HVAC systems leak refrigerant, requiring expensive refills

“Our home's 2005 single-stage Goodman heat pump had leaks in the air handler. Technician said it was the evaporation coil and some other part. He said vibration/rubbing caused the leaks. The system was old, so we just decided to buy a new one. A local salesman gave us a quote for a single-stage American Standard Silver 14, which uses R-454B. Price is $8K installed. The quote calls for re-using and flushing our existing refrigerant lines (pig/rubber bullet through the whole lineset) rather tha”

“My heat pump start kicking off after about two minutes. Had an hvac company out and they said there is a leak somewhere in the system, sounds like it leaked a lot out. It's a Goodman heatpump that is still under warranty for parts but I'd be on the hook for labor. They suggested refilling it with dye and they would come back and check for the leak, total for that would be about 1800 dollars then probably another few thousand in labor to fix whatever the issue is. I know it's hard to”

“November 2024 - HVAC company installed a 3T heat pump and 40,000 BTU furnace for our 1300 sq ft home (York brand) - which was a lot of money. They insisted that the humidity and stale air issues would be solved with the air exchanger. Two years later The venting sounds so much louder than the old furnace and AC unit - in one room, it sounds like a jet engine. the ducting is still original and probably meant for the 1.5T/2T AC. Someone told me that a heat pump uses 25% more air than a normal AC.”

“I’ve read through a ton of opinions on here. And lots of googling. But still looking for some input because I’m just back and forth. I’m looking to replace a 26 year old Lennox furnace and 21 year old AC that had a hard time keeping up this summer. I’m in the front range in Colorado (can get to 0 degrees in the winter, 100 in the summer) My two estimates that I’ve narrowed it down to are: 1- Amana/Goodman 80% furnace with an ACiQ 14.3 SEER air conditioner. 2- Lennox elite 80% furnace with a Lenn”

“Hello everyone. Bought a new home about 3 years ago that has a now 4 year old HVAC heat pump split system from Carrier. A few weeks ago the AC stopped blowing cold air, contacted a local AC company and they found that my refrigerant was low, did some sort of nitrogen-based leak test that required them to come back a few days later, and they found that the condensor coil had a leak. The model of my system (25HHA44BA300 + FX4DNF049) is also apparently being phased out due to it using the r410a ref”

“My AC just stopped working yesterday, and I noticed there’s freezing building up over the dryer filter on the unit when it’s running. An HVAC person came out and diagnosed a leak. I also just noticed there are rust stains on the metal in my crawlspace from water, and the dirt underneath is damp. He said the PSI is at 23 when it should be around 65. He gave me two options: Fill it with about 5–10 lbs of “top premium quality Freon,” which he said is $29 per oz. Is this normal?!?! Replace the entir”

“My AC went out and I need to order a replacement ASAP, so I’d really appreciate some quick input from the community. I’m deciding between: Rheem: RB2TY3621STANMJB05 — $5,600 — R-454B Goodman: AWST30SU1305 — $5,200 — R-32 Both are 2.5-ton systems. I’m in South Florida, so reliability, humidity control, parts availability, and long-term ownership matter more to me than saving a few hundred dollars upfront. If you were choosing for your own home, which would you go with and why? Is the Rheem really”

“during a regular preseason service 17yo Amana heat pump refrigerant levels were low and i was told it has to be leaking somewhere so i don't want to spend $ trying to find the leak - the heat pump is paired with 28yo oil boiler hydronic hot air system as backup. HVAC contractors have quoted what seems like outrageous prices for inverter heat pumps paired with the legacy oil boiler - one guy quoted 2 versions of daikin - $19,900 and $24,900, another said non inverter carrier $14,700 with the”

“My A/C stopped working and got two different techs to look it both say there is no refrigerant left in the system so some kind of leak. The two quotes are $250/lb and $189/lb for 410-a refrigerant which I can find on the internet for around $20/lb I'm in California if that makes a difference. EDIT: I'm not stupid and know that the leak needs to be found and fixed as well. They both quoted for leak test and repair ($900 and $480 respectively). My question is 1000% markup on refrigerant no”

“I've got an 8 year old Ameristar package unit in southern California that has a leak. The R-410a refrigerant was topped off a couple of months ago (low-side pressure was 105 after top off). A couple of weeks ago, the system wasn't cooling effectively. Tech measured low-side pressure at 55 (air temp was around 75 F). The unit still has a parts warranty, so the manufacturer required a leak test to diagnose where the leak was. A different tech came a few days later. He measured the static p”

“My wife and I moved into our first home in May and recently had some issues with our heat pump (2017 Trane Xl16i). The tech said the refrigerant was at ~65% of factory charge and took in 3lb. R-delta was 7deg. There’s no telling where the leak is. Who knows how long its been working to compensate. That was $400. I was tinkering around in the ducts after we first moved in and found a completely clogged, mold-filled humidifier right after the air handler output. Based on other things we’ve noticed”

“4ton, i had a 11 year old goodman that lost 4lb of freon. $800 ish to refill and capacitor (yea i could replace myself etc) i have a gas furnace that sits below of the ac unit, that’s 11 years old goodman but i live in south carolina and it’s working fine for now. so the higher quote is to get the better furnace and the gold version etc. i’m leaning towards just fixing the ac unit as it’s pretty good price from what i’ve seen. I have 3 buddies that replaced there’s but they all might have electr”

“Hello all, I have a 3 y/o Rheem air conditioner. In January I had to replace the condenser coil due to a leak under warranty. Now, 9 months later, I have replaced the evaporator coil due to a leak again. Both times the part took weeks to be exchanged because Rheem warranty parts took that long to arrive. I live in South Florida so this is not a pleasant experience. My manufacturer warranty period is 10 years but I am questioning what that is worth as Rheem does not cover the labor and now both c”

“House: 2014 build, ~2,000 sq ft above grade plus finished basement, Midwest (hot summers, cold winters, dual-fuel territory). Gas furnace from 2015 stays. Nest Learning 3rd gen, spouse want to keep it. Current AC: Lennox 13ACX-042 (13 SEER, 3.5 ton, R-410A) with a confirmed leak. Topped off in April, low again in September. Runtime data from the Nest shows ~50% more cooling hours than 2024 for the same weather, so the leak is real and I'm done chasing it. Plan: heat pump replacing the AC, fu”

“Heat exchanger on our Goodman furnace is cracked and leaking, getting quotes to replace the gas furnace and ac unit. One was for an Armstrong system for 16.5k basic single stage, the other for 15k rheem two stage unit. I feel like this is insane am I out of touch with recent prices? submitted by /u/Tugboat4991 [link] [comments]”