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Wow that must have run a long time to ice up that badly. The unit likely uses R-22 refrigerant and can only be purchased with an EPA permit. You are correct in suspecting a low charge but it is hard to say for sure without putting gauges on to check pressures. Check the unit for a sight glass. Many residential unit don't have them, but if it does, you should not see any bubbles in it when the unit is running. If you see bubbles, the charge is low. If you don't see a lot of bubbles, you can try running it and keep an eye on it to see if it ices up again. If no ice build up occurs, the unit may have froze up because the unit did not go into defrost. With low temps the coil will freeze after a period especially when the humidity is high. You should consider having it looked at because running the compressor with the unit froze can cause liquid refrigerant to be drawn through the suction line and into the compressor. This can hydro lock the compressor and that's the end of the compressor.
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