Question:
OK…..we live in AZ and it has been about 112-114 for the past week so the a/c has been running a lot to keep the house at 80. On Friday, I was sitting on the couch watching a movie with the kids and it was a comfortable 80 degrees in the house. By the time the movie was over it was up to 86 degrees. My husband looked at the a/c and said it was frozen so we waited for it to defrost and started the a/c again last night and it got down to 85 degrees and now this morning it’s back up to 87 and the coils are frozen again. Any ideas/advice/suggestions to prevent this from happening?
Additional Details:
2 days ago
Some of the time it lightly blows cold air (but not enough to cool it down any in the house) and others times no air at all.

Reply:
One of two reasons why this is probably happening.
First, the airflow across the indoor coil is low. Due to either the filter or coil being blocked, cleaning these will fix that problem. Or the indoor fan or motor is not working properly.
Secondly, you may have a freon leak in the machine. If so then there is nothing you can do to fix it, you will need specialist help.
As suggested above, in some machines, mainly the window type, if they are run continuously over extended periods of time (I mean hours and hours) without cycling off then you may get ice forming on the indoor coil. This is also an indication that the machine is undersized and overworked.
Hope this helps.

Question:
My grandma has an AC in Palm Desert, CA where it gets ridiculously hot during the summer.
She went out there and it wasn’t working so she called someone and they put some freon (I’m not sure how to spell it) and then it worked. The guy told her she would need to replace it. I want to go out there but its too hot to stay without an AC. What are the chances of the AC working.

Reply:
Without reading the report the repair A/C technician supplied it would be difficult to ascertain whether it would have a chance of working, albeit temporarily. Sometimes the gas leaks are minor and repairable but over the years the A/C unit can become more unreliable and it is advisable to replace machines that are starting to show signs of wear and tear.
There are some great bargains out there for new A/C units, A/C has changed from a luxury to a necessity these days, especially in places like Palm Desert

Question:
How do you know if a heat pump is single stage or multistage?

Reply:
Heat pump refers to the reverse cycle capability of the machine to heat the occupied space.
In the air conditioning industry ‘multi stage’ normally refers to the number of compressors or stages of capacity the unit can deliver in a sequential order i.e. 3 steps at 33% each to reach the full cooling/heating capacity of 100%. A single stage unit has 1 compressor and therefore when it runs the machine delivers 100% capacity without loading capability (this does not take into account inverter machines which vary the compressor speed).
The benefits of multi stage or inverter units are that you are able to spread your energy consumption thus giving you lower operating costs and secondly having a more accurate control of temperature fluctuations inside the conditioned space.
For the lay person the only sure way of finding out is to make note of the brand and model number of the outdoor unit and calling the manufacturer.

Question:
My compressor went out on my existing ac with heat pump. I have the opportunity to by a 5 ton ac condensing unit for $200 that is new from a buddy. Is it a straight switch? What are the complications?

Reply:
It’s not as easy as it first sounds.
The replacement condensing unit has to be the same brand and capacity to even contemplate it.
Secondly, when the original condensing unit “went out” as you say, did it burn out the compressor? If so, then the entire system needs specialist treatment with suction line burnout driers or a thorough decontamination clean out (depends on the type of machine).
In conclusion, it really is not a straight switch even due to the electrical considerations.

Question:
My AC unit is blowing cool air, but my room temperature is not getting cooler… The blower seems to be working fine, however there is some condensation on the cooper line inside the house.

Reply:
Your thermostat is working properly if it cycles the machine off and on around 1-2 degrees of the set point.
As stated earlier, measure the temperature at the thermostat with another thermometer, if the set point and the thermometer match to within approx 2 degrees your thermostat is working fine. If not then further investigation is necessary.
It could be that the machine cannot handle the heat load and the thermostat never gets a chance to cycle the machine off, keep this in mind before condemning the t/stat.
After all I’ve said so far it is probably likely that the A/C unit is struggling with the heat load but the only way to find out is to call a reputable and experienced /qualified technician and get them to check it out. At least then you will know one way or another.