Salt corrosion causes pinhole refrigerant leaks, the #1 reason coastal ACs blow warm. Leak detection, repair, and recharge from techs who understand the coast.
Real jobs completed by our team in the Galveston area
Brandon
September 2026
A Galveston homeowner in the 77550 area reported that the system was not cooling.
Brandon found the downstairs system under charged and full of green dye, while its capacitor checked out good. On the upstairs system, the refrigerant charge was adequate, but the dual run capacitor was out of spec by 20% on the herm and 53% on the fan. Brandon added R-410A refrigerant to the downstairs system.
Both units measured a delta T of 18° or more.
Adrian
September 2026
A Galveston homeowner in the 77551 area reported that their AC was not cooling.
Adrian found the system was low on refrigerant, with a small leak somewhere that he could not locate on this visit. He put in about 1 lb of R-410A refrigerant and added stop leak to the system.
Adrian & Brandon
September 2026
A Galveston homeowner in the 77551 area reported that the dryer was rusting on the outside of their AC system.
Adrian and Brandon found a rusted out leaking filter drier, a unit almost flat in charge, exposed low voltage control wires, and insulation baked off by the sun. They recovered the remaining refrigerant, cut out the old drier, and brazed in a new copper drier and a brass sight glass (for quick reference to the charge) while flowing nitrogen, then swept the system with nitrogen and pulled a vacuum from both sides down to below 500 microns. They weighed in approximately the system charge, added refrigerant to reach the required levels both high and low, and commissioned the system. They also replaced the damaged section of thermostat wire, replaced the damaged sections of insulation, and wrapped the rest with UV resistant lineset tape.
The system held a pressure test at 275 psi for 25 minutes to verify it was tight, and all electrical components and connections were checked and found tight and within rated specs.
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During
Aaron & Christian
August 2026
A Galveston homeowner in the 77554 area reported that their air conditioner was not cooling.
Aaron and Christian found a compressor burn out, and the system had no filter dryer. They replaced the compressor and the TXV, installed a filter dryer, flushed the coils and the line set, and installed a drain valve. They then added 7 lbs 8 oz of R-410A refrigerant to the system.
Before
DuringThe most likely reason your AC is blowing warm air in Galveston is low refrigerant, and the most likely cause of low refrigerant on the coast is salt corrosion eating through your copper refrigerant lines. This is the number one refrigerant-related issue we diagnose in Galveston County: pinhole leaks in copper tubing caused by years of salt air exposure. It's a problem that barely exists in San Antonio or Dallas but accounts for a significant percentage of our service calls on the island and throughout the coastal communities.
Your AC system circulates refrigerant through copper tubing that runs between the indoor evaporator coil and the outdoor condenser. These lines are typically 15-50 feet long, depending on the distance between units, and they're exposed to outdoor air along part of their run. On the Gulf Coast, that outdoor air carries salt particles that deposit on the copper surface.
Copper and salt don't mix well. Salt accelerates a corrosion process called formicin corrosion, named after formic acid, which forms when salt and moisture react with copper in the presence of organic compounds. The result is tiny pinhole leaks that are almost invisible to the eye but large enough for refrigerant to escape over weeks or months.
You won't hear a dramatic hiss or see a spray of gas. Instead, your system gradually loses cooling capacity. The air from the vents gets less cold. The system runs longer to reach the set temperature. Your CenterPoint Energy bill creeps up. Ice may form on the indoor coil as the remaining refrigerant expands too much in the evaporator. By the time the system stops cooling entirely, you may have lost 30-50% of your refrigerant charge.
Many homeowners, and unfortunately some HVAC technicians, treat low refrigerant by simply adding more. This is like putting air in a tire with a nail in it. The leak is still there, and the new refrigerant will escape at the same rate. On the coast, the corrosion that caused the first leak is still actively creating new ones.
We see systems that have been "topped off" two or three times in a single season. At $50-$150 per pound for R-410A and $150-$300 per pound for the phased-out R-22, those recharges add up fast ($500 to $3,000 per year) and they don't solve anything.
The only proper approach is: find every leak, repair or replace the damaged section, pull a vacuum on the system to remove air and moisture, and then charge the system to the manufacturer's exact specification.
Finding pinhole leaks in copper tubing requires more than spraying soapy water on connections. Our process uses multiple methods:
Electronic leak detection. Refrigerant-specific electronic detectors can sense concentrations as low as 0.1 oz per year. We trace the entire refrigerant circuit (indoor coil, outdoor coil, line set, and all connections) with the detector to identify active leak points.
