AC Refrigerant Leak Tracked Down and Repaired

When an AC runs constantly but the house just won't cool down, a refrigerant leak is one of the first things we look for. Most homeowners don't even know it's happening - the system sounds fine, the thermostat is set where it should be, but the air coming out just isn't cold. That's a classic sign the refrigerant level is off, and it almost always means there's a leak somewhere in the system.

Here's what we were working with on this one. The copper refrigerant lines at the outdoor unit showed clear signs of a leak - corrosion, oil residue, and deterioration right at the connection point. That kind of buildup doesn't happen overnight. It's something that develops over time and slowly robs the system of its ability to cool. We tracked it down, made the repair, and got things sealed up properly before moving forward.

After the repair, we connected our Fieldpiece SMAN refrigerant manifold to check the system pressures and verify everything was holding. We don't just patch and recharge - we confirm the numbers are where they need to be for the system to actually perform. That's the difference between a real fix and a temporary band-aid.

We also used an infrared thermometer to check air temperatures at the vents inside the home. Seeing those readings come down after the recharge tells us the system is back to doing its job. Cold air at the register means the repair held and the refrigerant charge is correct.

A refrigerant leak left unaddressed will keep getting worse - and keep running up your energy bill without keeping your home comfortable. If your AC is struggling to keep up, that's worth looking into sooner rather than later. A proper diagnostic can tell you exactly what's going on before it turns into a bigger problem.