I'm still a relatively new home owner so dealing with problems in my house is often a new learning experience from me (did my first toilet repair last week, lawn work is something I'm getting better with...). Anyway, now that it's getting pretty hot out, I cranked up my AC Sunday morning and it wasn't long before I started smelling something chemically, chlorine like. Anyway, confirmed it was coming from the central air unit. Turned it off and I'm all good and no longer light headed.
So I called the number that was on my unit from when I purchased the house (Gold Medal Service) and a guy came out yesterday. After about 30 minutes of discussing and looking at my unit (and giving me a lesson on the basics of how it all works) he told me the smell is the coolant which is leaking onto the coils. My unit is 18 years old and he said it's not worth an attempted fix due to it's age and the fact that since the coolant has gotten onto the coils, it's likely going to need a lot more work than just sealing the leak. His recommendation is to get a new unit. My inspector when I purchased the house told me the HVAC was the first major project I would need on my house due to it's age.
So I'm guessing that is probably necessary, but wondering if the other home owners with some experience have any thoughts or ideas on this since I'm just learning about this and not looking to get screwed. I read some reviews on this company and they are either extremely positive or extremely negative so I have no idea how to take that.
Also, my unit is a Lennox which the guy stated is what they install (I guess the contractors are licensed to only install certain brands) and he stated that was likely how it worked for 18 years. There is a large part of me that wants to just continue with this even if it costs a bit more because I trust the old lady who owned the house before me as she kept everything in great shape, but of course, I don't want to get screwed and who knows if she was taken advantage of.