Nitrogen pressure testing. We pressurize the system with dry nitrogen to 300-400 PSI (well above normal operating pressure) and monitor for pressure drop over time. This confirms whether leaks exist and helps isolate which section of the system is compromised.
UV dye injection. For leaks that are difficult to pinpoint with electronic detection, we can inject UV-reactive dye into the refrigerant. The dye escapes at the leak point and fluoresces under UV light, making even microscopic leaks visible.
If we find one or two isolated leak points on an otherwise sound line set, spot repairs make sense. We braze the damaged sections with silver solder and apply protective coating to the repaired area.
But on coastal systems, especially those over 7-8 years old, we often find multiple corroded areas along the line set. Repairing three or four spots only to have new leaks open up in six months isn't cost-effective. In these cases, replacing the entire line set with new copper protected by a corrosion-resistant sleeve or transitioning to aluminum line sets (which resist salt corrosion better than copper) is the smarter investment.
R-22 (Freon) was banned from new production in 2020. Existing supplies are finite and increasingly expensive: current prices run $150-$300 per pound, with 5-10 pounds needed for a typical residential recharge. That's $750 to $3,000 for a single recharge.
This hits coastal homeowners harder than anyone else. Your R-22 system is aging faster due to salt exposure. It's leaking refrigerant more frequently due to corroded copper. And each recharge costs more than the last as supplies dwindle. If you're running an R-22 system in Galveston and it needs refrigerant more than once per season, the math strongly favors replacing the entire system with a new unit running R-410A or the newer R-454B.
R-410A has been the standard residential refrigerant since the mid-2000s. It's more efficient than R-22, operates at higher pressures, and is still readily available, though prices have climbed from $30/lb to $50-$150/lb in recent years. Systems installed after 2010 almost certainly use R-410A.
The industry is transitioning to R-454B (marketed as Opteon XL41) starting in 2025 for new equipment. R-454B has a lower global warming potential and operates at similar pressures to R-410A. If you're replacing a system, newer models using R-454B will have lower long-term refrigerant costs as production scales up.
We provide refrigerant services across Galveston, Texas City, League City, Dickinson, La Marque, and Santa Fe. Our $225 AC tune-up includes a refrigerant level check and leak inspection, catching slow leaks before they drain your system and your wallet.
7 recent jobs across 6 cities by our technicians.
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Salt causes formicary corrosion in copper refrigerant lines: tiny tunnels that create slow leaks nearly impossible to see. Your system loses cooling gradually over weeks until it can't keep up.
Systems topped off without leak repair lose the new refrigerant at the same rate. Coastal corrosion is ongoing. The leaks that caused the first loss are actively creating new ones.
Remaining R-22 supplies cost $150-$300/lb. A typical recharge needs 5-10 pounds. Coastal systems lose refrigerant faster due to salt-corroded lines, making each recharge more expensive and shorter-lived.
As refrigerant drops, the remaining charge expands too much in the evaporator coil, freezing it solid. In Galveston's humidity, the thaw releases enough water to cause serious interior damage.
A system running with insufficient refrigerant overheats the compressor. By the time cooling stops entirely, you may have lost 30-50% of your charge, and the compressor may be permanently damaged.
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Learn moreCommon questions about our refrigerant services.
Salt corrosion on condenser coils can reduce heat transfer enough that your system runs continuously without reaching set temperature, even with a full refrigerant charge. If the aluminum fins are pitted, caked with salt deposits, or crumbling, the coil can't reject heat efficiently regardless of refrigerant level.
We use three methods: electronic leak detectors that sense concentrations as low as 0.1 oz/year, nitrogen pressure testing at 300-400 PSI to isolate which section is compromised, and UV dye injection for microscopic leaks. Most companies only use one method. We use all three because coastal pinhole leaks are harder to find.
No. Adding refrigerant without fixing the leak is like putting air in a tire with a nail. On the coast, the salt corrosion that caused the first leak is actively creating new ones. You'll need another recharge in weeks or months, at $50-$150/lb for R-410A or $150-$300/lb for R-22.
R-22 is phased out and increasingly expensive. If your system needs refrigerant more than once per season, replacement with a new R-410A or R-454B system is the better investment. Two R-22 recharges can cost $1,500-$6,000, money that goes further toward new equipment.
Isolated leaks can be brazed with silver solder and coated. But on coastal systems over 7-8 years old, we often find multiple corroded areas. Repairing three spots only to have new leaks open in six months isn't cost-effective. Full line replacement with corrosion-protected tubing is the smarter investment.
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