Sometimes low refrigerant levels and leaks are the cause of a frozen AC system. Your air conditioner could also be experiencing a malfunctioning defrost cycle. Inspect your air conditioner inside and out for any obvious signs of condensation or ice.
Never chip away at the ice. A professional HVAC technician is the best bet for completely solving the problem, but these are some steps you can take to get the process started. Our maintenance plans make regular maintenance a breeze. We inspect your heating and air conditioner before every season to ensure everything is in working order. The first concept to understand while troubleshooting a frozen evaporator coil is that the coil is supposed to be cold but not freezing.
In a properly functioning system, the evaporator circulates refrigerant vapor at about 40 degrees — the optimum temperature to extract heat from the airflow passing through the coil but never frigid enough to produce ice. The presence of ice on the coil tends to trigger formation of still more ice until the entire coil may become encased in a block of ice. Eventually, overload protections may shut down the system or a circuit breaker may trip.
What follows next may be more headaches, however, as the oversized block of coil ice rapidly melts. Gallons of water may spill outside the air handler, soaking structural components of the house or leaking through a ceiling. While troubleshooting a frozen evaporator coil can be accomplished in a limited way by a handy homeowner with average DIY skills, most repairs for this problem will require qualified HVAC service.
Dirt or dust accumulation on coil surfaces also inhibits heat transfer, causing the coil to run too cold and freeze. Most evaporator coils are sealed and not a good project for do-it-yourself methods. Coil inspection and cleaning is a standard part of regular annual maintenance by an HVAC service provider.
Low refrigerant level in the system frequently causes coil icing. This will force the warmer air in your home over the ice to defrost it. You should never be tempted to use a blow dryer or a heating pad as this will cause the ice to melt far too quickly.
If these steps resolve your air conditioning issue, then you can turn the unit back on and allow it to run as normal. Request Service Name. This cycle most commonly works by temporarily reversing the flow of refrigerant and allowing hot refrigerant to flow through the coils, melting any ice on their exterior.
If the defrost cycle is malfunctioning, it may not be able to remove ice and frost on the coils. Fixing a Frozen Evaporator Coil A coating of ice on the evaporator coils will prevent the coils from working properly. Your technician will generally: Turn off power to the air conditioner to ensure it has stopped operating — for safety reasons.
He will need to open the access door to the evaporator coils and check to see if there is ice on the coils. If the coils are in fact frozen, there are a number of simple remedies your technician can use to get rid of accumulated ice. It is important to note that chipping or hammering at the ice should never be an option, as this could damage the coils. The technician should ensure defrosted coils are clean and in good condition.
Coils can be gently scrubbed with a soft-bristled brush. The fins provide extra surface area for heat transfer.
If the heat transfer fins are bent, they can be straightened with a specialized tool called a fin comb.
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