Damn heat pump. No, I guess that would be damn the builder.


So the heat pump stops working. We get a guy out, and we're low on refrigerant (too low to allow the unit to work). As it's been less than a year since it was installed, we probably have a leak. There is no evidence, but he threw in some ultraviolet dye so we can contact him in a couple months so they can look for it.


There were also some service caps missing (now replaced), and a couple of nuts that were only finger tight, and were supposed to be much tighter.


The worst news, however, is that when it was installed, they used the wrong solder for the joints. It's an ok solder for plumbing, but not for heat pump/ac.


The guy admitted he has seen it in houses 30 years old with no problem, but it is wrong, and it could be a possible source of the leak.