Recently my central a/c has begun freezing up. I first noticed it when the outside unit was making a rattling noise. The large line to the unit was frozen. I turned off the a/c, disassembled the unit, and thoroughly cleaned the coil using foaming cleaner and a garden hose. I made sure that it was completely clean, and I reassembled it. I then checked the interior unit, and that coil had heavy frost on it. This had happened at a prior residence, and that turned out to be the air filter. Those were replaced, the coil was cleaned using foaming cleaner, and it was reassembled. It worked fine for a day and a half, and now it's freezing up again. I tried to fain access to the inside of the coils (A coils), but the small screws were impossible to access. this is on a manufactured home, with a downdraft type of air handler. As my nickname advises, I am retired and really can't afford to pay a technician to come out. Thanks much in advance!

Hi all, we just moved into a new home with a 13 year old electric HVAC (Trane). First few weeks the AC was super cold and freezing us out. This week, it has been having trouble maintaining temperatures at 73 (still cooling, but only to 76 or so). I had a tech out and he found a leak inside the house. Then took a look in the outside unit and found it to be covered in oil. Apparently, that is an indication of serious leakage. He did find one more leak out side, but then stopped looking. His guess is that the previous owner was just refilling freon with out fixing leaks, possibly for years. Recommends replacing the entire unit rather than fixing multiple leaks. They're coming out to give us a quote tomorrow, but I expect it be between 3-4k (vs probably 1k to fix). Questions: 1. See any warning signs or do you agree with the tech assessment? 2. Assuming you agree, any advice on buying a new unit. We have a 3000 square foot all brick home located in south east Tennessee, so cooling is more critical than heating. Brands to recommend or avoid? Tips for saving money or sizing of unit? Thanks - appreciate the advice!