Air Conditioning Repair

Chances are you’ve noticed one or two large, metal boxes outside of your home. Those are your AC system’s condensers. Inside of the condenser is your refrigerant, a compressor, a condenser coil, a capacitor, an electromagnet, a fan, some relay switches, and other electronic and mechanical components that vary from system to system.

Your condenser is where a lot of the magic happens; it’s where the refrigerant is compressed and pumped to the evaporator coil, and where the refrigerant returns to release heat.

If you notice that your home isn’t cooling or is taking a long time to cool, it could be a condenser issue. If you go outside and notice any leaks around your condenser or strange noises when the fan turns on, you should call an AC technician immediately.

One of the primary suspects is electricity or lack thereof. The first thing we do before we even open up the condenser is make sure it’s getting electricity. If we check the breaker box and notice a problem, we will have to refer an electrician to solve that issue first.

The majority of issues we find in condensers are refrigerant leaks, broken capacitors, broken belts, faulty relay switches, motor failure, or a faulty or broken condenser coil. There are a number of other issues, but these are the most common ones.

After ensuring your condenser is being supplied with electricity, we take into account any signs you may have noticed. Because refrigerant goes between a gas and a liquid state, refrigerant leaks aren’t always noticeable. So the next thing we do is use an electronic leak detector to find out if your refrigerant is leaking and locate the leak. If we do find a leak, we can replace the pipe or coil that’s leaking and recharge your system.

Your AC system has an evaporator coil in your attic that get’s really cold, usually as low as 40 degrees Fahrenheit. As this coil cools the warm air moving past it, it produces condensation.

Underneath the evaporator coil is a drain pan that catches condensation as it falls. The condensation is then directed through an insulated ¾-inch PVC pipe that ties into a drain line underneath a sink in your home. This ¾-inch PVC drain is your condensate drain line.

If you notice water marks on your ceiling, it could mean one of two things:

1) You have horizontal pipes that are leaking or, 2) your condensate drain line is backed up or sweating.

We won’t know what’s causing the water to drip to your ceiling until we go to your home. If it’s a leaking pipe, then we would refer a plumber to do a horizontal or whole-home repipe. But if it’s sweating or backed up condensate drain line, a John Moore AC technician can solve the problem with a condensate drain line repair.

As time passes, algae can start growing or rust from the evaporator coil can find its way inside of your condensate drain line. Rust, algae, or a combination of both get stuck at the connection point underneath your sink, and water begins to back up, causing your drain pan to overflow.

Luckily, there’s a secondary, emergency condensate drain line that can prevent your drain pan from overflowing for some time. The draining point of your emergency condensate drain line can be found somewhere underneath your roof soffits, usually above a window. If you see this pipe leaking water, you should call an AC technician to unclog your condensate drain line and empty your drain pan.

So what causes the watermarks on your ceiling? It could be two things:

1) Your drain pan could be overflowing with water or, 2) The insulation around your condensate drain line has deteriorated or been chewed through by rodents in your attic, causing the drain line itself to sweat.

To identify the specific cause, a John Moore technician will inspect all the components of your AC system including the evaporator coil, drain pan, and drain lines.

If your condensate drain line is backed up, we clear the line from the connection point under your sink and inspect the water to determine whether the culprit is algae, rust, or both. If it’s rust, we will recommend replacing the evaporator coil so the same blockage doesn’t happen again anytime soon.

If we find algae, we will recommend a special plumbers formula you can put into the condensate drain line service port every month or so to prevent algae build-up. From there, we empty and clean the drain pan, run clean water through the condensate drain line to clean it out, and clear out the emergency condensate drain line with a wet vac.

If we inspect your condensate drain line and find that a lack of insulation is causing it to sweat water, we will look for signs of rodent bites and deterioration to determine the cause. More than likely, the insulation has deteriorated over time, but it’s also not uncommon for rodents to live in attics and chew on the insulation around the pipe.

In either case, Service Legends AC technicians can replace this insulation. But if we do determine that rodents chewed through the insulation, we will recommend and refer pest control to inspect your attic, rid it of all rodents, and take measures to prevent the problem from happening again.