How to Repair a Frozen Air Conditioner | Ask This Old House

"Hey my lines are frozen" "Let's check your air filter..measure your ducts..yep just like I thought. You need a new unit."

Purchased: August 2023 - still works GREAT!I youtube.com/post/UgkxxsUnXhGsSJLim_XnMHyQK0u3XVaW-… live in a studio and during the summer it gets scorching hot - really old building with no ac units. I can’t express how EASY it was to install. This unit has been a life savior during the summer and some days during other seasons where it can still be a bit warm at night. In this small place is my friend, a husky, poodle mix and myself. We need AC - lolI don’t use the dehumidifier option - I’m not sure if it will leak in my house, since I did not install the small draining hose that came with it. May look into it late but I don’t worry about much humidity in the apartment. I don’t understand why the negative reviews since all things mentioned, I personally did not find issues with. Definitely worth it!

Check this out. I bought a new home and over the years I noticed that the upstairs never really cooled down (get to about 78F the lowest on the hottest days)while the unit ran all day! Over the years had 3 different HVAC guys look at it ( coolant level was good, filters always changed, coil good etc) correct ton unit for space and still warm upstairs. I just figured the design of house with warm air going up the vaulted ceilings and dumping into the 2nd floor. After 8 years of this, I finally had enough and went up a half ton with all new coil and condenser. Well hell, little more than half way through the tear down guy said here is your problem. All the damn paperwork ( warranty, owners manual plastic bag etc ) was trapped and up against my blower motor blocking probably 70% of the air flow!!!😤 they never removed it and would not had noticed it unless I tore down the blower box. Good news it nice and cool upstairs now but a $5000 lesson and dumb ass installers.

I learned a new thing about the history of "ton" in air conditioning!

"My AC is freezing up. What should I do?" "Spend $6,000 and let us install a new condensor and A coil!"

me as an Hvac technician, I say that all he was supposed to do was check the refrigeration pressure, and increase the size of his return duct

This problem was addressed in my HVAC class several years back. Most techs wanna jump out and throw the gauges on it first thing. My instructor DRILLED into us "Airflow,Airflow,Airflow!" Here is what I was taught. 1.Check the filter and make sure it's new/clean (if no filter is present, the coils may be clogged) 2. Check the fans both in the evaporator and the condenser and make sure they are moving air. 3. Check the Thermostatic Expansion Valve and make sure it's not hunting, and that it's functioning properly. 4. Check your refrigerant level. And if there is a leak, fix it. Don't top it off! However I do agree that oversizing is a problem. It's actually better the system be a bit undersized than oversized If a contractor is going to do an install like this and doesn't do the manual j calculations, run them off!

Richard: your AC system is too big. Homeowner: so what do we do now? Richard: Well, take this hose and start sucking out the refrigerant. You can spit it into that bucket over there while I go chip some of that ice off and have a drink

Good idea. Remove an oversized unit and replace it with an oversized unit. Good deal!

Had a friend who shut the air vents off to two unused bedrooms in his house , reasoning he would save money. Wound up freezing up evap. Hvac was designed for specific amount of air flow across evap.

Good job running those pipes right i front of the service pannel. Allways makes changeing an expansion valve more fun.

Easy to assemble Fastly.Cool

Question: Do you change your filter? Answer: all the time. lol...I’ve never heard that before.

My AC unit was freezing up...and I placed a small FAN in front of the intake vent (where the filter is)...turned the fan on...and no more freeze ups!!! Works like a charm

Most residential AC condensers use old technology developed by Mr. Carrier about 100 years ago. Many Asian AC condensers now use more and more inverter technology, some of them are capable to work with a wide range of loads. You won't need to worry about being oversized or undersized. They work even if they are 200% of the required tonnage.

Wow this homeowner got bent over in over charges and equipment that was fine.

After watching numerous HVAC videos on youtube, I spotted one thing straight away that could have solved his problem: his return air was undersized. For a 4 ton system, that return air was way too small. No wonder it iced up. His system also had a TXV so that should have been looked at as well. It was hard to determine how the sensing bulb was placed due to the camera angle. Not only that, the refrigerant levels should have been checked once the A coil was thawed out. Like others have said, there are so many things wrong with this video. Homeowner said the system ran for 1 hour and then iced up. I'm guessing it was a bit low on refrigerant, TXV was probably running wide open and the A coil gradually iced up. His new A coil has a TXV as well. A lot of HVAC technicians don't like them due to them being problematic.

LOL, customer should've been handed a jar of vaseline with the invoice. 😂😂

I had this as an issue. My Coil kept freezing over. So, I just had a team come out and replace the entire system: condensor, coil, furnace. Also replaced another condensor, and did some other repairs. Now my house is freezing cold! So happy!

lol. Yes replacing the unit will definitely stop it from freezing over. If it’s someone else’s money, bring it on!