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The HVAC guy who screwed me (edit: i do believe he tried to find a leak the first visit, but the second visit he didn't seem to be bothered) on a refrigerant refill (see my other posts) is recommending I switch out the whole AC system because it's 17 years old.

My wallet would rather pay $150 to find the leak, then just replace the leaky component.

Is it a bad idea to replace just the leak?

Tyler M
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    17 years is old and not very efficient. The leak is very bad for the environment... Refill after refill will get expensive and damage the environment. A new system will be more efficient (save on electricity usage) and no more leaks. I personally would replace the old leaking unit. – Gunner Jun 15 '20 at 19:14
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    Why would you continue to listen to a service person who "screwed" you? Why not find another? – jwh20 Jun 15 '20 at 19:26
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    But if you have one leak there are likely others on the way. So fixing one doesn't really resolve the root issue which is that your system is past the end of its service lifetime and needs to be replaced. – jwh20 Jun 15 '20 at 19:27
  • Voting to close as opinion-based. There's no objective way to answer this question. It's a matter of personal finance and priorities. – isherwood Jun 15 '20 at 19:51
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    Go out and look at the nameplate on the unit. What type of refrigerant does it use? Does it say R-22??? – Harper - Reinstate Monica Jun 15 '20 at 22:54

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If you check right away you may be able to find the leak with bubble solution, loosing most of a charge in 1 week is a very big leak and should be easy to spot. I would not count on getting another fill of the R22 for 500$ that you got last time that was a really good price. If you can identify the leak it may be a simple fix so yes 150 may be worth it but remember you will have 500-1000 to top it up. If you can identify a leak with bubble solution I would get it fixed but if you can not find a leak time for a new system.

Ed Beal
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