So you found forums and comments on social media claiming leak sealants seized units or gauges. What if we told you it wasn’t the leak sealants fault after all? Here’s why:
To answer this question we need to start at the very beginning. How do refrigerant leak sealants work?
Air-conditioning and refrigeration systems are vacuum sealed systems, meaning what goes into them will and should stay there “forever” or until a leak presents itself. Inside these systems the compressor acts as the heart and pumps refrigerant flow throughout. Once injected into the system our sealant is circulated throughout the unit by the refrigerant. During this circulation, it finds atmospheric pressure at the site of the leak and begins to harden there.
This means that as long as moisture is absent from the system, the leak sealant formula will simply flow throughout the unit the way oil does. When there is no moisture in the unit, the sealant is pushed by the refrigerant and circulated through the system, the same way oil is, and does not become activated until a leak is present. Thus causing no issues within the system.
The key factor to consider here being moisture.
Our leak sealant is so docile that some techs even choose to install Leak Savers in new units preemptively, but more on this on another post.
But the most common root cause of issues, especially when it comes to refrigerant leaks, goes back to installation errors.
Because refrigerant lines are vacuum sealed and run on high pressure, moisture “should never get into the system”on a day to day basis. The only time moisture can get drawn into the system is during the install, when done incorrectly.
There is no way to know for sure what a technician has or has not done to the state of the unit, especially when it was installed. So unless there is noticeable physical damage where there should not be, you will not know if there is moisture in the system.
The good news is that there is a simple solution.
The remedy to this is to install a dry inject moisture removing solution first, like our Leak Savers Dry. Let the unit run for at least 10 minutes, and then install the sealant.
This will remove any moisture that may be in the system, which would avoid the solution activating inside the system.
Alternatively, our Leak Savers Ultimate, or an all in one solution, may also be used. The 3-in-1 solution includes our flagship sealant, our dry inject formula, and UV dye. This will remove any moisture that may be in the system, the sealant will seal leaks, and the UV dye is a fail-safe so that in case the leak does not get sealed, there will be traces of UV dye at the sight of the leak making it easier to find.