How much does it cost to recharge the AC with freon

Freon is no longer manufactured and is expensive. Are you sure you need freon or one of the alternatives.
You need to call an A/C guy and have them come out and check your system. If it fails, they will evacuate the refrigerant until the leak is fixed and then re-charge it. If it is just low, they can top it off.

Pete_Coach wrote: ↑Freon is no longer manufactured and is expensive. Are you sure you need freon or one of the alternatives.
You need to call an A/C guy and have them come out and check your system. If it fails, they will evacuate the refrigerant until the leak is fixed and then re-charge it. If it is just low, they can top it off.

The unit is quite old
Do the older units work with freon only?

Yes, older ones use freon. Regardless, you cannot do anything yourself. You need a license to dispense freon and it is very tightly regulated. it is an ozone depleting substance.

All depends on how much freon they will have to add on top of what it will cost to find and fix the leak.

if u ask an ac guy to do it, he will charge u about $100 to come out to check the system if coolant is leaking, and then another $30 or so per lb to charge the system.

if your ac is leaking, u need to find out the leak, and seal it, otherwise your new coolant will leak as well.

it may cost u some $300 to find out where the leak is and see if the leak is repairable from a cost effective view point.

for an old ac, buying a new one is advisable

RFD11111 wrote: ↑if u ask an ac guy to do it, he will charge u about $100 to come out to check the system if coolant is leaking, and then another $30 or so per lb to charge the system.

if your ac is leaking, u need to find out the leak, and seal it, otherwise your new coolant will leak as well.

it may cost u some $300 to find out where the leak is and see if the leak is repairable from a cost effective view point.

for an old ac, buying a new one is advisable

Unfortunately, while your advice is OK for a car, for which you can buy a kit from your local auto parts store, you cannot fix your own home A/C unit.

Pete_Coach wrote: ↑Unfortunately, while your advice is OK for a car, for which you can buy a kit from your local auto parts store, you cannot fix your own home A/C unit.

In my earleir post, i meant to suggest that he needs to ask an ac guy to find out the leak, etc.

On the other hand, i dont know if there are laws preventing him from repairing his own ac, if he knows how to fix it. Even if there are such laws, i wouldnt know how it could be enforced.

There are also lots of instructions in the internet and youtube telling how to locate the leaks, and fix simple leaks. The amazon sells tools and dye kits to locate the leak, and cdn tire sells a freon kit to add freon to the ac.

For OP's old ac, i would suggest to buy a new one.

seems to be a very fine leak, it took an year + to lose the cooling power.
Greatly diminished but not gone.
I can simply ask the guy to come and recharge it no matter what :-)

A problem with this whole situation is you cannot simply ask anybody to come recharge it. There are massive fines in place for anybody to knowingly puts R-22 into a system with a leak. R-22 is so heavily monitored now that no HVAC guy in their right mind would top off an R-22 system without fixing the leak. His ODP, refer license, and bank account would be on the line to earn a couple hundred bucks.

SavvyJD wrote: ↑A problem with this whole situation is you cannot simply ask anybody to come recharge it. There are massive fines in place for anybody to knowingly puts R-22 into a system with a leak. R-22 is so heavily monitored now that no HVAC guy in their right mind would top off an R-22 system without fixing the leak. His ODP, refer license, and bank account would be on the line to earn a couple hundred bucks.

I will fix the leak :-)

My dad had a leak in his 14 year old 8 Seer Lennox Elite 2 ton AC.

It was $100+tx for them (Lennox Dealer's service section) to even come out and do a diagnostic.

He was quoted
* 247 + tx for a leak search
* 172 + tx for up to 1 lb Freon 22
* it would be parts and labour for the leak fix
So total would easily $600-1000. May be better to buy a new AC.

Sorry forgot to note this is for Ottawa which seem to have higher prices than TO.

snoopyoo wrote: ↑My dad had a leak in his 14 year old 8 Seer Lennox Elite 2 ton AC.

It was $100+tx for them (Lennox Dealer's service section) to even come out and do a diagnostic.

He was quoted
* 247 + tx for a leak search
* 172 + tx for up to 1 lb Freon 22
* it would be parts and labour for the leak fix
So total would easily $600-1000. May be better to buy a new AC.

Sorry forgot to note this is for Ottawa which seem to have higher prices than TO.

Pricing is fairly similar for leak detection, repair, and top up in TO

RFD11111 wrote: ↑In my earleir post, i meant to suggest that he needs to ask an ac guy to find out the leak, etc.

On the other hand, i dont know if there are laws preventing him from repairing his own ac, if he knows how to fix it. Even if there are such laws, i wouldnt know how it could be enforced.

There are also lots of instructions in the internet and youtube telling how to locate the leaks, and fix simple leaks. The amazon sells tools and dye kits to locate the leak, and cdn tire sells a freon kit to add freon to the ac.

For OP's old ac, i would suggest to buy a new one.

You can fix it but you cannot get freon and in order to fix it you need to find the leak and that can require special tools and then you need to seal the hole which may require brazing or replacement of parts. To do that, you need to evacuate the freon and you cannot just let it into the atmosphere.
You need to be a licensed tech or company to get freon and it is very very tightly controlled.

SavvyJD wrote: ↑A problem with this whole situation is you cannot simply ask anybody to come recharge it. There are massive fines in place for anybody to knowingly puts R-22 into a system with a leak. R-22 is so heavily monitored now that no HVAC guy in their right mind would top off an R-22 system without fixing the leak. His ODP, refer license, and bank account would be on the line to earn a couple hundred bucks.

Absolutely correct.

You just have to know the right people and you can get anything your heart desires.

Needing a top up as well in the GTA. Who to call?

yourmemory wrote: ↑Needing a top up as well in the GTA. Who to call?

Nevermind. Found a great guy who does both home and car AC for a very reasonable price. He came over same day and now everything's back to normal.

PM me if you want his number.

I know i am late to the party. Can you still have the contact of the person. I need to fix my ac. Thank you

You are still not too late. freon is set to be phased out completely by January 2020.

Shabby1211 wrote: ↑ I know i am late to the party. Can you still have the contact of the person. I need to fix my ac. Thank you