How old is the 5 Ton system?...the 5 Ton system is an r-22 refrigerant as well....taking into consideration age, repair history, Goodman brand, and recent problems, I think any resources spent on this System would be a complete Waste. Take your losses and replace. If you are hesitant about this strategy, maybe a second opinion is in order.

IMO

Thanks. The 5 ton system is 9 years old. It is an r410a system, according to the specs stamped on the side of it, as well as the HVAC tech who worked on it the past 3 weeks. If it was r22 I agree this would be a much simpler decision. FWIW the compressor seems to be in great shape and I have had it serviced every Spring since I bought the house 6 years ago.

Thank you for your feedback.

I misunderstood...you said a new compressor in 2011. i assume you meant to say new condenser in 2011. makes a difference. Where is the leak, ie in the condenser coil or more likely the evap coil. if Evap coil needs replacing, you are looking at a charge of apprx $2500. weigh this cost against a new replacement of both condenser and Evap coil.

TD

Sorry - yes, my mistake the whole outdoor unit was replaced in 2011, as was the indoor evap coil. They suspect the evap coil has the leak now, so I think that is what will ultimately need to be replaced if I go down that path. I live in a high cost area for any sort of house repair, so I'm guessing a full replacement of the 5 ton system (condenser + air handler/coil) is going to be easily $10,000+. I am hoping to have initial quotes tomorrow.

How large of an area is serviced by this 5 ton unit? What insulation have you upgraded? I suspect 5 tons is over sized for what you need.

How long do you plan to live in this house? That would factor into repair versus a total replacement decision.

I have three AC units in my home, too. Depending on how they are zoned, you could easily require a 5 ton unit in one zone. I just went through the same exercise. My unit was 20 years old, a POS Heil, and we knew we were facing a full replacement sooner rather than later.

I have an outstanding HVAC guy. He had already warned us that it was a year by year situation. We were prepared for failure of the unit. Usually the capacitor goes bad. Did your HVAC guy mark how full he had filled refrigerant and the date? You need to do this to calculate the rate of loss. You might be able to get through season.

We bit the bullet and had this one replaced with a Carrier. But, the age and quality of ours made the decision easy.

The plan is to stay in the house for at least 10 more years. The house is 5500 sq feet or so, and this unit covers the whole upstairs split into two zones. I don't know the actual sq footage of the upstairs. There are some open ceiling areas from the first floor. The other two AC units cover the main floor. The finished basement gets no AC and doesn't need it.

I am monitoring the air temp coming out of my 'reference' register with a FLIR camera. Basically the effect of the new refrigerant is gone about 24 hours after they refill it. I was hoping the leak fix stuff would help get me through Summer but no luck.

In that case you should do a system replacement. I suspect you can reduce the size to 4 tons and possibly more. See if you can find a contractor who will do a load calculation.

If you plan on being there for an extended time, plan on replacing the coil and the compressor. Take the opportunity to create acceptable access for the unit. I can't imagine having a unit that can't be accessed for maintenance.

Thanks for all the feedback. Access to the system is not really problematic for maintenance - it would just be removal of the old air handler and installation of a new one that would exceed the size of the current access. The HVAC company I am now working with is being very constructive. Right now the system cools enough for us to get by (but can’t keep up on 95 degree days) so they are going to wait for a cool spell next week and then do a pressure test. Their quote is much more reasonable than my previous quotes and they seem much more engaged and focused on identifying the problem and then creating and considering alternatives (including potentially replacing condenser and coil), rather than squeezing maximum $ out of every call or visit.

Also, in answer to one of the questions - the insulation was a whole bunch of air sealing (the house basically flunked the blower door test - they literally could not get a reading it was so leaky), blown in insulation in all flat areas of attic, and also hard panel insulation + expanding foam anywhere else. I don’t recall what the exact materials were but it made a huge difference in terms of comfort and bills. We did not have the wall cavities re-filled, though that is in the plan in the next year or two.

Thanks again. Will post updates as I get them.