My compressor outside and the covered pipe that goes into my ac unit upstairs is frozen solid what could be wrong? Can anyone fix this or is it better to call for service

I believe you will need a service call on this one. More than likely the defrost control is defective not allowing the unit to go into defrost. There are other possibilities as also but the defrost control is usually the main culprit.

Snow droids! Stay inside and lock your doors!

Seek help form a professional on this, it is not good to let your condensinng unit or your evaporater coil get in the shape.
One reason is that as the ice forms it put pressure on your small pipes in the coils, and at all of the solder joints and can squeeze them against the metal end frames causing joints to leak.

Made cold shivers run all - over-- my--body :)

I too have had this problem. The company that came out to look at it (through our home warranty company) said this is what the heat pumps do. Well, since then, it has ice up so much that the unit outside sounded like it was going to blow up it was so loud. We have since turned on the emergency heat. The unit is only 3 years old. Should I have them come back out (and request a different HVAC company)? I'm very frustrated.

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Originally Posted by collinsmom

I too have had this problem. The company that came out to look at it (through our home warranty company) said this is what the heat pumps do. Well, since then, it has ice up so much that the unit outside sounded like it was going to blow up it was so loud. We have since turned on the emergency heat. The unit is only 3 years old. Should I have them come back out (and request a different HVAC company)? I'm very frustrated.

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Yes you most certainly should call a different HVAC company, not the one that told you tis was a normal condition. When the other company comes in and fixes the issue then inform the first company and send them the bill. Sounds like the company that is supposed to honor the warranty is either lay and/or not capable of working on HP's.

Thanks MarkwithaK! I will. It's just so frustrating. You trust that a professional will tell you the truth or just say, this is a little beyond my expertise, but let me find someone who can take care of it... (sigh).

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Originally Posted by collinsmom

Thanks MarkwithaK! I will. It's just so frustrating. You trust that a professional will tell you the truth or just say, this is a little beyond my expertise, but let me find someone who can take care of it....(sigh).

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No worries. I see that your location is Indy, as in Indianapolis? In my opinion heat pumps shouldn't be installed in the great state of Indiana and when I finally run for governor I will outlaw them :p Seriously though HP's are kind of a rarity here and not every technician knows how to work on them.

Mark I agree with you about the heat pumps, the only areas that I could see that they would be feasible is in the warm climates of South Texas, Florida and some of the western states.

In other areas I think you are wearing out a very expensive compressor and other parts instead of using, depending where you live, a cheaper fuel.

Agree, agree, agree. Heat pumps should be limited to states that can prove they work on a regular basis, more efficiently that other systems. In extremely cold climates(during winter) you will be using more electric backup heat, heatpump becomes useless. They may be fine for ac, but overall, they are only good for moderate temp areas.

Don't just rule out heat pumps north of Tennessee. We are running them in several group homes where I work (Pennsylvania, normal winter temps down to 20F) and they are fine (if installed and ducted CORRECTLY). And we just LOVE our ground source heat pumps. Ground source is our H/AC of choice. Those babies never call the backup heat unless something is really wrong somewhere.

Correct, I guess I would call 20F moderate. We haven't been above zero for near three weeks now. Ground source also has a lot more to offer than air to air. Spendy to install, but I have seen some large systems in this area that seem to work OK. Can't say I would recommend them for residential in this area, but that's just me, and I'm in a completely different neck of the woods here.