Lone Star Cooling and Heating
Get help with R-22 System Replacement
Call Lone Star Cooling and Heating, have us call you, or describe the issue.
Prefer to talk?
Call (325) 219-0005Planning the replacement of cooling and heat pump systems that run on R-22, a refrigerant no longer produced, so the change happens on a chosen date rather than after a failure in peak season.
01R-22 systems
An R-22 system can be leaking, failing or still running fine. Each calls for a different conversation.
Repairing a leak on an R-22 system means recharging it from a limited supply of recovered and recycled refrigerant. On an older system, that expense is often the point where planning a replacement becomes the better use of the money.
A major part failing on an R-22 system is rarely worth repairing, because the repair still leaves the system dependent on refrigerant that is no longer made. Replacement with current equipment is the usual answer.
A working R-22 system can keep running. The risk is that its next leak or compressor failure arrives during a heat wave, when choices are rushed, so many owners plan the replacement ahead of time.
The nameplate on the outdoor unit lists the refrigerant it was built for. Where the label has faded or gone, a technician can identify it from the model and the equipment itself.
02Timing
Both paths end with new equipment. They differ in who picks the date and the terms.
Replacing a sound but aging R-22 system in spring or fall leaves time for a load calculation, a proper choice of equipment and an installation that is not rushed. The building never goes without cooling during hot weather, and the old refrigerant is recovered cleanly.
This gets the most use out of the old equipment, and a system without leaks may carry on for some time. The cost is that the end usually comes as a leak or a failed compressor in peak season, when a quick decision and a stretch without cooling are more likely.
R-22 System Replacement
Serving Abilene, TX.
03Why not a swap
Refrigerant and equipment are designed together. Changing one changes what the other has to be.
Current refrigerants work at different pressures from R-22 and are paired with a different kind of compressor oil. An R-22 coil and compressor were built and tested for R-22, and the old oil left in the lines does not mix well with the newer type. That is why a new outdoor unit cannot simply be connected to an old R-22 indoor coil and filled.
In practice, moving off R-22 means replacing the outdoor unit and indoor coil as a matched pair, recovering the old refrigerant, and deciding whether the copper lines can be cleaned and reused or should be replaced. The furnace or air handler is checked at the same time, because its blower has to suit the new coil.
04Questions
Yes. Parts and recovered R-22 are still available, and a small repair on a system in good shape can be worth doing. What changes is the leak: recharging with scarce refrigerant makes a leak repair far more expensive than it once was, which weighs heavily toward replacing an older system.
Not the refrigerants used in new equipment. They run at different pressures and need a different oil, so the old coil and compressor are not built for them. A few alternative refrigerants are made for R-22 equipment, but they can reduce capacity and need the old charge fully removed first, so a technician judges whether one suits the particular system.
The outdoor unit and the indoor coil, because both hold refrigerant and must match the new one. The copper lines are checked and sometimes reused after cleaning. The furnace or air handler stays only if its blower suits the new coil.
What the system is doing, when it started, what the thermostat is set to and what it reads, and whether the outdoor unit is running. The age of the equipment and a photo of its label help a technician arrive prepared.
Lone Star Cooling and Heating
Call Lone Star Cooling and Heating, have us call you, or describe the issue.
Prefer to talk?
Call (325) 219-0005