Frozen Pipes on A/C

Hi there. We are living in a three level townhouse which we occupy the 2nd and third floors. The main floor is about a 800 square foot apartment that is occupied by some other people but both air conditioning units are sitting on our balcony which is on the second floor.

The people's a/c downstairs is set to 20C or 68F (which is extremely low) It should take a max of half an hour to cool their place, but the unit runs continuously even when its not hot outside. When we check the unit, the pipes are frozen in the back. My landlord seems to think there is no problem but there has to be.

Can someone please tell me if this is normal and that I'm not crazy??!! Thanks so much

Frost on the suction line is normal.

Its more than frost. Its ice

Frost or ice on the suction line is not abnormal. If the compressor is running constantly because of the demand on the system, the ice is going to build up. If it were freezing because the line is kinked from being bent, that would be a problem.

If it starts on fire, THEN you have something to worry about. :o

Welcome to Terry's Forums Ellelyla,

It sounds like it may be low on refrigerant, or low air flow, Dirty air filter.

If the air flow is good and it is icing up then You could have a refrigerant problem.

You should have sweating back to the compressor, not ice.


Have a Great Day.

DonL

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ellelyla

My landlord seems to think there is no problem but there has to be.

Can someone please tell me if this is normal and that I'm not crazy??!! Thanks so much

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The Landlord , Is always right, LOL...
You could be crazy, but I don't think so, just misinformed.

DonL nail it just wanna add a restriction in the lines such as plug filter dryer, Txv, Orfice most likely low on ref if so then you have a leak or the unit was not properly charge.

It's difficult to diagnose without seeing the amount of the ice build-up. However, the most common cause would be low refrigerant. There may be a leak in the system, which means refrigerant is actually leaking out. In that case, adding more refrigerant would not necessarily solve the problem. The leak would have to be found and fixed. Otherwise, it could damage the compressor over time. On the other hand, given that you are saying the A/C is being run around the clock and still working, it sounds like there is not a leak - at least not a serious one. Check refrigerant levels.