Fujitsu Ductless Corrugated line set?

[bkbenjy]

In my parents home they have an 18rlb Fujitsu unit. They had a authorized fujitsu installer install the unit, so it came with a 10 year warranty. 2 years later the unit went low on charge. They called the contractor, the contractor came and added refrigerant to the system. They paid the contractor. Six months later the unit leaked out again. They called the contractor, the contractor said they would come and check it out, but would have to charge them again.

I have some experience with hvac. I work on buses. I have also installed a fujitsu ductless in my home.
So I went to the house and hooked up the gauge, 20 psi. Sprayed all the connections on the outside with soapy water. No leaks found. I noticed that one of the lines was corrugated. So I was thinking that the line that comes off the indoor unit is supposed to be a regular copper line. This one is a corrugated one. I'm thinking they cut the line off the inside one and ran a longer corrugated one to the outside. Unprofessional.

So I took off the cover on the indoor unit and peaked underneath and saw two corrugated lines on the inside (covered in rust). Anybody ever see corrugated lines on a fujitsu ductless?

https://drive.google.com/open?id=12XETBErercKyipONV8f2mH6omBu29-Y5

 

[WorthFlorida]

I never seen one of these but the corrugated lines maybe there just for protection while going through walls and bends. No way can that handle the pressure. The refrigerant line may be inside of it. The only way to find this leak is with a sniffer and it is probably on the low pressure side since it takes a while to leak out. Soap spray will not find this kind of leak. A leak on the high pressure side the refrigerant would be gone in a day or two. The very first time the tech came out, it was obvious there is a leak and just topping it off was a waste of time and money. So they make money twice for the same problem. As you know it is a closed system and it may take 8-10 years before it may need a slight charge since everything does leak somewhat.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Dana]

Not only was simply topping it up a waste of time & money, it also guarantees dumping more R410A (a powerful greenhouse gas running ~ 2000 x CO2 @ 100 years) into the atmosphere with little or no benefit. You might just as well be lighting multiple tanks of #2 heating oil on fire.

Is that the only contractor allowed to do warranty support for that installation?

 

[Fitter30]

Corrugated suction is standard in all the inis I've worked on. Most minis the leaks are at the flares. Most installers don't pressurized the system for 12-24 hours at 400- 5oo lbs nitrogen. Charge on all minis have to be weighted in, can't be charged by just adding refrigerant. I'd look at the 4 flares and they have come out with gaskets for them ( never used them) and they even have a torque spec.