T&T: AC Stop Leak

[Steve Sipe]

Troy Leek wrote:
> SNIPMy question is should I let the guy install the sealer or hold out for a
> more conventional fix?End SNIP
>
> I would get an AC repair person that has a refrigerant sniffer and try to find
> the leak.
>   
<SNIP>

In the 25 yrs I was in the HVAC business, the refrigerant sniffer was 
one of those tools that always found its way to the darkest recesses of 
the service van. Highly unreliable. The best way we found to locate 
leaks was dye by Spectroline or similar, it's injected into the system, 
it shows up under UV light with special goggles. It has the advantage of 
being inert as far as the refrigerant system is concerned (like oil), so 
there's no danger of gumming up any of the guts of the system. 
Conclusive results as a rule.

As far as a sealer goes, I have little 1st hand knowledge of it, what I 
do know is that the insides of the refrigerant system consists of a lot 
of close-tolerance parts, I'd reserve a sealer for use as a last-ditch 
effort, especially on a reverse cycle unit. The reversing valves are 
trouble enough without the addition of a sealer intended to fill gaps. 
IMO, if you want to make the system reliable, fix it.

Steve Sipe
4303 Solo "Maerin"
Terminal wall, Rome, NY eastbound