View single post by cwilkins
 Posted: Sun May 21st, 2006 08:10 pm
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cwilkins

 

Joined: Fri Jan 20th, 2006
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 Some new numbers here...  Still a little cool outside, but not much I can do about that.

Inside/Outside ambient: 74F/76F

Lo/Hi Pressure: 57psi/205psi

Pressures converted to temperature: 34F/112F

Suction line temp at compressor: 53F (19F superheat?)

Temp at nearest indoor vent: 55F

I've also noticed the compressor is quieter than the fan now.  It's now sounding about the same or a little less noisy than before all this happened.

Total refrigerant added - about 5.5lbs of ES-22a.

So now the question is "what caused all this?"  20+ years of very slow leak (bad service valve/cap?) or something less slow and more recent?  The service caps on this unit are brass with no seals.  I'm told they tend to be leaky, which is presumably not a good thing.  When I removed the hi side cap, it gave me a little PSST, so sounds like the valve was leaking at least a tiny bit.  Perhaps the question is, was the cap leaking a little too?  I plan to leave the gauges hooked up for a couple of days to keep an eye on things.  Might new caps be a good idea anyway, just as general preventative maintenance?

Thanks for any clues...

-cw-