I fully expect it to happen again, I just want to get through these two months at peak summer heat. I hope it fails prior to going to Gaffney but I'm certainly going to ask them about it and see what they think, replace rubber hoses, etc. as needed if they are showing signs of age/rotting (like me). Refrigerant in means refrigerant came out...but I don't know what to expect in these systems but from what I hear 6 years is good.
My dad was an honest A/C man. He did an honest days work, and abhorred some of the methods that many companies used to milk their customers. The following things I will share could gain some enemies.
1. The largest revenue item is freon.
(Did you know that if the system has pressure it doesn't need to be vacuumed? Why then do they do it? A hint: they can charge for time that should not have been spent! And more pounds of high profit freon!
2. Rubber deteriorates when exposed to oxygen (think Ozone).reinforced refrigerant hose should outlast your MH, so where does the freon go? On systems that are not hermetically sealed! 1. The front seal on the compressor is number one. BUT if the technician that did the work wants a repeat customer, the number one cause of lost freon becomes the fill port! Have you ever put air in your RV Tires? Well the port uses a valve like that in your tire stem. The best reason to use Quality stem valve covers is to increase times between adding air. I have witnessed a technician leave the cap off the fill port. When I asked about the cap he told me it didn't have one when he opened up the unit. I responded by saying I bet he had one in his truck,and he magically produced one.
The customer, my uncle, had been calling him for service annually because his unit needed freon. When he died 3 years later, the unit was running on the same charge.
In closing;
unless a unit has a catastrophic event, a charge should be all that is needed. If there is pressure in the system, freon is all that will be in the system(think clean room), and that is all that will be needed.
If the charge is under 2months old, likely you have a problem, otherwise gasses pass through most materials and can't be stopped. Exercise the compressor monthly to keep the compressor seal in good condition.
When you do need your system serviced, take the time to make sure the port caps are tight. (For reasons stated above).
Hermetically sealed systems like your household refrigerator can last 25 years plus, but auto A/C has a drive shaft so 5 years is a good number without a charge.
