Important: Refrigerant work is EPA regulated. ProAir Georgetown technicians hold current EPA Section 608 Universal certification. We recover, recycle, and recharge refrigerant according to federal regulations and never vent refrigerants to atmosphere.
Refrigerant Leak Detection & Testing
Professional leak detection using electronic sniffers and UV dye. Find leaks before recharging, or recharge just moves the problem.
High-sensitivity electronic leak detectors locate small leaks in coils, line sets, and fittings that visual inspection misses.
UV dye injection and black light inspection, effective for finding intermittent or slow leaks that evade electronic detection.
Pressure test refrigerant circuits with dry nitrogen to verify leak-free condition before charging new refrigerant.
Refrigerant Service & Recovery
Proper refrigerant recharge, measured by subcooling and superheat, not just pressure gauges. We charge to manufacturer spec.
EPA-compliant refrigerant recovery before any system work requiring circuit opening.
Deep vacuum pull to remove moisture and non-condensables before refrigerant charge, critical for system longevity.
Extended deep vacuum to achieve proper micron levels, we don't rush this step that protects compressor life.
Convert systems from discontinued refrigerants to approved drop-in or replacement refrigerants.
Line Set Service & Repair
Flush contaminated line sets during compressor replacement to prevent new compressor failure from acid or debris.
Professional braze repair of pinhole leaks and joint failures in copper refrigerant lines.
Repair damaged liquid line sections including crimps, kinks, and corrosion failures.
Replace deteriorated suction line insulation, critical for efficiency and preventing condensation in Georgetown's humid summers.
Seal wall and foundation penetrations around line sets to prevent pest entry and air infiltration.
Install locking valve caps to prevent refrigerant theft and unauthorized access to Schrader valves.
Cooling Circuit Components
Replace leaking Schrader valve cores, a small but common source of refrigerant loss over time.
Install or replace liquid line filter driers, required after any system opening to remove moisture and acid.
Replace leaking or damaged service valves on compressors and line set connections.
Replace failed accumulators that protect compressors from liquid refrigerant slugging.
Replace failed thermostatic expansion valves, a hunting or stuck TXV causes refrigerant distribution problems and efficiency loss.
Repair or replace discharge line mufflers that reduce compressor noise and vibration.
Evaporator & Condenser Coil Service
Clean, inspect, and service evaporator coils, dirty coils are a leading cause of reduced cooling capacity in Georgetown homes.
Replace failed or leaking evaporator coils, including proper refrigerant recovery, installation, and recharge.
Straighten bent evaporator fins to restore full airflow through the coil and recover lost capacity.
Clean condenser coils fouled by Georgetown's cottonwood, dust, and debris, critical for summer efficiency.
Repair pinhole leaks and minor damage in condenser coils when full replacement isn't required.
Deep acid wash for severely fouled condenser coils, removes mineral scale, oxidation, and embedded debris.
Address the root cause of a frozen evaporator coil, low refrigerant or restricted airflow. We fix the cause, not just defrost.
Diagnose and repair the refrigerant or airflow condition causing ice formation on copper suction lines.
How a Failing TXV Affects Your System
A thermostatic expansion valve, or TXV, is a metering device that regulates how much liquid refrigerant enters the evaporator coil based on the coil's outlet temperature, sensed by a bulb attached to the suction line near the coil exit. This allows the system to adjust refrigerant flow dynamically as conditions change, indoor temperature, outdoor temperature, humidity load, unlike a simpler fixed orifice metering device that provides a set restriction regardless of changing conditions. That responsiveness makes TXVs common on higher-efficiency systems and on heat pumps, which need accurate metering across a wider range of operating conditions than a straight-cool system typically experiences.
TXVs fail in a few characteristic ways. The valve can stick fully open, flooding the evaporator with too much liquid refrigerant and risking liquid return to the compressor, or stick closed or partially closed, starving the coil of refrigerant and causing reduced cooling along with potential icing from the resulting low coil temperature. A phenomenon called hunting occurs when the valve overcorrects repeatedly, opening and closing in a cycle rather than settling at a stable position, which produces inconsistent superheat readings and uneven cooling performance that can be mistaken for a charge problem if you're not specifically checking the metering device's behavior. The sensing bulb itself can also lose its charge or come loose from the suction line, which removes the valve's ability to respond correctly to actual coil conditions even if the valve mechanism itself is fine.
We diagnose a failing TXV by measuring superheat at the evaporator outlet and watching how it responds to changing conditions, a properly functioning TXV maintains fairly stable superheat within its target range, while a failing one shows erratic or consistently wrong superheat that doesn't correct itself. We also inspect the sensing bulb's physical attachment and insulation, since a loose or poorly insulated bulb reads ambient air temperature instead of actual line temperature and sends the valve incorrect signals. Replacement requires recovering refrigerant, removing the failed valve, installing a new TXV matched to the system's tonnage, refrigerant type, and application, whether it's a straight-cool or heat pump bidirectional valve, then evacuating and recharging, with careful attention to properly positioning and insulating the new sensing bulb, since a rushed bulb installation is a common reason a replacement TXV doesn't perform correctly even though the valve itself is good. Georgetown's mix of straight-cool systems and heat pumps means we regularly work with both standard and bidirectional TXV designs, and getting the right valve type for the application matters for correct operation in both cooling and, for heat pumps, heating mode.
TXV Replacement Questions, Georgetown TX
AC Not Cooling? Low Refrigerant?
EPA certified technicians. We find leaks, fix them, then recharge, in that order.