Cold weather in Florida. When calling for heat I noticed heavy build up of frost on the outside radiator unit. What is causing the frost to build up? Thanks

Frost build up on a exterior portion of a heat pump system is normal. The heat pump is extracting heat out of the air and in turn the coils get below freezing and the moisture in the air forms frost. The frost will eventually go away for a short time when the outside system section goes into defrost. This is a very simple explanation of what goes on and I will not bother you with details since you would need a class in Heat pump operation to understand the complete story.

The frost build up on the outside ac unit seems to be blocking the airflow from fan circulation. Does this do any damage to the system. I used a garden hose and poured water to getrid of frost to allow for air circulation. Could the system be low in refrigerant and causing this?
Thanks..

If you read my last post to you right above you will understand why the frost is there. It is possible your defrost control or valve (reversing) could be causing a problem. I am not there to test it so I cannot help in that regard.

Dumping water usually will not hurt the unit but it should defrost itself. As far as the refrigerant charge is concerned all of those questions should be directed to the company that sold and installed your unit since you need guages and the proper knowledge in there use to figure out if there is a problem with the refrigerant level in the system.

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Originally Posted by hvac1000

If you read my last post to you right above you will understand why the frost is there. It is possible your defrost control or valve (reversing) could be causing a problem. I am not there to test it so I cannot help in that regard.

Dumping water usually will not hurt the unit but it should defrost itself. As far as the refrigerant charge is concerned all of those questions should be directed to the company that sold and installed your unit since you need guages and the proper knowledge in there use to figure out if there is a problem with the refrigerant level in the system.

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Thank You!

Hope it all works out for you. It is daggon cold out there.