I arrived at the customer's home to diagnose a problem with their air conditioning system. The customer reported that the system was blowing warm air instead of cool air. I checked the thermostat and found that it was set to "cool," but the system was not producing any cool air. I inspected the condenser unit and found that the suction line was warm. I checked the gauges and found that the suction and discharge lines were both reading -12 psi. I explained to the customer that the system was a rectangular R-22 system and that I could check for leaks using bubbles, which would cost $500. The customer asked if it would be possible to simply add Freon and see how long it would last. I explained that due to the negative pressure state, the Freon would not last more than an hour and advised against wasting money. I suggested that we could locate the leak and, if it was repairable, proceed with the repairs; otherwise, the system would need to be completely replaced.
