Originally Posted by odocoileus
Long story short, the past 7-8 years, it has needed refrigerant. I didn't buy the house until 2022. Prior to that, my aunt and dad owned the house after inheriting it from my grandmother on her death in 2017. She just called the company that she uses, and they would come put refrigerant in it. After I bought it, I asked the question of if we have to put gas in it every year, where is it going? I called another company May of 2024 and he looked at it and suspected it had a leak in the evaporator. Ran fine until last fall when it seemed to no be cooling. This year I havent ran it as I assume the pressure is too low to kick compressor on. I've just been using window units since about the only time I am home is to sleep. Just going off what I have been told and know.
If it was me. I'd find out exactly where the leak is. It could be something small and inexpensive (comparatively). Even if it was an evaporator. I'd probably get that swapped if possible.
The problem with that is. Some shops will send some jackleg out that's gonna tell you the whole system needs to be replaced , so he can get his little kickback bonus.
But I've seen leaks on brass connectors that could be tightened with pliers. But I like to have as much information as possible before I make a decision. They make a sniffer or dye to help identify leaks. Which is more accurate than someone assuming that since it's a slow leak "it's probably on the low side (evaporator coils) "

How you do anything is how you do everything