Why Look For Refrigerant Leaks?
There are three reasons to detect and repair leaks of refrigerant gases from stationary and mobile air conditioners, refrigeration systems and heat pumps:
1. Leaks allow air and moisture to enter an A/C system or chiller. Moisture can react with refrigerant to form corrosive acids and sludge that can damage a compressor, plug up orifice tubes, and/or eat pinholes in evaporators and condensers.
2. Refrigerant is expensive. It may seem cheaper to keep recharging your system with refrigerant than fix a leak—but it isn’t in the long run. And A/C systems and chillers that aren’t fully charged won’t cool efficiently and thus waste money (electricity-powered systems) or fuel (vehicle systems).
3. Most refrigerants deplete the ozone layer that blocks the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.