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Is your ac unit freezing up and wondering whether an overcharged ac unit will freeze up? Overcharging your AC unit with a refrigerant will not directly cause it to freeze up. But there are things that can indirectly cause your ac unit to freeze up.
In this article we are going to look at things that can cause your ac to freeze up and the signs of an icing ac unit. Some things that can cause your ac to freeze up include:
Also read: AC Condenser Unit Blowing Cold Air Outside [Solved]
Dirty air filters
Low or leaking refrigerant
Dirty evaporator coil
Setting temperature below the recommended temperature
An indoor fan that is defective
Will An Overcharged AC Unit Freeze Up?
The short answer is no. Overcharging your ac unit will not directly cause your ac to freeze up but there are a few other things that can cause your ac to freeze up. These include:
1. Dirty Air Filters
Dirty air filters can cause your ac to freeze up. Filters are important because they remove dirt and other particles from air before getting into your ac unit. This ensures that only clean air enters your unit and does not deposit dirt on the evaporator coil.
However, when filters become dirty, they will restrict air flow to your evaporator coil, and this will cause less heat to be absorbed. So, when there is restricted air flow to the coils. There won’t be enough air to carry away the cool air from the surface of the coil. This will eventually cause icing on the coils.
Solution
To stop the problem, check the air filters. Your ac air filters are located at the return vents or at the furnace. Inspect them and change them if they are dirty. Cleaning or replacing a dirty air filter should restore the normal air flow to the evaporator coil and this should stop the freezing problem.
To prevent your ac coils from freezing in the future, you need to regularly clean or replace air filters at least once in a couple of months.
2. Dirty Evaporator Coil
Another problem that is often caused by a dirty filter is a dirty evaporator coil.
When your filter is left unchanged or cleaned for a long time, they will eventually become clogged and when this happens, dirty air will bypass them and find their will to the evaporator coil.
Because of that, dirty air will deposit dirt on the evaporator coil and will reduce the surface area of the coils for heat absorption.
That means that the refrigerant won’t be able to absorb enough heat from the air passing over the coil and that can result in icing on the coil and sometimes will also lead to leaking of water from your indoor air handler.
Solution
The best way to prevent evaporator coil from getting dirty is to regularly clean or replace air filters. But if you notice that your coils are dirty, then you can stop the freezing problem by cleaning the coils. I recommend that when your coil is dirty, call in HVAC professionals to come and give it a thorough cleaning.
3. Low Refrigerant
Low refrigerant levels in your ac system can cause the evaporator coil to get extremely too cold and eventually freeze up. When you think that your HVAC system is running low on the refrigerant, call in a professional. A professional will come and verify on the freon charge in your system.
Usually if there is refrigerant leak, a professional will investigate the leaking points and seal them off before charging your system with freon.
4. Bypassing Temperature Limiter
You might also experience freezing of the ac coils when you bypass the temperature limiter that is on your system.
Temperature limiter is a system feature on your HVAC systems thermostat that prevents your thermostat from going below the recommended temperature point.
Some thermostat manufacturers may set their temperature limiter at 68 degrees. Others can set it at 72 or other points but it all depends on the brand and model of your system.
Some homeowners might bypass this temperature limiter and that could be the reason why they are experiencing freezing of the ac unit.
Signs Of an Overcharged Ac Unit
Now that we have learnt about things that will cause your ac unit to freeze up. You might want to know to learn more about signs of an overcharged ac unit.
So, if you think your ac system has more refrigerant than it should, here is a list of signs that can help tell whether your system is overcharged or not.
1. High Energy Bills
AC systems are designed to absorb heat from your home with the help of the refrigerant running through the coils. In order to absorb heat, the refrigerant has to be in gaseous form.
However, when your system has an amount of refrigerant that exceeds the recommended limit, this will create problems. With too much freon, there will always be part of the refrigerant that will remain in liquid form. This will make it hard for your ac to absorb heat, making it inefficient and work hard resulting in high energy Bills.
2. Air Feeling sticky
Just as we have seen above when you have more refrigerant than enough, it will be harder for the ac to absorb heat. Because your ac’s evaporator coil will remain it high, water vapor in your indoor air will not easily condensate around the coil. This will make it hard for your ac to dehumidify your indoor air. Your
This will cause vapor to remain in the air making it feel muggy and sticky.
3. Excess Heat Ejecting Out of The Condenser Unit
Another sign of an overcharged ac unit includes unusual heat coming out from the condenser unit. If you can feel to much heat from your condenser, it can be an indication of excess refrigerant cycling in your system.
When there is too much refrigerant, your ac components such as the compressor or the fan motors can overwork and heat up. Part of the heat from these overworking components can explain whey there is too much heat coming out of your ac condenser unit.
What else can you experience when your ac is charged with excess freon?
Eventually when your system has more refrigerant than the recommended limit, this can create more problems. Your ac components can get damaged. And this can be costly on the part of the owner.
Final Thought
Now that you have learnt what can cause your ac to freeze up, we hope that you have found the solution to this problem. And if you were wondering ‘why will an overcharged ac unit freeze up?’ You were definitely right because too much freon in your ac should not directly cause it to ice. Thanks for reading.
HVAC tech with over 30 years of experience. Retired and doing repair work on the side around Madison County, AL.