A/C air handler freezing issue


  #1  
Old 08-13-19, 07:06 AM
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Exclamation A/C air handler freezing issue

Hi Everyone I'm new to the site and my first post.

I'm having an issue of my line and condenser freezing up. I've attach pictures of my AC unit plate and my Air Blower/Heater Plate. I know the heater/Blower is older unit.

AC outside Unit is a Goodman 3 ton. Probably 5-6 years old.
Blower/Heater is a Carrier unit. Says 1997 on the plate.

The fan on the AC outside unit is running and moving. Not getting too hot either.
The Air is blowing out Cold when it is on and not froze up.
AC was charged up a couple years ago when the capacitor went out. It wasn't that low he didn't charge me for it. I replaced the Black foam tubing wrap on the copper pipe outside.

But the Air isn't blowing out as hard as it used to.
Could this be a bad blower/Fan? I know the heater part worked fine over the winter.

Our house is about 1300sqft and we usually have the temp on 72-74 during the day and 70 when home.

The local AC guy wants $75 to just come out and look at it.
I'm located in central Missouri.

Any help would be great.

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Last edited by PJmax; 08-14-19 at 11:25 AM. Reason: reoriented/resized pictures
  #2  
Old 08-13-19, 07:43 AM
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Is the evaporator frozen?
When the unit was charged with refrigerant last time, was the leak found and fixed?
The coil freezing happens because of low refrigerant or low airflow. So if the blower is running and the ductwork is clear and unobstructed, you have a charge issue.
The air coming off the condenser should not be cold unless you have a heat pump operating in heating mode.
 
  #3  
Old 08-13-19, 07:55 AM
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The bigger copper pipe from the AC unit to the unit in the basement has frost on the pipe.
The coils downstairs have ice on them as well.

It was hardly low when he recharged the outside unit.

The ducts don't have any obstructions and the filter is newer.

The blower runs, but it doesn't move the air as hard even when it's not froze. I can maybe feel the air 6in from the vent. We do have a older home with bigger vents.
 
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Old 08-13-19, 08:11 AM
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Is the blower running up to speed? Filter clean? Evaporator coil clean?
 
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Old 08-13-19, 08:33 AM
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Newer filter. I replaced it like 3 weeks ago and still looks clean.
Used coil cleaner on the system when I replaced the filter last. -Might try a different cleaner?

The blower i can tell is running, but not sure if it's running up to speed.
It doesn't seem to blow out as hard compared to earlier this summer.
 
  #6  
Old 08-13-19, 08:54 AM
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May still be ice on the inlet side of the coil. Or could be dirt build up.
Make sure your looking at the correct side of the evaporator coil.
 
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Old 08-13-19, 09:05 AM
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I can only see and access the one side. Which has the opening from the return air.
Its an angle coil down in the basement.

Should I open up the unit to see if I can get to the other side?
 
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Old 08-13-19, 09:08 AM
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If your looking at the return side, then there isn’t any reason to look at the other side. The dirt will accumulate on the return side.
The blower wheel can also become dirty and require cleaning.
How long did you thaw the unit after it froze up?
 
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Old 08-13-19, 09:18 AM
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It thawed probably an hour or more before we turned it back on. I also put a little space heater on low to help thaw the unit, but it wasn't blowing right on the coils. The frost/ice wasn't too bad.

I'll have to see about trying to clean the blower wheel and stuff when I can.
 
  #10  
Old 08-13-19, 09:36 AM
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May need more thaw time with the blower running. May still have ice on the coil.
Where did you put the space heater? What was it blowing on exactly?
 
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Old 08-13-19, 10:35 AM
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I just got back to work from returning home. It's not froze up at all even since it's been running for 4 hours. Nothing on the coils or the pipes.

The little heater was blowing inside the return air.

The blower still feels like it's not blowing very hard, but air the is nice and cool that is coming out.
 
  #12  
Old 08-14-19, 06:57 AM
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So far it's not froze back up. I put it down to 71 and it got it there. It just took a little while to get it cooled down from when we had it set on 74.

I'm still noticing that it's still not blowing out the vents very hard. Should I look for a replacement?
 
 

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