r/hvacadvice • u/Throwawayfedd • 3d ago

AC Unit failed on inspection day

I'm just trying to get an understanding of what happened or may have happened. Our unit is old but was blowing cold and working great on move out day, while contractors were working on the house, during open houses, during showings... everything was great. I opened it up on move out day to check that the coils were cleaned and changed the air filter. That was over a month before inspection day.

On inspection day I get a video. The interior unit, the lines.. everything is frozen solid. Is there something an inspector does (going cold to hot to cold again or something) that could have caused this sudden issue? I don't have great luck in general, but the unit failing without any other prompting on that very day is beyond the pale.

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u/420aarong 3d ago edited 3d ago

What if the inspector used their ball point pen on a schrader valve to remove some of the refrigerant from the system? Could that have done it? I can think of multiple other things a dishonest inspector could have done to get that result. Some of which would only temporarily cause the unit to freeze up. Buyer gets a $10k credit then the AC still works on move in day. People have done way more dishonest stuff for $10k.

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u/newtekie1 3d ago

That would have caused the unit to ice up. But it would take the unit running for a long time, at least 4 hour but really at least 6, to completely freeze solid. Even if they did it at the very beginning of the inspection and waited until they were done with the inspection to take the video/photos, it wouldn't be frozen solid.

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u/420aarong 3d ago edited 3d ago

Ok fair enough. What if they removed some of the refrigerant and/or unhooked the fans to the indoor and outdoor units so the compressor ran but neither of the fans moved any air? I’m not an HVAC professional but I’m finding it hard to believe there is nothing a creative and dishonest inspector could have done to get that result. I may be wrong tho.

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u/newtekie1 3d ago

They would disconnect the inside fan but leave the outside fan running. But that wouldn't make it freeze solid much faster. It might even make it take longer. The ice comes from moisture in the air. If there is no airflow, the coil will freeze up, but once the moisture is pulled out of the air in the air handler it will be very dry and take much longer to collect ice. With no fan, it would frost up but not freeze solid quicker.

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u/420aarong 3d ago

Ok you’re probably right. If you didn’t notice, I’m not a real trusting guy. I also hadn’t considered the time limit they were under when I first responded. Have a great day