The steps and safety precautions to take when your window air conditioner needs to be recharged and how to go about identifying where the leakage is.
Are you using a window air conditioner (AC) for your home and noticed that it was not giving off the cool air that it once did?
This could be an indication that your window air conditioner may need to be recharged due to a possible leak that might have occurred in the unit’s closed-loop system, allowing the refrigerant, which is the cooling agent of an air conditioner, to leak and produce less cool air when it is warm.
The only way to resolve this issue is to recharge or refill your window air conditioner in order to get it back to emitting the best in cool air.
What is needed to recharge a window air conditioner?
Before you can go about recharging a window air conditioner, it is highly recommended that you find out whether your state permits you to tamper with the inner components of an air conditioner, as you will find that most states actually do not. So, ensuring that you will not be acting against the law by performing the task will be best.
To be able to recharge your air conditioner, you will need specific items to help make the task easy and safe. These items include protective gloves for your hands, protective eyeglasses, a screwdriver for disassembling and reassembling, a leak detector, some refrigerant as well as a freon kit.
One of the most important things to do is to wear your personal protective gear. Ensure that the gloves and eyeglasses are both on before you begin. This is because Freon, which is the refrigerant getting refilled, is extremely toxic. It is cryogenic and can lead to frost bite on raw skin if you come into contact with it.
How is a window air conditioner recharged?
The first step to recharging a window air conditioner, is to switch the unit off completely by making sure that it is not plugged into the wall socket, and to ensure your safety from working with the unit while it is plugged.
The next step would require you to open the air conditioner, which is where your screwdriver will come in handy, in order to unscrew the front of the unit. Consult your user manual should you want to ensure that you are doing this properly.
The next step requires a leakage check and there are steps to help identify leaks, which will be determined further. When you have successfully found the leak, depending on whether it is a rapid leak, you will need to solder the area. In the case that you discover a leak was slow, all you would need to do is boost the system enough to compensate for the leak.
Follow by connecting the valves to the compressor. You can consult your user manual for guidance on locating the compressor, and the two lines protruding from it. Attach the compressor line to the service valve from your kit and connect the other line to the tap valve. Both will come standard with your Freon kit.
Connect the valves to the Freon kit, this can be followed on the detailed diagram that comes with your Freon kit, demonstrating how to connect the two valves to the Freon container. Using this diagram will help you correctly place the Freon tank between the two valves.
Check that everything is connected firmly with no possibility of a leakage, switch on your air conditioner and set it up to its highest power setting. This will allow for the refrigerant to travel from the tank into the unit.
When the limit has been reached, the Freon tank gauge will indicate this. Unplug the unit, remove the valves and turn your unit on.
How to check for leaks in your window air conditioner
Put together a soap mixture with water, spill the mixture all over the refrigerant gear, turn the unit on and where bubbles form, your leakage exists. Use a leak detector to find out where a leakage could be occurring in your unit. The detector will give off audio or visual signals indicating a leakage.
Nitrogen can be used to detect leakages, but this can only be done by professionals. Fluorescent dye can also be used and you would need to fill the system with some dye and then turn it on where there is a leak. Using a flashlight will help you find the leak.
So, before resolving to recharge your window unit, check that you can perform this in your state and follow the safety steps to recharge.