Air Condition Unit, to repair or to replace

[Jickjack]

Just learned one of my three air condition unit is leaking freon and apparently freon is the new "gold". My home warranty plan is making me pay for everything over $10 per pound and I need 8 pounds. Thant means I am currently locked into paying $640 for the freon. While doing my "homework", I also learned, due to EPA regulation, the "old" freon production has been cut drastically and that's the reason for high price. Additionally, in a few years the production of the "old" freon will completely stop and we will all need to replace our systems to units that will use R-410A refrigerant vs the old R-22 refrigerant. I'd hate to spend good money after bad money and now I am thinking of replacing this unit with one the new units. I can start by applying the $640 I would have spent on the "old" freon R-22.

If there are HVAC professionals out there reading this thread, can you give me some advise and what the going rate is to replace a 2 ton unit?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Jackie

[HayZee518]

not a professional but I know something about refrigeration. R-22 is being phased out due to the detrimentious activity on the ozone layer. other refrigerants will take its place. R-410a is an azeotropic mixture of gasses that operate at slightly higher pressures than R-22 and has a higher "boiling point."
most leaks occur where there is vibration so I'd check the evaporator and compressor fittings. for long runs of tubing there may be splices along the run, but if brazed correctly should not be a problem.
R-410a sells on eBay for from 70 bucks to over a hundred. for a 25 lb cylinder.

[akaothermick]

Ask your AC service tech to look into drop in substitute refrigerants for R22, this will save a lot from the price of the original R22, the impetus is to sell new units as its the greatest profit potential