After my a/c start up last Saturday, the tech told me that I had a leaking schrader valve. He told me that it would be about $400 to fix and to call the office to schedule repair. When I called to find out about the repair, I had already read here in a posting that by replacing the cap on the valve, the leaking will stop. I had also read about "the tool" which makes it possible to replace the valve without losing the charge. The day before I had taken both valve caps off to see if they had the rubber "O" ring. When I took one of them off, it made a hissing sound. Is this what he meant by leaking? When I put the cap back on and tightened it, the noise stopped. When I asked about the cap stopping the leak, I was told that "there is no positive seal" and that it would still leak. I asked if the caps with the rubber "O" ring would stop the leak and he said "they are not made for that." I have a Carrier with Puron refrigerant. Is this refrigerant at a higher pressure than R-22? Is he right that it will still leak and the caps with the "O" rings won't work? He also explained that they will "take the system down" and take out the refrigerant that is left and "reclaim" it and put it back in when they are done. It doesn't sound like they have "the tool." He said that we can "try to ride out the season" and hope that all of it doesn't leak out. I figure if it does all leak out and I have to replace the valves anyway, then I will have to pay for all new refrigerant too.

 

Any shop Or tech should have the tool to put a new stem in the schrader . We have one on each truck. Dont cost that much. You could try a brass cap on it. Now yes R410a has a much higher psi than R22

"take the system down" and take out the refrigerant that is left and "reclaim" it and put it back in when they are done.

Now thats a no no for sure. With R410a or Puron refrigerant. It is a mix of refrigerant. So when you have a leak they burn off at a diff temp in the unit and you end up with something that is not R410a any more. So when you have a leak and you lost about a 1/3 of it . It all has to be taken out and all new R410a put back in. They also call for a new drier be put in if you open up a R410a system.
Id try a brass cap on it for now.

 

Is "the tool" that we are talking about something that would allow the replacement without losing the charge?
Do you recommend the brass cap with the rubber "O" ring?

 

Was that hissing sound that I heard when I removed the cap the leak that they found? Do I lose a lot of refrigerant when I take the cap on and off?

 

This is what the tool looks like.

http://www.yellowjacket.com/images/products/hoseadapters/18971-75.jpg

Any company that does even half way good work uses one. Get another company.

 

I too would try the cap. Don't take the cap off & put it back on. Each time you do, you loose refrigerant. I also suggest finding another company.

 

Did you try tightening the stem? Sometimes they just get loose. You can take the cap off, tighten the stem with a valve core remover (inexpensive tool) and put the cap back on. Brass caps with the rubber o-ring are the best. They aren’t made to stop the leak, but they usually do just that.

 

Anyone who would charge a customer to remove all the refrigerant just to change a valve is not a true tech in my book. I think that is a bold faced ripoff.

Call another company and explain you have leaking valves and need someone to come out with a core changing tool and swap them.

Usually a very simple fix.

However, I have had occasions where this simple fix wasn't so simple. If someone has tightened the valve to much or it's old, there is the possibility to could break. Leaving part of the leaking valve in the port.

This would mean that all of the refrigerant would then need to be removed, the rest of the valve taken out, evacuate the system, and recharge.

That said; make sure you are not the last service call on a Friday afternoon.

 

Normally a pretty easy job. But, I have seen several leaking valves where the cause was a long spiral wire shaped chip. Obviously, this was something that was never removed after the valve body was machined at the factory.

 

You guys are the best and have been a terrific help to me. I really thought this company was reputable and now I am not so sure. I checked the caps on the valve today and they are some sort of black metal, not brass. The tech put these on when he discovered the leak. (They don't have the "O" rings in them). So, even though refrigerant will leak out when I replace the caps, should I replace with the brass with the "O" rings?


"You can take the cap off, tighten the stem with a valve core remover (inexpensive tool) and put the cap back on."

I would hope the tech would have done this (if he knew what he was doing and didn't want to rip me off).

 

Even though refrigerant will leak out when I replace the caps, should I replace caps with the brass ones with the "O" rings?

 

Yes replace the caps with O rings.

I always said if the cap was not needed the MFG would save a lot of money not putting it on.

 

I'm sorry. What I should have said is: Should I change the caps to the brass ones with the O rings? I have caps on there that the tech changed out but they don't appear to be brass and don't have the O rings. My concern is that if I change to the brass caps with O rings, I will lose refrigerant. I was told in a previous post not to keep taking the caps on and off because I will lose refrigerant.

 

You can check for a leak with soapy water. If the caps presently installed are not leaking, leave them alone. If they are leaking I'd first light up the service company then install the brass caps with the rubber seals. I certainly would have thought a service person would have been there by now.