When replacing your air conditioner there is one critical thing that you need to be aware of as a consumer and that ‘s your lines set. Line set’s are the copper piping that runs from the indoor AC unit to the outdoor AC unit. This copper piping contains freon inside and via thermodynamics removes heat from indoor spaces and dissipates it outside. This is a very important part of your AC system.
The problem is these line sets have been in use for years and sometimes decades. Over time with normal wear and tear and after some repair visits contaminants form on the inside. These contaminants can include sludge, carbon, acid and many other byproducts that are harmful to the inner workings of your AC system. When you replace your air conditioner do you really want the old line sets connected to your new equipment? The answer is no. When replacing your air conditioner it’s always best to change out the line sets if humanly possible. A nice clean line set brazed into your new AC unit is recommended by all HVAC manufacturers because there’s no contaminants your equipment will last much longer and operate trouble free for longer.
THE PROBLEM WITH CHANGING AIR CONDITIONING LINE SETS
Changing out the line sets is ideal and in a perfect world. The reality is line sets are installed through the outer walls of the building and run through the ceilings and walls. To change out those line sets you would literally need to cut open drywall all over the place and then have it drywalled, sanded and painted after the line set has been replaced. It can be costly, plus add the cost of installing a new line set.
THERE IS A SOLUTION
In many cases it’s just physically and financially impractical to install a new line set but don’t worry, there is another option. NuCalgon makes a product called RX11. This is a solvent that is injected into the old line sets and flushes out all the contaminants and with older R-22 freon systems it also removes mineral oil. Newer R-410a systems that are installed today use synthetic oil. Mineral oil and synthetic oil do not mix so you want all of that old mineral oil out of those line sets.
PROPER PROCEDURE FOR CLEANING OUT LINE SETS
At Cool My Air when cleaning line sets out before installing your new AC equipment we have a particular process we follow. First, we blast nitrogen through the line sets to get all the big stuff like pockets of oil and other contaminants. Second, we flush with RX11 line set cleaner. RX11 is a solvent and leaves residue behind so to mitigate this we follow up with another blast of nitrogen. Then we flush the line sets with R410a refrigerant. We repeat this process 2-3 times. Nitrogen flush with R410a flush. It isn’t 100% but it’s as close to new as you can get without replacing it. A lot of air conditioning companies will just put a vacuum pump on the system skipping these extra steps. This extra effort gives our customers a much more stable and reliable new air conditioning installation without having to replace the line sets. If you have any questions or want to schedule a FREE estimate for replacing your air conditioner call Cool My Air at 954-298-0114 today.
