My AC Guy Says My Refrigerant Lines Are Leaking. Do They Need to Be Replaced?

Your AC guy says the refrigerant line set is leaking.

Okay.

First question:

Did they prove it?

Your refrigerant lines are the copper pipes connecting the indoor and outdoor equipment. They can absolutely develop leaks.

But before we’re talking about tearing into walls, abandoning underground copper or running a brand-new line set through your attic, we’d like to know the leak is actually there.

How Do You Know the Lines Are Leaking?

Sometimes we can physically locate the leak with an electronic detector or bubble solution.

Other times the line disappears underground, inside a wall or through a building shaft.

Then we may need to isolate the line set from the indoor and outdoor equipment and pressure test it separately.

That’s exactly how we’ve found hidden line-set leaks before.

Condenser holds pressure.

Evaporator coil holds pressure.

Line set doesn’t.

Now we have evidence.

Does a Leaking Line Set Have to Be Completely Replaced?

Not necessarily.

If we find an accessible leak in the copper and the rest of the piping is in good condition, repairing that section may make perfect sense.

But if the leaking line is buried under your slab or hidden somewhere we can’t reasonably access?

Different conversation.

Sometimes the better solution is to abandon the old piping and run a new refrigerant line set using another route.

We’ve done exactly that through Florida attics.

What Should You Ask?

Ask:

“How did you determine the line set is leaking?”

Then:

“Can this leak be repaired, or does the line actually need to be replaced?”

Those are two separate questions.

The Klein Answer

Yes, refrigerant lines can leak.

But:

“Your AC is low on refrigerant”

doesn’t automatically mean:

“Your underground line set is leaking.”

Prove which part of the refrigeration system is losing pressure first.

Then decide whether the line can be repaired, should be replaced, or needs to be abandoned and rerouted.

Because replacing a hidden refrigerant line can be a pretty substantial project.

We’d like the copper to be guilty before we sentence it.