After noticing a strange odor around the house for a while, you find yourself breaking into a cold sweat. Suddenly, the room doesn’t feel cool enough, and you feel a bit cramped with the windows closed.
No, this isn’t the start of a Stephen King novel. You just have a leak in the air conditioning evaporator. And that strange smell? That’s just the refrigerant leaking out.
Sounds like a good time to bring out that can of leak sealer. But the real question is, will ac stop leak fix the air conditioner evaporator core? This is actually a pretty common question.
Let’s find out the answer, shall we?
Signs of Leakage in the Evaporator Coil
Besides the similarities with a horror movie setup, a few other things tell when your AC is leaking. And if you’re not aware of them, it could cost you a lot more than just some cash. So, it’s best to first know the signs of leakage.
Here are the basic symptoms of your aircon crying for help –
Works Like a Slowpoke
A malfunction in the cooling system means your rooms will take way longer to cool down than usual.
Barely Makes a Difference
The flow of air from the AC will be so mild you’ll barely notice any difference. Remember, HVAC systems are supposed to blow out cold air instantly. But when the unit’s broken, it lags when turned on.
Does the Opposite
And the worst thing that can happen is your cooler doing the opposite of what it’s supposed to. By that, I mean blowing out warm air through the vents. You know it needs fixing quickly when this starts happening.
Weird Smell
When refrigerant leaks, it produces a smell similar to chloroform. And trust me, it’s not pleasant at all. Some say it’s sweet but personally, I think it’s very much chemical-like.
Why It Happens
You might be wondering – why in the world does this happen? Aren’t HVACs supposed to last 20 years or something?
You’re not wrong to wonder. But there’s a good explanation too.
The most common reason for a leaking aircon is the lack of maintenance throughout many years. When you want something to last, you need to take care of them. Due to bad maintenance, your coil needs replacing sooner.
Over the years, as the refrigerant absorbs your home air to cool it down, it takes in a lot more unwanted particles. These include adhesives, cleaning products, and air freshening sprays.
The particles in them combine with the cooling system to produce acids that damage the coil. And that’s how you end up with a leak.
By the way, there’s no point in going to look for these holes either. They’re usually so tiny you can’t find them without a leak detector.
Will AC Stop Leak Fix the Air Conditioner Evaporator Core?
The leak sealers are some of the best and budget-friendly solutions to the AC problems of today. And while they work most of the time splendidly, there are cases when they don’t.
When it comes to fixing your coolant leak, there’s a 50-50 chance for it to work. I’m saying this because these products aren’t designed to deal with leaks in the evaporator’s core area. But they can be used for that nonetheless.
The way these sealants work is by reacting to either pressure, moisture, or temperature of the leaking area. Once you inject the sealant into the unit, you’ll have to wait for a few minutes.
By this time, it’ll travel throughout the pipeline, or in this case, the cooling coil. It takes some time to harden and seal any small holes in the condenser or evaporator. When this happens, you’ll notice a considerable improvement in your unit’s performance.
But it’s probably not going to work if the holes are in the rubber O-rings, hose fittings, or the compressor shaft seal. Because the leak sealer isn’t a refrigerant, all it can do is clog a leak. It can’t provide cooling effects.
There’s a precondition for the evaporator to be fixed with a sealant – and that’s the presence of enough refrigerant to help the sealant properly move to the leak point.
You can easily fix the soldered joints, copper coil lines, and evaporator chamber using the sealant this way. But like I said before, the chances of it working is not a hundred percent. So you might need to try more than once.
Risk Factors
Due to the mechanism of how sealants work, you need to consider some risks. A product that hardens by reacting to water presence may actually block some important points inside the system. This will ultimately lower the unit performance. It can even make it unusable altogether.
Pressure-based sealants work really well in most cases. But the risk here is the unit itself has a faulty pressure balance. You have to charge it after injecting the sealant to make it work.
And the last risk factor I’d like to point out is not related to the sealing process. Actually, it’s about the leakage. Refrigerants can be very harmful to the environment of your home. It’s not the best scenario when your pets or children come in direct contact with chemical substances like that. So have it checked, maintained, and fixed often.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure!
And that brings us to the next point – prevention. How do you prevent leakage in the first place?
It’s not as difficult as you might think. You can prevent any AC hazards and leaks easily by following some of these steps –
- Open the windows once in a while. Not only is the fresh air going to be good for you, but it’s also going to help take some pressure off the AC.
- Try to avoid using products that emit high levels of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) in the same room as your aircon.
- Schedule maintenance days for the unit at least once a year.
- Consider investing in a whole purification system.
You’ll need at least 800 bucks to get things replaced, fixed, and sorted when the unit finally breaks down. Considering this, the little steps of prevention will go a long way to save some cash.
Final Words
Are you still wondering whether will ac stop leak fix the air conditioner evaporator core or not? In that case, I suggest you try it out and see what happens. You may actually be surprised at how easily it fixes the problem – good luck!
