Derek Cole answers why lights flicker when you use an iron and explains why cheap R-22 refrigerant replacements backfire. An iron's low power draw means flickering signals an electrical problem, not HVAC. Drop-in refrigerants aren't manufacturer-approved and lack R-22's properties, requiring temperature tweaks and costing more in service calls over time.
Hey, on this episode we talk about your iron making your electrical system blink, and is there a replacement for R-22? You ask your comfort and energy questions and they get answered. This is the Ask Derrick Cole Show. Talking to me?
Okay, ready when you are.
Sound check, check, check. Good, good, good. Yeah, yeah, moving, moving. Here we go. Are you recording? Yeah. Oh, okay. Hey, this is Derrick Cole. Welcome to episode 80 of the Ask Derrick Cole Show, answering your home and energy questions. Uh, yeah, so I just got a report last week that's going to be 100 degrees in June. Very excited about that. So what that means for you is you need to make sure your AC is working properly because under load it will be under stress and it will go down. So, but that's not why we're here. We're here to answer the questions right now.
Should we call an HVAC person even when the lights flicker as you are ironing clothes?
That's coming from an article that we posted about lights flickering when the unit comes on. So the reason that happens is because the compressor, the heart of the system, the most power it pulls is when it starts. So when the lights flicker in your house when it comes on, you should have that checked out because that could be a problem. It is a problem. The lights flickering when you plug in the iron, that is not pulling much power. So you have an electrical problem there. It's not an HVAC problem, doesn't sound like. So I would call an electrician to come look at it. Probably myself, what I would do is try to plug it into another outlet to see if the same thing happens. But either way, there is a problem. So when you think about your electrical system, in your house. Think of it as being the heartbeat of your home. So it's very rare. I think the stats are every 7 years someone needs an electrician at their house. So it's not very often. So that's a lot of time, a lot of usage of your electrical system without being checked out, maintenance verified, everything's proper. So do that with this. It sounds more like an electrical issue and not an HVAC issue. That makes sense. Yeah, I would just plug it in and check it out somewhere else just to make sure. And then you can kind of isolate that one outlet saying here's the problem. But either way, either way, that shouldn't be happening.
There are replacements for R-22 refrigerant. Why not use those options versus paying the higher price for R-22?
That's a good point. This came off of another show or article where someone commented saying there are, you know, replacements for R-22 versus paying for R-22. Well, yes, there is. There are drop-ins available. Now, the manufacturers in residential have not approved these drop-ins for their systems. So anytime you cannot duplicate R-22, okay, if you have a drop-in that acts very similar to it, It's not going to act just like it because it's not R-22. So when you use a drop-in, you have to measure temperatures. There's a whole bunch of variables that really— it gets to be a problem because you have to kind of guesstimate as to what the temperatures are or how much you might need because the readings aren't the same. It's not made to be the same. It's not going to be the same. So I would use the original R-22 if you have to. And at that point, I would replace it if it becomes too costly. Because when you use a drop-in, it can also be costly because you're having service call after service call because whoever's dropping in this refrigerant is never going to get it correct 100% of the time because it's not the same chemical makeup. The manufacturer made that unit to work on R-22. It didn't make it to work on the drop-in refrigerant for R-22. It didn't make it to work on R-410A refrigerant. Okay, you can't put a foreign refrigerant into that system and expect it to act the same. It's kind of, you know, if we talk about your body and the blood a lot, if you put in ketchup just because it was the same color as your blood, your system would not operate the same. Okay, so it's kind of ridiculous, but I mean, think about drop-in refrigerants. Yes, they're drop-ins for R-22, but never think that is going to be the solution to your problem because drop-ins could cause more problems, could be more expensive over time because you're having to go back and shed that over and over again. That make sense? I mean, I know ketchup's kind of a far-fetched idea, but I'm trying to relate it to something we've talked about before. Anyway, so hashtag your questions #AskDerekCole. Check us out on Facebook and YouTube, and we'll be happy to get your questions on the show.
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