The air from the fan will help melt the ice on the compressor. You can also use a hairdryer to help melt the ice faster. These issues will need to be addressed by an AC technician. Clogged air filters are one of the main reasons why AC evaporator coils freeze up. Replacing the air filter could solve the issue. Make sure your air conditioner is draining properly. If there is a drain pan, see if ice accumulation on the coil extends beyond the drip pan beneath the air handler.
Have containers on hand to catch the dripping water and prevent water damage as the ice melts. Suite 6, Crofton, MD We are open for business. Low refrigerant can result in fewer molecules of refrigerant in the evaporator coil, which results in lower coil pressure because the coil contains both saturated liquid at the beginning of the coil as well as superheated vapor towards the end.
This type of freezing requires time because less refrigerant in the coil equals less refrigeration cooling effect. Over time as the frost builds, it will start to block the opening of the coil which blocks airflow and insulates that portion of the coil from airflow which reduces the coil load. Eventually, once the coil is blocked with frost, almost all of the load is removed from the coil and you have a low refrigerant issue that led to a low load issue that resulted in a complete freeze up.
Once you defrost the system and test, you will find that low refrigerant charge conditions result in low suction, low subcool, high superheat, and low head pressure. Refrigerant restrictions will be low suction, high superheat, high subcooling. Often once you resolve the charge issue, you may also find another low load issue as well that contributed to the freezing. In many cases when low charge is the cause, the customer will notice the issue before the system is frozen solid.
Low refrigerant will often result in a partially frozen coil more than a full block of ice. When a cooling system is operated during low outdoor temperatures the condensing temperature and head pressure will drop.
If the head pressure drops low enough the suction pressure will also drop, resulting in freezing. The only way to resolve this cause is to install some type of head pressure control, such as fan cycling or fan speed control, to keep the head pressure from dropping significantly.
Blower Issues If the indoor blower shuts off, the coil temperature will drop. Sometimes a blower motor will have internal issues or controls issues that cause it to shut off periodically. This can cause intermittent freezing that can be hard to diagnose.
Checking controls, belts, blower amperage, bearings, and motor temperature can all help in diagnosing these issues. Sometimes leaving an amperage data logger on the motor along with a coil or supply air temperature sensor can give you the ammunition you need to pinpoint an intermittent issue.
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Another common cause of this problem is when homeowners unknowingly block floor registers below furniture or rugs. Similarly, an extremely dirty air filter can block a main source of air from reaching the line. The refrigerant line is a closed-loop system. However, in some cases, refrigerant may be lost through leaks or other problems. Without enough refrigerant, the molecules expand too much, causing a runaway cooling effect that results in a frozen-over system.
At this point, any further operation by the air conditioner is just going to keep refreezing the already-frozen line. If it the latter, we can recharge the system with the appropriate refrigerant type and address any leaks that caused the system to lose refrigerant in the first place. If your air conditioner has a frozen evaporator coil or any other problems that are preventing it from operating properly, call us today.
What causes a frozen evaporator coil and what can you do about it? What causes an evaporator coil to freeze?
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