourself, have a certified HVAC technician come out to examination the unit of measurement for you.
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Things Y'all'll Need

R-22 or R410A refrigerant
Refrigerant approximate set
Blue, scarlet, and xanthous hoses
Electronic leak detector

About This Article

Article Summary Ten

Before you add Freon to an Air-conditioning unit, make certain to clean the air filter, blower wheel, and coils to ensure your unit is running smoothly. Then, put on some gloves and safety glasses to protect yourself from the Freon and turn off your AC. Subsequently it is off, hook upwardly the refrigerant gauges to the valve connections. Turn the AC dorsum on and look 15 minutes so you can get an accurate reading on the judge. So, twist the spout of the lesser of the canister to open the refrigerant and allow information technology make full until you accomplish the target subcooling temperature To learn how to stay safe while using Freon, keep reading.

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