Help, I just got home from work to find my house warm, ac on, air not moving.
My entire A coil is covered in thick frost what should I do?
Webby
Help, I just got home from work to find my house warm, ac on, air not moving.
My entire A coil is covered in thick frost what should I do?
Webby
Source control, ventilation, and filtration are the keys to healthy indoor air quality. Dehumidification is important too.
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Replies
Turn it off?
I would have more of a sense of humor if I hadn't worked a twelve hour day today.
The unit is off, the blower is working I can't figure out why it froze up.
It froze because your systems weren't able to put enough heat into the coils to keep them above freezing. Reason(s):
1) Dirty filter
2) Over-sized compressor
3) Fan controller set to low-speed on AC (normally ok, see #2)
4) Plugged condensate drain
yada, yada, yada
Turn AC to OFF, Fan to ON, thaw it out. Buy a window AC?Let us know...
Sometimes a low charge of freon will cause that.
Oh, check the air filter too.
Sorry to be short had a bad day and came in to find this and it caught me by surprise.
I haven't had a freeze up for years ever since I redid the condensate line, someone halfa@#$d a garden hose in there during original construction. It used to freeze up regularly.
I kind of panicked when the outdoor unit was running, the blower was running and the unit seemed to be draining.
My mom has severe MS and can't handle hot temps. I kind of freaked, thanks for all the info the ice is melting and I am going to test it.
Webby
No prob.
I'd give you a window unit if you were closer.
The freeze up occurs because the coil gets too cold. This can happen either because of reduced airflow, because the freon level isn't properly balanced (possibly due to a leak), or, in some systems, due to a malfunction of a valve.
First thing to do (after turning the unit off to let the ice melt) is to check the filter to see if it's clogged. If that's not the problem then you probably need to call for service.
What type of system do you have? You could have a dirty evap coil and or very dirty blower wheel .
As a non-expert layman, here are several reasons I've come across on different occasions with symptoms you describe;
1. Dirty/clogged up evaporator coil/fin assembly.
(The part the air passes through to get chilled and dehumidify).
I have seen these things clogged and matted with pet hair and then frozen over with ice.
2. Dirty/clogged air filter.
3. Low freon.
These are one of the likely reasons if your system was cooling normally in the past.
1. can happen even if the filter appears to be doing its job.
The problem sometimes is the filter frame can be not seated properly and a lot of dirty air can bypass the filter assembly, causing the symptoms in 1. over a long period.
Edited 8/23/2006 9:18 pm ET by AhneedHelp
1. dirty air filter
2. condensor coils clogged, because the dirty air filter was just taken out, and not cleaned and put back in, or replaced.
3. low freon.
4. closing vents and/or blocking returns
5. low outside temps.