don't recall but i would think there is a price tag for freon fill

Like Tiger said, you usually are charged per person, per hour on top of the per pound Freon charge. I will say I just had my refrigerant replaced and it was $87 per pound, which is highway robbery but I live in a HCOLA.

It appears 13.5 pounds were installed at a rate of $85 per pound. The labor charge was $95. The charges are not out of line if you really needed 13.5 pounds of refrigerant. You actually got a break since NJ sate sales tax was not charged. That would have been another $82.32.

Then he writes no guarantee all of this expensive R22 refrigerant won't leak out. Were you advised prior to adding the refrigerant about paying for a leak test?

thank you so much for your reply Mike_home. Does the second attached page answer your question?

No it doesn't. It just states what has to be done to find the leak.

If a system needs 5 or 8.5 pounds of refrigerant, you can be confident it has a significant leak. So you either do a test to locate the leak, replace the equipment, or add refrigerant and wait until it leaks out again. So I was curious if the tech explained these options to you prior to doing the work.

I could be wrong, but adding R22 to a system that has a known leak in NJ is illegal. The tech could feign ignorance and say I didn't it has leak because it was not tested. The next time the tech may say you have to test for a leak.

many thanks again for your reply! but can the amount of refrigerant needed to fill up be determined prior to actually filling it? this is to say should the tech have determined there was a significant leak prior to filling it?

A tech can determine there is a significant leak based on the charge readings.

Usually, unless you are dying of heat exhaustion and are desperate for cooling, a responsible tech will pressure test the system with nitrogen and a little R22 (for detection) in order to find a leak. Just filling it and saying it's all going to leak out in no time is pretty irresponsible.

I could be wrong, but adding R22 to a system that has a known leak in NJ is illegal.

The way this statement is worded, you are wrong.

The EPA requires systems with over 50 Lbs. of refrigerant for the Freon leaks to be repaired before recharging. These kinds of machines of this capacity are commercial and industrial machines.

There is nothing illegal in the recharging of Freon for a residential based AC system. The total charge on a residential system could be as little as 4-5 Lbs. or as much as 20-25 Lbs.

Now, just because it's legal to recharge a system with refrigerant doesn't mean it's 'economical' to do so. Because if you don't fix the leak, the Freon will just leak back out. How quickly this happens depends entirely on how bad the leak is.

If the system is flat on Freon, I personally will require the homeowner to pay for to fix the leak and the Freon needed to recharge the system. Because common sense tells me if I recharge a 'flat' system, it will be flat again in short order. The leaks in some cases are so bad that it leaks out faster than it can be recharged.

It doesn't matter what type or kind of refrigerant you have. They all function the same way. If you have a leak, the more economical choice is to fix the leak and recharge it. In some cases where refrigerant leaks are really small, the expense just to find the leak may not make the situation economical either.

This is where 'skills' come into play.

I service the Katy, Texas area.

I could be wrong, but adding R22 to a system that has a known leak in NJ is illegal.

The way this statement is worded, you are wrong.

I don't like to give misinformation so here is my revision:

I could be wrong, but adding R22 to a system that has a known leak in NJ is illegal per NJ state law.

We often see the "blue" states have tighter regulations than those at the federal level. I don't know if that is true in this case. But I agree just because it is legal doesn't mean you should charge a homeowner $1242 for refrigerant that will have leaked out by the end of the summer.

looks like a gas n go!

TD

I could be wrong, but adding R22 to a system that has a known leak in NJ is illegal per NJ state law.

You're probably wrong and simply restating erroneous information from other 'poppy cock' websites.

I searched the NJ licensing rules website in regards to this and came up with nothing. So you need to post a reference as to where you got your information Mike, instead of spreading rumors.

But, but, but: it was on the internet so it must be true......

If the tech did not explain the refrigerant will leak out in a short amount time and the correct fix is to find and repair the leak, then I agree it is a gas and go situation. The $95 service charge was reasonable. Most appliance repairman in NJ charge more for than this just to come to your house to tell you the appliance is not worth repairing. The going rate for R22 is high and will continue to increase.

I just purchased a home with two 18 year old Rheem AC units. I have the world's greatest HVAC guy. He knows his stuff. He told us that these particular units were less expensive back in the day. But, the gotcha was they required A LOT more Freon that most other brands because the system was designed to work at a higher pressure.

His point was less cost up front, more trouble if you developed a leak. The units have a lot of "vanes" that are very easily damaged. My HVAC guy is a clean freak about servicing units. He's very concerned if we even clean these units with a garden hose. The vanes that hold the Freon are that delicate. I think that you may have a similar Rheem unit.

Finding the leak in these units may prove difficult. If you have a slow leak, the tech will need to note how much Freon was loaded, then wait a period of time to determine the rate of leak. The amount of Freon loss has to be calculated. Most servicers can't or won't do this. They just fill up and ask you to write a check.

The older the unit, the more expensive the particular type of Freon need becomes. That part really sucks. I'm willing to bet that you and I will be replacing these units in the not too distant future.

thank you all so much for your valuable replies! they were very helpful in shedding light to the matter.