A short podcast segment (Derek Cole) explaining that HVAC refrigerant (Freon) systems should not require regular refills; recurring need to add refrigerant indicates a leak that must be located and repaired, followed by a proper recharge. The speaker emphasizes the closed-system nature of refrigerant using a blood analogy and warns that low refrigerant reduces efficiency.
Chapters
I need you to come to my house and fill up my refrigerant. My refrigerant is low. That is not a normal phone call. Actually, unfortunately it is a normal phone call, but it's not normal behavior for your system. Your system should not need a refill on refrigerant every couple of years, a couple times a year, every year. It should never need to fill up unless it is losing refrigerant somehow. Somewhere in that case there is a leak. It needs to be fixed, it needs to be charged properly. Your system is a closed system. I like to, you know, don't freak out on me. It's not exact, I don't understand, it's not exactly how it works. But I like to say it's kind of like your body. It's kind of like you. You're a closed system, okay? You're not leaking out blood every day. Your system should not be leaking out refrigerant because it as well as you are a closed system. So when you start, you know, blood starts coming in my arm, I don't go to the hospital or the doctor and say, look, I just need to refill blood. I keep losing some. I send a refill, I'll be good to go. They can be like, we can't do that. Why are you losing blood? Let's fix the leak. Let's see where you're losing blood and stop it. Because it's not good for you. It's not good for your body as well as it's not good for your system as far as leaking a refrigerant. So you need to find out where the leak is and then fix it and recharge it properly. Just like you are not going to feel good if you run low in blood, your system is not going to feel good when it runs low in refrigerant. It's not going to be as efficient as it can. Just like you won't be as efficient as you can if you run low on blood. Needing a fill up every year is not normal.
