Kyle TX AC (888) 217-3739

An independent phone line that connects homeowners in Kyle, TX and nearby Hays County towns with heating and cooling contractors.

Kyle, TX · Hays County

The outdoor heat pump is covered in ice

In heating mode the outdoor coil of a heat pump runs colder than the air around it, so frost on a cold, damp morning is expected. The unit should clear it on its own every so often. A heat pump that turns into a solid block of ice has a defrost, airflow or refrigerant problem.

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Frost or a fault

Expected: a thin white layer on the coil fins that melts during a defrost cycle, often with a puff of steam and the outdoor fan stopping for a few minutes.

A fault: ice thick enough to hide the fins, ice on the top of the unit or around the fan, a coil that never clears, or ice building up from the ground because melt water has nowhere to go.

Why it happens

  • A failed defrost control board, sensor or reversing valve, so the unit never switches into defrost
  • A dead outdoor fan motor or capacitor
  • Low refrigerant charge from a leak
  • Water dripping onto the unit from a roof edge with no gutter, refreezing overnight
  • A unit sitting too low, so melt water pools under it and freezes into the coil

Kyle winters are short. The San Marcos station averages about 20 nights a year at or below 32°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals), so a defrost fault can hide for a season and show itself during the first hard freeze.

What to do right now

Do not chip or pry ice off the fins; they bend and the coil can be punctured. If the thermostat offers emergency heat, it will keep the house warm while the outdoor unit is out of the picture. Clear leaves or debris from around the base if it is safe to do so.

What to have ready when you call

  • How much ice there is and where
  • Whether the outdoor fan runs
  • What the thermostat shows: aux heat, emergency heat, or neither
  • The install year from the outdoor data plate
  • Your address and ZIP code

Common questions

It cleared once the sun came out. Is it fixed? Sunshine melts ice whether defrost works or not. If it builds up again the next cold night, the fault is still there.

Have the install year and the thermostat reading ready. Ask who is taking calls in your ZIP code today.

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Read next

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Other things a system does

A burning smell the first time the heat comes onA dusty smell the first time the heat runs in a Kyle, TX house is usually normal. An electrical smell, one that lingers, or a CO alarm is not.
A ceiling stain or water dripping under the attic AC unitA ceiling stain or dripping water under the attic air handler in Kyle, TX usually means a clogged condensate drain or a full drain pan. What to do and what to ask.
Ice on the copper line or the attic unit in JulyFrost on the copper line or ice in the attic unit in a Kyle, TX summer means airflow or refrigerant trouble. What to do now and what a technician checks.
The AC runs all afternoon and the house keeps getting warmerThe AC runs nonstop and the house climbs past the setting every afternoon in Kyle, TX. What separates a weak system from a failing one, and what to report.
The furnace will not light on the first cold nightGas furnace in the attic won't light, or lights and shuts off, on the first cold front in Kyle, TX. What usually failed and what to tell the dispatcher.
The heat pump is stuck on aux or emergency heatHeat pump showing aux heat all the time in Kyle, TX, or stuck on emergency heat? What is normal on a cold night, what is a fault, and what to report.
The house still has the system the builder installedStill running the AC and furnace the builder installed in a 2000s Kyle, TX house? How to find its age and refrigerant, and when replacing it makes sense.
The outdoor unit hums, but the fan does not spinThe outdoor AC unit hums but the fan won't start in Kyle, TX heat. Usually a capacitor; sometimes the compressor. What to do and when it means replacement.
The upstairs or one back room never cools downOne room or the whole upstairs stays hot while the rest of a Kyle, TX house cools. Attic ducts, returns and sizing: what a technician measures.

Towns this line covers

Kyle 78640Buda 78610Uhland 78640Niederwald 78640Mountain City 78610San Marcos 78666Driftwood 78619Dripping Springs 78620

Updated

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