subject: Determine Whether to Replace Your Air Conditioner Lines [print this page] Determine Whether to Replace Your Air Conditioner Lines
HVAC expert Fred Peterson and his company All Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. have been serving the clients in Champaign, Illinois and the surrounding areas for more than 30 years. Here, Peterson talks about how to determine if you should replace your air conditioner lines.
It is the recommendation of most AC repair experts in Champaign, Illinois,that homeowners should replace their air conditioner lines every time they are putting in a new unit. The general rule for homeowners to remember is that new units deserve new lines that don't have any preexisting cracks or kinks, no matter how small they may appear to be.
However, homeowners looking to save a few bucks usually have a slightly different opinion on the matter. If the lines were properly installed from the get-go, then they should theoretically never have to be replaced. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for the average homeowner to determine on his own if the lines that were put in when his old AC unit was installed were done the right way.
Role of a Connector
With years of experience working in the industry, I know very well that the air conditioner line carries the refrigeration in the system back and forth from the compressor outside of your home, to the indoor coil, essentially becoming a connector for the two pieces of the total AC system. When an AC line is properly put in, the nitrogen should be purged and evacuated. But even if that is the case, and the line was put in 100% perfectly by the original AC company, that's no guarantee that a repair of the lines won't be necessary in the future.
Physical Damage
Usually, AC lines would need to be repaired or replaced if something happens to them. It is not uncommon for homeowners to accidentally hit their AC unit lines with the lawn mower or kick it when they are doing yard work. These types of seemingly minor incidents can actually cause physical damage to the lines themselves. Depending on the severity of the damage to the AC line, it may need to be repaired or replaced entirely. Although doing a repair on a broken AC line in Champaign is typically cheaper than replacing it altogether, not all homeowners necessarily have that option available. If a line has been damaged too badly, then a total replacement may be the only choice.
Broken Lines
As a homeowner, you will know if your AC lines have been broken, because you will see a lot of refrigeration substance coming out of the line all at once. Other times, you may know that something is wrong because your split air conditioning unit has stopped working, even if you are not sure right away what initially caused the breakdown to happen. Although problems with the lines are most common along the outdoor portion of the air conditioner, the line could theoretically be broken inside as well. If someone puts a screw through a wall or the floor, then that could certainly break the AC line and create a need for it to be replaced.
Going without an AC unit, especially in the summer months, can become unbearable. Therefore, most homeowners will call for help right away when a break in the AC line has happened. However, there are some people who may choose hold off on hiring an HVAC company to repair their line if the break happens during a cooler off-season. Waiting a period of time before calling an air conditioning company to repair your broken AC line could be a mistake, though, since a broken line could allow moisture and water to get into the air conditioner's compressor. That is something that is extremely difficult to get out, because the compressor could draw moisture into the system, and it could ultimately end up ruining it.
I recommend calling a company like All Seasons Heating & Air Conditioning as soon as you begin to suspect that your air conditioning line has been broken in some way. The quicker the call is made, the stronger the likelihood is that the line and the system itself will be able to be saved.
