Swapping in a new air con - how standardized is the tubing?

[Hal65]

I pay 5k a month for a 1 bedroom on Soi Buakao because it's a "fan room." But as you can see it used to have air con, the unit has since gone bad and the owner didn't want to repair it I guess.

 

I'm thinking of quietly buying my own air con and swapping it in. I am the opposite of a DIY person though -- how big of a job is this? Will I likely need to buy extensive hosing and work on both sides of the wall (I have a balcony on the other side)?

 

Or is this likely to be a drop in replacement if I buy a lower end LG, unhook the unit from the wall brace, and screw in the new one? Based on a room size of 31 square meters / 330 square feet I'm looking at buying an 8,000 BTU or 1 HP unit which is probably around what the broken one speced at.

 

Edited January 14, 2018 by Hal65

[chickenslegs]

Not a DIY job, but in my experience fitting is pretty cheap (or included in the purchase cost).

 

There are not likely to be any problems replacing the units. There is just a 2-3 inch diameter hole in the wall to take the coolant and waste water pipes outside to the compressor on the balcony. No need for a new hole to be made in the wall, unless you want to relocate the unit.

 

Of course, the pipes will be new, and you will possibly need to pay for some new insulation materials and conduit on the run from the inside unit to the outdoor compressor - this should be minimal if the compressor is on the balcony nearby.

 

 

Edited January 14, 2018 by chickenslegs

[KMartinHandyman]

I hope the landlords electric meter is as quiet when it starts screaming around in circles.

[Hal65]

29 minutes ago, KMartinHandyman said:

I hope the landlords electric meter is as quiet when it starts screaming around in circles.

 

Ya maybe I should tell him about it. But then, even if he gives me discounted rent for a year, hard to keep giving a guy a 5k baht fan room price for a unit with new air con.

 

If I keep it quiet and only use it on the worst days of the year it shouldn't add more than 500/month. I've gotten by on fans alone for 4 years.

Edited January 14, 2018 by Hal65

[toughlove]

This sounds a bit desperate.

 

How did it all go so south that your in a 5k fan room in a 3rd world country and now trying to trick the landlord by sneaking in air con?

 

No offense but isn't it time to go back home?

 

 

[Hal65]

Ouch. Well I love Thailand, wouldn't trade it for anything.

[toughlove]

Ouch. Well I love Thailand, wouldn't trade it for anything.

Fair comment [emoji3]

[lopburi3]

Why not have someone look at the unit you currently have - may not cost much to get working and should not cost much, or anything, to get an estimate.  

[JAS21]

On 14/01/2018 at 11:12 PM, KMartinHandyman said:

I hope the landlords electric meter is as quiet when it starts screaming around in circles.

The air con unit probably takes less than his electric kettle or microwave ... if the compressor is still there ... with luck it could be quite a cheap fix ... might not be much more than a capacitor ...and a clean.  Be aware that your room may be a bit cloudy when it first starts

Edited January 20, 2018 by JAS21

[Hal65]

I guess it's worth a check. I'd assume if the LL is forgoing 3k a month it's not a simple fix on that unit. You can see from the discoloration it's been there quite a while too.

 

Would the cloudiness from firing it up again be accumulated dust, or something else?