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jessusa71 · Jun 11, 2012, 06:52 PM

We have a 2.5 ton heat pump with backup furnace. We have had 3 tech out here to try to get this system working. All said ghost leak freon in. Last guy said no leak could find nothing wrong with system. My husband and I took it upon ourselves to take soapy water and check for leaks and totally cleaned the system a coil, filters(which we change monthly). The system worked for 4 hours with 50 degrees showing out of registers. Then just stopped. Froze up. My husband had checked at 2 hr. point was not froze up. This last guy said it's the expansion valve. We are already over 500.00 in on this unit this spring. Does anyone have any ideas for us or agree with the last tech?? Please help us out Momma is hot! I can't afford much more.
Thanks in advance!!

hvac1000 · Jun 11, 2012, 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by jessusa71

We have a 2.5 ton heat pump with backup furnace. We have had 3 tech out here to try to get this system working. All said ghost leak freon in. Last guy said no leak could find nothing wrong with system. My husband and I took it upon ourselves to take soapy water and check for leaks and totally cleaned the system a coil, filters(which we change monthly). The system worked for 4 hours with 50 degrees showing out of registers. Then just stopped. Froze up. My husband had checked at 2 hr. point was not froze up. This last guy said its the expansion valve. We are already over 500.00 in on this unit this spring. Does anyone have any ideas for us or agree with the last tech??? Please help us out Momma is hot!! I can't afford much more.
Thanks in advance!!!!

Is the inside blower running when the unit freezes up? If the fan is running but it freezes up then it could be the expansion valve. Usually expansion valves last a long time and need almost no service but anything is possible. Sorry to hear about your problems and also the fact that you have had 3 supposed techs looking at it and it is still not fixed. There is a giant shortage of trained people in the HVAC biz. NOTE: Make sure the sensing bulb is tight on the copper line of the coil. Loose thermostatic expansion sensor bulbs can and will cause problems.

jessusa71 · Jun 11, 2012, 07:33 PM

Originally Posted by hvac1000

Is the inside blower running when the unit freezes up? If the fan is running but it freezes up then it could be the expansion valve. Usually expansion valves last a long time and need almost no service but anything is possible. Sorry to hear about your problems and also the fact that you have had 3 supposed techs looking at it and it is still not fixed. There is a giant shortage of trained people in the HVAC biz. NOTE: Make sure the sensing bulb is tight on the copper line of the coil. Loose thermostatic expansion sensor bulbs can and will cause problems.

Thank You first for such a fast reply! The unit will run everything working fine for about 3-4 hours Then The lines and A-coil freeze up and we already know this before we go down and take the panel off because the cold air just starts to go away. The mechanics of the unit are all working... But I quess my question is... Before I shell out money for a valve, do you think it could be overcharged by the techs? Because before we just cleaned it all up and checked everything we could. It did not get cold at all. At least after we did that it worked for 3-4 hours at a time. This unit is 8 yrs old.Lennox elite series if that helps at all?

hvac1000 · Jun 12, 2012, 12:21 AM

Originally Posted by jessusa71

Thank You first for such a fast reply! The unit will run everything working fine for about 3-4 hours Then The lines and A-coil freeze up and we already know this before we go down and take the panel off because the cold air just starts to go away. The mechanics of the unit are all working...But I quess my question is...Before I shell out money for a valve, do you think it could be overcharged by the techs? Because before we just cleaned it all up and checked everything we could. It did not get cold at all. Atleast after we did that it worked for 3-4 hours at a time. This unit is 8 yrs old.Lennox elite series if that helps at all??

Naturally from here it is hard to tell exactly what the problem is since without being able to see the unit and do testing most of what we tell people is some guess work.

Usually a freeze up is caused by dirty filters,obstruction in duct work,closed registers or blocked return air. Other causes can be shortage of refrigerant, indoor blower motor overheat and turning off during operation etc. Sorry I cannot be more exact but I cannot see it and test it from here.