Refrigerant is not consumed in normal operation, so a system that needs topping up has a leak. Adding gas without finding it is money spent twice, and with current refrigerant prices it is expensive money. JRC locates and repairs leaks throughout Washington, DC.
We use electronic detection and, where the leak is slow, ultraviolet dye with a return visit. The usual spots are flare connections, brazed joints that have vibrated, evaporator coils corroded by cleaning chemicals, and Schrader cores that never seated. Once repaired we pressure test, pull a vacuum and weigh in the correct charge. Leak repair is also a regulatory matter on larger systems, and we document what we recover and add.