raindog can back me up on this, but as I said before, it’s almost certain the OP can’t legally work with freon, in fact, he wouldn’t even be able to purchase the stuff. An HVAC company really is the only way to go here.
I forgot to quote the part about it being bolted down. While I’m sure some are, I can tell you that mine is not, in fact about once a year I go and nudge it back as it’ll move about an inch over to the side. Also, if you have a reputable HVAC company replace it, they’ll most likely pull the permits for it. When they do that, there’s a good chance an inspector from the city will check it out, for this reason, I would leave the electrical to them. They can do it right (or hire an electrician) and if it’s wrong they’ll deal with it. If the inspector doesn’t like it, you don’t want them to point at you and say “Go ask him.”
If I were you , I would have one or two or three HVAC people come out and take a look at replacing it. Also, make sure you ask them about removing the old unit and if there is a charge for it. If there’s a charge for it, I would think about putting in craigslist as scrap, someone’ll come by. Hell, stick it out in your front yard, there’s a good chance it’ll disappear in a few days.
You’ve got until the end of this year to replace an R-22 unit. New R-22 units won’t be made after this year which may require you to replace the indoor coil (and line-set? Somebody check me on that.).
R-22 refrigerant will still be available for maintenance purposes for some time.
My lawyer is also an engineer (very smart guy) and charges his own unit. (although he is really not that good at all with HVAC) So…I do see people from time to time who find a way to get their hands on Freon.
It’s still illegal though, and it can’t be bought without a license.
“An HVAC company really is the only way to go here” is sound advice.
Most guys are not replacing the lineset when switching from R22 to r410a, although IMO they should be. In 2 years the new compressor could very well be damaged/destroyed.
If it simply can’t be replaced (if the lineset runs through a finished space for example) it can be essentially “cleaned” with a few products that have come out for that purpose. Best as I can tell they work well. From memory, CF20, Quickflush and RX11 Flush are some brands, iirc.
Freon units will be gone at the end of this year, with some left over inventory sold in early 2010. Freon (R22) will still be around for another 5 years +/-, although the price will skyrocket. It went up 70+% last year, from $114 or so a bottle to $200.
It’s going to be expensive to charge up leaky systems.
To me it sounds like the reason was someone wanted it as a direct replacement for their system, but for some reason decided against it, perhaps they were interrupted, saw something wrong with it, perhaps they noticed the age of the unit once they opened it.
It really depends on his budget. The OP looks like the current budget is limited so a R22 is probably the best bet.
His existing unit is a “10 SEER” (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) although the new condenser will be a 13 SEER. However, since the existing indoor coil (evaporator) is not a matched coil he will almost certainly not achieve 13 SEER performance.
With a limited budget, an R22 drop in replacement is what is cheapest and will still perform.
However, anyone who is considering a new installation------and that includes the whole system-----should only be looking at r410a right now in my view.
Notable exceptions are those who are young and buying a starter home and have a limited budget, rental properties or maybe someone who plans to move in a a couple years.
If you have a longer perspective, and the budget, I think most people should be buying r410a.