Central Air for the Dummy Homeowner

ice on central air compressor

Unless they learned the basics at Daddy's (or Mommy's) knee, Mr. or Ms. First-time Homeowner is likely to spend more than one feverish moment looking up symptoms of potential problems on the internet. We all know that renters don't give a rat's hiney about repairs at houses and apartments; but when the place is yours, you suddenly care. Those who might be faced with the four-digit cost of replacing a central air conditioner might well find themselves googling the eternal question, "Why Is There Ice Around My Central Heat and Air Unit?"¹ Unfortunately, eHow.com let a contributor named Mark Fitzpatrick post his answer to the question... and it turned out to be a really, really dumb answer.

We say his is a "dumb answer" because... well, because it is. Clearly, Mark never bothered to look the question up, since there are bazillions of HVAC repair firms and A/C manufacturers out there standing ready to explain why there might be ice on an A/C unit (the better to sell you service). Just ask the people at Angie's List, who only want to sell you references, not service: ice forms for several reasons, most of which aren't good. The reason is not, however, as Fitzpatrick claims,

"...because water forms from the condensing vapor of burning fuel..." That's because, as anyone who is not a complete moron (apparently that doesn't include Mark) knows that most air conditioners don't work by "burning fuel." Nor does ice form around an air conditioner because "If the central heat and air unit is close to the ground, ice may easily form. Even with the heat emitting from the unit, if the unit touches the ground, water will re-freeze on the frozen ground." After all, it's fairly unlikely that you're running your A/C unit in mid-winter when the ground is frozen! Not to mention that heaters aren't typically installed outside the building...

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Perhaps the most damning evidence that Fitzpatrick is bullshitting his readers about his "expertise" is his introductory claim that

"One issue that leaves some owner's [sic] puzzled occurs when ice forms around the system. However, this issue should not raise undue concern."

Well, no, Mark; ice forming on an operating A/C compressor is definitely evidence of a problem somewhere. It may range from restricted airflow because of plant debris inside the compressor housing or an overworked system because of clogged filters, or it could be because of low refrigerant. But it SHOULD raise "due concern" and the owner SHOULD seek help in remedying the underlying cause as soon as possible.

For bad advice and for posting less than useless"advice" on a topic he clearly has no business talking about, the Antisocial Network gladly names Mark Fitzpatrick the Dumbass of the Day. Perhaps he'll cash it in to pay his next HVAC repair bill...

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was    ehow.com/facts_7312456_there-central-heat-air-unit_.html

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